simy1 said:

I till in nothing and make sure to always balance acid things (wood
chips and coffee) with some wood ash, which has a pH of 10.4 and is
50% Ca and about 10% Mg (I have a wood stove and I store the ash in my
garage for spring and summer use). That does not yet balance
everything (where is the P?), but it is a good start. wood ash will
always be better than lime because it has a better nutrient profile
(besides Ca and Mg, it is 3% P and 8% K for example) and acts very
fast. Probably at this stage of the game (need a fast acting amendment
to try and get a crop out of these things), if I were to do things
blindly, a mixture of wood ash and bone meal would get those plants
kick-started. In fact, given a pH of 6.2, one could add 0.03 lb per
sqft and the pH would not go above 6.7.

In the long run, though, I think Mark ought to mineralize that soil --
rock phosphate, (probably dolomitic) limestone, and greensand or
some other potash-rich rock dust -- 'bankable' material. Even some
decently mineralized 'fill dirt' might work. (I've seen that happen by
accident in my own yard.)

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)