Soil pH in Madison, GA: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in Madison, GA

Typical topsoil in Madison, GA is pH 5.53, too acidic for vegetable garden. Expect roughly 7 lb of lime per 100 sq ft, but only after a soil test confirms it.

What Madison needs, by plant

• Already in range: potatoes, strawberries, azaleas and rhododendrons.
• Just outside, test first: blueberries (off by 0), blue hydrangeas (off by 0).
• Lime: lawn (cool-season grass) 7 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; vegetable garden 7 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; tomatoes 7 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; roses 7 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; pink hydrangeas 4.9 lb/100 sq ft.

What to do next

If your test confirms pH near 5.53, spread about 70 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 178,282 surveyed acres in Madison, GA, 98% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5), 3% are strongly acidic (below 5.5). Mapped soils run from pH 4.6 to 6.2, a spread of 1.6 units across 43 soil components. 98% 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 17% clay and 1.24% organic matter, which this site treats as loam. Moving it one pH unit takes about 7 lb of lime or 2.3 lb of sulfur per 100 sq ft. None of the mapped components carry free carbonate.

Madison against the rest of Georgia

pH 5.53 is 0.2 above the Georgia median of 5.33. 151 of 159 Georgia counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Jackson (5.52), Barrow (5.53), Glynn (5.53), Jasper (5.53), Henry (5.54), Cobb (5.58), Franklin (5.58), Elbert (5.68).

The range in Georgia runs from Clinch at 4.64 to Elbert at 5.68; Madison sits 86% of the way up.