Sweet and Sour

Yesterday, i sweetened acid soil with lime. Today it's time to "sour" the soil around the acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, hydrangeas, dogwoods, blueberries, and camellias.

You might think, that living in New England, my soil is already acid enough due to a carpet of pine needles and acid rain. After all, acid soil is formed from granite and shale (and coal). But the granite is across the river in New Hampshire, the Granite State. Three miles west, here in Vermont, i live atop schist and a band of brown limestone. Lime-stone, as in the lime that sweetens acid soil. So my soil actually has a neutral pH.

Thus, i add acid, in the form of sulfur, to the soil around the acid-loving plants. I especially pay attention to the rhododendron at the corner of the house because the cement foundation leaches lime into the soil.

Lilacs love lime, but some plants require a more acid soil. In order to bloom where we are planted, we need the right balance of sweet and sour.