Soil pH in Genesee, NY: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in Genesee, NY

Typical topsoil in Genesee, NY is pH 6.43, already right for vegetable garden (6-7). Test before adding anything.

What Genesee needs, by plant

• Already in range: lawn (cool-season grass), vegetable garden, tomatoes, strawberries, roses, pink hydrangeas.
• Sulfur: potatoes 3.1 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; blueberries 4.8 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications; azaleas and rhododendrons 4.1 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications; blue hydrangeas 4.1 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications.

What to do next

If your test lands near 6.43, you can skip lime and sulfur for lawn (cool-season grass), vegetable garden, tomatoes, strawberries, roses, pink hydrangeas.

How mixed the soil is

Of the 261,247 surveyed acres in Genesee, NY, 54% are near neutral (6.5-7.3), 40% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5), 5% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 1% are alkaline (above 7.3). Mapped soils run from pH 4.6 to 7.6, a spread of 3 units across 284 soil components. No single class covers 60% of the county, so two gardens a few miles apart here can need opposite treatments. Test your own bed.

Clay, organic matter and rates

Topsoil here averages 19.7% clay and 5.06% organic matter, which this site treats as clay. At 5.06% organic matter the soil buffers like a heavier one, which pushes it into the clay bracket. Moving it one pH unit takes about 11.5 lb of lime or 3.4 lb of sulfur per 100 sq ft. 1% of mapped components carry free carbonate (lime already in the ground).

Genesee against the rest of New York

pH 6.43 is 0.66 above the New York median of 5.77. 57 of 62 New York counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more alkaline than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Richmond (6.31), Niagara (6.34), Ontario (6.39), Seneca (6.42), Bronx (6.51), New York (6.91), Queens (6.99), Kings (7.15).

The range in New York runs from Hamilton at 4.72 to Kings at 7.15; Genesee sits 70% of the way up.