Experienced gardeners know: A healthy productive garden is one in which the plants are compatible with the pH of the soil.
Not all soils are the same, and it’s important to recognize that many plants, shrubs, grasses, and trees require a specific nutrient balance. Some plants prefer a neutral soil, and others prefer a more alkaline soil. There are also a variety of acid-loving plants, too.
Some soils have a neutral pH, while others can have an acidic or alkaline pH balance. A pH balance of 7 is considered neutral, and some plants grow better in slightly acidic soil, from 5.5 to 7. Some like soil that’s even more acidic. Acid-loving plants include:
- Vegetables:sweet corn, cucumbers, beans, broccoli, turnips, squash, onions
- Fruits:cranberries, blueberries, huckleberries
- Trees:evergreen perennial, beech, willow, oak, dogwood
- Flowering plants: azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, camellias, daffodils
Plants That Prefer Acidic Soils
The majority of shrubs, vegetables, fruits, and flowers do best in soil with pH ranging from 5.2 to 7.8, while the majority of grasses thrive in soil with an average pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Here are some different types of acid-loving plants worth considering for your garden.
Acid-Loving Fruits
Homestead-favorite acid-loving fruits include cranberries,blueberries, elderberry, huckleberries,thimbleberries, and gooseberries, all of which perform best in soil with a pH of 4.0 to 5.0.
Acid-Loving Vegetables
甜玉米和黄瓜也喜欢酸性土壤,在pH值为5.5至7.5的土壤中生长良好。豆类、花椰菜、萝卜、西红柿、南瓜和洋葱都需要pH值为5.5至7.0的肥沃微酸性土壤。
Parsley, potatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, radishes, and rhubarb are happiest in soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5.
Homesteaders who are cultivating a cash crop to sell at the fresh market, find that many of their customer’s favorite “gourmet” vegetables do best in slightly acidic, nutrient-rich soil. Basil, radishes, asparagus, artichokes, endive, eggplant, lettuce, and leeks favor soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5.
Acid-Loving Herbs
Staples in many homestead herb gardens such as, garlic chives, horehound, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, all varieties of thyme, and rosemary thrive in soil with a pH as low as 5.0.
其他菜园里的水果和蔬菜也可以忍受低ph值的土壤,包括芹菜、草莓、蓖麻豆、蒲公英、大蒜、辣椒、青葱和啤酒花。
Related Post:Growing Shallots
Acid-Loving Flowers, Trees & Shrubs
Evergreens and many deciduous trees including beech, willow, oak, dogwood, mountain ash, and magnolias also prefer acidic soil.
A few popular acid-loving plants include azaleas, mountain heather, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, camellias, daffodils, blueberries, and nasturtiums.
When cultivated in acidic soil these hardy plants brighten the garden with verdant greenery and a glorious display of spring and summer color. If soil pH is balanced, blooms will be robust and firm. If they’re lacking nutrient-rich, acidic soil, blooms will be limp and faded, and leaves will yellow.
What Is Soil pH?
Soils reaction, orsoil pH, indicates the alkalinity or acidity of the soil, measured in pH units. The pH scale has a range of 0-14. Here is the breakdown:
- Acidic Soils: pH below 7
- Neutral soils: pH of 7
- Alkaline soils: pH above 7
As an example, lemon is extremely acidic with a pH of 2.5. Human saliva is considered neutral with a pH of 6.3 to 7.3. Salt water is highly alkaline with a pH of 8.2.
Here’s where it gets a bit confusing. You have to keep in mind that a variance in pH by as little as one point reflects a radical shift. Soil with pH 5 is as much as ten times more acidic than soil testing at a pH of 6. To complicate things further, soil with a pH of 5, is up to 100 times more acidic than that of soil testing with a pH of 7.
美国各地的土壤pH值变化很大。在一个相当大的农村宅基地或一小块城市土地上,土壤pH值也可能存在显著差异。数千年来,原生岩石的相互侵蚀、分解有机质的类型、气候风化、地形和物理环境都影响着土壤的pH值。
With every different garden comes a different soil type, so its important to understand what your specific area has. It’s important to note that in general, sandy soils tend to be more acidic and have a lower level of essential nutrients. If that sounds like your soil, you’re reading the right article!
Reasons For Testing Soil pH
Soil pH impacts the solubility of minerals in the soil as well as the availability of nutrients essential for plant growth. Soil with a high acid content is typically identified as “too acidic” or “hot.”
Extremely strong acidic soils, with a pH of 4.0 to 5.0 pH, may contain high concentrations of soluble iron, aluminum, and manganese, all of which can be toxic to some plants.
If your garden plants display symptoms of nutrient deficiency, despite your best efforts in applying organic fertilizer, the problem is likely related to the pH of the soil.
Soils with a low pH (below 5.5) present a low availability of phosphorous, magnesium, and calcium, with high solubility of iron, boron, and aluminum. Soils with a pH level of 7.8 or higher present a wealth of calcium and magnesium. However, soils with a high pH often have inadequate availability of copper, zinc, phosphorus, boron, iron, and manganese.
Consider testing the pH level of your soil before making decisions that are dependent on the pH of the soil. In the spring, begin each gardening season with accurate testing to determine the pH level of your soil.
Knowing the pH level of the soil in all areas of your property allows you to make the best choices for crop rotation, and decide if soil amendment is required to maximize your crop yield.
Tips For Testing For Soil pH
Whilehome soil pH testing kitspromising quick results are available for purchase online or at local home and garden stores, experienced homesteaders know that their results are only as accurate as theirsampling and testing process. The more stringent the test, the more accurate the results.
为了充分测试一个大的种植区,如葡萄园、果园或卷心菜地,绘制一个区域的网格,并在网格中获取测量样本。在浴缸或手推车中彻底混合这些样品。
Take a generous sample of the mix (two quarts or more) and place in a sealable one-gallon plastic heavy-duty storage bag. Label with your name, sample location, and date. Take the sample to your local county extension office, or state university for a thorough soil mineral, nutrient, and pH analysis.
If you decide to take on the soil tests yourself, the most accurate method is to determine soil pH with apH meter. Relatively inexpensive, reliable, and reusable, a pH meter is the best DIY choice. It has been my experience that the test kits available at most nurseries and garden shops, which use a testing solution and a color chart, are the least reliable.
Changing Your Soil pH
How to Lower Soil pH
We have a great post hereif you want to make your soil more acidicto support acidic-loving plants. Vinegar and coffee grounds are commonly-cited options, albeit short-term solutions, and our author Wren details other options like leaf mold and pine needles.
How to Raise Soil pH
If your soil istooacidic for those plants above, an application of finely ground limestone, also known as liming, is a widely-used method ofincreasing the pH of the soil. Apply lime in the spring when turning the soil, because reaction time for limestone is enhanced when moisture levels are high and soil temperatures are warmer.
Wood ash enhances acidic soils as well. Wood ash is a good source of phosphorous, magnesium, aluminum, potassium, and calcium.
For generations, apple and stone fruit farmers have spread the ashes from wood stoves and fireplaces around the bases of their orchard trees to improve the soil and encourage fruit production.
Use only wood ash, not charcoal briquettes, artificial logs, or coal ash. Be careful to not put too much ash on a single area or it alter your soil too much
白云石,一种天然形成的岩石,是镁和钙含量低的土壤的优良添加剂。然而,应该适度使用,因为经常使用可能会导致营养失衡。白云石是一份镁和两份钙的混合物,比例为2:1。理想的土壤钙和镁的比例应该在5:1左右。
Other Soil Additives
Some gardeners recommend amending the soil with peat moss to make it more acidic. However, many varieties of peat moss you’ll find in the U.S. areactually neutral or slightly acidic. Canadian sphagnum peat moss, on the other hand, has a higher pH level. It’s also worth noting that the use of peat moss is a bit controversial, as it isn’t super sustainable. You can read more about peat mosshere.
Coffee grounds are another soil additive worth mentioning. Though they are fine to add to the garden, theywon’t increase your soil’s pH long-termand don’t necessarily do anything for acid-loving plants.
One organic material that may not increase soil acidity is pine needles. This is a common gardening myth, given that the needles are acidic. And though the needles themselves are acidic, they don’t have the capacity to turn the soil acidic. They are, however, a great addition to the garden in the form of mulch.
References
- Soil Quality Information Sheet, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Soil pH and Plant Nutrients, Alberta Agriculture And Forestry
- pH — Water properties, The USGS Water Science School
- Raising Soil pH, Wisconsin Horticulture
- Shallots, University of California – Master Gardening Program – Shallots
Marksays
Higher Ph levels are ALKALINE
LOWER Ph levels are ACID
在指导喜酸植物如何将土壤向酸性方向移动时,你错误地不断地提到“提高”土壤的Ph值。
Hope you will take the time to make important corrections, otherwise this article is highly confusing.