[Music]
healthy soil is vital for our plants
particularly in the veggie patch they
need the right type of soil that can
hold moisture drain well and of course
they need lots of food
soil ph is the measure of alkalinity or
acidity of your soil or the amount of
hydrogen ions if you want to get
technical it'll vary depending on where
you live and if it's too much one way or
the other your plants won't be able to
access the food that you give them
so
let's dig a little bit deeper into soil
ph to ensure that your plants are
getting the nutrients that they desire
many of you are going to have a ph test
kit in the back shed they cost about 20
bucks and they're very easy to use
the ph scale range between one acidic
and 14 alkaline but in your kit the
scale ranges between 2 and 10 because
that's what you'll find in soil
grab your soil sample and place it on
the white card provided in your kit
and it's important to make sure your
soil sample is free of rocks and organic
material like roots and twigs
then add your dye and mix it through
using the paddle
then add some barium powder and wait for
the color to change
the ph here is seven which is neutral
which is a perfect place to be in your
garden
and here's why
as the scale of ph changes so does the
combination of nutrients available at
the center of the scale the most
important nutrients like nitrogen
potassium and phosphorus are most
readily available for plants to take up
at the ph extremes these become less
available and other elements like
aluminium can become toxic to your
plants
it's a really good idea to take multiple
soil samples from different parts of
your garden and do it before you add
compost or any minerals
and make sure it's on a nice dry day
that way you'll get an accurate reading
there are general patterns of soil ph
around australia based on things like
the type of underlying bedrock
agricultural use and the amounts of
rainfall
much of western australia's coastal
regions are alkaline due to the presence
of limestone
on the other hand tazzy's east coast is
dominated by dolorite clays getting more
acidic as you head north
whereas two-thirds of queensland surface
oils are considered acidic this is due
to high rainfall and the constant
leeching of certain nutrients
drier areas are more alkaline as the
combination of elements in the soil are
more stable
and 50
of australia's agricultural lands have
high acidity due to practices like using
ammonia heavy fertilizers
at the higher end of the ph scale are
our alkaline soils a ph of around seven
to eight is perfect for plants like
brassicas garlic spinach hibiscus sweet
peas and geraniums
at this range all the major elements
plus more calcium and magnesium are
available which is a diet that these
plants prefer
most of your veggies like to sit about
mid-range six to seven which is close to
neutral and that makes a lot of sense
because they're heavy feeders of npk on
nitrogen phosphorous and potassium once
you get outside this range there's less
of those key nutrients available to the
plant which can show up as yellowing
leaves but more importantly it can stop
your plant from thriving and a weak
plant is more susceptible to disease
when you hear acid loving don't think it
needs to be one or two that'd be battery
acid and not too good for your plants
things like waratahs rhododendrons
camellias cymbidium orchids and
blueberries are all acid lovers but a
good example is camellia is like at
about six to six point five whereas
something like a blueberry likes it a
little bit more acidic and about five
to acidify your soil use plenty of
compost mulch and animal manure
or if your soil's too acidic you can
raise your ph by adding dolomite or
garden lime
sandy soils are more likely to be acidic
but they're easier to change so you
don't need to use as much lime on sand
as you do with clay
or you might want to consider crop
rotation which is a really useful
strategy for maintaining good soil
balance because certain crops will take
certain nutrients out and others will
put them back in or you might want to go
indigenous because those plants are the
best suited to your local soils
keep a good eye on your garden for
nutrient deficiencies get yourself a ph
test kit
test your soil and amend it if you need
to
but by selecting plants that are well
suited to your soil type and its ph
you'll save yourself a lot of time and
effort in the long run
[Music]