On 1/19/2009 6:31 AM, Dioclese wrote:
Thanks for input on the hackberry tree inquiry.

Mother's yard was also covered with primarily pecan leaves and pecan husks,
along with grass clippings and minor weeds. Used mulcher mower with bagger
attachment, and bagged all 20 bags of it in 30 gallon trash bags. She wants
to leave it for garbage pickup. I'd like to take it all to my place and
allow it to anaerobically decay in a shaded area for a year. My soil is
terribly alkali on PH scale. Would pecan leaf and husk remnants help lean
it towards the other end of the PH scale?


Anaerobic composting is NOT a good idea. You get much better and
quicker results with aerobic composting.

Compost that is primarily brown matter (dead leaves) will be slightly
acidic. That's why I make my compost closer to leaf mold than true
compost, to help remedy my alkaline soil. It's about 90% brown matter
and only 10% green matter (a small amount of grass clippings).

However, I also resort to adding stronger acidic materials to my soil.
I use a lot of gypsum (calcium sulfate) because my soil is heavy clay.
I apply about 5 lb of soil sulfur a year to areas where acid-loving
plants grow; bacteria in the soil slowly convert it into sulfuric acid.
I use ammonium sulfate and iron sulfate as fertilizers on most of my
plants. On some plants -- citrus, gardenia, Australian tea tree -- I
also use a small amount of zinc sulfate. My roses and a few others get
small amounts of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). For my camellias and
azaleas, I use a commercial camellia fertilizer that is acidic.

Be careful. Some plants prefer an alkaline soil. These include iris,
primroses, dianthus (carnations). Gypsum won't really bother them, but
I keep the other materials away from them. Also, acidifying an alkaline
soil should be a slow process. Too much sulfur will eliminate the soil
bacteria that is needed to convert it into sulfuric acid. Too much
ammonium sulfate will burn not only top growth but also roots. "Too
much" might seem like not enough.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary