What is acidic soil and alkaline soil

A chart showing the various colours with the appropriate pH number alongside is included in the kit. The liquid in the tube must, of course, be matched as closely as possible with one of these colours in order to ascertain the pH of your soil. Cabbages and wallflowers suffer far less from club root disease that causes the roots to swell and the plants to become stunted if grown in a limey soil. Another interesting fact is that hydrangeas produce blue flowers in an acid soil, but pink blooms in alkaline conditions.

To lower the pH of a soil reduce its alkalinity you can incorporate heavy dressings of peat, leaf mould, well-rotted manure or garden compost each year. In chalky or limey areas it is probably inadvisable to use tap water for pot plants as the water will be alkaline and could result in chlorosis.

Instead try to use rainwater collected from a greenhouse or garage roof or the water obtained from the defrosting of the fridge or freezer as this will be soft or acid. To raise the lime content of an acid soil, treat it with a dressing of hydrated lime or ground chalk. Usually this application is made in the winter after you have finished digging over the garden. Allow the lime to lie on the surface over the winter and then fork it in in the spring.

Do not apply manure and lime in the same winter as they interact unfavourably. On heavy or clay soils apply lime more generously - as much as g per sq.

Studies done on the effects of coffee grounds in the garden show they temporarily contribute to the acidity of the soil when applied directly to a certain spot, but the effect wears off. Including coffee grounds in your composting menu is always a good choice, however, and it will certainly add to the soil and keep that good stuff out of needlessly sitting in landfills.

You might be thinking, sheesh, lady! Well, as an organic, off-grid gardener, I always hope to give my biggest recommendations to materials that are locally sourced, easy to obtain with a bit of your own elbow grease, and not dependent on things outside your control. Thankfully, natural materials for gently and thoroughly acidifying your soil are easy to find. The process takes time, as any soil-building endeavor does, but these materials will build up the soil with long-lasting effects and real change.

Leaf mold is a great place to start, particularly if you have access to oak trees. Leaf mold is even easier than compost — just pile up as many leaves as you can get your hands on in a compost bin or ring of old wire fencing, get the whole thing wet, and let it sit for two years or so.

Your tiny-scale model of a forest floor will get chewed up by bugs, worms, bacteria, and fungi, and transformed into a wonderfully crumbly, light-to the touch, brown material that is excellent for mulching around your plants, or layering on the garden between plantings.

Pine needles are also another good material to use as mulch. This difference is because the decades of fallen pine needles have changed the pH and composition of the soil below the evergreens. Collect that good material from under pine trees to bring that effect to your acidified-garden-to-be. If you have access to wood chips or have signed up for a free motherload of them from ChipDrop , they can also be employed in your arsenal of natural materials for changing the soil.

You may have read warnings in gardening books about using wood chips and sawdust in the garden because they contain acids that affect the soil. In this case, we can obviously use that to our advantage. You should keep in mind, however, that these materials can remove nitrogen from the soil as they decompose.

Pairing them with a hearty dose of compost may be the best route for keeping your soil nourished while it undergoes its pHersonality change. I know that these three ideas are slow going, but when it comes to building up great soil, the time invested is worth it. Wait for the solution to change colors. If the liquid turns pink, it means your soil is acidic. Bluish green liquid means your soil is alkaline. The more drastic the color change, the more extreme the pH value.

A slightly pink liquid means your soil has a healthy pH range. Soil pH strips are simple to use, cheap, and deliver a much more useful result. While vinegar and baking soda can tell you whether soil is acidic or alkaline, pH strips can give a more accurate representation of the pH of your soil. This is helpful if you garden consistently, or have recurring problems with your lawn and landscape.

While instructions will vary, most kits will have you mix enough water and soil together to make the texture of a milkshake. Then, dip a test strip into the mixture for about 30 seconds. Dip the strip in distilled water to clean off the mud, and look at the color to determine the pH value. Pinks and yellows indicate acidic soils, while greenish browns indicate alkaline soils. The colors will depend on the test strips, but you should be able to determine a numerical value for the pH range.

Meters are more common in commercial production when large amounts of tests are performed on a regular basis. Meters will need to be calibrated with a buffing solution before use, and instructions vary widely depending on which meter you choose.

Results will be very accurate and can help you track progress if you are working on a long-term soil improvement plan. Most local extension offices offer simple soil testing services. If you plan on growing plants for a hobby business, or if you are battling difficult soil conditions, ask your local agent how to get a soil analysis. You will likely need to take your own soil samples from multiples locations on your property, and send them into a local university for testing.

This analysis will give you an in-depth report on your soil, including pH, available nutrients, organic matter, and structure. Alkaline soil will have many negative characteristics, but the solution for all of them is the addition of organic matter. Over time, compost will act as a conditioner that lessens the effects of alkaline soil, and improves nutrient availability and enzyme activity. The downside is that you will need a lot of compost. A large influx of organic matter can actually lower the availability of nitrogen in the soil, so while soil conditions will improve, you may see signs of nitrogen deficiency for a few months after application.

Compost also provides the ideal habitat for soil microorganisms, which help improve all aspects of soil life. Elemental sulfur and ammonium sulfate can also lower pH, but this will have a drastic effect on pH values.

If you are battling extremely alkaline soils, sulfuric amendments will dramatically lower the pH value over the course of a year. However, with this drastic change comes the potential for doing serious damage. Without the proper application rate, too much sulfur will cause extremely acidic soils that are in worse condition than the original soil profile.

Sulfuric amendments are best used in conjunction with a local expert who can read a soil analysis and recommend a specific application rate for your soil. Both compost and sulfuric amendments can be used together to improve alkaline soils. Compost will act as a buffer that helps create a healthier overall soil structure, while amendments can help to make your soil immediately able to grow plants that would suffer in alkaline conditions.

Pine needles, coffee grounds, and peat moss can also lower pH, but are best suited for mulching small areas at the base of established plants. These materials are effective at lowering pH, but difficult to use on a large scale.

Instead, use these materials sparingly and as they become available. Dump your used morning coffee grounds around the base of a tree, rake up pine needles and mix them into your compost pile, and incorporate peat moss into your mulch for a mild pH reduction. Most plants prefer slightly acidic soil, so while few thrive in alkaline conditions, many will tolerate them. Trees are incredibly resilient, and many tolerate a wide variety of soil conditions. However, if you are installing a new landscape on alkaline soil, there are some trees that will perform better than others:.

There are many shrubs that do well in alkaline soils, and many of the ones listed below have beautiful blooms and foliage to add interest to your landscape:. Perennials can be more picky about soil conditions, but there are still a wide variety that tolerate alkaline soils:.

Most prefer acidic soils, but there are still a few that will do well:. There are many other alkaline-tolerant plants, but it is best to visit a local nursery to see which plants will do well in your climate zone as well as soil conditions. Alkaline soil is a difficult challenge, but it can be managed with consistent applications of compost and by installing plants that tolerate a high pH value.

Soils with a high pH also have issues with compaction, overwatering, and nutrient deficiencies. Read our articles on soil management for more advice on managing difficult soil profiles.

Almost all soil problems can be fixed with the addition of compost.