How To Raise Ph Level In Garden

Before you start planting in your garden, it's essential to find out the soil pH, a measurement that describes how acid or alkaline your soil is, because different plants thrive in different soils.

Understanding this early on will help you choose what plants to grow and keep plants healthy.

Soil test kit / soil pH tester

'The easiest way to find out what type of soil you have is to use a soil testing kit to help you choose the right plants to thrive in your garden,' Louise Golden, resident gardening expert at Dobbies Garden Centres, tells Housebeautiful.co.uk. These kits will give a good indication of soil pH and are widely available in garden centres.

Though for the best results, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends sending a soil sample to a laboratory for detailed analysis. The gardening charity actually offers a professional soil analysis service, providing a full written report once samples are sent in and tested.

Dobies

Soil Ph Meter / Soil Moisture Meter

As a guide to pH levels, the RHS explains: 'A pH of 7.0 is considered neutral. An acid soil has a pH value below 7.0 and above 7.0 the soil is alkaline.'

• pH 3.0 - 5.0: very acid soil

• pH 5.1 - 6.0: acid soil

• pH 6.1 - 7.0: moderately acid soil (A pH 6.5 is the best general purpose pH for gardens, say the RHS, allowing a wide range of plants to grow, except lime-hating plants)

• pH 7.1 - 8.0: alkaline soil

Plants can't get the nutrients they need from soil that is too acid, therefore garden lime is added to increase soil pH to make it more alkaline – acidifying materials are added to decrease soil pH. Read more via the RHS

No testing kit?

'If you aren't able to get hold of a soil testing kit, a simple method to check what soil you have is by touching and feeling it – this will help determine the texture,' explains Louise. She suggests the following:

Take a small handful and begin by rolling this with your hands. If it is gritty and you can feel sand grains, it is likely to be sandy soil. Sandy soils are often very acidic.

Try rolling the soil around, if you can roll it easily and the surface layer becomes smooth and shiny as you continue to roll, your soil type is clay. Clay soil becomes sticky when wet, so you can also try adding a few drops of water to the mixture. This type of clay tends to be on the alkaline side of the scale.

Chalky soil is stony and is an alkaline soil. Very chalky soils may contain lumps of visible chalky white stone.

Another option is to take a look at the gardens in your neighbourhood. Louise explains: 'Alternatively, look around your neighbourhood to see the plants growing in their gardens, as this will give you an indication of the types of plants that will grow well in your own garden space. Many plants grow quite happily in containers, so even if your soil is not ideal you can still grow the plants you love to suit your garden style.'

Types of soil

Once you have a better understanding of your soil and its pH level, you can turn your attention to planting. Louise shares the following planting recommendations:

● Acidic soils enable Ericaceous plants to grow strong and healthy. Think Azaleas and Rhododendrons, Acers, Camellias, Pieris and many magnolias. Use Ericaceous compost with added John Innes for container planting.

Thompson & Morgan

Rhododendron 'Geisha Orange' (Azalea Group)

thompson & morgan thompson-morgan.com

£8.99

● Chalky soils suit a wide range of plants, particularly those that benefit from its free-draining properties such as lavender, rosemary and much-loved cottage garden plants such as hardy geraniums, nepeta and verbena bonariensis. Meadow flowers thrive on shallow chalky soils, attracting bees, butterflies and garden pollinators to even the smallest of spaces.

Dobies

Geranium Plant - Sweet Heidy

● Clay soils can sometimes be difficult to work with, but their soil structure locks in nutrients, perfect for hungry feeding plants like roses and hydrangeas. Digging in plenty of soil conditioner or garden compost will help to make the soil easier to work with.

Bloomung Direct

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Rhapsody'

hydrangea bloomingdirect.com

£12.99

● Sandy soils are ideal for drought-loving plants. Think coastal planting – grasses and verbascums for height, spikey Eryngiums, Agapanthus, Cistus and Lavatera and everyone's favourite, Erigeron Karvinskianus.

Thompson & Morgan

Agapanthus Duo Collection

thompson & morgan thompson-morgan.com

£14.99

Improving garden soil for planting success

The secret to improving all soil types is working in lots of good organic matter – garden compost or well-rotted manure is ideal. Organic matter helps to break up heavy soils, improving drainage and making them easier to dig – just what you need if you're struggling with heavy clay. When added to light soils, organic matter provides body and helps to retain moisture, which is essential for healthy plant growth.

'Soil is the most important thing in a garden, so it's well worth giving yours a bit of TLC,' says Marcus Eyles, Dobbies Horticultural Director. 'Plants need good soil to thrive, as they rely on it for all the nutrients they need – healthy soil means healthy plants and flowers, it is a simple as that.

'Of course, not everyone's soil is perfect, some of us have heavy clay that's impossible to dig in the winter and rock hard in the summer; while others have earth that's full of sand and holds onto very little water or nutrients. But all is not lost, it is possible to improve virtually any soil type with a bit of effort and a barrow full of compost, meaning you will be able to give your plants the growing conditions they need.'

row of onions growing in the vegetable patch of chatsworth house

Michael Roberts Getty Images

You will need:

Garden or border fork
Farmyard manure
General fertiliser (like pelleted chicken manure or bonemeal)
Horticultural grit

Step by step:

Rid your soil of any weeds and dig it over with a fork. It's best to dig after rain, as this is when most soils are easiest to work. Don't dig when soil is frozen or solid after prolonged dry spells.
Spread a layer of well-rotted manure or garden compost over your soil surface. Spread it nice and thickly – the more you add the better your soil will become
Dig the manure into the ground, making sure it's fully mixed with your soil. If you have heavy clay you can also work in horticultural grit as this stage – this will encourage it to break up.
Finish off with a sprinkling of general-purpose fertiliser and fork it into the soil surface – pelleted chicken manure or bonemeal is ideal. Repeat the whole process every spring and autumn.

DigiPub Getty Images

Soil for plants: 3 top tips

• Avoid walking on soil when you don't have to – this will stop it becoming compact, keeping it open and easy to dig.

• Don't expect instant results – improving soil should be a regular part of your gardening regime and it will gradually get better over time

• You can always grow special plants in containers if they are not suited to the soil type you have.

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