Soil pH in Jefferson, TX: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in Jefferson, TX

Typical topsoil in Jefferson, TX is pH 5.71, too acidic for vegetable garden. Expect roughly 9.2 lb of lime per 100 sq ft, but only after a soil test confirms it.

What Jefferson needs, by plant

• Already in range: potatoes, strawberries, azaleas and rhododendrons.
• Just outside, test first: blueberries (off by 0.2), blue hydrangeas (off by 0.2).
• Lime: lawn (cool-season grass) 9.2 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; vegetable garden 9.2 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; tomatoes 9.2 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; roses 9.2 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; pink hydrangeas 5.8 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications.

What to do next

If your test confirms pH near 5.71, spread about 92 lb of ground limestone per 1,000 sq ft of vegetable bed in 2 doses, ideally in fall.

How mixed the soil is

Of the 485,993 surveyed acres in Jefferson, TX, 48% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 31% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5), 11% are near neutral (6.5-7.3), 10% are alkaline (above 7.3). Mapped soils run from pH 4.3 to 8.2, a spread of 3.9 units across 108 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 38% clay and 3.45% organic matter, which this site treats as clay. Moving it one pH unit takes about 11.5 lb of lime or 3.4 lb of sulfur per 100 sq ft. 7% of mapped components carry free carbonate (lime already in the ground).

Jefferson against the rest of Texas

pH 5.71 is 1.72 below the Texas median of 7.43. 28 of 254 Texas counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Camp (5.63), Houston (5.63), Nacogdoches (5.68), Smith (5.7), Titus (5.74), Morris (5.75), Walker (5.79), Anderson (5.87).

The range in Texas runs from Hardin at 4.64 to Upton at 8.19; Jefferson sits 30% of the way up.