Soil science and achieving the proper PH
5:27 p.m. Friday, August 22, 2008
Before you even plant a seed in the ground, it is important to know exactly what you are putting your seed in. And good looking vegetables and flowers depend on how acidic or basic, called the PH, your soil really is.
"That's the most important part, is the PH of your soil, because your fertilizers and all your other nutrients aren't going to be absorbed by the plant if your PH is out of range," said Dave Jackson.
Dave shows me how he tests soil from our KTKA Community Garden. He mixes half of our soil sample with an equal amount of dechlorinated water, and finds a problem.
"That's always not a good sign when its difficult to get the soil to break up when it's in solution in water. That means, of course, the same thing happens when it rains...the water is going to want to run off," said Jackson.
That would explain why water tends to just pool in our garden, rather than soak in!
After mixing, he puts an instrument in the cup to measure the PH. It could take as long as two-and-a-half minutes for a good read.
"Looks like this is going to measure acidic, but not dangerously so," said Jackson.
Dave cannot only tell the PH level of our soil, but also how much organic matter is mixed in with it. He says our garden needs a lot more organic material, in order to help water soak in properly.
Knowing more about our soil helps us figure out exactly which plants will or will not work in our garden. And if we want a specific plant, we will need to modify our soil in order to grow it.
You might have to put agricultural lime in your soil if it is too acidic. And if your soil is too basic, you might have to add sulfur.
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