Soil PH...An Important "Key" To Successful Gardening--In Plain English
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Article by: Fred Davis Soil ph is among the least understood and most universally ignored or abused "keys" to getting the kind of results that makes one gardener--and his or her gardening , How to Choose a Fountain Pump results--stand head and shoulders above all others. Just what is pH anyway? The term "pH" is nothing more than a way of expressing the amount of acidity or alkalinity in the soil. , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds A "sour" soil , Colour in the Garden is acidic to one degree or other, while "sweet" refers to an alkaline soil. , The Flower Drying Game - Part 1: Air, Sand, and Sources Most New England garden , Choosing ing Tools soils are, by nature, , Types of Annuals in the Garden - Tender, Hardy and Half-Hardy moderately to strongly acidic and must often be "adjusted" to encourage them to grow , How To Make Moss On Your Landscape Rocks And Garden Statues better crops and flowers. , How to Choose a Fountain Pump Deep woods , Cocoa Trees and blueberry barrens are usually very strongly acidic...that's how the plants , Cocoa Trees which grow , Chain Link Fences there like it. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14 (7 being neutral--neither acidic nor alkaline). Numbers smaller than 7 indicate acidic conditions and, as you might readily guess, those above 7 indicate alkaline conditions. Most vegetables, , Abatement Consideration and Issues in Rural America herbaceous perennials, , Colour in the Garden annuals, , Forest Tent Caterpillars field crops and fruits grow, , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 10) Nutrients produce, and look their best at a pH of between 6.5 and 7.0--slightly-acidic-to-neutral. Soils , Lawn Maintenance which are too acidic or too alkaline for the crop need to be adjusted to very nearly the ideal pH. Ground limestone or wood , Sunflowers ashes raises the pH to sweeten acidy soil, , Do Garden Statues Have a Place in a Modern Garden? while adding carefully-measured amounts of sulfur increases acidity, lowering the pH. How important is correct pH? It is important to understand that nutrients--substances which plants , Don't Treat Your Soil Like Dirt use for food--are much more readily available for plants , The Perfect Beginner Perennial Flower to use when soil , Bamboo Plant Information and Care pH is as it should be. For example, a soil , Tulips may have ample nutritional elements (fertilizer) but if it is very strongly acidic or far too alkaline, those nutrients are quite simply locked-up and almost completely unavailable. Adjusting soil , Adirondack Furniture - What It is and Why You Want It pH to the recommended level releases food , Finding Garden Benches: Get the Perfect Look for Your Garden for the plants , New for 2006 - Granite Flexible Preformed Rock Ponds to use. Here's something you've probably never heard before: large quantities of the three primary nutrients--nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potash (K)--are blocked by a soil , The Perfect Beginner Perennial Flower pH more acidic than about 5.0. Phosphorus, in particular, is bound-up and almost totally inaccessible at pH levels below about 6.2 or 6.3 (moderately acidic). You can almost literally pour phosphorus into the garden , Adirondack Furniture - What It is and Why You Want It all you want or can afford...but if the soil , Garlic: The Stinking Rose is even a little too acidic, the plants , Cocoa Trees simply can't get at it. Soils , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (Part 10) Nutrients containing ample organic , Garden Ponds matter (compost, rotted manure, etc.) fare better but every good gardener strives to maintain correct pH. Odd as it may sound, a great many frustrating problems in the field or garden , Flower Bulbs: Nature's Greatest Gift could be solved by a simple soil , The Perfect Beginner Perennial Flower test and then adjusting soil , Water Lilies - How and When to Divide and Fertilize nutritional condition--especially pH--appropriately. The logical and responsible next step? Drop by your local , Abatement Challenges of Non-Native Noxious Weeds Cooperative Extension Service office and pick up a soil , Garlic: The Stinking Rose sample kit. It's some of the best insurance you can obtain against disappointment in the garden! , Introducting KOI-Cam! For preferred pH levels of a great many ornamentals and vegetables, , Home Landscaping Etiquette see "Appendix 1" of Fred's book, "Keys To The Garden , Tulips Gate," at: http://www.hillgardens.com/libragardinale_tr26057.htm#appendix. While you're there, download your free copy of the book. Fred Davis is a Master Gardener, Master Composter, , How to Choose a Fountain Pump lecturer, and long-time nurseryman. He and his wife, Linda, own and operate a popular perennial , Choosing Gardening Tools nursery in Palermo, Maine, and maintain a no-frills gardening , Types of Annuals in the Garden - Tender, Hardy and Half-Hardy information website at: http://www.HillGardens.com/ |
  
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