Soil test results showing acidic soil and massive aluminum levels

[geraldclark]

I just received soil test results back from my area's university soil testing lab (pic attached) showing very low ph very high aluminum levels, which if I understand correctly are related - acidic soil leads to a higher availability of aluminum?

I'm hoping to correct the aluminum to levels that are tolerable to most plants while also bringing the ph up substantially.

Any thoughts/comments are welcome, but my main question is, what environmental factors are at play that have led to this acidic soil/high aluminum, and if I do venture down the road of correcting this by applying amendments, would it just revert back to the current state unless I constantly amend the soil? Really curious about the environmental mechanism here.

Note that the plot I've tested has been completely overgrown with weeds for years, at least 7 years, before I moved in. About 6 months ago I leveled everything above ground with a bobcat, then heavily tilled, surely leaving behing dead roots to decompose - any relationship?

[Rick]

Some soils are just naturally acidic. The ground around where I live happens to be very acidic and it's heck to keep healthy trees like birch. You should have received recommendations for the type of soil amendments needed for your plot along with your test results. Only your local soil conservation office or county extension office can tell you what particular factors are at play and whether or not this is a long term condition or not. Every place is different and even just a mile down the road can be significantly different so the best resource would be one of the offices I mentioned.

Amending the soil is your first step. Then monitoring the soil conditions by period testing will tell you whether or not you need to continue to amend it. I know that's not what you wanted to hear but that's what all of us, even farmers, have to do.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Your local friendly County Extension Agent can tell you more than you will want to know about this stuff....


Alan

[Fixit]

The adding of like to raise on per your county extension agent is a short term fix that will be a yearly expense. For long term fix you will want to go to an organic gardening forum . It will depend on soil types as to the solution.
That said expect to hear about gypsum , adding organics matter,green manure crops and the raising then removal of certain plant that will mine the aluminum from the soil.

[Kay]

It is quite difficult to change the quality of the soil and it will not be possible to permanently solve the problem. You will need to constantly support, and this is time and money. If you fundamentally want to grow those plants for which such soil is not suitable, get ready for constant expenses on improving its quality. If not important, you can plant plants that are suitable for such soil. It is a good way to keep the area in order and not let the weeds clog it.

[Fixit]

Here is a group for you to post questions to.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/regenerativeagriculture/

[Dropship]

I just received soil test results back from my area's university soil testing lab (pic attached) showing very low ph very high aluminum levels, which if I understand correctly are related - acidic soil leads to a higher availability of aluminum?
I'm hoping to correct the aluminum to levels that are tolerable to most plants while also bringing the ph up substantially..

If you're planning to eat vegetables grown in aluminium, take care..

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[WolfVanZandt]

So, you'd better quit eating pickles.

Do you know of a large sample study...with controls? I keep seeing these studies of a few people with Altzheimer's where they find aluminum accumulation in their brains, but I haven't seen a study where they look at people without Altzheimer's. I bet they'll find the same aluminum there. Why?

Because pickles are popular and they're pickled with alum... potassium aluminum sulfate. And the Earth's crust is 8.7% aluminum and all that aluminum ends up in the clay that your drinking water percolates through. How much aluminum is in the water you drink?

Well, the standard maximum is 0.2 milligrams per liter. Atsa lotta aluminum.

I bet you all have lots of aluminum in your brains cause it accumulates and doesn't go away, so let's hope that the poor studies that have been done are, indeed, just poor studies.

Or quit eating pickles right now (!) and throw out the aluminum cookware, leave food in aluminum cans alone, and get an ionic exchange water purifier that's reputed to remove aluminum (or does it really, or is that just their sales pitch?)

[madmax]

I like pickles.

[madmax]

I don't want a pickle. I'd rather ride my motor- cicle.

[Rick]

Does this mean I have to get rid of my hat?

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[Dropship]

...Or quit eating pickles right now (!) and throw out the aluminum cookware, leave food in aluminum cans alone, and get an ionic exchange water purifier that's reputed to remove aluminum (or does it really, or is that just their sales pitch?)

It must be 20 years since i saw an item in a TV science prog that showed us microscope slides of Alz victims brains with aluminium flecks in them, so I decided there and then to play safe and switched to teflon-type coated cookware ever since..
I've heard people say that aluminium and tin cans are coated on the inside with an invisible layer of something to stop the food coming in contact with the can, but I'm still researching whether that's true.
Also, some cans have got a white coating on the inside, I'm looking into that too.

And consider this- suppose aluminium really did cause Alz, can we trust our governments to warn us, or are they staying quiet to protect the aluminium industry?

I've also heard that aluminium cookware is only dangerous if we accidentally scrape flecks off while we're stirring our food with metal forks and spoons, so perhaps we could keep that to a minimum by stirring with wooden or plastic forks/spoons.

As for aluminium in our tap water, I'm still researching that, as it differs depending on what part of the world we live in, but if it sounds bad i'll probably buy a purifier/filter, or switch to bottled water.

PS- On every can of food it says on the label something like- "After opening consume within 5 days. Transfer any uneaten amounts to another container".
I know that canned food lasts for years if unopened, so once we open the can it only lasts for days when the air gets to it, but I don't understand why it says transfer uneaten bits to another container?

[Rick]

It's because placing an opened can of food in the fridge causes the food to tasted canned. It affects the flavor since you can't get a good seal over the metal can with something like saran wrap.

[Dropship]

It's because placing an opened can of food in the fridge causes the food to tasted canned. It affects the flavor since you can't get a good seal over the metal can with something like saran wrap.

Thanks, i've never trusted cans anyway so I always transfer the uneaten contents to a glass jar with screw lid and put it in the fridge.
I don't know if it'll then keep for weeks or months, so I eat it within about a week to be on the safe side..