Soil pH:

Garden Soil: pH and Alkalinity

by Nicholas Rogers

The right soil is 90% of the secret of successfully making a garden. Without good soil, loaded with nutrients, you'll be fighting a losing battle no matter how diligent you are with providing good sunlight, watering, weed control, and organic (natural) pest control.

The quality of soil is usually distinguished by examining the soil's "fertility" and texture. The fertility is determined by a mix of essential nutrients and a certain pH range which helps make these nutrients more available to plants. The basic nutrients required by plants are nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium (K on the periodic table... think "Special K"). Nitrogen, which is best produced by composting, is responsible for growing a healthy plant's leaf and stem, phosphorous is crucial for root growth, and potassium is required for overall health of the plant, encouraging good growth and a healthy immune system (yep, plants have 'em too!).

The right soil also contains other nutrients, including trace elements like magnesium, calcium, molybdenum, and zinc. The pH of soil is measured between acidic and alkaline. A pH level of 7.0 is considered neutral, while soil with a pH lower than 7.0 is acidic, and soil with a pH higher than 7.0 is alkaline.

PH and all that chemistry crap aside, a soil’s texture refers to its particle content, the size of particles, and how cohesive the particles are. For example, sandy soils have very large particles, whereas soils with significant clay content have very small particles. Soil with more of a sandy contentm permits water, roots, and air to move too freely while soil with majority of clay does not offer enough room for roots, water, or air.

You can do several things to bring your soil into the best shape possible for a garden. However, there are a few things you should avoid doing with your soil. Fertilizer, for one, is a double-edged sword. Some plants won't make it without a little "fertilization" in the form of boosted nitrates, while many others die from over-fertilization. Soil enriched with fertilizer (old fish water, rich with organic materials, is a great way to fertilize) stimulates plant root systems to dig deep and spread out, and the resulting plants are sturdier, stronger, and better able to better withstand disease, heat, and drought.

Cow manure is an excellent fertilizer as long as it is properly aged and doesn’t contain too much weeds, which means it's too old. Organic material can consist of anything from kitchen scraps such as potato peels, banana peels, eggshells, and even coffee grinds, to pine needles, grass cuttings, pine needles and even worms.

If you're going to mess with your soil, be sure not to mix a sandy soil with a clay soil, which would throw off both your pH and texture.