If you’re wondering how to acidify soil for gardening, this is a good read. I came across an article about the acidity of gardening soil this week and wanted to find out more information about how the levels can be manipulated. So, I found some more resources online to find out how soil can be acidified quickly and naturally.
How can you acidify soil quickly and naturally? Two of the fastest acidifying methods when it comes to soil are white vinegar and coffee grounds. The vinegar should be diluted with filtered water, whereas the coffee grounds should be fresh and tested for an acidic pH before use for the best results.
The soil is an essential material in every garden that provides water and nutrients to seeds and helps them to grow. However, not all soil will have the correct levels of acidity for each plant, and will sometimes need to be changed for this reason. So, how is this done both quickly and naturally?
What Does It Mean to Acidify Soil?
Just like almost any living thing on the earth, the soil on the ground holds a certain pH level throughout it. pH levels are a measurement of the concentration of hydrogen ions. The numbers on the pH scale are between0 and 14, from the most acidic levels all the way to alkaline.
The term “acidic” is used to describe something that contains or has properties of an acid. When planting a garden, some plants and vegetables will require more acidic levels of soil than others. This is where the process of acidifying soil comes in to play.
When the soil is acidified, it goes through the process of becoming more acidic. Chemically speaking, there will be a buildup of hydrogen cations, or protons, that will serve to reduce the pH levels within the soil when an acidic material is applied to it.
Two of the most common substances that are used for soil acidification are nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
When is it Necessary to Acidify Soil?
As mentioned earlier, you might come across certain plants throughout your gardening career that prefers more acidic soil in order to grow and produce the best possible results. Some of these plants include garden Lillies and primrose. Here is a list of some of the plants that will require acidified soil:
Flowers
Fruits and Vegetables
How To Test The pH of Your Soil
The first thing you will need to do before mixing any substances in with the soil in your garden is to test the current pH levels. It is important to get accurate information about the acidity or alkalinity of your soil before disturbing it chemically.
In order to get the best and most accurate results,you will want to send a sample of your soil off to a professional lab to get ittested. Although there are many options for home pH tests that you can easily perform yourself, there is much more room for error when this option is selected.
The last thing you would want to do is get results that are off by even just one number, which is actually a very large difference when it comes to the pH scale.
The easiest way to send your soil samples in for testing is to contact your local county extension office. Here, they will perform something called a basic soil test on your sample and will offer you the results of a precise pH level.
Depending on the area in which you live, the office will charge a fixed cost for this service, but they could possibly do the test for free.
Although getting your soil professionally tested is definitely the most ideal option in this situation, some people have limited resources in their county or would just prefer to perform the tests themselves.
This can be quickly done with a home pH testing kit, which you should be able to find at any local hardware or home improvement store in your area. As long as you understand the potential margin of error for one of these tests, you should be able to gain results that you are satisfied with by the time you are finished with this process.
If you are using paper strips to test the pH of your soil, you should be aware that you will only be able to find out whether your soil is more acidic or basic.
In other words, it will not tell you that your soil has a pH level of 6, but it will let you know that your soil is mostly acidic. While it is one of the least detailed tests, you will be able to use this method with almost any plant in your garden.
Another great way to test if your soil is more acidic or basic from home is to use vinegar and baking soda. To begin, you will need to take a decent-sized sample of soil that will fit into a cup. The collected soil should then be split between two separate containers to be tested individually.
The vinegar will be added to one of the containers, while the baking soda will be combined with the other. The purpose of both of these substances is to see which one will have a chemical reaction with the container of soil they are placed into. If the soil that contains the vinegar fizzes, it will tell you that your soil is most basic. If the soil reacts to the baking soda, on the other hand, it is acidic.
This is due to the fact that vinegar is an acidic substance that will react chemically with another substance that is basic or alkaline. So as a result, if the soil is more basic, it will fizz in the presence of the vinegar being added to the container.
The same reasoning goes for the baking soda, with the powder being basic and indicating that the soil is acidic. Similar to the first pH test that was mentioned, this one will not give you the exact number that your soil falls into on the pH scale.
If the knowledge of whether your soil is more basic or acidic is not enough for you to be able to come up with a solution to help the plants in your garden, you should purchase an actual pH home testing kit that will give you a number that is as accurate as possible.
Even though there can be some complications with these types of tests as far as precision and accuracy, it is much preferred over the other tests that will only let you know which end of the pH scale your soil is leaning toward instead of its actual level.
Once you have purchased the home pH testing kit, you will need to first test the water that you use on your plants regularly. This can come from your garden hose or your kitchen sink, whatever the main source of water for your plants is should be tested before moving forward with testing the soil.
The average pH of water that is used to water plants can be anywhere from 6.5 to 8.5, with the low end being more acidic and the higher being more basic. It is most likely that the water coming from your garden hose will be slightly more on the alkaline side, closer to the pH level of 8.5 rather than 6.5.
If the results of the pH tell you that your water is basic in combination with your already basic soil, you will need to acidify your soil to effectively grow the plants that require it. A potential solution for this problem is the use of filtered water instead of water straight from the garden hose.
Gallons of filtered water can be bought at your local grocery store or supermarket for a relatively cheap price, but this can become expensive over time. Since many plants require several gallons of water per week depending on the season, constant trips to the grocery store to buy carts full of water gallons could add up quickly.
Now that you are aware of the pH levels of the water you add to your soil daily, you might have already been able to come up with a solution to fix your acidity problem. However, you will still want to test the pH of your soil to be as thorough in your results as possible.
After you have inserted the home test into your soil and received a result, it is important that you are aware of what the ideal number will be in your situation.
As discussed earlier in this section, the pH scale stretches between 0 and 14, from very acidic to very alkaline, or basic. Always keep in mind that the number 7, which falls right into the middle of the scale, is classified as neutral, which is neither acidic nor basic.
If your soil returns the result of an 8 on the pH scale, which is slightly over the neutral mark and into the alkaline territory, you will know that you need to add an acidic material to balance this out.
So, how do you know how far you need to go in order to create a more neutral balance? If you are not much of a chemistry person, there is a simpler way to break down your results to come up with the best solution to help your plants grow.
Think of the pH scale, which runs from 0 to 14, in a more numerical way rather than scientific. If each of the numbers is considered to have a tenfold increase, the same pH level of 8 will be 10 times more alkaline than a pH of 7.
This should give you a basic idea of how much of a difference there really is from just one number to the next on the pH scale and help you react accordingly to the results of your own soil.
How to Acidify Soil
After you have accurately and successfully identified the pH levels of your soil as too basic for the plants you are trying to grow, you will need to go forth with the process of making it more acidic. The first step in acidifying soil is to identify the soil type you have in your garden.
Just like the process of testing the pH of your water before your soil as explained in the previous section, it is important to know exactly what you are dealing with before making any kind of chemical changes to your soil that will affect the results of your garden.
The best way to figure out what kind of soil is in your garden is to pick up a handful of it in both hands. If the texture feels loose and moist, it is most likely more acidic than basic, and it should not be difficult to continue with this process.
On the other hand, if your soil forms into clumps instead, you are most likely dealing with clay. Clay soil is extremely alkaline, which will make this process more difficult going forth.
Additionally, adding any kind of materials to clay soil in efforts to ease the process of acidifying it will only make matters worse, steering the pH levels into an even more basic direction.
In the event that you do have clay soil in your garden, you will want to add another substance to it that will assist you in acidifying it. A bag of elemental sulfur can be spread across the soil to reduce the pH level significantly by almost 4 numbers.
However, this will not be a fast process in any way. This step should be taken at least one year before the planting season will begin to see any kind of substantial changes in the acidity.
Alternative methods of acidifying clay soil include using iron sulfate or sulfate of ammonia. Iron sulfate can be applied to the soil in the same way as elemental sulfur but will require almost 10 pounds for every 100 feet of soil in your garden.
On top of that, it will only move the pH level down by just one number. Including sulfate of ammonia, any kind of fertilizer or substance that contains ammonia will assist in the acidification of clay soil.
If you are trying to raise the acidity levels of clay soil that already has plants growing out of it, you will want to go with elemental sulfur instead of the other options. This is a safe method for acidifying soil in an existing garden because of the drastically long periods of time that this chemical needs in order to finally produce results. This way, there is very little room for mistakes around your existing plants.
Loose and well-drained soil, on the other hand, can be mixed with organic materials like peat moss, compost, or manure in order to help acidify it.
After your soil has been acidified to the appropriate levels for your plants, it is vital to check the pH regularly afterward. This should occur at least once a year and should be professionally tested at least some of the time for the most accurate results.
If you find that you have acidified your soil too much to where the pH levels are lower than they should be for the plants in your garden, don’t worry. The most simple fix for this problem is to spread lime across your soil. This can come in limestone, hydrated lime, and burned or quicklime.
The addition of any kind of lime material to your soil will help you raise the pH level toward the more basic side of the scale. The amount of this material that you apply to your soil will depend on your individual garden. As long as you regularly monitor the pH levels and follow the instructions on the packaging, you should have no problem making sure the acidity of your soil is right where you would like it to be.
Acidifying Soil Quickly and Naturally
We know that there are tons of chemical substances available for the sole purpose of acidifying the soil, but most of these materials take extended periods of time to actually produce results in the PH levels. Elemental sulfur, for example, can take up to a full year to move the soil’s pH levels to the acidic side.
This would require a lot of planning in order to have the land ready for the next gardening season, and some gardeners will not have that time to spare. So, what can you do when you need to acidify your soil quickly and *naturally?*
One of the most common natural ingredients used to acidify soil is vinegar. Vinegar is made up of a substance called acetic acid with some dilution. Some types of vinegar contain vitamins and nutrients that will be helpful to the soil, while others will not. Vinegar can be found at any grocery store or supermarket for a decent price, and there are little to no restrictions on what kind of vinegar you can use on your soil.
While shopping, look for any kind of white vinegar and choose the product that will correspond with the amount of liquid you will need to cover your soil. As a general reference, the average pH level of any kind of white vinegar you will most likely find on the shelf at the store will be about2.4. Being that the 0 on the pH scale is the most acidic, this makes vinegar very highly acidic substance.
When it is time to acidify your soil with the vinegar you have purchased, it can be done in a variety of ways. First of all, you can dilute the substance even further with a full gallon of water. Simply mix the water in with about a cup of white vinegar and pour it over the top of the soil. One of the easiest ways to do this is to fill a watering can with this mixture and water your plants as you normally would.
If there is some type of irrigation system present in your garden already, you can add the vinegar there instead. This can be done by using an injector tool to insert the substance into the irrigation lines for a more even and hands-free distribution to all of the plants in your soil.
Aside from the purpose of acidifying the soil, vinegar comes with a few more benefits that will come in handy throughout its use in your garden. The acidity of the substance is very effective in removing weeds, so you might notice their absence during the treatment of your soil’s pH levels.
Secondly, the smell of vinegar has been known to repel many species of insects. So, if you have ever had a bug problem in your garden it will likely improve or completely go away throughout the duration of acidifying your soil.
Another way to quickly and naturally acidify soil is by using coffee grounds. The natural pH of coffee grounds can be an average of4.5 to around 8.5 on the scale. The type of coffee grounds you get and where you have purchased them from will have an effect on the pH levels they contain, so it is always important to make an informed purchase.
Coffee grounds can be used to acidify soil simply by being sprinkled over the top of the garden, but there are a few restrictions when it comes to this process. Fresh coffee grounds have the potential to possess a very acidic pH level, but this will not be true for coffee grounds that have already been used. In fact, after coffee grounds have been used they will lose a significant number of points on the pH scale and will no longer be useful in your garden.
Both white vinegar and coffee grounds are natural alternatives to the chemicals that are commonly used to acidify the soil and will produce much faster results at that. The acidifying effect for both of these materials will show almost immediately, in comparison to several months to even a full year.
To conclude, the process of acidifying soil can be both safer and more convenient when you choose to use natural substances over chemicals.
Related Questions
How much water and sunlight does a garden need every day?
The amount of water and sunlight that a garden requires daily will depend on the type of plants or vegetables that are plotted within it. Each individual plant will need a different amount of sunlight in combination with specific levels of water every single day.
Both the minimum sunlight and water consumption levels for each plant will be indicated on the outside of the seed packets or external packaging. There are two main types of sunlight that will most likely be referred to in this section: full sun and partial sun, or partial shade.
Full sun refers to the times of the day where the sun is shining fully with no obstructions and is hitting the plants directly for several hours at a time. Partial sun, on the other hand, is when the light is dimmer, or there is a substantial amount of shade surrounding the plant at any given time throughout the day.
Contrary to popular belief, some types of plants are actually able to thrive in shaded areas of a garden. These plants include green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and lettuce, as well as root vegetables like radishes and onions.
Vegetables that are grown in the summer season such as peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons, and tomatoes will need increased amounts of the sun as well as water.
Just like each individual seed will require specific levels of sunlight throughout the day, they will also need certain amounts of water. It is very important to follow these instructions thoroughly for the best results in your garden. Some plants will need only one gallon of water per week or less, while others will need up to 2 gallons per week as an absolute minimum.
Before deciding on which seeds you will plant in your garden, you should always make sure that your yard will be able to provide a sufficient amount of water and sunlight for each plant.
How can I make sure all of the plants and vegetables in my garden aregetting optimum sunlight levels?
It has been recommended by gardeners and farmers that the most ideal way to make sure each of your vegetables is receiving full sunlight throughout the day is to plant them from north to south.
When this is done, the sun will be able to reach throughout the entire length of the plotted seeds, even when it rotates and moves to different positions in the sky.
This is much better than the alternative method of planting the seeds in an east to west direction because the sun will not be able to evenly coat all of the vegetables. Once it begins switching positions at certain times of the day, some of the vegetables will cast shade onto the others that are behind them. Alternatively, you can place the tallest plants in the northern direction and the medium to small plants in the center of the garden. This way, there will be no shade caused by the taller vegetables onto the short ones that need the direct sunlight to survive.