I think you are making too much of nothing :-) Soils in my area are by nature acidic. A pH of 5.5 to 6.5 is pretty much to be expected, depending on location. Very few bother to do much in the way of adjusting pH except to lime for lawns, which do not thrive under acidic conditions. But with regards to ornamental and edible plantings, that range accommodates the largest number of plants and so pH is seldom attempted to be altered. This is also a rather intensively agricultural area with many organic farms, small truck farms and wholesale plant growers.

Depending how long those chickens were in the coop, the poop and the rainfall may have thrown off the soil pH and the soil nutrients for quite a way into the soil. Before you put a lot of effort into it, why don't you have a soil test done on the soil there? It may be massively unbalanced to the point you will be wasting your time without making some corrections. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Office (see below) and ask them who does soil tests local to you. Mostly, the basics should cost you about $10 per test. Personally, I would have two tests done. Wash off a shovel blade that doesn't have rust on it (rust will throw off the results), and shove it straight down (or close) into the soil and lever up the shovelful of soil, toss it aside. Then carefully back up an inch or a little more, and push the blade down again so you're getting a slice of soil. Carefully lay this slice on an open newspaper, keeping it together as much as possible (like a cake slice). Sample 1: You're going to want about one-plus cup of soil, so use a clean, non-rusty trowel to 'sub-divide' the slice. You want from the very top of the surface (chick poop and all) down about 6" and wide enough to give you a cup or a little more. Collect this and put it into a flattish clean container. Sample 2: You want this one to be mainly all soil, without the chicken poop 'icing'. If you can get it from the slice of soil that you got the first sample from, fine; otherwise, take a new slice from the same hole. Try to determine where the line is between the actual soil and the layer of poop, then discard all the chicken poop, and measure 6" down and collect your cup+ or so of soil. Put it in a separate clean container. Mark them: soil with chicken poop, soil under chicken poop. Break up each sample as much as you can. Pick out all plant material, roots, rocks, pebbles, sticks, and debris. Try not to handle it with your bare hands. Place in a safe place in the sun (no wind) and stir them occasionally until they are dry. Bag each sample in a LABELED ziplock plastic bag. Deliver to the soil testing place. If you garden organically, be sure to write ORGANIC on your paperwork and on the bags, as that will alter the recommendations they make. It would probably be a good idea to tell them what you are trying to do, because I have the feeling that your results are going to WAAAAY off the usual. I wouldn't do anything until you get the results back. If you have further questions on the recommendations, call them and ask. They're here to help, and your tax dollars are paying their wages. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Coop. Ext. Service Offices

In case the link is ever broken, cut and paste the PDF file here: Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University The Myth of Gypsum Magic âAdding gypsum to your yard or garden will improve soil tilth and plant healthâ The Myth Upon continued prodding from one of my university extension colleagues, I recently watched several episodes of a well-known gardening program on television. My kids joined me, alerted by my animated responses to the hostâs non-stop torrent of advice. Among many amazing discoveries I learned that by adding gypsum to my yard or garden I would improve my problem soils by changing the particle size and loosening compaction. Further searching on the web revealed that gypsum would also improve drainage, decrease acidity, and eliminate soil salts. Previously, I had heard of gypsum for use in soil reclamation projects, but not for a typical urban landscape. Since gypsum is simply calcium sulfate, could this chemical truly transform soil structure and serve as a fertilizer for yards and gardens? The Reality This myth falls into the category of agricultural practices misapplied to ornamental landscapes. Gypsum effectively changes the structure and fertility of heavy clay soils, especially those that are heavily weathered or subject to intensive crop production. Gypsum also improves sodic (saline) soils by removing sodium from the soil and replacing it with calcium. Therefore, one can see improvement in clay soil structure and fertility, and desalinization of sodium-rich soils, by using gypsum. What other effects will gypsum have on soil and plant health? There are a number of scientific studies on gypsum usage both in the literature and on websites. Briefly, researchers have found: ⢠Gypsum does not usually change soil acidity, though occasional reports of both increasing and decreasing pH exist; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of aluminum, which can detoxify soils but also contaminates nearby watersheds; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of iron and manganese, leading to deficiencies of these nutrients; ⢠Gypsum applied to acid soils can induce magnesium deficiency in plants on site; ⢠Gypsum applied to sandy soils can depress phosphorus, copper and zinc transport; ⢠Gypsum can have negative effects on mycorrhizal inoculation of roots, which may account for several reports of negative effects of gypsum on tree seedling establishment and survival; ⢠Gypsum is variable in its effects on mature trees; ⢠Gypsum will not improve fertility of acid or sandy soils; ⢠Gypsum will not improve water holding capacity of sandy soils; and ⢠Gypsumâs effects are short-lived (often a matter of months) With the exception of arid and coastal regions (where soil salts are high) and the southeastern United States (where heavy clay soils are common), gypsum amendment is just not necessary in non-agricultural areas. Urban soils are generally amalgamations of subsoils, native and non-native topsoils, and - in home landscapes - high levels of organic and non-organic chemical additives. They are also heavily compacted and layered (and gypsum does not work well on layered soils). In such landscapes, it is pointless to add yet more chemicals in the form of gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium levels. This nutrient deficiency can be quickly identified by any soil testing laboratory for less than a bag of gypsum costs. (If you need to improve sulfur nutrition, itâs wiser to use ammonium sulfate). To reduce compaction and improve aeration in nearly any landscape, application of an organic mulch is more economically and environmentally sustainable. The Bottom Line ⢠Gypsum can improve heavy clay soil structure and remove sodium from saline soils ⢠Gypsum has no effect on soil fertility, structure, or pH of any other soil type ⢠Most urban soils are not improved by additional gypsum ⢠Before adding gypsum or any chemical to a landscape, have soil analysis performed to identify mineral deficiencies, toxicities, and soil character ⢠Adding gypsum to sandy or non-sodic soils is a waste of money, natural resources, and can have negative impacts on plant, soil, and ecosystem health For more information, please visit Dr. Chalker-Scottâs web page at http://www.theinformedgardener.com.

I was just thinkng about a Luau and I stumbled upon some notes from the University of Hawaii- "Amount of clay: As the amount of clay increases in the soil, the P-sorption capacity increases as well. This is because clay particles have a tremendous amount of surface area for which phosphate sorption can take place." ...Hawaii, and other tropical soils have P as the limiting reagent, the soils are very sandy... but organic matter in sand or clay does this- "Organic matter increases P availability in four ways. â¦First, organic matter forms complexes with organic phosphate which increases phosphate uptake by plants. â¦Second, organic anions can also displace sorbed phosphate. â¦Third, humus coats aluminum and iron oxides, which reduces P sorption. â¦Finally, organic matter is also a source of phosphorus through mineralization reactions." Then, I went back and looked at some notes from the University of Kansas- "A report in 1994 by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment indicated that 24 percent of stream miles and 89 percent of lakes in Kansas were impaired by excessive levels of nutrients. Phosphorus is the nutrient that is most often responsible for the impairment of surface water." Then, I reread this post from TC- "I was not aware that some states have banned high P fertlizer due to water quality issues, but it's certainly not happening here in MO. I've used quite a bit of 12-12-12 and that would work for you." Then, I thought back to my days as a youth, walking along the River on the border of Kansas and Missouri, with boyhood dreams of hitchin' a ride on a raft down the mighty Mississippi and winding up in New Orleans, like Huck did. And seein' if I might run into Tox, somewhere on Bourbon Street. Mackel