ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Home & Garden

Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden

Author : Francis Kilkelly
As you may have observed from your gardening experiences plants can be fussy things. The right location, amount of sunlight and 101 other factors influence your plant's growing ability. One factor which is very beneficial in understanding before putting that new plant into the earth is soil pH.



What is Soil pH?



Let's get all scientific for a moment and learn what pH is. In chemistry pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a solution is. Okay chemistry lesson over. Basically soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. Soil pH is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. 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 of greater than 7 then you have alkaline soil. A pH value of 7 is neutral, meaning you have neither acidic or 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 recommended soil pH value range. The reason for this is that soil pH effects the availability of nutrients within the soil and plants have different nutrient needs. For example the nutrient nitrogen, a very important plant nutrient, is readily available in soil when the pH value is above 5.5. Similarily the nutrient phosphorous is available when the pH value is between 6 and 7. If a plant is placed into the wrong kind of soil it will be lacking in nutrients that it needs which will promote disease. In general the best pH value range for soil is approximately 6 or 7 as this is the range in which most nutrients can be readily available.



Finding Out pH of Soil



Finding out the pH of soil is usually a trivial matter and the kits to do so should be available at most good garden centres. Usually a pH testing kit will include a small container / test tube, testing solution and a color chart. A sample of soil is taken from your garden, placed into the container / test tube and a few drops of testing solution are added. The container is then shaken and left for a certain period of time. The color of the sample in the container is then compared against the color chart to determine the pH value of the soil. Note that if you want to determine the soil pH of an large area it may be a good idea to take soil samples from many different locations, combine the samples and then perform the test on the combined sample.



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



How to Make Soil More Alkaline (Increase pH)



If your soil is acidic or slightly acidic you can take steps to make it more alkaline to accommodate the plants you want to put there. You can make your soil more alkaline (increase its pH value) by adding a form of lime. Lime is a compound of calcium or calcium and magnesium. It is usually applied in the form of ground agricultural limestone, burnt lime or hydrated lime (slaked lime). The smaller the limestone particles then the quicker your soil will become more alkaline. For this reason hydrated lime will offer the quickest performance because it is slightly soluble in water so it can permeate the soil quicker 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 soil acidity.



How to Make Soil More Acidic (Decrease pH)



Some ornamental plants and fruit plants like blueberries require an acidic soil. To make your soil more acidic (decrease its pH value) you can use either aluminium sulphate or sulphur. Aluminium sulphate is the quickest acting as it will increase the acidity as soon as it dissolves into the soil. The downsides are though that its effects can be short term and it is possible to over-apply it.



The more recommended but slower way to increase your soil pH is to use sulphur. Sulphur converts to sulphuric acid with the help of bacteria in the soil but this takes time depending on factors like the presence of bacteria, texture of the soil and moisture levels. This could take months if conditions are not ideal.



Conclusion



Remember to always take into account soil pH when deciding what to plant in your soil. If you do not know what the pH of your soil is then test your soil and if needs be take steps mentioned earlier to change the pH value over time. Best of luck!


Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com





Francis Kilkelly runs a great gardening community at www.gardenstew.com/ containing forums and gardening blogs ( www.gardenstew.com/blogs.php ).
Original Article Location: www.gardenstew.com/blog/e3-9-soil-ph-and-its-effect-on-your-garden.html





Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze.
  2. Planting Roses - Tips And Ideas To Ensure Beautiful Results
  3. Helpful Ideas For Designing A Flower Garden
  4. Fertilizing Your Flowers And The Importance Of Choosing The Right Flower Food
  5. Choosing The Perfect Flowers For Summer
  6. The Best Flowers For Spring
  7. The Great History Of Roses
  8. How to choose your garden furniture and make it last
  9. Garden Leaf Blower Maintenance
  10. Garden Composting Tips- The Art of Composting
  11. Types Of Lawn Mower Batteries
  12. Mulching Benefits / Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types
  13. Soil Basics - Creating Fertile, Healthy Soil
  14. Everyone Needs A Spaghetti Garden
  15. Fall Planting
  16. Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden
  17. Caring For Christmas Trees
  18. It's Time To Select Your Snow Blower
  19. How to make your landscape look good.
  20. Introduction to bonsai tree growing: an overview
  21. How to Grow Wildflowers
  22. Make Your Fresh Cut Roses Last Longer!
  23. Bonsai Soil And Additives
  24. Tips For Buying Lawn Tractors
  25. Gifts for the Gardener
More related feeds
Roses, Plants That Bring Color And Fun To Your Landscape
Roses will need some amount of balance in the soil. A PH level of anywhere between a 6 and 6.5 is going to be the best solution for your roses. The soil that has too much alkaline or too much acid is going to overwhelm the rose bush ...

Improving Your Soil
So before you reach for that miracle grow and deplete your soil further, put some elbow grease into your garden and improve the tilth of your soil and watch your flowers, fruits, and vegetables put forth a bountiful garden. ...

Atila Cangir - Complete Health Guide: Tips For Beautiful Garden
First decide the spot in your house for creating a garden this place should be able to get enough sunlight which is very essential for plants growth. Also the soil in that area should contain enough minerals which are very much needed ...

Communication is needed in all walks of life. This is the reason ...
A round waffle iron Artilce for Your Viewing Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden. As you may have observed from your gardening experiences plants can be fussy things. The right location, amount of sunlight and 101 other factors ...

Earthly Garden » Blog Archive » Growing Mâche (Lamb’s Ear)
In that case, pull the plant apart at its base into tufts of leaves. Mâche can harbor a lot of grit. Wash the pants in a sink with three changes of water before lifting the plants out to dry (on a towel of in a salad spinner). ...

Soil pH and its Effect on Your Garden
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 recommended soil pH value range. The reason for this is that soil pH effects the ...

» How to take care of your lawn Learning Is Free: Need an answer ...
The best idea would be to go for a soil test. With the help of a soil test, you will be able to find the levels of potassium, lime requirements, pH and phosphorus in your lawn. To find out the level of nitrogen, a soil test will not ...

Questions are meant to be answered. This is why we hope that all ...
Simply insert water in the reservoir and fill with your fave flower. Perfect for spotlighting single small blooms! Made in the USA. Price: 39.99 A Featured garden hilton inn Article Soil PH And Its Effect On Your Garden ...

Think About a 'Green' Spring - Organic Lawn Program | The Lawn ...
If the soil ph is too low or high, the grass will not be able to “unlock” certain nutrients from the soil anyway, so much of your fertilizer application will go unused. Secondly, aeration allows air and oxygen to get into the soil, ...

Antimicrobial Resistance: Compost and Antibiotic Resistance
Composting is great for lots of reasons...it is a cheap way of improving garden soil. It's a good way of getting rid of grass clippings and leaves. It encourages worms to come to your garden. It reduces the amount of waste sent to ...

 


 

2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved