How can I handle acidic soil in the short term?

We're completing our first full year in our homestead.  Last year I used the garden beds left by the previous owners.  This year, I'm putting in new beds.  We're in southern Vermont, and we have very acidic soil - about 4.5.  So, what do I do?

I'm planning on adding 4 11' x11' keyhole beds, and some row beds. They may be raised beds.   I'll be adding about 8 cubic feet of super coarse vermiculite to each keyhole bed and comparable amounts to the row beds.  I'll be putting in as many acid loving veggies as seems reasonable.  But I'd like to plant veggies that don't deal well with such acidic soil.  I've heard using baking soda will help in the short term.  Is this a feasible thing to get us through this year?  Will buying soil to mix with the native soil help?  I've read that adding certain nutrients will overcome soil acidity.  Is this true?  

I'll container plant anything that really needs a neutral soil, but I'd like to raise the pH in a couple of the new beds if I can.  

And what is the best way, for soil health, to amend the beds come fall?

Any help and advice would be most appreciated.

Adding fresh wood ash (potash) is a traditional short-term fix. It is very basic (alkaline) and adds good nutrients like calcium and potassium as well.

Where would be a good source of wood ash?  

Grow tomatoes, beans, zuccini! I have had good results with my acidic clay growing those.

Diane Schips wrote:Where would be a good source of wood ash?  

I would just burn clean woody debris and put the ash on the gardens right away. Forestry cleanup operations may be an option. Or a neighbour with a wood stove. I'm always leery of campgrounds because people burn all sorts of nasty stuff in the fire pits.

Lean into it with blueberries and potatoes first. Biochar, wood ash, and oyster shell and bacterially dominant compost can bring pH up where needed. Aiding drainage with deep forking and deep rooting cover crops (like daikon or buckwheat) will help alleviate water logging that leads to acidity as well. Many mulches have gotten a reputation for being acidic but are actually in the 6-6.8 range, like pine needles and coffee grounds.

Douglas mentioned calcium and potassium.

Bonemeal and ground egg shells are good sources of calcium.

Compost made from vegetable scraps is a good potassium source.

I've read that wood ash can burn the roots?  I wouldn't be able to use it now?

I plan on growing veggies that grow well in acidic soil, but I don't want to be limited to them.  So I'm trying to figure out my options.

powdered dolomite lime per the directions will fix it pretty quick. costs very little to do alot.

Woodstove....since I heat with wood I get all I need for the garden and then the hilly ice drive first part of winter....

One thing to look at when managing pH is your calcium:magnesium ratio. We have moderately acidic soils here in my soil, but an excess of magnesium. Therefore I avoid dolomite, which has both calcium and magnesium in abundance. I go with oyster shell instead.

Ben Zumeta wrote:One thing to look at when managing pH is your calcium:magnesium ratio. We have moderately acidic soils here in my soil, but an excess of magnesium. Therefore I avoid dolomite, which has both calcium and magnesium in abundance. I go with oyster shell instead.

Ben, did you pay for soil testing to determine this? I'm wondering if it's worth it. (My soil tends toward alkaline, so a different problem from the OP. But my root veg production indicates something is out of kilter, and I don't know what.)

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Ben Zumeta wrote:One thing to look at when managing pH is your calcium:magnesium ratio. We have moderately acidic soils here in my soil, but an excess of magnesium. Therefore I avoid dolomite, which has both calcium and magnesium in abundance. I go with oyster shell instead.

Ben, did you pay for soil testing to determine this? I'm wondering if it's worth it. (My soil tends toward alkaline, so a different problem from the OP. But my root veg production indicates something is out of kilter, and I don't know what.)

This Cal:Mag imbalance is pretty much regionally ubiquitous in our mineral soils according to geologist and gardening friends. We had an extensive soil test and the info from a forestry survey from the seller in 2019. This is also born out in the weed profile and how plants respond to organic nutrient and mineral additions to top dressings and compost teas. I aim for lots of calcium (oyster shell, fish bone meal, shredded dandelion and dock), and minimal magnesium. I am moving away from any bagged additives, but I think some concentrated calcium can be worth it (wear a dust mask and eye protection!).