RE: [CH] Mary & Riley's lime

Mary & Riley (uGuys@ChileGarden.com)
Wed, 9 May 2001 09:38:25 -0700

> 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?







>