What's new

Sulfur Application Rates

ThePhiloStoned

ThePhiloStoned

Member
Anybody got any idea what the application rates are for sulfur as a soil acidifier? Could even be one of the common ones on Walmart's shelf (Espoma, Jobe) I've just never used one before and I know I'm going to need to lower the pH after I mix this next batch of soil & test it...none of the instructions really explain the rates per gallon of soil, etc. just shit like a tablespoon at the base of a plant or so much for this amount of land your broadcasting on.
 
M

MindEater

Member
Sorry I can't help I've always just used peat as a base, but I do share in your frustration. Everyone seems to have manager level knowledge about growing but zero actual on hands applicable data. Practically everything I've ever had to mix or weigh since building artificial soils has taken huge amounts of guesswork.


Someone needs to invent a calculator app for soil building. Closest thing we got:
https://garden.org/nga/calculators/index.php
 
T

Teddybrae

Yes, very frustrating ...

The thing is: a different amount of S is required relative to the Alkalinity of your soil. Until you know what your pH is ... you can't have any idea how much of anything to add.

Your strategy of mixing soil then correcting the pH with S is not practical because S requires a fair amount of time to combine with the soil. Like close to a year.

If you want to acidify soil then use Iron (Oh fuckit my memory! Last evenings cookie is doing it's Bodhisatva thing ...) Chloride. WTF!? You'll probably find it in the gardening section.

So what's making your soil so alkaline? Can't you just reduce your use of that ingredient instead of adding what I see to be a needless complication.

But good luck anyway ...
 
h.h.

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-an-acre-furrow-slice-of-soil

One acre x 6.7” deep = one acre furrow slice
( 6.7” = 0.56’)

43,560’cu. x 0.56’ = 24,393.6’ sq. = 1 AFC

Ex. 10 lbs/ acre
10/24,393.6 = 0.000409943592 pound per cubic foot = 0.186 grams per cubic foot

1 teaspoon of sulfur = about 4 grams.
4 grams should treat 21.5053763 cubic feet in this example.

Per sq. Foot. 1’ x 1’ x 0.56’ = 0.56 cubic feet
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Yea. Applying and testing doesn't really work well. Sulfur is usually used in field applications. I have never really seen anyone mix a batch of potting soil that they knew was going to need it ( except dank frank) I have only seen people trying to correct old potting soil that they made a mistake with. And even then very rarely. Usually i see people add peat or fir bark. It's usually when u have no other option. ( like real farmers fields). They can't just add enough peat to make a dent.
 
h.h.

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
I’ve personally never used sulphur in potting soil. I did try gypsum but have abandoned the practice.
 
T

Teddybrae

Now someone has noticed the Elephant in the room!

I think something must have happened to ThePhiloStoned soil mix. If he's made the same mistake as myself in the past ... he has applied too much Lime, Dolomite or Wood Ash, and this is very difficult to remedy.


In fact I have never remedied too much Alkalinity ... rather I have had to start a new mix.

Grapefruitroop said:
Maybe a stupid question but....
Why da hell do you need to acidify your soil? what happened to it?
Click to expand...
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
Ask dank frank. He uses sulfur in his mix on purpose. He uses a ton of lime for ca and mag, and uses sulfur to balance it. Seems cockeyed to me but he makes it work and grows nice weed.

Wood ash is pretty damn alkaline.

I bet he can help u.
 
ThePhiloStoned

ThePhiloStoned

Member
Addressing the Elephant-In-The-Room: I'm using a KiS Organics Nutrient Pack which is designed for use with peat, which I don't like to use (personal reasons), so I asked him if my base mix (coco:EWC:BioChar) would cause any issues I need to consider, and this conversation ensued:

me via email said:
Are there any considerations I need to make if I use Coco Coir instead of Peat Moss in your water-only soil recipe? For instance in other soils in the past I have added some oyster shell flour & gypsum along with the coco coir to release a bit more calcium over time.

P.S.: Will BioChar work well for my aeration in the recipe?
Click to expand...

Tad Hussey of KiS Organics said:
Yes, there would be some minor changes. I'd just watch the pH since you're starting from a higher point. I might use some Ag sulfur in low doses and then wait before adding biochar to test pH since it is alkaline as well.
Click to expand...

me via email said:
Okay...so, since Coco, BioChar & Oyster Shell Flour all have a high pH I should mitigate that with Ag Sulfur a little at a time so I don't overshoot it?
Click to expand...
Tad Hussey of KiS Organics said:
Exactly.
Click to expand...
me via email said:
Sorry for so many questions, I just really wanna get this right the first time. So should I mix my base mix up, wet it & test the pH, apply proper amount of Age Sulfur & the nutrient pack, then wait a clue weeks for the soil to cook & the microbes to work the sulfur then test the pH again, to see if it needs more adjusting?
Click to expand...
Tad Hussey of KiS Organics said:
Yes, just don't get carried away with the sulfur. And we could adjust nutrient pack to lower some the pH slightly on our end too if you wanted.
Click to expand...

Now that the "elephant" was addressed...how should I proceed?
 
C

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I think u should pm dankfrank. I don't think you ever said what your PH is. If you already mixed it and you don't want to waste it, u have to sulfur it. It will take some for the sulfur to start breaking down to sulfuric acid. You could ph your water low with an acid like sulfuric acid in the mean time. You will hear people say that soil ph doesn't matter with organics. Root exudes yada yada. I personally want my soil neutral.
 
4

40degsouth

Well-known member
Hi everyone,
I like my soil to run at 6.5. I apply agricultural sulphur at one handful per 300 gallons, or 900 litres, every year. In fact l have just sulphured my beds to over winter and this should keep the soil within my desired range. The process takes a long time and is in no way a quick fix because it is actually the bacteria that live off the sulphur that produces the sulphuric acid and in turn, effects ph.
Like the majority of soil biology, these bacteria do better in warmer conditions therefore, as temperature increases, ph decreases.
Remember, the soil always wants to return to its original ph and my soil naturally runs at seven.
Keeping the soil at the correct ph is difficult and many factors need to be taken into consideration. Amendments can lower ph and as decomposition increases with temperature so to the ph can drop. Blood and bone is an example of this or non-composted material.
Other inputs that will drop ph are anything with a sulphate, such as sulphate of potash.
Something l like to do is to mix up a clay slurry, in water and water it through the beds. Here our clays are naturally acidic and high in nutrients such as calcium and magnesium. This locally sourced amendment also has large amounts of silica and will hold onto nutrients that are positively charged, or cations, due to the fact that it is negatively charged. This may be something for you to consider for your situation.
P.S. Remember that the ph scale is exponential, meaning that for every full point, drop or rise, it is ten times more, or less, acidic than the previous point.
Hope this helps,
Cheers 40
 
Last edited:
h.h.

h.h.

Active member
Veteran
ThePhiloStoned said:
Addressing the Elephant-In-The-Room: I'm using a KiS Organics Nutrient Pack which is designed for use with peat, which I don't like to use (personal reasons), so I asked him if my base mix (coco:EWC:BioChar) would cause any issues I need to consider, and this conversation ensued:





Now that the "elephant" was addressed...how should I proceed?
Click to expand...



Tad has put in a lot of time studying soil. It’s his mix. I’d take his advice.
 
ThePhiloStoned

ThePhiloStoned

Member
h.h. said:
Tad has put in a lot of time studying soil. It’s his mix. I’d take his advice.
Click to expand...

Thank you h.h for addressing the specifics...I think with Tad making mine more acidic to begin with & a little acidifier during the cook-phase it should turn out okay...and yes guys I know the microbes have to work it, that would be the point of adding it before the soil cooks, right?
 
conradino23

conradino23

Active member
Be careful with sulphur when running potted plants. I had a run when I decided to add MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) mainly to check how it influences production of terpenes and the final taste of the produce. I added half a tsp (around 2 grams I think) for 6/9L of soil and they got burnt badly. Cannabis is incredibly sulphur sensitive and you need to microdose this stuff. The produce wasn't at all bad, the taste had a very strong bottom and it carried strongly in the mouth, but I'd be probably better off adding half or even quarter of that.
 
ThePhiloStoned

ThePhiloStoned

Member
Thank you @conradino23 that gives me some idea of possible application rate, it's a 30-gal batch of soil, which is about 0.75-1.25 tsp. of MSM...I was always curious as to the effect on terps when I was told to use sulfur because I know how important it is for that biologically.
 
4

40degsouth

Well-known member
I’d hazard a guess that the point of adding it in the beginning is to , not only active it but to thoroughly mix it through the whole volume of soil along with any amendments.
Cheers,
40.
 
P

paradoxlost

Member
I run an orchard and we have 172 different desert variety trees. The pH of our soil is 7.8. I The trees are about 25 years old so they're pretty old and large. We have basins around the base of them and bublers with an irrigation system. The basins are maybe 3.5 feet in diameter. Probably closer to 3 for the most part. We added 209 grams per tree in them. And I definitely went a little heavy on the bigger plants too. We do this cause the iron in the soil just doesn't solubalize even though we use chelated iron. Idk, I'm not a fan of our system, but that is what we are doing. Not necessarily applicable to cannabis directly, but you can kinda see whats going on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top