Gardener's Guide to the Raised Garden Bed by Paul R. Wonning

Author:Paul R. Wonning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: journal, nutrients, compost, nutrients, irrigation, irrigation, soil
Publisher: Mossy Feet Books
Published: 2020-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

Soil PH Levels

The PH level of garden soil determines a plant's ability to absorb nutrients in the soil. Even if the soil has optimum levels of nutrients, if the soil's PH is too high or too low the plant's roots cannot absorb them. The PH scale is a tool gardeners and farmers use to measure the PH level, which is an indicator of the level of acidity or alkalinity in the soil. The scale ranges from 0 - 14 with 14 indicating an extremely alkaline soil and 1 indicating a severely acidic soil. A PH level of 7 indicates a soil with neutral PH. Most garden vegetables like a PH in the range of 6.5.

Measuring PH

Gardeners have a number of ways of measuring PH. Digital PH meters are available with probes that are inserted into the ground. The meter will indicate the PH level of your soil. Another method is to purchase a PH level kit that has test strips that will indicate the PH level by changing color. By matching the color of the strip to a guide included with the kit a gardener can determine the PH. If a soil lab tests the soil for nutrient levels, they will include a PH level in their results.

Correcting PH

If a PH test indicates that the soil is too acidic, lime or wood ashes can solve the problem. If the soil is too alkaline, sulfur is used to bring it down. Take care not to use sulfur that is sold as a fungicide for plants, as it is more expensive than that sold as a soil amendment. It helps to know the soil type when determining the amount of lime or sulfur to use. Clay soils will need more lime or sulfur than sandy soils will need to correct a PH imbalance. A way of testing soil types will be included later in this book. The soil sample gathered to test nutrient levels will work just fine for testing the PH. If you use a meter, you do not need to take a sample, these are just thrust into the ground and the meter indicates the PH level.

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