Soil pH in McDowell, NC: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in McDowell, NC

Typical topsoil in McDowell, NC is pH 5.12, too acidic for vegetable garden. Expect roughly 9.8 lb of lime per 100 sq ft, but only after a soil test confirms it.

What McDowell needs, by plant

• Already in range: potatoes, blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons, blue hydrangeas.
• Lime: lawn (cool-season grass) 9.8 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; vegetable garden 9.8 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; tomatoes 9.8 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; strawberries 6.3 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; roses 9.8 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications; pink hydrangeas 7.7 lb/100 sq ft over 2 applications.

What to do next

If your test confirms pH near 5.12, spread about 98 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 257,435 surveyed acres in McDowell, NC, 89% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 9% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5), 2% are near neutral (6.5-7.3). Mapped soils run from pH 4.5 to 6.5, a spread of 2 units across 125 soil components. 89% 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 15.8% clay and 3.88% 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.

McDowell against the rest of North Carolina

pH 5.12 is right at the North Carolina median of 5.16. 45 of 100 North Carolina counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Nash (5.11), Scotland (5.11), Stanly (5.11), Yancey (5.11), Dare (5.13), Macon (5.13), Harnett (5.15), Hoke (5.15).

The range in North Carolina runs from Swain at 4.56 to Davie at 5.9; McDowell sits 42% of the way up.