How To Test Your Soil’s pH

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The pH of the soil in your garden and lawn is very important because, depending on its value, you can grow or not the plants and grass you love.

You often hear that some plants need acidic soils, while others, on the contrary, need alkaline soil. How can you be sure about what type of soil you have in your garden? Simple: by testing its pH.Checking pH Balance

Don`t worry, you do not have to be a chemist to do this. Generally, soil`s pH ranges from 4 to 8; beyond these values, ​​it is virtually impossible for plants to survive. Therefore, soils with pH above 7, as well as those whose pH value that falls below 5, need corrections.

To determine the exact soil`s pH in your garden and lawn, you can send samples to a lab or buy a kit to test the soil yourself. However, both of these procedures can be costly, but you also have a simple and inexpensive alternative. Test the soil in just a few minutes, using two easy-to-find substances: wine vinegar and sodium bicarbonate. Take a soil sample in a container and add half a cup of wine vinegar over it. If you notice air bubbles or the earth sizzles in the contact with vinegar, your garden soil is alkaline, with a pH higher than 7.  The soil needs to be conditioned with fertilizers that balance the pH, this will help eliminate the brown patches on lawn and the slow growth of shrubs and plants.

First Seen here: How To Test Your Soil’s pH

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