Raising and Lowering the pH Levels of Your Soil

Each vegetable is unique in the sense that they like the pH level in your soil to fall within a certain range. The closer you get to that range the better the growing conditions will be for that vegetable. Here is how you can raise and lower your pH level after you have obtained a reading from your home pH tester.

The pH level is a scale that displays how acidic or alkaline something is. A pH level less than 7 means, whatever it is you are testing is dominantly acidic and a level over 7 means it is more alkaline. If you get a reading of 7 that means it is neutral which is normally water.

Simply just getting the pH reading is not enough. Once you have that reading you need to know how to make adjustments in your soil for optimum growth of the vegetables that you are planting.

Here is how you can raise and lower your soil's pH level in your home vegetable garden.

Before you can do anything to your soil you have to know what the pH level is. The best way to obtain this reading is with a pH soil testing kit from your local home or garden center. They are as inexpensive as five bucks or as complicated and expensive as a hundred dollars. The choice of which one you get is up to you.

If you soil falls under seven on the pH scale then you soil is has too much acid in it. That is ok for plants like cauliflower, but if you are going to grow carrots in that spot, you need to get it to around neutral. The best way to do this is to add lime to the soil in the early spring (at least 3 weeks before planting) or in the autumn months after the gardening season is over. It takes some time for the pH level to rise so make sure you give it enough to do so.

If the pH level reading you obtain from your soil is above then that means your soil is too alkaline and needs to come down. Most crops to not like a pH levels above 8.0. That is not to say they won't grow any vegetables or fruit, but bringing that number down will greatly help production. The best way to bring down the pH level is through composting organic materials and mixing in cow or chicken manure. If you bury your food scraps at least 18" deep in your garden throughout the year you will more than likely never run into this problem. However, just like above make sure you mix in your compost and manures long before the start of the growing season or once it has completed.

Most home vegetable gardeners never take into account the very important pH level of their soil. If you can keep this level in the optimal ranges for the plants you are going to grow, you will surely a more abundant and tastier harvest.

About the Author
Mike is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the Rest of Us, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where ever gardening books are sold. For more vegetable gardening advice, Mike can be reached at his website: AveragePersonGardening.com.

Home Vegetable Gardening: Two Tools You Should Not Be Without

Like most home vegetable gardeners, I started with simply planting seeds of the vegetables I wanted to grow, adding some water, pulled weeds, and waited it out. Over time I realized that although this simple method works to grow great vegetables, I was doing me and my garden a great disservice.

By not paying attention to the soil’s pH level and the amount of moisture in the soil I was limiting the production of certain plants that could have benefited by making some adjustments. Just like a really good NFL head coach who makes game time adjustments, you too as a home vegetable gardener need to make adjustments in your soil as the season moves along.

There are two tools you should get to know that will help you make these adjustments based on the vegetables that you grow. They are the pH tester and the moisture tester. Each tool can be found at a local home or garden center in your area or purchased online. Simple ones cost as low as five or six dollars while more advanced models can go as high as one hundred dollars. How advanced you want to get is up to you, but most home vegetable gardeners usually go with the low cost varieties since they do an adequate job for the tasks at hand.

Soil pH Tester
Let’s start with the soil pH tester. The pH level is the measure of how acidic or alkaline your soil levels are. If you remember from your high school chemistry class, the scale goes from zero to fourteen, where anything under seven is considered acidic and anything over seven is alkaline with seven being neutral which is water.

Certain plants like the soil more neutral. Cauliflower for instance grows best when the soil pH level is in the 6.5 to 7.5 range, where as carrots like the soil a bit more acidic in the 5.5 to 6.5 range. So what happens when the pH level of your soil is not in the ideal range? If it is too acidic or too alkaline then you may not produce anything, or your harvest is very limited. By using a soil pH testing kit you can get an accurate reading of your soil’s level and then make adjustments based on what the test tells you (most kits come with recommendation charts for your soil so you can adjust the level accordingly). For the cost of less than seven bucks at some home and garden centers it is well worth the price.

Soil Moisture Tester
Testing your soil for its moisture level means you are looking for a reading of how much water is in your soil and around the roots of your plants. This can become extremely important so as you do not overwater your plants. A couple of things happen if when you overwater.

First, too much water can wash away valuable nutrients in the soil such as nitrogen. Ever see your vegetable plant leaves turn yellow? A common cause of this is lack of nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen washes away easily and when you water too much you are removing a nutrient your vegetables need to grow.

Second, too much water can cause the roots of plants to develop what is called root rot. This is caused by overwatering creating a condition around the roots where they are unable to obtain the air they need. When this happens the roots will begin to rot and will kill the plant. If your land has excellent drainage you may never run into this problem but I would recommend investing in this inexpensive tool and measure your soil’s moisture level just to be sure.

With these two valuable tools you will now be armed with the information you need to ensure a healthy and prosperous harvest. Combined these two tools can cost you less than fifteen dollars (depending on where you buy them from of course). Do yourself and your vegetable garden a favor, use the tools.


About the Author
Mike is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the Rest of Us, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and where ever gardening books are sold. For more vegetable gardening advice, Mike can be reached at his website: AveragePersonGardening.com.

How to Grow Radicchio in Your Home Vegetable Garden

Radicchio is a leafy vegetable that is reddish in color with white vines. It has a bitter taste, but is a good addition to a variety of salads and loses its bitterness when it is grilled, fried or baked.

Radicchio is easy to grow and performs well in the spring and fall months when the temps are a bit cooler.

Here is how you can grow radicchio to your home vegetable garden.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5507995_grow-radicchio-home-vegetable-garden.html

How to Make a Gourd Birdhouse from the Gourds in Your Vegetable Garden

It has been said many times over that nature can provide you with everything you need. This statement surely holds true when it comes to adding a birdhouse or two to your backyard.

Gourds can be grown for a variety of things; one of them notably can be a birdhouse.

Now you can not only grow food for your own consumption, you can grow a gourd or two for housing for birds that can help eat pesky insects that might do damage to your garden.

Here is how you make a birdhouse from a gourd grown right in your own backyard.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5504117_make-birdhouse-gourds-vegetable-garden.html

How to Grow Celery in Your Home Vegetable Garden

The growth of celery has been documented back to at least 30 AD. Today celery is grown for more than just food consumption, its seeds contain a volatile oil that is used in the pharmaceutical industry as well as to manufacture perfume.

However, you more than likely just want to grow some as a garnish for a salad or my favorite, buffalo wings.

Here are some steps you can take to add a successful harvest of celery to your home vegetable garden.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5500377_grow-celery-home-vegetable-garden.html