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Hi all I brought this kit and my soil is the top line on this chart high amount of everything - I have no idea what this means - do I have good soul or not if not what do I do? Thanks Mark
look at the plants that are growing on the soil already, esp. weeds. That will give you a good indication of what soil you have.
Blueberries, azaleas, and rhododendrons prefer a more acid soil. Hydrangeas will be pink on an alkaline soil, and blue in acidic soil. Spuds grown in alkaline soil are fairly likely to get scab (mine do, badly).
I placed some soil in a tube and filled it with the solution and it went a dark green colour as on chart
Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum
It means that your soil is alkaline at the top end of the scale and that you do not need to add lime to it. Your potatoes will probably be a bit scabby with the high lime content but everything else that likes lime should do well. Don't try and grow blueberries in it though.
Edited because I don't know how it could test for the other minerals.
Last edited by Four Seasons; 31-10-2013, 02:21 PM.
Seems like everyone gets an Alkaline reading with the B & Q kit pH Testing Our Soil
It looks like you have paid out for some type of litmus solution. If you have any solution left try adding some vinegar and see if it actually shows up as acid.
I don't think your test tells you very much (anything) about your nutrient levels and I'm always very suspicious of having coloured material (your soil) in anything that is assessed by a colour change. For pH you are better off with pH paper pressed on moist soil (using de ionised water if it needs moistening) or a meter, I guess although I don't know how accurate they are.
Edit: just checked out the prices for lab pH meters (accurate), cheapest comes in at about £40!
As has been said above you are better off looking at your soil and working out what it's sand/loam/clay properties are and at what is currently growing in it.
I placed some soil in a tube and filled it with the solution and it went a dark green colour as on chart
Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum
Did you dry it out and crumble it up? As mentioned, you need to check against something acid to see if it is reading correctly, and also dry the soil out and crush before putting in the tube.
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