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Testing Soil/Water pH

12 years ago

What are you all using to test your soil and water pH?

Susan

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Comments (10)

michaelg
12 years ago
I use the inexpensive Rapi-test meter for soil. It works fine, but not for water. If your water is "hard," salty tasting, and leaving white deposits, it is significantly alkaline. Pretty much all tap water tests alkaline, but what matters is the AMOUNT of stuff in it, which pH does not reveal, so pH testing is not helpful. Water from western rivers and reservoirs is generally significantly alkaline.
landperson
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, Michael. I've actually got a roll of pH strips that I use for water, so the soil testing information is really what I was missing. (I used the pH strips when trying to establish how to adjust water coming through the R/O filter to make it work for espresso....)

And so, I will go find a Rapi-test meter.

Susan
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Good Lord, Blewb, first you are worried about lowering your Ph, now you worry about raising it. With the success you had the first season, just keep doing what you were doing, but reduce your applications of sulphur. Your blueberries should be pretty happy with a Ph in the range of 4 to 4.5. My native soil is pretty close to neutral, and all I do after planting in well prepared soil is to scratch in a handful of iron sulphate and ammonium sulphate around the plants each spring. The blueberry plants are happy as clams, with dark green leaves and lots of berries. As long as they look like that, soil testing is not urgent. Your Ph tester works like the battery in your car, using two metals, one of which gives up electrons to the other in the presence of an acid. It is this flow of electrons that is measured by the meter's needle. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
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Raspberryflyer, I will be more polite and diplomatic in my answer... I just bought a PH meter for my daughter who is doing a science project concerning the acidity of soil. It's not an expensive model ($15.00 Canadian) and we were told it may not be accurate, but so far it's giving the readings which I expected. Dipped in vinegar which is highly acidic, the meter registers in the deep of the lower PH levels, and dipped in mucky ashes from the wood stove, the meter goes straight to the higher PH levels. So far we've tested potting soil, forest soil, garden soil, lawn soil, etc. and the readings are what I expected them to be. It appears to be working well. It's a simple meter with two prongs which are inserted into the muddy soil. In essence, you place the soil in a bottle, add water to make it muddy, then insert the meter and wait about 60 seconds. We kept the receipt just in case it didn't work, so you might want to do the same. It was bought at a garden center. Since the ground has started to freeze here, we were out on Sunday with a pick axe digging. You have to get soil from about 5 inches down. I am actually glad she chose this as her project this year. I have been wanting to buy such a meter for some time, and this gave me the right excuse. I have places on the property where blueberries grow and so I wish to keep the acidity at a high level. In the ornamental gardens, I'm looking for neutral soil. This meter will help me in achieving these goals. I truly hope I've helped in answering your question, and that you will not be discouraged from posting at this forum in the future due to the above response. Most folks here are kind in nature and quite helpful and do actually focus on the question at hand. Sincerely, Nicole.
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There are a number of these simple soil tests that people can use in addition to the nutrient and soil pH tests done by a soil lab and this list is one of them. Rather than using a pH meter that may not give accurate readings and would not tell people why their soil is at the pH is is at, perhaps a demonstration of these would be better adn would get people actually looking at the soil they have, hopffully. 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
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Hi Lyn: I'm glad to hear from you (I miss you, honestly). I posted it in Robert's English rose forum, see the link below. The advantage of red cabbage juice test, which toxcrusadr (a chemist) in the soil forum thinks its a good idea, is: It's more accurate since you can put a large amount of soil, rather than 1 teaspoon like those test-kit sold for $12 at the stores. As the soil soaks in the red cabbage juice for more than 20 minutes, it allows time for elements in the soil to be released. For $1.50 cents (99 cents of distilled water and 50 cents of red cabbage), I can test 10 different samples from various places in my garden, or different bagged soil products, to see which one most alkaline. I used those small plastic applesauce cups to hold samples. When I first tested coffee grounds from my Hubby in red cabbage juice, it was pinkish like acidic potting soil. After 1 hour, the solution was clear at the top, not a single pink trace left. Coffee is a buffer, it neutralizes the soil, as Michaelg informed. I topdressed roses with coffee ground with no problems. Espresso ground from Starbucks is different: it stayed pink and gave my rhododrendrons pink stripes. One pot has MiracleGro Organic potting soil, neutral pH. At first Sonia Rykiel was dark green, but after 3 months of akaline tap water at pH of 8, she became very yellow. I tested her soil again in red cabbage juice, same color as my soil (pH 7.7), bluish green. The fish-tank litmus strips sold at Walmart for $5 is a fast way to test one's water. It's more accurate in the alkaline range, and NOT so in the acidic rain. I would NOT use it to test the pH of rain water, reported at 5.7, which explains why the roses in my alkaline soil are dark green in the spring. Here is a link that might be useful: Test soil pH for $1.50 using red cabbage
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michaelg
12 years ago
pH strips can be used for soil if you have strips that show an appropriate range of pH (various ranges are available). You mix the soil sample with DISTILLED water and then place a drop of the water on the paper using a glass rod, or maybe the handle of a clean stainless steel spoon.
roseseek
12 years ago
Baby Faurax. It's as pH sensitive as Reine des Violettes. When either of those, or Blue Mist, begin turning light green and the flowers turn lavender or nearly white, it's time for more Ironite. Kim
landperson
Original Author
12 years ago
Okay, well I have BF, RdV and BM, so I've got the roses to use as a test, but...does the turning light green mean the soil is too acidic or too alkaline, and what's Ironite?
landperson
Original Author
12 years ago
So, Michael, the roll I have tests from 5.5 - 8 in 12 increments. Will that do the trick?

Susan
roseseek
12 years ago
Iron becomes locked in insoluble compounds in high alkalinity, so the plants become chlorotic. The higher the alkalinity, the more chlorotic, therefore the more nearly white the foliage and flowers. Acidifying the soil releases the iron, resulting in more traditionally colored plants and flowers. Nitrogen acidifies as well as aluminum sulfate. Ironite has nitrogen and iron specifically formulated for our alkaline conditions. It's very difficult to burn with it, but it WILL permanently stain concrete, clothing, siding and patio furniture with rust from the iron. It's really good stuff and quite easy and effective to use. If your plants look the way you expect them to, everything is within their tolerance range. If they look washed out, you probably need to use it. I have used it on pretty much every kind of garden and specialty plant you can think of. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Ironite
landperson
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Kim. I think that explains why when I went to look for an iron supplement for my chlorotic lemon tree last year, Ironite looked wrong to me because it didn't list "iron". Now I think I understand that it doesn't supply iron so much as make the iron available, right?

So so so much to learn....

Susan
michaelg
12 years ago
landperson, 5.5 to 8.0 is enough range to tell if you have a problem at either end-- anything over 7 is too alkaline for the sensitive varieties, those that are not good at scrounging or assimilating iron.

But, light green new growth with darker veins is in itself evidence of iron deficiency caused by alkalinity (or in some cases by water-logging). In more extreme cases the new leaves are yellow or white; these are totally non-functional leaves, owing to the absence of chlorophyll, which the plant can't make without available iron. I would apply sulfur to reduce the pH in addition to an iron supplement.
roseseek
12 years ago
Of course, as Michael suggested, make sure water logging isn't to blame for the condition. All Ironite contains varying levels of iron, as well as sulfur and micro nutrients. The labels are there as PDF files. The pelletized one I copied below. Kim

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:Total Nitrogen (N)1%1.0% Urea NitrogenSoluble Potash (K2O)1%Calcium (Ca)12%Sulfur (S)10%10.0% Combined Sulfur (S)Boron (B)0.02%Iron (Fe)4.5%2.25% Water Soluble Iron (Fe)Manganese (Mn)0.10%0.03% Water Soluble Manganese (Mn)Molybdenum (Mo)0.0005%Zinc (Zn)0.10%0.02% Water Soluble Zinc (Zn)Derived from Urea, Muriate of Potash, Calcium Sulfate, Sodium Borate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Sucrate, Iron Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Oxide, Sodium Molybdate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide. F525Information regarding the contents and

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