Soil pH and its effect on your garden

 Soil pH and its effect on your garden

As you may have observed from your gardening experiences, plants can be delicate things. The right location, the amount of sunlight, and 101 other factors influence your plant's ability to grow. One factor that is very beneficial to understand before putting that new plant in the ground is the pH of the soil.

What is soil pH?

pH scale indicator chart

Let's be scientists for a moment and learn what pH is. In chemistry, pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a solution is. Well, chemistry lesson is over. If your soil has a pH value of less than 7, then you have acidic soil. On the other hand, if your soil has a pH value greater than 7, then you have alkaline soil. A pH value of 7 is neutral, which means it has neither acidic nor alkaline soil.

The effect of soil pH on plants

Knowing the pH value of your soil before planting is very important as it has a direct influence on the health of the plant. Each plant has its own range of recommended soil pH values. For example, nutrient nitrogen, a very important plant nutrient, is readily available in the soil when the pH value is above 5.5. Similarly, the nutrient phosphorus is available when the pH value is between 6 and 7. If a plant is placed in the wrong type of soil, it will lack the nutrients it needs, which will promote disease. In general, the best range of pH values   for soil is around 6 or 7, as this is the range in which most nutrients can be readily available.

Discovering the pH of the soil

soil sampling chemical analysis pH

Finding out the pH of the soil is often a trivial matter, and kits to do so should be readily available at most good garden centers. Typically, a pH test kit will include a small container / test tube, test solution, and a color chart. A soil sample is taken from your garden, placed in the container / test tube, and a few drops of test solution are added. Then the container is shaken and left for a certain period of time. Then the color of the sample in the container is compared to the color chart to determine the pH value of the soil.

A quick way to find out the pH of an area is to see if there are house hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) growing in the area. If so, look at the color of your flowers. A soil pH of 6 or lower will produce blue flowers, while a soil pH of 6.8 or higher will produce pink flowers.

How to make the soil more alkaline (increase the pH)

gardener mixing dolomitic limestone powder

If your soil is acidic or slightly acidic, you can take steps to make it more alkaline to accommodate the plants you want to place there. You can make your soil more alkaline (increase its pH value) by adding a form of lime. The smaller the limestone particles, the faster the soil will become more alkaline. For this reason, hydrated lime will give the fastest performance because it is slightly soluble in water, so it can penetrate the soil faster and reduce acidity faster.

Increasing the pH of your soil is not an overnight process and it is best to allow 2-3 months to allow the lime to neutralize the acidity of the acidity of the soil.

How to make the soil more acidic (lower the pH)

Some ornamental and fruit plants like blueberries require acidic soil. To make your soil more acidic
(lower its pH value), you can use aluminum sulfate or sulfur. Aluminum sulfate is the fastest acting sulfate as it will increase acidity as soon as it dissolves in the soil. However, the disadvantages are that its effects can be short-term and it is possible to apply it in excess.

The most recommended but slowest way to increase soil pH is to use sulfur. Sulfur is converted to sulfuric acid with the help of bacteria in the soil, but this takes time depending on factors such as the presence of bacteria, soil texture, and moisture levels. This could take months if conditions are not ideal.

Conclution

Remember to always keep the soil pH in mind when deciding what to plant in your soil. If you don't know what the pH of your soil is, test your soil and, if necessary, take the steps mentioned above to change the pH value over time. Best of luck!