What do you want to grow that needs a soil pH between 5.5 and 6.4? Most all plants, and most all soil nutrients are most readily available, grow best with a soil pH in the 6.2 to 6.8 range.
I would contact your county office of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension service about having a good, reliable soil tst done and they will tell you what you can use, usually sulfur, to get the soil pH needed as well as how much to apply.

I can understand why ladyrose wants to have the ph just below ideal even for most plants. Soils that are alkaline most often need sulphur added now and then to keep the ph constant, so it would just last a bit longer. At around 5.5 even some rododendrons, heather and blueberries can live.

Ladyrose: sulfur or sulfates are the way to reduce pH. BUT, since you have already added a bag of sulfur, I wouldn't do anything else this year. For next year, I suggest the following: 1. always add sulfur (or any other mineral) along with organic matter -- preferably compost; 2. never add more than one pound of sulfur per 100 square feet in any one year, no matter how alkaline the soil is -- you can always add another pound in a second year; 3. alternatively, if you are short of another mineral, add it in its sulfate form, such as calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate, etc. By the way, I didn't understand the aluminum sulfate; aluminum isn't a good ammendment unless your soil test shows a definite shortage which is very rare in my experience. Regards, Peter.

Thank you all for your input. I will wait until Nov. 1-year to add more sulphur. To look at the soil, you'd say "Looks Great". But the plants showed Nitrogen overload. I got no flowers from cosmos, Snapdragons, and roses. Even the zinnia's were struggling. The plants were extremely large, with little to no blooms.

This season looks more promising (if we can get some rain), but, I want the ph to be much lower than the 7.0. The extensive soil test runs $75.00. Too pricey.

Rutgers soil test fees start at $20.00 for a basic one that is adequate for what you need to know. UCONN is less then that as I recall, although shipping may bring it closer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rutgers soil testing

Isn't it Pine needles lower ph balance? You can add them to your compost or use them for mulch. Good luck, I never fixed my ph problem, but you seem to have had great success lowering it down from 10 to where it's at.

Couple of thoughts come to mind from this discussion :-)

First, I would find it extremely unusual to have your soil accurately test out at a pH of 10. Virtually nothing will grow in a soil that alkaline.......I'd suspect something was seriously amiss with your testing procedure :-)

Second, aluminum sulfate must be used with caution. Excess aluminum is toxic to many plants and a little goes a very long way!

Third, I'd investigate a professional test to determine an accurate pH reading at least. Personally, I'd bite the bullet and get a full professional test -- the soil is arguably the most important factor in the success of a garden and it is very helpful to know exactly (and accurately) what you are dealing with with regards to pH and fertility before attempting to make any changes that may or may not be called for.

And it is important to understand that depending on what your existing pH tests out to be, you may not be able to alter it to the degree you want or at least not permanently. Many soils have buffering capacities that resist significant and permanent changes to pH. If that proves to be the case, you may have to limit your ability to grow acid loving plants or at least restrict them to a designated area - like a raised bed - where you can add imported soil and tailor the pH to their specific needs.

Finally, to the previous poster: materials like pine needles do not alter soil pH to any significant degree. You may get a slight lowering at the soil surface with a mulch but once incorporated into the soil or added to compost, acidic materials lose their acidity during decomposition. Composted, they will be very nearly neutral (or only very slightly acidic).

And one final little thing. Activated carbon is not used to provide sulfur. It's a source of carbon. "Activated" means that it has a huge surface area relative to its mass, that is; it's ground to a very fine powder and each particle is very porous. The purpose is to provide sites that allow for bonding with organic compounds. (I'm using the word "organic" to describe things that are based on a carbon chain). That's why they use activated carbon to neutralize a broad range of herbicides in contaminated soils since the majority of herbicides are, strictly speaking, organic compounds.

I meant that "activated charcoal" is carbon. (aka: activated carbon)

Here is a link that might be useful: Activated Charcoal

I am a second year CBE and a pretty inexperienced gardener and I was wondering if it would make sense to add a weak acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, to the ground to decrease the ph. Since the soil has buffering properties, a weak acid seems to be a solution to the ph problem. Does this seem possible?

Soil pH, potential Hydrogen, is a measure of the free radical Hydrogen ions in soil. very simply lots of H ions means an acidic soil while none means an alkaline soil. Same thing with vinegar or lemon juice. To make much difference in you soil would require large amounts of either vinegar or lemon juice and it would probably be much less expensive to apply some sulfur.

A quick fix for plants suffering with high .pH would be to add white vinegar to your watering.
My blueberries were suffering this year, so I watered with 6 ozs of 5% white vinegar per gallon, while waiting for the sulphur to take effect. It helped turn the leaves back to a nice green.

I would gladly swap some soil with you! My pH is just over 5!