Soil pH in Sullivan, NY: Lime or Sulfur?

Typical topsoil pH in Sullivan, NY

Typical topsoil in Sullivan, NY is pH 5.11, too acidic for vegetable garden. Expect roughly 16.1 lb of lime per 100 sq ft, but only after a soil test confirms it.

What Sullivan needs, by plant

• Already in range: potatoes, blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons, blue hydrangeas.
• Lime: lawn (cool-season grass) 16.1 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; vegetable garden 16.1 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; tomatoes 16.1 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; strawberries 10.4 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications; roses 16.1 lb/100 sq ft over 4 applications; pink hydrangeas 12.7 lb/100 sq ft over 3 applications.

What to do next

If your test confirms pH near 5.11, spread about 161 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 521,103 surveyed acres in Sullivan, NY, 80% are strongly acidic (below 5.5), 20% are moderately acidic (5.5-6.5). Mapped soils run from pH 4.4 to 6.6, a spread of 2.2 units across 206 soil components. 80% 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 13.2% clay and 5.87% organic matter, which this site treats as clay. At 5.87% 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. 0% of mapped components carry free carbonate (lime already in the ground).

Sullivan against the rest of New York

pH 5.11 is 0.66 below the New York median of 5.77. 7 of 62 New York counties have more acidic topsoil. Nationally it is more acidic than the US county median of 6.05.

Closest in pH within the state: Suffolk (4.85), Putnam (4.94), Lewis (5.01), Westchester (5.05), Herkimer (5.14), Warren (5.15), Fulton (5.17), Nassau (5.19).

The range in New York runs from Hamilton at 4.72 to Kings at 7.15; Sullivan sits 16% of the way up.