Understanding the concept of Soil pH and its importance

Published Categorized as Garden

The most important thing about maintaining a garden and its beautiful plants is to take care proper care of the soil. Yes! Soil is the most crucial factor is determining the production of the plants and its respective edible parts. The soil should be very fertile and no pebbles of any kind should be ingrained in the soil. The soil should be watered very well so that they can provide the adequate water supply to the plants. All the more, the soil should be constantly fed with variety of organic fertilizers and organic manure to make it healthier and more enriched with nutrients.

With all these constituents, the soil will indeed become very suitable to grow a variety of plants. However, all these constituents depend upon the pH of the soil. A balanced level of pH will ensure proper growth and stability in the garden. The soil should neither be entirely acidic nor too alkaline. The perfect soil pH is 6.5. The best vegetables will flourish only when the soil pH is around the mentioned level.

Understanding the concept of Soil pH

Here in, we have collected a variety of information regarding the soil pH and its importance in the garden.

Most important aspects of the soil pH

 The perfect range of soil pH required for the growth of the healthiest plants

Firstly, the soil ought to have the adequate pH or else the nutrients will not pass onto the plants. It is the pH level that entirely decides how healthy will the plants be. Likewise, when the soil has the pH 6.5 then almost all the necessary elements get transmitted into the plants. Not only do all the nutrients and minerals pass into the plants but they also do in the correct amount. Now, let us understand how various levels of soil pH can act selectively to the types of minerals.

For instance, if a soil happens to have a pH level which is in between 0 to 6.9, it simply means the soil is acidic. If a soil is acidic, then the soil will poorly retain and thereby transfer very less amounts of the mineral like Phosphorous. Having an acidic soil also means irreparable damage to the beneficial bacteria and the earthworms. The acidic soil also tends to make certain chemical compounds extremely toxic like the following ones – aluminium and manganese. Similarly, it is also not good if the garden soil turns out to be alkaline. There are certain very important minerals that do not work well in the acidic environment. For example, iron cannot work well in the alkaline soil.

Thereby, making the plants weaker. Usually, the leafy vegetables need lots of iron. Therefore, the green leafy vegetables should never be grown in the alkaline soil. Hence, it is quite evident that either of the extreme cases are equally bad for the plants.

Very easy tips to fix the pH of the soil

It is not in your hand to decide whether your backyard will possess alkaline or acidic soil. Having said that, you can however always make arrangements to improve upon it. Likewise, if you have land which has acidic soil then without any doubt you should inject lime to increase the pH. More the pH, lesser the acidity of the soil. Plants like blueberries and leafy evergreen plants however love to grown in acidic soils. Hence, to increase the acidity of the soil, you ought to introduce aluminium sulfate in the soil.

The amazing ways to maintain the desired pH of the soil

To increase or decrease the soil pH, you can definitely inject lime or aluminium sulfate in the soil. However, over the years, these minerals will get drained out. Hence, it is always good to get a soil test after every 4 years or 5 years. It is also advised to not allow the soil undergo frequent leaching process. All the more, constant usage of external chemicals might reduce the fertility of the soil.

Conclusion

The soil pH indeed is a key component of deciding the health of the plants. For various plants, the soil pH changes. The soil pH brings about changes in the physical and in the biological properties apart from the chemical properties of the soil. Furthermore, there are crops like oats and barley grow well in 6.9 pH. The soil pH also decide on which microbes will survive in the soil.

The microbes like bacteria can occur within a pH level of 5-9. Well, if the pH increases, the soil pH might tend to escalate the growth of harmful fungus. So, a balanced pH level of the soil is extremely important to maintain a steady garden. Hopefully, with these amazing important tips, your garden will also bloom beautifully with a properly maintained soil pH.