Gardenview™ » ph http://gardenview.com ...the best view, is a Gardenview™. Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:54:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Garden Soil http://gardenview.com/2010/03/29/garden-soil/ http://gardenview.com/2010/03/29/garden-soil/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:14:03 +0000 admin http://gardenview.com/?p=32 Rocks, sand and clay, oh my! I am truly sad to say that there are no short-cuts when it comes to good garden soil.  It can take years and years to combat some of the problems I have listed above.  My personal bane is rocks.  I swear they percolate up.  I built a home made sifter that worked by shoveling the dirt onto a stand over a wheelbarrow in which we would shake the dirt up and down over a ¼” wire mesh mat.  It worked great. But was very labor intensive.  Lot’s and lot’s of composted organic material seems to be the cure-all.  Checking the pH of your soil is another great idea.  If your soil is too alkaline or acidic your plants won’t be able to utilize any of the nutrients in the soil.  Most plants prefer a pH level of around 6.3-7.0.  Houseplants, lawns, and ornamentals may also benefit from some pH attention.

You have some options when it comes to figuring out the pH of your soil. One option is to contact the local extension office and see what they offer. Most will test, and send you back some great suggestions on how to improve your soil. Also available is a handheld soil pH tester. These are expensive, but if you like instant results may be the ticket. Lastly, there is the do-it-yourself soil kit available at home stores.

Pete Skenandore
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