Is Soil Ph In Hardwoods Acidic Or Alkaline

The ph scale indicates acidity or alkalinity.

Is soil ph in hardwoods acidic or alkaline.

The university of california advises that the accuracy of soil ph readings is plus or minus 0 5 ph units. The ph is a logarithmic scale that goes from 0 to 14 with 0 being most acidic 7 being neutral and 14 being most alkaline. While a soil ph around 6 5 is often considered ideal for plants many trees can grow well at soil ph values above 7. Soils with a ph level that is higher than 7 are said to be alkaline such soils are suitable for growing plants that thrive in a sweet soil as opposed to a sour or acid soil if soil ph needs to be raised meaning the ground is not alkaline enough apply garden lime if on the other hand your soil has too much alkalinity you can lower the ph by applying a fertilizer that has sulfur.

Most won t thrive in highly acid or highly alkaline soil though a few have adapted to such extremes. What happens when soil ph is too high. Because it s a logarithmic scale each jump is a ten fold increase so a soil with a ph of 5 is 10 times more acidic than. For us lay people it s enough to know that soil ph is a measure of how acidic or alkaline our soil is.

A soil with a ph number below 7 is acid while one with a ph above 7 is alkaline. Garden plants typically grow best in neutral or slightly acid soil ph 7 or slightly below. See illustration at left. Hundred times as acidic as a ph of 7.

In other words your 7 5 soil may be anywhere between 7 0 and 8 0.