For some homeowners — especially those in dry, chalky areas with Mediterranean climates — sulfur is also an invaluable garden instrument. Ground elemental sulfur, a frequent soil amendment, lowers the pH level of excessively alkaline soils. A bad pH level keeps your yard or garden from thriving. When soil is too acidic or too alkaline, it prevents nutrients, such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, from dissolving, meaning plant roots can’t absorb them. If your lawn has been “chalky,” or alkaline, look at utilizing sulfur to neutralize the pH level.
Determining Need
You can buy user-friendly soil pH test kits at garden centres, or you could send soil samples into a professional testing services. Mix dirt in the few spots in your lawn before sending it into the support or adding it into your home test kit. If your land registers at over 7.0 — the neutral pH level — odds are you’ll need to reduce the pH level. The vast majority of plants, such as lawns, flowers and vegetables, favor a neutral to slightly acidic pH of 6.5 to 7.
Amount Needed
For every 100 square feet of lawn, it takes an average of 1 pound of sulfur to reduce the pH level by 1 full point. Once you determine your existing pH level, decide the number of points you need to decrease your pH for to the desired amount. Then measure your lawn to find a rough square footage of the area you’ll be amending. As an example, if your 500-square-foot front lawn has a pH of 8.0 and you are aiming for a neutral 7.0, you’ll need an average of 5 pounds of ground elemental sulfur for the region.
Factors
You might need more or less sulfur noted to acidify your lawn, dependent on other soil characteristics. If your soil is alkaline and wooded, use slightly less than one pound per 100 square foot, and each 1.0 pH stage. If it’s alkaline but marginally loamy, utilize more than one pound. For quite loamy soils, you might need to use more than 2 pounds per 100 square foot, and each 1.0 pH stage.
Application
Apply elemental sulfur just one year prior to creating gardens or lawns, if possible. Work the sulfur to the top 6 inches of dirt. A couple of months before planting, analyze your land again to be certain that it is in the desirable pH range.
Alternatives
If you have free access to a massive number of such acidic substances as pine needles or shredded oak leaves, you might choose to utilize them in position of sulfur. Work them into the ground several months before planting. These substances may also be used to neutralize alkaline soils when used as mulching materials. Peat moss is just another traditional acidifier, but is frequently more expensive than sulfur — as well as bulkier to transfer. If you’re in a rush, look at utilizing the faster-acting iron sulfate instead of elemental sulfate.