Just found out my raised bed soil was all wrong for the last 3 years

I was at a local nursery in Decatur last weekend picking up some compost when the guy behind the counter asked what I was growing. I told him tomatoes and peppers, and he suggested I test my soil pH. I figured it was fine since everything was growing okay, but I bought a cheap test kit anyway. Turns out my soil was way too alkaline, around 7.8. Everything I read online said tomatoes need closer to 6.5. I had no idea that just using bagged garden soil from the big box store could throw things off that much. I added some sulfur and peat moss last Sunday, and I am curious if anyone else has seen a big difference after fixing their pH levels.

3 comments

3 Comments

luna_wright1mo ago

Oh man, did fixing the pH make a HUGE difference for me? I had the same problem with my raised beds last year - bagged soil from the home store left me at like 8.0 and my poor peppers were suffering. I added sulfur and kept testing every few weeks, and once I got it down to around 6.5, everything just EXPLODED. My tomatoes went from scraggly plants to huge, bushy things with way more fruit than before. It took about a month for the pH to really settle and stay where I wanted it, so don't worry if you don't see instant magic right away.

miller.emery1mo ago

So did you test the pH before adding anything or just guess?

wendy1311mo ago

Oof, right? I've totally been there too.