> soil so acidic? Did you have a lab. measure the pH? No, I found a (cheap???) ph meter in the tool shed and stuck it in the ground. I might make a buffer solution to check the calibration considering your comment. But it was quick measurement indicating a ph of about 6.5 iirc. I do plan on doing it right, but had a kneejerk reaction--I felt certain someone on the list had stated chiles like alkaline soils--we've been waiting to get a tree so haven't planted yet--and I wanted to start adjusting before planting this weekend. > Agricultural lime IS slaked lime. The body rotting stuff is > quicklime. Do not take chemical advice from Byron or you'll be buried > alive in compost and snake oil garden remedies! I keep a bag of rock salt around for Byron--good for advice and if he needs some to salt the drive what the hay? ;) I'm comfortable enough with chemistry but did not know that "agricultural lime" was slaked lime. Got the impression it referred to the carbonate. Not. > > >But I forgot to ask, what _is_ the proper ph for chiles? > > I think it's reckoned to be about pH6.5 but they will tolerate > anything in the ph4.5-pH8.5 range. Chiles are very tolerant. I cannot See above--Byron said 6.75 +- 0.25, which seemed reasonable and calmed the jerk in me knee. > imagine that your soil is outside this range. BTW don't waste your > money on cheap pH meters. It was free--Mary wasted _her_ money! _If_ she did. An AMI Instamatic Soil ph meter. It seemed to respond ok and the (one!) reading I took was in the range of what I expected for this soil--fruit trees, pines, palms, eucs. > No links, but now you've got me going on bucket chemistry I'll chuck > in a few suggestions! > I know nothing about palm debris. Acid enough to corrode tools if not cleaned. The pine needles should be left > around the base of the trees to provide a natural mulch and protect Moot point, the pine is history. Was threatening the neighbor. Not a good neighbor, my thought was let it go, but Mary's gentler side prevailed. > the shallow roots. Eucalyptus burns hotter than any other wood I have > lit. Use it for starting your grill. Walnut chips are hard wood and > should make a pretty good mulch. If your house is light in color keep > it off the walls to avoid staining. They also might be good for > smoking. Pecan is excellent. What does walnut smoke smell like? Walnut--I'll try using it for smoking. The inlaws are coming for Mother's Day. Worth an experiment and no harm done if it fails! ;) > -- > --- > Regards, Cameron. Thanks for the excellent information! Hot regards, Riley PS Don't suppose you have a recipe for a homebrewed calibration solution? >