Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Soil testing for Spring Gardening

We wanted to test our soil's ph level in a number of locations before spring planting. We bought a commercial soil testing kit and collected samples from the Blueberry's and the vegetable garden. We discovered both locations to have a ph level of 7 which is neutral. mostly good news for the vegetable garden but however the Blueberry's need more acidic soil to grow best.


Soil ph is a numbered scale from 0 to 14 the lower the number the more acidic it is, 7 being neutral and the higher the number is the more alkaline it is. By measuring ph levels we have more data to make decisions on soil health and any amendments needed.



Some examples to improve soil health for particular needs are:

1 Add amendments to increase acidity like. sphagnum moss, aluminum sulfate and iron sulfate.

2 Add amendments to increase alkaline like wood ash or potash.


Now we can make changes to the soil before planting, for a better growing season.    

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