The main desire of a gardener or a gardener is a good harvest. But sometimes all efforts are in vain, and the reason is acidity of the soil, or rather, its deviation from the norm. What does it depend on? The main reason is the presence of hydrogen ions in the soil in one or another quantity. Most plants like a slightly acidic, almost neutral soil with an acidity of 5.5-6.5.The exception is sorrel, lupine, potatoes - they prefer acidic soil.
- How to determine soil acidity without devices yourself
- How to reduce soil acidity
- How to increase soil acidity
On soils with high acidity, many plants absorb nutrients worse for them because aluminum and manganese are activated, and they are toxicfor plants, the soil microflora ceases to process organic matter, and the beneficial substances do not pass into an assimilable form. Acidity is indicated by the pH symbol, and it can be determined with or without special devices.
How to determine the acidity of the soil without devices yourself
There are several fairly simple ways.
- It is necessary to dig a hole with a depth of 25-35 cm and take some earth from the bottom of it. Slightly moisten the soil with separated or rain water( it is undesirable from the tap, as it contains chlorine) and firmly press a litmus test to it. Such paper can be bought in stores for gardeners. If it changes color from yellow to pink( pH from 3 to 5), then the soil is acidic, if it turns green or blue( pH from 7 to 10), then it is alkaline.
- Ordinary food grade 9% vinegar drip onto a handful of soil: if bubbles appear or you hear the soil sizzles, then the soil is not acidic, it contains alkali.
- Make a decoction of fresh leaves of currants and cherries( 1 cup of leaves for 1 liter of water).Cool the broth and add 3-4 tablespoons of ground there. Stir. If the water gets a reddish tint - the soil is acidic, if bluish - slightly acidic, and if greenish, then neutral.
More precisely, the soil acidity will be determined by a special device - a soil pH meter. Well, if it is not at hand, the soil acidity will be prompted by the weeds growing on your site.
Sour soils like: fern, plantain, tricolor violet, creeping buttercup, sedge, horsetail, wild rosemary, field veronica, horse sorrel, small sorrel, heather, boulus, pikulnik, field mint, blueberries.
Preferred soils are preferred - nettle, wood lice( star silk), clover, wheatgrass, crawling, coltsfoot, quinoa, dogrose, garden thistle, meadow clover.
On neutral soils, euphorbia, adonis, garden thistle, white clover, field bindweed, chicory, shepherd's purse, and other weeds grow.
On alkaline - mac-corn, white dander, field mustard, larkspur.
I, frankly, did not do any soil analysis on my site. But, judging by the fact that I have, unfortunately, a thistle, wood louse, spurge, wheat grass, field bindweed grow, then the land at my dacha is slightly acidic, and in some places - close to normal. 
Somehow I watched the transfer on Zagorodny TV channel and the agronomist specialists said that it is not necessary that the soil has the same acidity throughout the whole area - the pH of the earth may be different within the same garden or garden. So, for example, only in one place of the garden I have a shepherd's weed bag growing - most likely, the soil at this place has neutral acidity, and at the opposite end of the plot - wood louse - I think that the soil is slightly acidic. 
How to reduce soil acidity
You can reduce soil acidity by adding acidic materials: thoroughly ground lime or dolomite flour, ground chalk, lake lime, silt, wood ash at a rate of 1-2 kg per 1 square meter.m and even egg shells.
They need to be evenly scattered over the surface of the site. Do it better during the autumn digging of the earth. But keep in mind that it is impossible to conduct liming simultaneously with the application of organic fertilizers, otherwise nitrogen, which is useful for plants, will be neutralized.
The change in acidity in the soil does not occur immediately, for 3-4 years, and depends on the dose of liming, therefore, it must be checked annually.
↑ to content ↑How to increase soil acidity
Alkaline soil is also not suitable for all plants. Alkaline environment interferes with the absorption of certain micro and macro elements. It can be brought closer to a neutral indicator of acidity, if you make manure, peat or compost. For example, to increase the acidity by 1 pH, 3 kg of manure or 9 kg of compost per 1 m2 will be required. You can make sulfate, superphosphate, ammonium sulphate, and even more suitable sulfur.
And one more tip: before enriching the soil, think carefully about what crops you plant this season, it may be worthwhile to divide your plot into segments and change the acidity of the soil in accordance with the requirements of a particular plant species.
