How Does Soil pH Affect Your Garden?

What is pH, and what does it have to do with vegetable gardening? You may remember learning about pH in high school. You may have used little pH test strips to measure the acidity of a substance in chemistry class. Well, pH is one thing you learned in school that has an application in real life. Soil pH is crucial to healthy growing patterns, and it’s helpful for gardeners to understand how to do a soil test.

Regulated pH is important for growing plants, flowers, and even lawn grass. If acidity is too high in soil, then plants cannot use their nutrients properly. Soil on the East Coast of the U.S. is supposedly too acidic in places and may prevent growth. Soil tests will determine the acidity or alkalinity of your soil.

How Do I Test and Treat My Soil?

A simple soil test will measure the pH and moisture in your soil. A pH meter is a common technique. Some tests ask you to add soil to powder in a capsule and see what color it turns as it tests for pH, nitrogen, and other nutrients. Water has a pH of 7, while acidic soil is less than 7, and more alkaline above 7. Your soil pH test may change with heavy rains, oxidation of fertilizers, or with excess carbon dioxide. If you notice tomato blight, check the soil.

Lime is one common way to treat excess acidity in soil. Lime is also a safe substance to use to regulate soil pH. Commercial pH preparations also address soil imbalance and may work more quickly than lime. Lime and other soil pH preparations balance the soil and help it to absorb fertilizer. Both items can be found in a garden supply store. The ideal soil pH for most plants is between 6 and 6.8, according to the University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science.

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