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Gardening Basics – Fertilizer And Soil Ph

The correct level of pH in your soil is just as important as your compost. Most vegetables, fruits and herbs thrive in soils with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, but each has its own "favorite" range. If your soil does not fall within the proper range for the plants you're growing, you should correct it by adding the proper materials. You can easily determine the pH of your soil with an inexpensive kit sold at garden centers, or by taking or sending a soil sample to your local agricultural extension service for testing.

To raise the pH of an overly acid soil ½ to 1 unit, add 5 pounds of finely ground limestone to each 100 square feet of planting area. To lower the pH of alkaline soils, use either finely ground sulfur, which is slow acting but relatively long-lasting, or iron sulfate or aluminum sulfate, which work quickly but dissipate more rapidly in the soil. One half pound of ground sulfur or 3 pounds of iron or aluminum sulfate per 100 square feet will lower the pH by ½ to 1 unit. For especially heavy soils, increase all these amounts by about 1/3.

Any materials used to change the pH of soil should be incorporated deeply into it when it is dug over, and if possible, should be applied in the fall prior to spring planting or in spring prior to fall planting, to give them time to take effect.

A soil that has been properly prepared with organic matter and adjusted to the optimum acid-alkaline level will give plants a good start, but most will need additional feeding at intervals to replenish the natural minerals in the soil as the plants use them up. This is most easily done with chemical fertilizers, which not only have higher concentrations of mineral nutrients than do organic materials such as compost or manure, but also release them more quickly so the plants can use them. For most vegetables use a dry bagged fertilizer such as 5-10-5 composed of 5 pounds of nitrogen, 10 pounds of phosphorus and 5 pounds of potassium per 100 pounds. For leafy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage and spinach, use a fertilizer with a ratio of 10-10-10 to provide a little more nitrogen, which stimulates leaf growth, and potassium, which builds strong root systems.

Whether these minerals come from a chemical fertilizer or from an organic source, they are exactly the same by the time they have become dissolved in the moisture of the soil, which is the only form in which plants can assimilate them. If you use both forms, you are likely to get bigger, healthier plants that resist insects and diseases; plants that grow faster and produce larger, tastier crops. And THAT, my friends, is the name of the game!

About the Author:

Whether you decide to grow your garden completely organic or a combination of organic and chemical you will find all of the resources that you need at Out of the Soil. We have resources and links to some of the most well known and trusted gardening supplies in the world!

Author: Andrew Mullins

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