Started trying something a bit different. Using sulfuric (battery) acid for the soil.
Tested the soil pH the other morning and found it's still sitting around 8.0 in most of the garden. Not much will grow in that besides weeds. The indication here is that the sodium is still extremely high.
I know there is now lots of calcium in the soil. No small amount of iron. Problem is, it's being bound up or blocked by the sodium. So, did some thinking and then some research. Turns out sulfuric acid can be used for the garden, if done carefully. So, started using that last night. However, the acid is almost instantly neutralized by the alkaline soil. Tested the soil pH this morning and found nearly no change at all.
Part of the problem may be in the way I applied it. I diluted it quite a bit, enough to apply it with a garden sprayer. Going to have to take a different approach. Going to mix a stronger solution and manually apply it directly between rows. The direct application should help kill weeds in the trenches and any acid not instantly neutralized will seep into the mounds. (Not expecting much of that.) What I am hoping to achieve is dissolving the calcium, which should bind with the sodium and make nutrients more available to the plants.
I'm also trying using the acid to dissolve the large pieces of gypsum in a plastic tub. (Not a strong enough solution to dissolve the tub.) If that works, I can apply that and it should help bind up more sodium.
I did make the decision that most of my larger plants will have to be raised in containers this year. However, one section of garden is not yet planted. Actually, it was but nothing grew there. Going to amend that area heavily, treat it with a strong acid solution and see what happens.
When fall and winter comes, I will be treating the soil heavily with acid multiple times.
I have worried in the past about over-fertilizing. Not worried about that now. Looks like it's a near impossibility for this soil. Going to have to fertilize heavily this year.
Tested the soil pH the other morning and found it's still sitting around 8.0 in most of the garden. Not much will grow in that besides weeds. The indication here is that the sodium is still extremely high.
I know there is now lots of calcium in the soil. No small amount of iron. Problem is, it's being bound up or blocked by the sodium. So, did some thinking and then some research. Turns out sulfuric acid can be used for the garden, if done carefully. So, started using that last night. However, the acid is almost instantly neutralized by the alkaline soil. Tested the soil pH this morning and found nearly no change at all.
Part of the problem may be in the way I applied it. I diluted it quite a bit, enough to apply it with a garden sprayer. Going to have to take a different approach. Going to mix a stronger solution and manually apply it directly between rows. The direct application should help kill weeds in the trenches and any acid not instantly neutralized will seep into the mounds. (Not expecting much of that.) What I am hoping to achieve is dissolving the calcium, which should bind with the sodium and make nutrients more available to the plants.
I'm also trying using the acid to dissolve the large pieces of gypsum in a plastic tub. (Not a strong enough solution to dissolve the tub.) If that works, I can apply that and it should help bind up more sodium.
I did make the decision that most of my larger plants will have to be raised in containers this year. However, one section of garden is not yet planted. Actually, it was but nothing grew there. Going to amend that area heavily, treat it with a strong acid solution and see what happens.
When fall and winter comes, I will be treating the soil heavily with acid multiple times.
I have worried in the past about over-fertilizing. Not worried about that now. Looks like it's a near impossibility for this soil. Going to have to fertilize heavily this year.
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