Re: Soil pH

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
Hi Gary,
 
The pH question is a gnarly one. I personally in my landscaping work send soil samples to A&L, and do my best to interpret them and select organic amendments accordingly.
 
pH test kits are available and pH meters too. I'm not familiar with all of them and I ignore the whole pH issue in my own garden, since I make aerobic, hot compost from a wide mix of materials, which gets colonized by worms, turns rich and black, and grows great stuff.
 
Organic matter and humus tend to buffer the effect of pH and create an environment in which all sorts of plants can thrive. Aerobic compost is most always in the neutral range (6.5-7.5).  Thriving earthworm populations indicate an adequacy of calcium, so if the worms are there, make compost and feed them, and rejoice.
 
Simple pH kits do work, but the labs also give you buffer pH.
 
If you want to get into fascinating technical details, see Dr. Alex Shigo's discussion of rhizosphere pH as it relates to trees and fertilizers, in Permalculture Activist #40, the article entitled "Rhizosphere Wars".
 
Grace Gershuny's Start with the Soil is a good basic text on soils...
 
HTH,
 
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Stoufer <g*@mail.portup.com>
To: Sq. ft. messages <s*@listbot.com>
Date: Saturday, February 20, 1999 7:03 PM
Subject: Soil pH

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
Every book/article on vegetable gardening for the newcomer has a chapter or notation on soil prep+fertilizer+pH.  Even Mel says (on page 236 of Sq.Ft.Gardening), "The importance of a pH test cannot be overemphasized", & on pages 57-59 in Chapter 5 he speaks on how to bring the pH to the proper level for each vegetable so it can utilize the nutrients in the fertilizers & soil builders one adds to the garden.  It is usually suggested that the soil should be tested by the local Cooperative Extension office.  In many seed catalogs I have noticed pH reader tools for home use listed with prices from $19.95 to  $24.95 to $52.95. 
 
HAVE ANY OF YOU ORGANIC GROWERS HAD YOUR SOIL pH TESTED????
Did you send it to a lab?  Do you know if any of the pH reader tools advertised in the catalogs are worthy?
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