@thepinehillcottage: Today in the garden....Lets talk soil.....๐๐ฉโ๐พ Success in the garden starts with healthy soil. It is just as important if not more so than water and sunlight and determines whether plants thrive or die. Getting a soil test is the best way to find out your soil pH and soil health. You can have it professionally tested through your local county extension office. Your county extension soil test is usually free or low cost. I test mine every two years but perform DIY soil tests twice a year. Today we'll talk about checking whether your soil is acidic or alkaline. You can take soil samples at any time of the year, with fall being my preference. That way, you can get your results and make any fixes in time for spring. Here is a simple DIY test for Soil Acidity or Alkalinity that I have been using for many years. ๐๐๐ Place 2 tablespoons of soil in a bowl and add ยฝ cup vinegar. If the mixture fizzes, you have alkaline soil. Place 2 tablespoons of soil in a bowl and moisten it with distilled water. Add ยฝ cup baking soda. If the mixture fizzes, you have acidic soil. If it does not react to either test, the soil has a neutral pH. A very high or very low soil pH may result in plant nutrient deficiency or toxicity. A pH value of 7 is neutral and when microbial activity is the greatest. Plant roots absorb nutrients best when the pH is in the 5.5 to 7 range. Once you figure out your soil pH, you can change or adjust it. As you can see from my video my soil did not react to either test and has a neutral pH. My soil test from the lab came back with a pH reading of 6.9 ๐ Without healthy soil, it is very difficult to have a successful garden. ๐๐ Hope you found this helpful and will share it with all your gardening friends! ๐๐ฉโ๐พ #gardening #gardeninglife #DIY #soil #soilhealth
