Re: [CH] Mary & Riley's lime V7 #345
Cameron Begg (begg.4@osu.edu)
Fri, 11 May 2001 12:35:21 -0400
Hi C-H's,
Been a while since we had a good flame war hasn't it?
Here's some fun with Byron; our List's well meaning but ever failing
student chemist:
>If you read the chart you will find that the plants ability to absorb P
>falls of between 6.5 and 6. Potassium starts to fall of at 6.0, Ca starts at
>7.0
>Mg at 7.0 at 4.5 these are way below min needs.
>Going the other way nutrients of iron start dropping at above 6.0,
>Manganese, at 7.0 and above Boron, copper and zinc
>drop off, at a pH of 8.0 these are not available to plants.
Which plant was the chart written for? How do some plants flourish in
bogs at a pH of 4.0?
>Hydrated lime is calcium hydroxide
>So is slaked lime
>Ground Limestone is calcium carbonate.
>I read it as a 2 different chemicals.
Your point being?
>Home brew calibration, Moisten some sterile seed starting medium with
>vinegar. Needle should read about 4.5
Nonsense.
>This is what happened in my garden
>A choc hab in a soil pH of 6.2 will ripen orange with little or no heat.
>Country Girls and Peter Peppers will not rippen in a pH of 6.2. Red
>Savina's rippen orange, scotch bonnets did not ripen. All plants and pods
>were about 1/3 smaller, with little or no heat.
From what we know of your garden it is a testimony to the fortitude
of plants that anything grows there at all!
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Regards, Cameron.