The key to any garden is the soil. How well do you know yours?
All soil is made up of sand, silt, clay and organic matter. Mixture vary, depending on ratios of the sand, silt, clay and organic matter. Once you know what kind of soil you have, and its acidity level, you can work to improve it and then choose the most appropriate plants for a successful growing season.
Acidic soils are good for heathers, azaleas, rhododendrons and blueberries, which won't tolerate alkaline conditions, although most vegetables and fruit prefer slightly acidic soils.
- Neutralize them by adding lime as per package directions.
Alkaline soils are good for daphnes, pinks, mulleins, sage, lilacs and laburnums.
- Organic matter will help to neutralize and acidify them.
Use a testing kit to measure the acidity of the soil on the pH scale. Follow the instructions and take samples of soil from different parts of the garden. A pH reading of seven is neutral, lower than six very acid, above eight very alkaline.
THE pH SCALE is usually shown as a strip of 14 colours. Test results may consist of the colour or number, or both, all of which are explained in the kit.
