I have a couple of yards of compost from the last few
years of composting my leaves. The two years ago pile
now has a nice fine texture, and I decided, on a whim,
to check its pH. I came up with a somewhat alkaline reading,
say 7.0-7.5, which may be due to my use of a lot of leaves
(e.g. of polar and elm) that some sources demean for their
alkaline tendencies.

I gather that this level of alkalinity is more than most
veggies and small fruits want, especially in my context
(high plains of Colorado) in which acid soil is not an
issue. I'm wondering:
1) Is it reasonable to think that my compost might be
alkaline enough to account for the poor performance
my veggies have had in recent years (I typically
plant my veggies in furrows with a few inches of
my finished compost)?

2) If I want to acidify the compost, what might anyone
recommend? Obviously, elemental sulfur is a common choice,
as for blueberries, but I understand that many veggies
taste better if grown in low sulfur soils, so I have been
thinking to avoid that. I was thinking about
dousing my compost pile with some HCl (muriatic acid)
commonly available for masonry, scale removal, etc. at
a level enough to bring the pH down to say 6.0 or so,
but I wonder whether plants would be happy with the
chloride that would contribute to the soil.

As you can see, I'm not adverse to chemical solutions,
although I would be interested in softer ways to acidify
the compost as well. (Large supplies of oak leaves are
not something I can get my hands on.) So, thoughts and
suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,
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Mike Lacy, Ft Collins CO 80523
Clean out the 'junk' to email me.