How to acidify the soil on the plot?

Blueberry, heather, azaleas, magnolias – what do these plants have in common? For proper development they need a reduced pH of the soil. Before decide to grow acid-loving plants on the plot, it is worth checking, How to acidify the soil in the garden.

The soil on our plots usually has a neutral or alkaline reaction, which favors most, but not all plant species. If you want to properly take care of plants that need acidic soil, you should influence the to change the pH of the soil by natural means.

Why is soil pH important?

If we want to enjoy beautiful plants on our plot, the basic task is to measure the pH of the soil. It has a great influence on the proper development of plants. How to do it? The easiest way is to measure the pH of the soil using an acid meter. This device will accurately test the pH for growing plants in the garden.

It is worth paying attention to what kind of water you water your plants with, because as time passes. time, it can change the pH of the soil. If you want to acidify the soil, it is good to use so-called rainwater, which, although it will not lower the pH of the soil, but will maintain its acid reaction for longer.

Based on the pH, we can divide soils into:

• ✅ highly acidic soils – pH < 4.5;
• ✅ acidic soils – pH 4.6 – 5.5;
• ✅ slightly acidic soils – pH 5.6 – 6.5;
• ✅ neutral soils – pH 6.6 – 7.2,
• ✅ alkaline soils – pH > 7.2,

Natural ways: how to acidify the soil

Mulching:

Using mulch to acidify the pH of the soil will lower it minimally degree, but is a good way to maintain the acidic pH of the soil. The pH of of the soil will lower slowly – along with decomposition of the mulch material.

What is suitable for acidifying mulch? A good material will be the remains of conifers – bark, needles and sawdust. This will keep the soil moist longer, and your plants will develop properly.

Acid compost:

The first thing to take care of before preparing sour compost, is a separate composter. Do not mix products for sour compost with traditional composting waste. What can you use for compost with acidic pH? Needles, cones and sawdust of pine, spruce or fir, and small, shredded pieces of tui.

Do not compost whole branches, as they will not decompose in the compost pile. compost pile. What else should be avoided? If you want to get acidic compost we can not add to the composter, among other things, straw or wood ash, leftovers from the kitchen or lime.

Compost with acidic reaction will take a relatively long time to process (even up to two years), so it is worth using a natural bacterial preparation Biocomposter, which will not only speed up the process, but will enrich the structure of the emerging humus. In addition, it will combat pathogenic pathogens that should not be found get in the heap.

Mixing acid peat with soil:

In order for acidification by this method to be effective, it is necessary to dig the soil with peat at least to the depth of a spade (about 20-30). The proportion of peat and soil should equal to 1:1. Using peat will quickly acidify the soil, but it will not be a long-lasting effect, so it requires regular repetition.

It is most beneficial to acidify the soil in autumn. It is worth knowing that before planting acid-loving plants it is good to add peat also directly to the dug holes. After mixing the soil with peat, you can add some composted pine needles or sawdust from conifers – this will help for longer maintain the lowered pH of the soil.

Some stones:

An interesting way to get an acidic soil pH is to lay around plants some stones that lower the pH of the soil. It is worth using for this procedure, such as quartz or granite. However, be sure not to mulch the soil with stones with alkaline pH, such as limestone, dolomite, lime sandstone, as the opposite effect will be obtained.

What plants need acidic soil?

Acid-loving plants are, for example:

• ✅ azalea: pH 4-5
• ✅ blueberry: pH 3.5-4.5
• ✅ hydrangea: pH 4.5-5.5
• ✅ magnolia: pH 5-6
• ✅ common heather: pH 4-5.5
• ✅ cranberry: pH 3.2-4.5

How to acidify the soil in the garden – summary.

Natural acidification of soil in the garden involves regular care of the pH of the soil. of the soil that will be beneficial to acid-loving plants. We have presented several ways to lower the pH of the soil. However, each of them should be repeated, preferably once a year – let's use an acid meter beforehand, so that our actions do not harm the plants on the plot.

Which is the best way? Preparing acidic compost is the most effective way to how to acidify the soil in the garden. Remember that you can speed up the process composting with Biocomposter. This biopreparation improves fertility of the fertilizer, cleans the compost from pathogenic bacteria, which strengthens the plants on your plot.

Check also:

How to increase the amount of humus in soil?

4 mistakes in plant fertilization – what to avoid?

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