TOPIC: Is it worthwhile to lower pH if it is high?

I'm planting wild-simulated ginseng for the first time this fall. I have good indicator plants on the site. Quite a lot of maidenhair fern and wild ginger, and occasional white baneberry, bloodroot, bedstraw and a few others.

My soil test indicated 3595ppm calcium or about 7000lb/acre. I'm assuming calcium can't be too high. Can it? My only concern with the soil is that the pH is 7.1. Is it worth while to try to lower this with sulfur or aluminum sulfate? There are occasional limestone rock outcroppings and loose limestone rocks, and I'm assuming limestone bedrock. Will the soil be buffered, making any attempt at adjustment futile? Will the high pH cause problems with growth, or reduced pathogen resistance?

Ice
there are more important things to be concerned over than pH in wild simulated.
I have grown in 7.8,6.1,5.1,4.3,6.8,5.6 and 5.8. The 7.8 is the best with the largest growth / year and least disease. (I still replant in this spot with the same results.)Then comes the 5.6 and 5.8 for 2nd best.
I never understood this,I was concerned with all that soil analysis crap and amendments, draggin that stuff into the bush and speadin it was a pain.
Then I ran across a study by Bob Beyfuss were he asked diggers to collect samples of the soil in their best ginseng areas. He could not submit most samples because they were just leaves and duff.
He expanded his study from new york to maine, tenessee,new jersey and kentuck.
Anyway in a nut shell they found a correlation between calcium,magnesium of 10:1. Then he explains the workings of forest soil in ginseng favourable areas and calcium from tree sinks. That I think would best be explained by Bob himself, you should be able to get a copy of AMERICAN GINSENG PRODUCTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY,the 2000 conference proceedings at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene County 906 Greene County Office Building
Cairo, NY 12413.
THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE THAT IS INTERESTED IN GROWING GINSENG

Guy

I agree with Guy. The soil there is already growing the companion plants and should grow sang. What could you hope to do by adding something to the soil? Their must be hard maple present or yellow poplar which gave you nice high calcium rates. If you were able to lower the PH, how much might you alter the site to the negative rather then the positive? Sounds like a real nice spot. Good luck.

Thanks Guy and Diesel,

That's what I was hoping to hear. I'm just looking for some reassurance as it is my first time planting. The trees in the area are almost exclusively sugar maple. I'll be sure to track down Bob Beyfuss's study.

I'm just getting into this. I'm planning on having some maple trees to salt in the forest for the decades ahead. If anything for some good mulch on the beds that need it. I'm thinking beyond my life and for the generations ahead...being able to have a nice forest with good maples placed at just the right places.