Best PH of soil for Growing apples

[nitro27]

Curious to know what is a good soil PH for growing apples. Mine is about 7.7, and from what I've read that might be to high?

 

[NE PA QDM]

interested to hear the responses. i sampled 5 sites from my property this year, just got the results today. pH ranges from 3.6-5.5, average is around 4. the 20 apple and pear trees i planted last year are growing REALLY well, so i'm interested to hear whether tons and tons of lime would really improve the growing. every time i check on them i'm amazed by the growth in the last 15 months. they went from 2' whips to 10'-12' tall trees. can anyone convince me that hauling tens of thousands of pounds into the woods and spreading it will improve my growth???

 

[Turkey Creek]

If you really want to know how your trees are doing do a vegetative analysis. Most Extension Services, Ag based Universities, and similar places can run the test. Basically you just pull a few leaves off and send them in like a soil sample. 6.0-6.5 is just the IDEAL pH certainly doesnt mean fruit trees cant grow well in that soil. Ph is important in that essential elements are tied up by the soil, they are more accessible to plants at a certain pH range. Some plants are more efficient at removing and using those elements than others.

 

[CrazyEd]

I'm growing in pure beach sand and my 3rd leaf trees probably put out about 2 dozen fruit total this year. This is the first year they fruited and they are just getting started from what I can tell. I expect the output to start increasing rapidly every year.

Sure, good soil definitely helps establish your trees faster, getting them fruiting faster, and they are probably generally healthier producing larger and higher quality fruit. But sometimes you just have to work with what you've got. I do add some quality backfill to my holes at time of planting, I do try to get some fertilizer to the young trees to get them putting on wood, and I do try to give them some lime annually.

 

[BJE80]

I try to put a bag of lime per tree on my apples each fall. How many apple trees do you have?

I'm growing in pure beach sand and my 3rd leaf trees probably put out about 2 dozen fruit total this year. This is the first year they fruited and they are just getting started from what I can tell. I expect the output to start increasing rapidly every year.

Sure, good soil definitely helps establish your trees faster, getting them fruiting faster, and they are probably generally healthier producing larger and higher quality fruit. But sometimes you just have to work with what you've got. I do add some quality backfill to my holes at time of planting, I do try to get some fertilizer to the young trees to get them putting on wood, and I do try to give them some lime annually.

Does simply spreading lime on top of the drip line make its way down to the root without being incorporated somehow? I used other backfill and lime mixed in when I planted this spring.

 

[BJE80]

On light, sandy soil...yes. On heavier soils, especially those with high clay contents it takes much longer to do so.

And that is what I have (about the heavist clay known to man). I'll keep putting down lime every year on top. It can't hurt.