Just think, once you have found that all the parts of your centipede grass lawn are getting discolored. Suddenly, you came to know that the issue is the high PH level of the soil. You may now wonder how to lower pH in centipede grass. Adding Sulfur works effectively, but you must know the usage and the right amount for better results.
Yes, excessive PH level on the soil is the reason for yellow burn, defective growth, iron need, etc. So, it’s crucial to lower the PH level in centipede grass to ensure enough nutrients and healthy growth.
That’s why we’ve discussed all the strategies here vividly to give you a clear concept of this.
How To Lower pH In Centipede Grass (Symptoms & Causes)
In general, centipede grasses do excellent in the soil that has a standard PH 5.5-6.0. This PH level will ensure the acidic balance in the soil. By this, your centipede lawn can absorb all the nutrients that it requires for healthy growth.
Somehow, if the lawn pH too high in which you’ve embedded the centipede grass, all of them get discolored/ yellowish. This high PH level is also responsible for root burns and excessive acidity in the soil. In scientific terms, these acts are called alkaline. There are some major signs your lawn is too alkaline, by which you can justify the lawn.
High PH Lawn Symptoms (for Centipede grasses)
- Losing color almost like a burnt yellowish
- Slow growth
- Unnecessary weeds are starting to grow over the lawn
- The soils become enable to drain rapidly
How to lower lawn pH Step By Step
To omit the high PH intensity on the lawn, you need to follow some instructions. The first and foremost thing is testing the Soil PH. So, how can you do that? Let us jump into the process without any delay.
Step 1: Testing The Soil PH
You can check the soil PH level with the help of any local garden center. They’ll justify the performance of your lawn in late summer while the growing season has begun. If tests suggest that your lawn is highly acidic or alkaline -meaning you won’t grow any centipede grass or most other plants also.
Hence, there are many soil testing kits available at the nurseries. Either you can take help from those kits or do a soil test by yourself. Just take a bowl and pour a small amount of soil into it.
Then add some distilled water for making a thick paste. Now, add some white vinegar to the bowl. You can use baking soda on this test instead of vinegar. Afterward, check the test result with the below chart.
| Symptoms After Put on the white vinegar | Results |
| If it Fizzes | the soil is alkaline |
| If it doesn’t fizz | the soil is acidic |
| No reactions | the soil is neutral |
| After Put On Baking Soda | Results |
| If it fizzes | The soil is acidic |
| If it doesn’t fizz | The soil is alkaline |
| No reactions | The soil is neutral |
Step 2: Adding Fertilizer & Lime
Adding fertilizer and lime into the soil will help to lower the pH level. The best fertilizer to lower pH is sulfur, sphagnum moss or compost, powdered lime, eggshells, ashes, etc. You can safely adjust this fertilizer or lime to fix the pH issues before planting. They are most probably less harmful to attach to the soil. The amount and advantages of those fertilizers will be given below in detail.
Sulfur
Adding sulfur for lawn pH balancing is well-known to fix those issues immediately. Again, sulfur has strong compatibility to lower the pH level and increase the plant root access. Sulfur also helps to format the plants’ tissue proteins and vitamins. Put them according to the needs of your lawn.
Powdered Or Ground Lime
Powdered or ground lime also does better to lower the pH balancing cases. Most of them are required to use when the soil pH is lower than 5. But powdered lime works faster than ground lime. Don’t add more than 50 pounds for 1000 square feet at a time. Adding inadequate lime into the soil may burn the grasses so badly.
Oyster Shells
Oyster shells are very effective in lowering the pH of the lawn hurriedly. Oyster shells/ powder has contained a large quantity of calcium carbonate, 1% phosphoric acid. So it will be able to increase the soil pH level over time.
Wood Ashes
Typically, wood ashes are also known as an alkane. When you dissolve the elements in water, their pH level varies up to 9 to 11. That’s why adding this sort of fertilizer to the soils has two distinct benefits.
- The ingredients are contained alkaline that is a good source to neutralize the soil acidity
- In addition to calcium minerals, it can refill the Ca(calcium) lost due to the decades of acid rain
Sphagnum Moss or Compost
Sphagnum moss or compost is required to be very acidic. So if you want to put them into the soil, try to add some sulfur to lower the pH. Rather than this, peat moss (especially Canadian peat moss) is very efficient in reducing soil pH.
Anyway, add the sulfur, aluminum sulfate, or ferrous sulfate if the soil is too acidic (with a pH of 5.5~6).
Step 3: Determine The Amounts
In terms of how to lower pH in soil successfully depends on adding them in the right amount. Lawn grasses naturally tolerate the pH level of around 5.5 and 7.5.
So you should add 20-50 (9-23 Kg) pounds of limes per 1000 (93 m²) square feet. It may vary for the highly acidic or heavy clay soils. For this, you may need to put 100lbs (46 kg) per one thousand squares.
But the overall recommendation is to apply 5 pounds per 1-thousand square feet. To understand more clearly, follow the below chart and add the lime according to the soil types.
- For Sandy loam soils, apply 5 pounds (2 kg) per square foot,
- For medium loam soils- 7 pounds or 3 kg
- For heavy clay soil – 8 pounds or 4 kg
Steps 4: Water Them Regularly
After putting the fertilizer or lime properly, water the soil as much as required; the best way is during the hot summer because proper light and water will help keep the soil pH on a correct norm.
Steps 5: Recheck The Soil pH
This step is very close to the first one. You can skip this asap. But recheck the soil to let you know whether it is suitable to plant the centipede grasses or not.
In most cases, it is almost prepared to plant them after adding the lime. So test the soil again to make sure the pH level is up to 5.5-6.0, which is ideal metering of centipede lawns. Or you can take help from the lawn pH level chart in this regard.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I lower the pH in my lawn?
To lower the pH level in the lawn, you can use different sorts of fertilizer or lime there. They contain adequate ingredients to keep the alkaline or acidic lawn low. Sulfur, phosphorus, and wood ashes are some main lines among them.
What is the best pH level for centipede grass?
The pH levels of centipede grasses are different from other turfgrasses. They require only a pH of 5.0-6.0. If the pH goes above this range, the iron deficiency will increase in the soil.
What is the fastest way to lower pH in soil?
The first and quickest way to lower soil pH is to add sufficient sulfur, aluminum sulfate, and sulfuric acid to it. Also, try to inquire about which causes the soil to face such a lower pH deficiency problem. Then add the right amount of fertilizer to it.
Conclusion
Lower the pH level to grow the healthy and nutritious centipede grass on the lawn is embracing. The more you take it easy, the more this job becomes handy for you.
The right fertilizer and lime will work to level the pH of the soil. Most of them help to fertilize the lawn as long as the roots of the grasses are too.
Besides, you may use the eggshells there that contain natural sulfur and phosphorus. So before you start the task on how to lower pH in centipede grass lawn, try to research this more. Or take help from our above information, either.
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Enamored with the world of golf Jack pursued a degree in Golf Course Management at THE Ohio State University. This career path allowed him to work on some of the highest profile golf courses in the country! Due to the pandemic, Jack began Inside The Yard as a side hustle that quickly became his main hustle. Since starting the company, Jack has relocated to a homestead in Central Arkansas where he and his wife raise cattle and two little girls.