Soil pH in Mecosta, MI: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in Mecosta, MI

Typical topsoil in Mecosta, MI is pH 6.04, already right for vegetable garden (6-7). Test before adding anything.

What Mecosta needs, by plant

• Already in range: lawn (cool-season grass), vegetable garden, strawberries, roses, pink hydrangeas.
• Just outside, test first: tomatoes (off by 0.2), potatoes (off by 0), azaleas and rhododendrons (off by 0).
• Sulfur: blueberries 1.2 lb/100 sq ft; blue hydrangeas 1 lb/100 sq ft.

What to do next

If your test lands near 6.04, you can skip lime and sulfur for lawn (cool-season grass), vegetable garden, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, roses, azaleas and rhododendrons, pink hydrangeas.

How mixed the soil is

Of the 331,699 surveyed acres in Mecosta, MI, 69% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5), 22% are near neutral (6.5-7.3), 8% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 1% are alkaline (above 7.3). Mapped soils run from pH 4.2 to 8.2, a spread of 4 units across 246 soil components. 69% 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 7.1% clay and 2.35% organic matter, which this site treats as sandy. Moving it one pH unit takes about 3 lb of lime or 1.2 lb of sulfur per 100 sq ft. 1% of mapped components carry free carbonate (lime already in the ground).

Mecosta against the rest of Michigan

pH 6.04 is right at the Michigan median of 6.04. 41 of 83 Michigan counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Dickinson (5.89), Allegan (5.92), Delta (5.92), Montcalm (5.98), Gladwin (6.05), Midland (6.05), Alpena (6.09), Cass (6.11).

The range in Michigan runs from Baraga at 4.72 to Huron at 7.03; Mecosta sits 57% of the way up.