Too much oyster shell flour a good or bad thing?

T

the aparition

Well-Known Member
I have a batch of soil that has been cooking since April/May (6 months or so) in a composter and I have had a hard time getting the ph up to 6.5. It usually reads between 5.9 - 6.1 with my bluelabs soil ph pen.

I have slowly added oyster shell to try to bring it up bit by bit but it has not really worked. Well Saturday I got frustrated and put the rest of the bag on it along with some minerals I felt was missing. The soil immediately took on a lighter shade and today when I opened the lid a layer of oyster shell immediately blew away in the wind.

My question is should I cut this soil with something before I try to use it? I am going to take another ph reading in a day or so to see what is happening, if anything.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Wood ash and bio char would both bring up ph.

At 6 you should be fine. Ph isn't ever an issue in organics. Just don't Topdress or water anything super concentrated that's not diluted. Like humic acid or citric acid. Or fulvic acid. If diluted they're fine. But not diluted enough can lower ph. Personally I never use those.

Definitely add some more worm castings. Make sure they're quality castings
 
T

the aparition

Well-Known Member
It was the 20lb bag into about 50 gallons of soil. Enough soil to fill up kiddie pool.

I'm going to go the worm casting route to dilute.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
the aparition said:
It was the 20lb bag into about 50 gallons of soil. Enough soil to fill up kiddie pool.

I'm going to go the worm casting route to dilute.
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You don't dilute worm castings. I was just referring to concentrates that are acidic.

Mixing and top dressing worm castings and watering them in is all that has to be done.
 
T

the aparition

Well-Known Member
hyroot said:
You don't dilute worm castings. I was just referring to concentrates that are acidic.

Mixing and top dressing worm castings and watering them in is all that has to be done.
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So are you saying the oyster shell can be acidic in high concentrations? Would it hurt to add more worm castings?

I plan on checking the ph in a day or so to see if anything has changed.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
the aparition said:
So are you saying the oyster shell can be acidic in high concentrations? Would it hurt to add more worm castings?

I plan on checking the ph in a day or so to see if anything has changed.
Click to expand...

Oyster shell flour naturally regulates ph.

Keep in mind everything these amendments do. They have to break down first in order to be readily available to the plant and soil. Which takes time. The ph in cooking soil won't adjusted over night by just adding something. You have to wait a couple weeks at least to see any effect.

I wouldn't even bothor with checking ph.

I never check my ph. I've only had one ph issue ever. That was using some shieyt humic acid. I haven't used any humic acid since. I get enough humus from compost and worm castings.
 
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greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
the aparition said:
So are you saying the oyster shell can be acidic in high concentrations? Would it hurt to add more worm castings?

I plan on checking the ph in a day or so to see if anything has changed.
Click to expand...
No, the oyster shell doesn't make your soil acidic.
Adding more castings may or may not be good depending on your aeration.
If you are truly afraid of your soils content, you could simply "dilute" it by adding an equal amount of a bagged soil.
20lbs is a LOT of oyster flour though.
for 50 gallons
 
Organja

Organja

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
No, the oyster shell doesn't make your soil acidic.
Adding more castings may or may not be good depending on your aeration.
If you are truly afraid of your soils content, you could simply "dilute" it by adding an equal amount of a bagged soil.
20lbs is a LOT of oyster flour though.
for 50 gallons
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What he said!
And again to repeat whoever said it, it will take time, weeks for you to see changes in your soil PH with the addition of oyster shell flour.
Cheers
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Organja said:
What he said!
And again to repeat whoever said it, it will take time, weeks for you to see changes in your soil PH with the addition of oyster shell flour.
Cheers
Click to expand...
I do think it's probably worth noting that I haven't checked any PH in decades.
Also if there is any doubt, you could simply plant another plant in the soil to see if its ok, I really doubt the ph is an issue.
Although it may be now... not sure...
that much calcium...
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
T

the aparition

Well-Known Member
Organja said:
What he said!
And again to repeat whoever said it, it will take time, weeks for you to see changes in your soil PH with the addition of oyster shell flour.
Cheers
Click to expand...
hyroot said:
Oyster shell flour naturally regulates ph.

Keep in mind everything these amendments do. They have to break down first in order to be readily available to the plant and soil. Which takes time. The ph in cooking soil won't adjusted over night by just adding something. You have to wait a couple weeks at least to see any effect.

I wouldn't even bothor with checking ph.

I never check my ph. I've only had one ph issue ever. That was using some shieyt humic acid. I haven't used any humic acid since. I get enough humus from compost and worm castings.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, I will give it time. Thank you very much for taking the time to explain and offer solutions.
 
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