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This article was co-written by Andrew Carberry, MPH. Andrew Carberry has worked with school gardens and has been involved in the farm-to-school program since 2008. He is currently a Program Associate at Winrock International, specifically the Community Based Food Systems Team. copper.
There are 7 references cited in this article that you can view at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 5,897 times.
Some plants such as camellias, lupines, lilies and primroses are acid-loving. If your garden soil is not acidic enough or has been fertilized with too much lime, here are some methods to slightly increase soil acidity to help acid-loving plants grow well.
Steps
Test soil and water pH
- If you are in the United States, contact the nearest rural development office in the county. They will help you with basic soil tests including pH measurements for free or for a very small fee.
- Use a pH test strip. This method will only tell if the soil is acidic or alkaline, but it’s also a fun way to work with a variety of flowers, vegetables, and herbs.
- Use vinegar and baking soda to test the pH. This method is another rudimentary way to test whether the soil is acidic or alkaline. You will take about 1 cup of soil and divide it into two containers, then add vinegar on one side, baking soda and water on the other. Observe which side is bubbling. If the side adds effervescent vinegar, it means the soil is alkaline; If the baking soda is bubbling, the soil is acidic.
- Buy a home pH test kit. A home pH test kit will tell you the pH of your soil in numbers. This number is more informative than the “acidic” or “alkaline” results of the above methods.
- One way to deal with this problem is to use purified water. Pure water has a pH of 7, which is almost absolutely neutral. Using pure filtered water is an effective way, but soon you will find it very expensive.
- For example, if you have a pH of 8.5, the soil is slightly alkaline. You need to add some acidic material to the soil to reduce the alkalinity. A reading of 6.5 on the pH scale indicates slightly acidic soil. If you want to increase the acidity, you need to add acidic material to the soil.
- If you want more detailed information, you can calculate the pH on a logarithmic scale, which means that each degree increases in value 10 times. Thus, a pH of 8 would be 10 times more alkaline than pH 7, a pH of 8.5 would be 15 times more alkaline, and so on.
Increase the acidity in the soil
- Soil that is well drained and relatively loose will make it much easier to increase acidity. With this type of soil, you can use large quantities of organic compounds that increase acidity as they decompose.
- Clumped and compacted clay will make the process of increasing acidity much more difficult. Adding organic matter to this soil will only increase alkalinity, not decrease it.
- sphagnum peat moss
- Aged oak leaves
- Compost and manure
- Elemental sulfur helps increase soil acidity as bacteria convert the chemical into sulfuric acid. [4] X Research Source You will need about 1kg of elemental sulfur per 10 m2 of soil to lower the soil pH from 7 to 4.5. [5] X Research Sources
- Since elemental sulfur is slow acting, it’s best to add it to the soil about a year before planting for best results. [6] X Research Sources
- Add elemental sulfur to the soil, dig down about 15 cm.
- You may need up to 5 kg of ferrous sulfate per 10 square meter of soil to reduce the pH by one unit. [8] X Research Sources
- If you plan to add more than 5 kg of ferrous sulfate per 10 m2, you will have to divide it into two doses, 1 or 2 months apart to give the soil time to absorb the ferrous sulfate.
- Iron sulfate acts much faster than elemental sulfur. This chemical can reduce the pH significantly within 3-4 weeks instead of months. [9] X Research Source This means that ferrous sulfate has the added advantage of being available during the pre-planting season.
- Be careful when using ferrous sulfate. This chemical can stain clothes, sidewalks and yards. It is best to separate clothes with ferrous sulfate and wash them separately to avoid spreading to other items.
- Calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate should not be used as fertilizers, even if they do not contain ammonia. These fertilizers will actually increase the pH in the soil. [10] X Research Source
Maintain the right pH for plants
- Most vegetables and ornamental plants prefer mildly acidic environments between 6.5 and 6.8.
- Hydrangeas, rhododendrons and blueberries prefer a more acidic environment – around 5 -5.5.
Advice
- Sulfur Flower is a fine and pure sulfur powder. You can find this chemical at gardening centers or order it online.
- Iron salts are also useful; Soils that are too alkaline can “lock in” iron, preventing it from reaching plants that need it. You should also wait for the results of your first treatment before adding iron.
This article was co-written by Andrew Carberry, MPH. Andrew Carberry has worked with school gardens and has been involved in the farm-to-school program since 2008. He is currently a Program Associate at Winrock International, specifically the Community Based Food Systems Team. copper.
There are 7 references cited in this article that you can see at the bottom of the page.
This article has been viewed 5,897 times.
Some plants such as camellias, lupines, lilies and primroses are acid-loving. If your garden soil is not acidic enough or has been fertilized with too much lime, here are some methods to slightly increase soil acidity to help acid-loving plants grow well.
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