Alkaline SOil

[Izhar]

Farooq, thank you for sharing that information

Adnan, what was the pH of the soil prior to adding peat in it?

[Farhan Ahmed]

@ M Farooq.....

Regarding the hibiscus test i have something interesting

I always believed that my soil is alkaline....and the test also proved such with quite greener color.....However i noticed that once i microwaved the hibiscus flower the water instantly turned greener and then after mixing of soil water maintained or slightly got more greener......This arises two questions

Could it be that my water is Alkaline in nature?( i did not use distilled water )
Secondly my soil is sandy and it is said that sandy soil are towards acidic side due to leeching of sodium/calcium underground with water quickly ......

So sandy soil with alkaline nature makes it a difficult proposition......could it be that my soil has not as yet underwent enough leeching/watering to make it acidic

require your expert views

[Syed Adnan]

@ FARHAN: Here in Jubail soil is sandy everywhere with alkaline nature (but it is near SEA) and Peat /potting soils available easily means sand doesn't necessarily be acidic.

@IZHAR: PH was beween neutral and Alkaine, the test is not showing the exact value only colors comparison can be made , after adding PEAT it has come to Neutral, meaning a few more peat will serve the purpose.

[M Farooq]

@ M Farooq.....

Regarding the hibiscus test i have something interesting

I always believed that my soil is alkaline....and the test also proved such with quite greener color.....However i noticed that once i microwaved the hibiscus flower the water instantly turned greener and then after mixing of soil water maintained or slightly got more greener......This arises two questions

Could it be that my water is Alkaline in nature?( i did not use distilled water
)
Secondly my soil is sandy and it is said that sandy soil are towards acidic side due to leeching of sodium/calcium underground with water quickly ......

So sandy soil with alkaline nature makes it a difficult proposition......could it be that my soil has not as yet underwent enough leeching/watering to make it acidic

require your expert views

Your observation is right- when you boil hard water, you make it make slightly alkaline due to dissolved carbonates of calcium and magnesium. But before hypothesizing, do you get white deposits on your cooking utensils? If yes, your water is quite hard and is slightly alkaline. This can also be tested if it is diffucult to make soap produce foam. Secondly you don't need to microwave for a long time 1 min max with a cup containing ~2 flowers.

The change in colour of all pH indicators are reversible, natural like these plant based or synthetic man made indicators. Even if your soil was slightly acidic it should have changed the colour towards purplish or reddish side. As you say, the colour becomes greener once you add soil, makes me think that it does have alkaline nature. The keypoint is do you need to worry? If there are no symptoms and the plants are happy i.e. no yellowing of leaves etc then don't worry too much about it. There is a delicate balance which God has maintained in nature. If the soil is too acidic toxic metals like aluminum start dissolving from the soil (our clay is mainly aluminum and Silicon) but if it is very alkaline all the necessary trace metals like iron which are dissolved in the soil water become solid minerals and plants are unable to use them.



Regards,
Farooq

[suffi]

kindly can u tell me that where i can get this ,soil test and soil moisture kit for gardeners.
plz send me adress . i m in rawalpindi
thanks
with best regards
Muhammad rashid

[zadaad]

I have just tested my soil PH, the PH is slightly alkaline , if i add Peatmoss would it help to bring it to slightly acidic soil, i believe the best soil is slightly acidic for spring flaowers and Bulbs, what you suggest ? any experience ?

How do you test its pH? I mean what tools?