Testing
your soil pH is crucial if you want to avoid losses. Your soil
pH is key to understanding if essential nutrients will be available to the
roots of your plants. Plants can only access these nutrients if the soil pH is
within a certain range. If it isn’t, your crops will never make it no matter
how much fertilizer you add. Let’s go back to school for those that don’t know
what pH is.
What exactly is Soil pH?
pH is short for “potentia hydrogenii” –
the power of hydrogen. It is a measure of the number of hydrogen ions present
in a substance. For a farmer, pH is a measure of how alkaline (sweet) or acidic
(sour) something is. In this case, you should use it to test our soil. However,
the pH of the water you use or the pH of rain water can also affect the quality
of your soil.
The pH measurement is a logarithmic
scale that goes from 1 to 14 with a measurement less than 7 being acidic, 7
neutral, and a measurement higher than 7 alkaline. Because it is a logarithmic
scale, each value increases by a factor of 10. For example, 9 is 10 times more
alkaline than 8 and 4 is 10 times more acidic than 5. Pure water usually
measures a neutral 7 and cow’s milk slightly acidic at 6.5. Both tomatoes and
Mosi measure 4.5. Stomach acid is 2.0 and lemons are very acidic at 2.5. Sodium
bicarbonate measures 8.4, lime comes in at 12 and ammonia is about 11.1.
As you can see, acidity or alkalinity
all depend on what the substance is interacting with. In fact, most plants
adapt to any soil pH in the range of 6.0 to 7.5, while some plants prefer distinct
soil types.
Weeds can even give you a clue about
the pH of Your Soil
Weed plantain and dandelions increase
rapidly in number in acidic soil. Queen Anne’s Lace, Chickweed and chicory
prefer alkaline soil. It’s important to first know what you will be growing,
before changing the pH of your soil. Here’s a simple test you can do on your
own.
DIY Soil pH Test
Alkalinity Test
1.
Take a soil sample from 10 to 15cm below the surface of
your soil. If you have small field, try to mix soil from at least 3 different
spots. If your field is large, it’s best to separately test several samples.
2.
Remove any sticks, stones, or other foreign items and
break up any large clumps of soil.
3.
Place 1 cup of soil into a clean, glass container and
mix it with water to turn it into mud.
4.
Then, add a ½ cup of vinegar and slightly stir.
If the soil foams, fizzes or bubbles,
then your soil is alkaline. If it doesn’t, test it for acidity.
Acidity Test
1.
Take a soil sample from 10 to 15cm below the surface of
your soil. Do not use the same soil you did an alkaline test on.
2.
Remove any sticks, stones, or other foreign items and
break up any large clumps of soil.
3.
Place 1 cup of soil into a clean, glass container and
mix it with water to turn it into mud.
4.
Add a ½ cup of baking soda and stir.
If the soil foams, fizzles or bubbles,
then your soil is acidic. If neither of the tests produce much of an effect,
your soil probably has a neutral pH.
These tests can help you determine the
pH of your soil. However, for a precise measurement, you will need to either
send a soil sample out to a lab for testing or buy a pH soil testing kit. Check
with your seed supplier for soil testing kits.
You can make acidic soil neutral by
adding lime
and you can correct alkaline soil by adding sulfur. The quantity all depends on
the actual correction needed, and this is where you need an accurate test.
by
Kingsley Kachenjela
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