What has the pH of soil got to do with planting?

Soil pH levels are something we generally don’t give consideration to, we buy some plants, place in the garden and hope for the best. Knowing the pH of your soil is crucial on deciding which vegetable, fruits or flowers to grow.  It will help you chose the best plants and flowers that will thrive in your garden.

Acid Lovers or Lime Haters?

Plants that prefer acid soil are often referred to as Acid lovers or Lime haters while the opposite is true of plants that are alkaline lovers. Plants like Magnolias, Japanese Anemones or Camellias do well in acidic soil but others like Lily of the Valley, Lavender or Lilac prefer alkaline soil.

One flower that you can plant in either soil is hydrangeas. If the colour of your hydrangeas are pink then it would suggest that your soil type is alkaline. On the other hand if your hydrangeas are blue in colour, this tends to suggest that you have acidic soil.

How to Measure Acidity in Soil?

If you don’t know what type of soil you have, you can test the pH of soil with a pH meter. pH is what we refer to when we measure acidity or alkalinity of soil - it is measured on a scale of 1 to 14. Soil average is 7 - this means it’s neutral and any number below 7 indicates that the soil is acidic and likewise any number above 7 indicates that the soil is alkaline.



Techris Systems provide easy to use pH Meters with flat surface electrodes that can be placed directly onto the soil with ease for fast, accurate measurements - no glass electrodes or delicate parts well suited to field use. We also supply laboratory standard pH meters with a selection of electrodes.