Soil pH in Kennebec, ME: Lime or Sulfur?
Typical topsoil pH in Kennebec, ME
Typical topsoil in Kennebec, ME is pH 4.91, too acidic for vegetable garden. Expect roughly 18.4 lb of lime per 100 sq ft, but only after a soil test confirms it.
What Kennebec needs, by plant
- Already in range: blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons.
- Just outside, test first: potatoes (off by 0.1), blue hydrangeas (off by 0.1).
- Lime: lawn (cool-season grass) 18.4 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; vegetable garden 18.4 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; tomatoes 18.4 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; strawberries 12.7 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications; roses 18.4 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; pink hydrangeas 15 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications.
What to do next
If your test confirms pH near 4.91, spread about 184 lb of ground limestone per 1,000 sq ft of vegetable bed in 4 doses, ideally in fall.
How mixed the soil is
Of the 538,088 surveyed acres in Kennebec, ME, 79% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 21% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5). Mapped soils run from pH 4 to 7.9, a spread of 3.9 units across 396 soil components. 79% of the land falls in one class, so the county figure is a fair first guess for most yards here.
Clay, organic matter and rates
Topsoil here averages 10% clay and 5.38% organic matter, which this site treats as clay. At 5.38% 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. None of the mapped components carry free carbonate.
Kennebec against the rest of Maine
pH 4.91 is right at the Maine median of 4.88. 9 of 16 Maine counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.
Closest in pH within the state: Knox (4.78), Aroostook (4.8), Hancock (4.88), York (4.88), Sagadahoc (4.92), Lincoln (4.93), Washington (4.93), Androscoggin (4.94).
The range in Maine runs from Piscataquis at 4.59 to Cumberland at 5.01; Kennebec sits 76% of the way up.