how do you change your grass ph without new soil

How do you change the ph in your soile without haveing to rip up all your grass and soil and have to start new :

Are you trying to go up or go down?

I wanna take this moment to suggest folks look into our master gardener program.

My lawn company wants to use an application of lime this spring to help the lawn, which is full of weeds. I've heard quick release lime is used in the spring and isn't as good as slow release, which is used in the fall. What do you think?

elaine

It depends on your current pH.

I prefer the slower release stuff.

The soil ph changes constantly, during the day dependent on temp and moisture, because it influences how active the microbes are.  Feed the microbes (calcium) and they become more active and ph becomes more alkaline.  
Humates may be needed to keep the microbes alive and active also.  

Baking soda is cheap and quick and you don't need protective eye gear. You could also get a pair of geese. They keep it trimmed and fertilize it as they go.

If your soil is alkaline, you can lower the pH by spreading granular elemental sulphur across your grass. Spread 20 pounds of elemental sulphur per 1,000 square feet of lawn space using your garden spreader to lower soil pH by one point. Retest the soil after three months.

Ag Lime is really cheap. Calculate the appropriate amount.  A soil test can be useful if you don't know the ph.  Then, put on a moderate amount, and let it soak in, then wait and add more.  If you live in a really wet spring climate like mine, you can add the powdered stuff.  It's cheaper.  If you live in a cold, dry windy climate, like, say, Montana, it would be better to use the stuff that's pelletized.
John S
PDX OR

AngelinaGianna Maffeo wrote:Baking soda is cheap and quick and you don't need protective eye gear. You could also get a pair of geese. They keep it trimmed and fertilize it as they go.

Angelina, how do geese alter pH?

Brian
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Since I'm here and have geese, I'll guess at the answer to your question (not that I have tested my soil pre and post goose "processing" ).
Since birds all poop the same basic way, and geese graze and poop a lot - think feathered sheep or small feathered cows - large quantities of mostly processed vegetative matter with uric acid mixed in.
I'm betting she was referencing the uric acid as being the "lime" component in the goose equation.

And she's right. Goose poop is better than chicken poop because it's not as concentrated. There's a lot of it and geese will spread it as they go. It washes away in rain and, unless you have your geese confined and don't clean up after them, it's not that noxious. A good watering of some sort will wash it into the soil.

"Weeds" are just wildflowers, many of them pretty, edible, and medicinal.  Dandelions, for example, are such a cherry sight, nodding their golden heads and making boring suburban lawns look like  country meadows.  The young leaves are a good addition to salads; the long root is well-known as a diuretic, is full of minerals from deep in the earth (which means it doesn't compete for nutrients with shallower rooted plants like annuals and grass), and helps support both the liver and the kidneys.  It is also a good source of vitamin K.  The blossoms can be dipped into a light batter and deep fried, then rolled in cinnamon sugar, to make dandelion "donut holes".  A great idea to make the bouquet of dandelions your little one gave you into a treat for both of you!

Learn to love your weeds, not eliminate them❣️

Chemicals?  Nature doesn't use lawn chemicals, but creates a balance of organisms depending on the environmental conditions.  Since at my property the rabbits, deer, and other herbivores are kept low in number by local predators, I'm the one needing to manage those plant species in my outfield and house field (=lawn) that would like to take over everything.  It would be nice to have geese, sheep, or goats, but I'm unable to keep them.  The problem plants are usually invasive species such as thistles and other disturbed ground generalists in the fields and blackberry among the shrubbery.  I get some of my exercise by deadheading or cutting back troublesome plants to exhaustion (theirs not mine).  Most of these in the PNW are plants that are deeply tap rooted, so exhausting them by using up their reproductive energy through continued deadheading or forced regrowth usually works over time until they're easy to yank out without leaving a viable tap root or they just fade away.  Alternating close and high mowing might also work for eliminating some invasive species, as long as the time of year allows favored species like grasses to regrow faster than the weeds and out compete them.  Spring and Fall are good times for fast growth of many grasses, which are then less productive during the hot summer when some undesirable plants flourish.  C4 grasses, for instance Zoysia, are adapted to hot dry conditions and can do better than undesirable C3 plants during the summer.  With increasing unknowns about climate-changed weather, especially with drought and water shortages, it's going to be interesting to see the future of 'lawns' in any case.

If the lawn company suggested lime, I’m figuring you have acidic soil and they want to raise the ph to neutral. If you have a wood stove or fireplace, spreading wood ashes will also raise the ph.

PH is a old Bad habit.  Try the LaMotte method using the Morgan extracting solution soil test. Your looking for Limiting Factor, in the main 20 mineral elements for plants. Dr. Carrie Reams stated “All disease is the result of a mineral deficiency”.  
  Also Test your Plant’s Health in the field with refractometer which gives readings in BRIX, (a term popularized by Dr. Carey Reams) and Test Weight.  

Kristine Keeney wrote:Since I'm here and have geese, I'll guess at the answer to your question (not that I have tested my soil pre and post goose "processing" ).
Since birds all poop the same basic way, and geese graze and poop a lot - think feathered sheep or small feathered cows - large quantities of mostly processed vegetative matter with uric acid mixed in.
I'm betting she was referencing the uric acid as being the "lime" component in the goose equation.

And she's right. Goose poop is better than chicken poop because it's not as concentrated. There's a lot of it and geese will spread it as they go. It washes away in rain and, unless you have your geese confined and don't clean up after them, it's not that noxious. A good watering of some sort will wash it into the soil.

Two Questions:
- Since all the goose poops out comes in from the same spot so that there's no external alkalinity source, how does this increase soil pH?
- Isn't uric acid an acid, not a base?