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can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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Posted by ajijoe 6 (mosinjoe7@yahoo.com) on Tue, Feb 2, 10 at 1:20
| hello the subject preaty much says it all
can pine needles be used to acidify soil for hot peppers and tomatos??
i have some around my property and im going to clean up the place when things warm a bit more so i thought i would ask those in the know first before i add them to my garden compost
any thought?? please let me know >> thanks your friend Joe
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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Pine needles are not going to significantly affect your soils pH.
Why do you think you need to make you soil acidic for peppers and tomatoes? They both grow best in soils with a pH in the 6.2 to 6.8 range, slightly acid, but if necessary that is most often accomplished by adding sulfur. |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| Kimmsr, if ajijoe has soil anything like mine, then he needs to acidify it a bunch. Mine is 8.0-9.0 pH. I had to research why a sandy soil in Florida is so darned alkaline especiallly with the assumption the abundance of wells here with "sulphur water" and my assumption sulphur=acidic, well you can realize my confusion. Well the sand does consist in large part limestone which is very alkaline. Any event I'm not sure what ajijoe should use on a large scale to make the necessary adjustments to get down to 6.2-6.5 pH. I'd like the secret as well. ps. Also Kimmsr I saw the other thread where someone thought you were a she because of your name. I somehow always knew you were a guy perhaps older, and the name always strikes me as being shorthand for: Kim or Kimm Monsiuer. Am I correct? |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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Ajijoe -
I'm growing peppers and tomatoes in Arizona dirt, pH well above 7. They produced very well. Pine needles wouldn't change the pH significantly, but they do make nice compost. How about using them as a thick mulch for weed control? |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| kimmsr. i dont really need to use them but their free and their littering the surrounding properties, i want to clean up because my neighbors dont care about what their property looks like, i dont wanna waste my time lanscapeing my yard if the rest of the neighborhood looks like a dump!! and i dont wanna have to deal with them on trash day, i think you can understand what i mean my area (PA) is known for very hard water due the limestone deposits all over the area,they make lot of cement here and it can alkaline the soil some, their really isnt too much pine needles but i wanna get rid of it without much fuss thanks to all your friend joe |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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Pine needles can be used as mulch, people in some places pay big money to get "pine straw" which is just pine needles baled.
pkap, that is the name. It is not short for anything and there are many of us males named Kimm, or Kim and it is not short hand for anything. There was An NBA player not long ago, Kimm Griffin, from this area of the world. |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| If you can run the pine straw through a chipper/shredder that would help them break down and become humus. Or you can compost them with leaves and grass clippings. I suspect that the reason that pine straw doesn't break down more quickly is because it allows so much air to circulate. If you mix it with something that will hold water and reduce the porosity, it will likely break down quicker. Yes, broken down pine straw will help with soil pH. You might want to try collecting rainwater for your garden if the pH of the groundwater is so high. |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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If your soil is high in alkalinity fooling around with something to bring it down is risky. Garden sulfur is one remedy but when using it, it reacts more quickly than other means and how much to add to a small area of soil would be highly dangerous when planting new stock.
Better to get a soil test at a lab or at best buy a soil-tester, even one bought at a local garden center might do the trick enough. Vegetables do well if planted in containers and since the soil can be better controlled of its pH, why not grow them there. Leave the garden area for those that can take the higher pH. Pine needles are best if run over with the lawn mower and mixed with leaves, then put into the compost. |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| However you use pine needles, the main thing is to use them. In compost, the high percentage of lignin slows their breakdown and will give them a very al dente angelhair pasta consistency (which will beef up the compost when used as mulch). I use less in the compost now and use them directly as a mulch and enjoy the look. It has little or no effect on the pH. tj |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| If Nothing else as the needles eventually turn to compost they will help bring your soil down closer to a neutral PH. It would seem that just getting a hold of compost would be faster than waiting for the needles to decompose on their own. |
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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| Pine needles will, eventually, become part of the Soil Organic Matter, the humus in soil, which can help buffer some of the free Hydrogen ions which are what does influence a soils pH. Based on what I have seen with my soils the humus level in soils needs to be in the 6 to 8 percent range to do that. |
Here is a link that might be useful: About soil pH
RE: can pine needle be used to acidify soil for peppers??
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thanks all
as i said there are not too many pine needles and im planning to just till them right in the soil they should break down nicly and even if they dont make too much of a differance thats ok im getting rid of the naturally and yes they can become part of the hummus which is very benificial, im the type i dont like to waste good fertilizer im glad i asked this question, it seems i really opened a good can of worms here in that it was a good subject i gt so many replies
thank you all your friend joe |
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