1) Walnut leaves are toxic to the soil.

2) Fruits make your compost more acidic.

3) When elemental sulfur mixes with water it forms sulfuric acid. (If this true, I would be making tons of gypsum in my limestone soil by using elemental sulfur)

4) Ironite improves iron absorption. (I have no idea what ironite is, please inform)

I garden in alkaline soil, pH 7.7, my water pH is 8 - so far throwing blood meal around white pines did not solve their cholorosis. I mulched them with alfalfa meal (pH around 5) but that didnt' help. Putting espresso grounds on rhododendrons didn't solve cholorosis, but gave them pink stripes. I have hard well water that deposits whitish minerals on pots and pans, clogs shower heads ...

A year ago I read about how lemons help to prevent kidney stones. We have been drinking lots of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, which helps both with digestive and urinary systems. I threw the lemon rinds in used kitchen and watered one particular rhododendron as an experiment. Big success! After one month its leaves turned dark green, compared to the yellowish leaves on the one NOT watered. Iron must had been tied up in my high pH soil. One website mentioned NOT to use Iron sulfate on alkaline soil, since it already has too much iron being tied up. What's needed is to lower the pH, and the iron would be made available to plants.

I would put sulfuric acid in my water for the garden, but that stuff is expensive and not safe. And I can't stand the smell of vinegar. It's nice to find an acidic alternative that works.

I took a brief gander at the linked page. I'll never go back to it.

First...

1. Walnut leaves are NOT toxic to soil. Walnuts contain a compound called juglone, and through something called allelopathy, hinders the growth of certain plants. This is a complicated arrangement, and not all plants respond in the same way, and just because one plant of a species died, doesn't mean that your next attempt won't meet with success.

2. This would be true.

3. Yes. One Sulfur molecule (S) plus two water 2(H2O) equals sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Of course, this immediately acts upon elements in the soil to make any number of sulfates and derivative oxides, which is why...

4. is partially correct. If one adds iron, there is iron available, but ironite also has a mixture of sulfates as part of it's nutrient package. Add water and iron sulfate becomes iron and sulfuric acid, which in turn interacts with the soil and forms further oxides and sulfates.

In high pH soils, iron becomes insoluble. The difference between ferric and ferrous is the number of free electrons bouncing around the outer shell of the iron molecule to form bonds with other elements and chemicals, including water, allowing plants to absorb nutrients from the soil. High pH conditions lock up one of these electrons. This is also true of a couple of other nutrients whose lack has similar effects on plant growth; ie, chlorotic appearance.

Okay, this is greatly simplified. And from a technically correct point of view, entirely inadequate, but I really can't explain the chemistry well enough to do it justice.

I'll go ahead and put citrus fruits into my compost for my alkaline soil. Two University Extensions (Colorado and Florida) stated that sulfur lasts only 1 year, versus peat moss for a few years. If anyone had good result fixing their soil with elemental sulfur, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Can I buy a vowel? ;-)

Lloyd

And unless the volume of fruit is greater than the entire volume of the compost pile, its not going to have any significant effect on acid level of the finished compost.

Compost should be neutral. It will lower the pH of alkaline soil and it will raise the pH of an acidic soil Organic matter should bring pH more towards 7.

What changes when you compost acidic things, is the bacteria. You will develop a herd of microscopic organisms who like to consume fruit. When the fruit is gone, that particular culture diminishes and a different culture grows that likes to eat the next tasty stuff its provided, whatever it may be...

Thank you, kimmsr, for researching the facts. I also have doubts about elemental sulfur to sulfuric acid. That link of yours is excellent, I don't want that toxic ironite. The info. about walnut leaves suppressing Quack Grass is interesting.

When I first read about composting, they said NOT to put citric fruits into the compost. I'm not very good in eating my fruits, and the first to get moldy is sour fruits like peaches (1 week), then citrus fruits (2 to 3 weeks), next is apples (6 months). The worst is cantaloupe (1 week).

From Widipedia: "Penicillium chrysogenum was discovered, on a cantaloupe from a grocery store in Peoria, Illinois. The fungus isolated from this cantaloupe produced several hundred times as much penicillin as Fleming's original cultures..."

Would putting wood ash, which is alkaline, suppress fungi?
Here's the joint study made by Sweden and United Kingdom, entitled, "Contrasting soil pH effects on fungal and bacterial growth: The growth-based measurements revealed a fivefold decrease in bacterial growth and a fivefold increase in fungal growth with lower pH. .. Below pH 4.5 there was universal inhibition of all microbial variables."

Some folks put wood ash on roses to combat rust. The link below studied the anti-fungal effects of quick lime and wood ash on Yam Minisett-rot. Maybe it's OK to put wood ash into compost after all. In the container gardening forum, someone posted awesome pics. of veges growing in wood ash and human urine (pretty gross!)