Soil Reading

Right, having carried out further checks, it seems that my soil DOES have a PH of around 8.0. My spuds last year had mixed results. My earlies(Arran Pilot) were a bit disappointing in terms of yield, whereas my maincrop (PFA) produced a very good yield. As for Rhubarb, this year will be the first cropping year, so I'll have to wait and see. One thing though, my beetroot were pretty miserable, unhealthy looking stunted leaves. An indication maybe ? Cheers...freddy.

 

BTW PeterS, I'm pretty much the only person actually 'growing' anything around here. Most are happy (it seems) to just have a few trees and grass in their garden, so not really a good indicator, I guess. Cheers...freddy.

 

Freddy
To raise the pH and lower acidity or sweeten the soil, we add lime.
To lower pH and increase acidity you can add sulphate of ammonia or urea which are high nitrogen fertilizers.
You can see that adding manure will also lower pH and make the soil more acid.
Itâ??s counter to what you expect, but adding loads of manure year after year will actually reduce soil fertility by making it too acid so the plants cannot access the nutrients. They become locked up.
Aim for a pH of 6.5-7
Kirsten,
Iron sulphate and epsom salts are usually added to neutral or slightly acidic soils, it helps to correct chlorosis it's not used to regulate pH.

 

Yup, thanks Walnut, I was just meaning that if growing acid loving plants on alkaline soil then using a sequester will provide chelated trace elements that the plants won't, otherwise, be able to extract from the soil. I agree ti won't make the soil more acid.

 

Hi again folks. Having noticed that some of the plants that I've planted in the 'cottage' area aren't looking as good as they should, I once again start to wonder about my PH level. As I said at the start of the thread, the reading (according to the kit) was around 8.0. Now then, here's the strange thing, my Camelia looks just fine, in fact very healthy looking indeed. I was considering getting an electronic PH meter, but having googled a bit, it seems they aren't all that accurate either. Is there a 'sure-fire' way to get an accurate reading ?
Cheers...freddy.

 

Hi chums. Well, that was interesting. Having yesterday bought myself one of those electronic testers (Gardman), I've just ran a few tests. At one end of my garden (cottage area) I got a reading of around 6.0. At the other end (veggie area), I got an average of 5.0 (lowest being 4.8). So, which reading do I trust ? I'm a bit inclined to go with this reading, as my Camelia is doing so well. Is this PH level ok for flowering annuals and shrubs etc in the 'cottage' area ? And is it ok for my veggie area ?
Cheers...freddy.

 

5.0 is blinking low!

A traditional vegetable rotation where you lime before the Brassica crop, and then have Roots, then Onions, then Peas/Beans and then Lime it again and back to Brassicas should help get the PH more neutral for vegetables.

I'm still sceptical that you are getting a) such a low reading [although I don;t know if soils THAT Acid routinely exist, or not] and b) that your previous test was fairly Alkaline (pH 8).

I'm not sure I would trust any of them ... but I don't have a real answer.

Send soil samples away for testing perhaps?

 

Hi Kristen. The one thing that kinda confused me was in the instructions, it said to add rainwater to the sample. I always thought rainwater is acidic With this in mind, I put the probe into my water butt, and the reading was neutral ( 7.0 ) Any thoughts ?

 

I'd stick it in tap water too (hopefully pH 7 too!), and maybe some Leon Juice too, and something alkaline if you have it? as a control

 

Hi Kristen. Pretty sure our tap water here is alkaline, although I don't know how much. What about distilled water ? Wouldn't that be neutral ?
Cheers...freddy.

 

Freddy, pH meters usually need the soil to be very moist when you do the test, and sometimes need about 30 seconds to get a good reading, as they are actually measuring an electrochemical reaction. They work on a similar principle to a car battery. The two probes are plated in slightly different metal, so when you stick them in a mix of disolved electrolyte (in the case of a car battery, sulphuric acid, in the case of a soil pH meter, soil mixed in water), an electric charge develops between the two metal probes. If the soil is not wet at the point where you test it, there is no little or no electrical conductivity between the two metal probes, so no charge can build up, much like your car battery would fail if you drained all the acid out of it.

So that's the science, in summary at least. In practical terms that means you should wet the soil at the point you intend to stick the probe, leave it a minute or so, stick your probe in, and give it about 30 seconds.

Also, and this is essential, the two metal probes need to be immaculately clean if you hope to get an accurate reading. Remember you are testing the strength of a chemical reaction that takes place when you stick two dissimilar metals into a solution. If those two dissimilar metals (the probe coatings) are contaminated, then it will throw the reading out.

 

Hi C1. All that you've pointed out I've done
Cheers....freddy.

 

"What about distilled water ? Wouldn't that be neutral"

Yes

 

Toothpaste is alkaline.