Chalk to bring into the soil. How to reduce the acidity of the soil in the garden. How and when to do soil liming

The increased acidity of the soil has a bad effect on productivity - after all, beneficial microorganisms and bacteria, which are so necessary for plants, cannot live in such soil. But for me this is not a problem, because I know how to deoxidize the soil in the garden, and I will tell you how to determine the acidity of the soil. I also want to share with you the most effective ways that I have tried more than once. Let's get started!

Increased soil acidity is a problem that should not be ignored. Such a substrate is an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms, viruses. Weed grass, mosses feel great in it.

But cultural plantings love slightly acidic, neutral soil. In soil with a low pH, their development slows down, and the plantings themselves weaken, become susceptible to pests and infections.

Deoxidation of the soil is the only effective way to bring the pH to an acceptable level. The frequency of the procedure depends on the characteristics of the substrate:

1. Loams: after 7 years.
2. Sandy soils: every 5 years.
3. Peat substrates: after 3 years.

The amount of funds applied depends on the percentage of humus in the soil. The higher it is, the more money you need to spend.

Do they always deoxidize the soil

If you find that the pH of the substrate in your garden is low, do not seek to neutralize the entire area. Check if there are plantings that like moderately acidic soil:

1. Berries: cranberries, strawberries, cranberries, blueberries.
2. Vegetable crops: turnips, potatoes, carrots, sorrel, radish, pumpkin, tomatoes.
3. Ornamental plants: azalea, ferns, hydrangeas, chicory, conifers.

But fruit bushes, trees develop in such an environment, bear fruit very poorly - they need a neutral soil.

How to determine the acidity of the soil

When you just bought a personal plot, I advise you to immediately determine the acidity of the substrate before planting the first plants. If the soil pH was initially neutral, this does not mean that there will be no negative changes in the future. Therefore, check all the same make periodically. Here are the average values:

1. Maximum acidified soil: 3.8-4.
2. Strongly acid: 4.1-4.5.
3. Medium acid: 4.6-5.
4. Slightly acid: 5.1-5.5.
5. Neutral: 5.6-6.9.

Deoxidation is required when the pH is less than 5.5.

I will share simple ways to check acidification:

1. Litmus paper, distilled water, several samples of the substrate from different areas of the garden. You can buy what you need at the pharmacy. Wrap each handful of earth in a cloth, lower it into a glass of distilled water. For each portion of the soil - its own capacity. After 5 minutes, dip a piece of litmus paper into the glasses for 1-2 seconds. By its color, one can judge the characteristics of the soil: from red to orange - acidic, from yellow to green - neutral, from blue to dark blue - alkaline.
2. A decoction of currant and cherry leaves, soil samples from several areas of the garden. It will take a few leaves - pour them with boiling water. Wait until the broth has cooled, place a handful of soil in it. If the liquid takes on a reddish color, the soil is acidic. If bluish, purple - the soil is neutral, alkaline.
3. Beet. The plant acts as a "litmus paper": on acidified soil - red leaves, on slightly acidic - reddish streaks, on neutral - juicy green tops, red petioles.
4. Vinegar (9%), soil samples from different areas of the garden. Put on dark matter, paper, glass. Carefully pour a soil sample on it, drip a little vinegar. Follow the reaction: abundant foam indicates an alkaline substrate, a slight hiss indicates a neutral one, and no reaction indicates an acidic soil.
5. pH meter. The clearest data is for this device. "Indicators" will be weeds in your area. Horse sorrel, plantain, horsetail, dandelions prefer acidic soil.

How and with what to deoxidize the soil in the garden

In garden centers you can easily find special preparations. With them, everything is simple - just use the tool according to the instructions. I will share with you folk effective ways of deoxidation.

I carry out the procedure itself in several stages:

1. Before starting the cultivation of the site, I introduced the peak rate of funds - slaked lime, dolomite flour, gypsum by deep digging of the earth. I repeat such control treatments of the entire garden every 5-7 years.
2. Every year I deoxidize areas with high acidity, where it is difficult for plants to develop. I reduce the dosage of funds, I introduce drugs with a shallow, light digging.
3. Slightly acidic soils are thoroughly processed every 5-8 years, strongly acidified soils - every 4 years.

Pay attention to the plan of your site. If you observe crop rotation, change the location of the ridges annually, you will have to deoxidize the entire plot. When you traditionally plant identical, related crops in the same area, only certain areas of the garden require processing - where plants suffering from low pH will be planted.

1. Plots for fruit trees are cultivated 2 years before the intended planting. Ridges for annual plants deoxidize in the fall.
2. The drug is evenly dispersed over the surface of the earth. You can use a sieve, scoop, sieve.
3. The treated area is dug up approximately on the bayonet of a shovel.

The more evenly the substances penetrate deep into the substrate, the more effective their application.

Liming

The most famous deacidifier among gardeners is lime. You can apply the following:

• slaked lime (fluff);
• key lime (tuff lime);
• carbonic lime (ground);
• cement dust;
• lake lime (limestone).

The scheme of action of all these funds is similar, but the dosages, the terms of application differ. I will warn you that any lime is an aggressive substance. After its introduction, the plantings will not be able to absorb phosphorus from the substrate for some time. Therefore, I always carry out such deoxidation of the garden before the autumn digging, when the harvest is harvested. By spring, the chemical composition of the soil returns to normal.

Quicklime must be filled with water before processing. For slaked, the following dosages have been introduced:

1. Slightly acidic soils: 200 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 300 g per 1 m2.

Lime carbonate is introduced in different proportions for different types of substrate. For heavy and medium-heavy loamy:

1. Slightly acidic soil: 300-400 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 450-500 g per 1 m2.
3. Strongly acidic: 550-600 g per 1 m2.

For light loam and sandy soils:

1. Slightly acidic soil: 200 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 250-300 g per 1 m2.
3. Strongly acidic: 350-400 g per 1 m2.

These norms will make it possible to deoxidize the soil by 15-20 cm. If deeper processing is needed, it is necessary to increase the dosage. In the case when more than 500 g of lime is applied per 1 m2 of land, the next deoxidation should be carried out only after 3 years.

Dolomite flour

This is the name of crushed into crumbs, dolomite powder is one of the rocks. flour you can buy in gardening centers, hardware stores. I advise you to pay attention to the size of the fractions (individual grains) - the smaller they are, the more effective the drug. I buy flour whose moisture content does not exceed 13%, and the diameter of most of the grains of sand (you can read about this on the pack) is 0.25 mm.

The tool is not as aggressive as lime, so it can be applied for digging both in spring and autumn. Its safety is also higher from an environmental point of view. In addition to deoxidizing the substrate, "dolomite" is useful for the following:

• contains magnesium, calcium, trace elements;
• serves as a baking powder (helping heavy soils - the chemical composition and structure of the substrate improves).

The average proportions are as follows:

1. Slightly acidic soils: 300-400 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 400 g per 1 m2.
3. Strongly acidic: 500 g per 1 m2.

Dolomite flour is used before applying mineral fertilizers - it contributes to their better absorption. Spring deoxidation is carried out 15 days before planting crops.

"Dolomite" additionally disinfects the soil from pathogens of fungal diseases. I try to use it for a potato field, greenhouses - this is a remedy for the Colorado potato beetle and the bear. When interacting, the flour destroys their chitinous shells, causing the pests to die.

Dolomite flour is an excellent fertilizer for fruit and berry crops. Application rate: 0.5-1 kg - for a shrub, 2 kg - for a tree.

wood ash

Furnace ash is a universal helper: fertilizer, pesticide, deoxidizer. However, agronomists do not recommend stopping only at it, especially when preparing a place for nightshade, which need a high content of calcium in the soil. The composition of the ash may vary depending on the part of the burnt tree, its place of growth, the age of the plant, and the type of wood.

The content of calcium salts in the product can reach 60%, 50%, and 30%. Based on this, the application rates also change: from 1 to 1.5 kg per 1 m2. The most effective is birch ash. It will additionally enrich the soil with potassium, phosphorus. If the ash is obtained by burning weeds, tops, the percentage of calcium in it is minimal. The application rate increases to 2-2.5 kg per m2.

Basically, I use ash as a mineral fertilizer. Since I do not have stove heating, it is difficult to collect the required amount of the drug for the full deoxidation of the soil. But for these purposes, ash can still be used in two cases:

1. As an additional component of a potent agent - lime, gypsum, dolomite flour.
2. The next year after a deep, thorough liming of the soil.

For re-deoxidation, 200 g of ash is diluted with 1 liter of water. The liquid is enough to process 1 m2 of land. If the ash is not wood, but peat, then 250-300 g of ash per 1 liter of water is required.

Chalk deoxidation

According to the application schedule, chalk is similar to lime - it is introduced into the soil for autumn digging. Before use, be sure to grind it, and when cultivating the site, mix it thoroughly with the ground. Chalk is stored only in a dry place - at high humidity it cakes, strays into hard lumps. The highest efficiency - with a grain size of not more than 1 mm. If they are larger, the processing action will slow down.

Approximate dosages according to the characteristics of the substrate:

1. Slightly acidic soils: 200-300 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 400 g per 1 m2.
3. Strongly acidic: 500-700 g per 1 m2.

I advise you to pay attention to a close "relative" of chalk - gypsum. Its advantage is obvious: when applied to the soil, gypsum can be dissolved not by water, but only by acid. Therefore, immediately after digging, it reacts with it: the pH of the soil decreases, and the gypsum itself remains in a passive state, without harming the plantings, beneficial soil bacteria. But as soon as the pH of the substrate changes again, it “comes to life” and reacts with the acid.

Approximate dosages of gypsum are as follows:

1. Slightly acidic soil: 100-200 g per 1 m2.
2. Medium acid: 300 g per 1 m2.
3. Strongly acidic: 400 g per 1 m2.

The impact of chalk, gypsum is soft, which is why it is short-lived - funds must be applied every spring. Try to alternate preparations with other methods of deoxidation - they accumulate in the substrate, contributing to its salinization.

green manure plants

Supporters of organic farming do not need to calculate the norms, to carry out liming every season. The same effect will help to achieve landing-siderata. Moreover, with proper crop rotation, they are often comparable to potent lime.

You can use oats, wheat, buckwheat, rapeseed, mustard, oilseed radish, lupine, rye, alfalfa, sweet clover. I plant phacelia - the plant not only lowers the pH, but is also honey-bearing. Pollinating insects flock to green manure throughout the summer season.

You can start sowing already in early spring - they are not afraid of frost, they are not demanding on watering, soil. Sowing depth - 1.5-2 cm. For uniform sowing, mix the seeds with sand.

To deoxidize the site, green manure must grow on it all summer. In autumn, the plants are mowed, and then they dig up the soil along with the tops. If the pH is too low, it makes sense to sow green manure in the same area for the next season.

What difficulties arise when soil deoxidation

If you cannot apply the listed products, or they are not effective enough, I advise you to pay attention to special liming compounds in garden centers. Choose complex preparations that simultaneously deoxidize and fertilize. They should include:

• magnesium;
• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• zinc;
• manganese;
• copper.

Make sure that the fractions of the drug are small, and on its packaging there is a mark on environmental friendliness, safety of use. Basically, such funds are used for autumn digging. Like folk, they are evenly distributed over the surface of the earth, and then they dig up the area on the bayonet of a shovel. After that, you need to water the bed. The effect of using the product is within 2 years.

At high pH, ​​I advise you to carry out complex processing:

1. In the spring, apply manure, "dolomite", carry out a shallow dig.
2. Treat the site with the Baikal biological product (contains soil bacteria).
3. After 2-3 weeks, plant green manure.

In order not to harm the deoxidation of the soil, plantings, I recommend the following:

1. Observe the terms and dosages.
2. Carefully add lime: its excess makes valuable elements (manganese, boron, potassium, iron) difficult to digest for the root system.
3. Try to deacidify the soil in the fall, and fertilize in the spring.
4. After carrying out deep liming for two years, refuse to apply mineral fertilizers. Replace them with organic matter or carry out foliar feeding.

Before liming the soil in the garden, be sure to determine the pH of the substrate. Don't forget about plants that like moderately acidic soil. Turn to potent drugs only with high acidity, try to replace them with green manure. After all, oversaturation of the soil with calcium is no less harmful than its lack.

How to know the acidity of the soil: video

The reaction of the soil plays a very important role in the growth and development of plants. Soils are acidic, alkaline and neutral.

Soil acidity is determined by the pH value. When acids are added to water, this value begins to decrease, and alkalis increase.

Most soils in central Russia, especially in regions with high rainfall, are slightly acidic or neutral (pH 5.5-7). In places where there is little rainfall, soils are most often alkaline (pH 7-8).

If the soil in the garden is acidic, it is brought to a state close to neutral. On acidic soils, plants are oppressed: they grow poorly, the roots branch poorly, and the yield decreases. Plants are especially sensitive to increased soil acidity at the beginning of growth, immediately after germination. They poorly absorb nutrients from poor and structureless soil. They accumulate a large amount of salts, which leads to salinization.

Acidic soils (pH 3.5-4) are mainly soddy-podzolic, strongly acidic - peaty. They are nutrient-poor and structureless.

Most crops require soil that is neutral or slightly acidic. So, chicory salad, radish, radish, sorrel grow well at pH 5; carrots, cucumbers, pumpkin, zucchini, tomatoes, kohlrabi, rhubarb - at 5.5; cabbage, lettuce, eggplant, horseradish, garlic - at 6; asparagus, beets, celery, onions, peppers, spinach, parsnips - at pH 6.5.

How to find out - what is the acidity of the soil on the site? If beets and cabbage grow well in the garden, then the acidity of the soil is close to neutral; if bad, then the soil is acidic. The strong development of such weeds as creeping ranunculus, pikulnik, horsetail, willow-damaria, pike and white-beard, also indicates that the soil in the area is acidic.

Soil acidity can also be determined by the simplest analytical method: using indicator paper. Take about 20 g of soil, add 50 ml of water, shake well and leave for 1 day to settle. Carefully, so as not to shake, pour the clear infusion into a bowl and dip purple litmus paper.

If it does not change its original color or changes to blue-blue, then the soil has a reaction close to neutral. In the event that the paper turns red, then the soil is acidic. Of course, such an analysis is not very accurate: it only characterizes acidity in general terms and does not show its degree at all.

And you can use the "old-fashioned" methods. Take 3~4 leaves of black currant (or bird cherry) and brew in 250 ml of boiling water. The broth is cooled and a lump of soil is lowered into it. If the water acquires a reddish color, the reaction of the soil is acidic, greenish - slightly acidic, bluish - neutral.

There is another, but also a simple way.

Take 2 tbsp. spoons (with a top) of soil and pour into a bottle with a narrow neck. There also pour 5 tbsp. tablespoons of water at room temperature. In a small piece of paper (5x5 cm) wrap 1 teaspoon of crushed chalk and push it into the bottle. Roll up a rubber fingertip and put on the neck of the bottle (the fingertip remains in a flattened state). The bottle is wrapped in newspaper so that it does not get warm by hand, and shaken vigorously for 5 minutes.

If the soil is acidic, then when interacting with the chalk in the bottle, a chemical reaction will begin with the release of carbon dioxide, the pressure will rise, and the rubber fingertip will fully straighten. With slightly acidic soil, it will straighten by half, if the soil reaction is neutral, it will not straighten at all.

It is possible to distinguish acidic soils from the rest by external signs. So, they have a thin dark-colored humus layer, which at a shallow depth is replaced by a clearly expressed white podzolic horizon 10 cm thick or more.

❀ Attention: the soil in different places of the site may have different acidity, which changes from year to year, so that it cannot be determined once and for all.

For a more accurate determination of the acidity of the soil on the site, use the services of the nearest agrochemical laboratory. Under laboratory conditions, such an analysis is simple and, accordingly, not very expensive.

If the soil on the site turned out to be acidic, then the acidity can be reduced by adding lime. On strongly acidic soils, 50-70 kg of lime are applied per 1 hectare of land, on acidic soils - 35-45, and on slightly acidic - 25-30 kg. Recently developed soils with a light or light brown color also need liming.

With the same acidity on heavy, clayey soils, the dose of lime should be higher than on lighter loamy and sandy soils.

Lime is applied in the fall, by spreading it evenly over the soil surface before digging it. The better the lime mixes with the soil, the faster the acidity decreases.

Lime in the soil moves very weakly, so it must be well mixed with the ground.

❀ Attention: excessively high doses of lime are harmful. On such soils, plants absorb potassium and many microelements worse, which, in turn, worsens the wintering of plants.

Lime is characterized by a long-term effect: when applied in the indicated doses, the need for repeated liming occurs only after 7-10 years. Sometimes liming is carried out in smaller doses, but then, naturally, the acidity of the soil decreases more slowly, and the need for its re-treatment comes faster.

On acidic soils after liming, due to the reduction in acidity, crop yields can increase - as after applying a good dose of complete fertilizer.

For liming, limestone flour (ground limestone), slaked and quicklime, lime tuff, lake lime, marl, dolomite flour are used.

It is better to gypsum the soil, rather than lime it: that is, instead of lime or wood ash, gypsum, alabaster, chalk, dolomite, crushed old cement, plaster (including dry) or eggshells are used to deoxidize the soil.

The fact is that lime and wood ash are strong alkalis. The calcium included in them completely and quickly dissolves in water. Getting into the soil, especially immediately in large quantities, they sharply increase the pH of the soil up to 7, sometimes up to 8-10.

At the same time, the chemical elements in the soil, including phosphorus and potassium, enter into chemical compounds that are insoluble in water, due to which they become inaccessible to plants - the suction power of the root hairs is not enough to absorb these elements from chemical compounds.

Plants begin to starve and stop growing. Over time, natural acidification of the soil occurs, including due to acid rain near large cities. The reaction of the soil changes, the pH decreases and everything returns to normal, but a whole season may pass before this moment. Thus, liming makes the soil unsuitable for growing plants for some time. That is why it is recommended to apply lime from the fall and not use fertilizers at the same time.

If the soil is deoxidized with chalk, gypsum, etc., this does not happen. The fact is that all of the above are insoluble in water, and acid is required to dissolve them in the soil. If the soil is acidic, gypsum materials will dissolve, reducing its acidity, but as soon as the soil reaction reaches a pH value that is most suitable for most plants, the chemical reaction of deoxidation will stop and a further increase in pH will not occur. Not only that: the unused part of the deoxidizers will not disappear, but will remain in the soil, since they are not soluble in water.

When the soil's natural acidification process lowers the pH to 6, they will chemically react again, reducing the acidity of the soil. Since the pH during gypsum does not decrease below the permissible value, nutrients, including phosphorus and potassium, remain in a form available to plants.

In the North-West region, soils are best deoxidized with dolomite flour, which contains not only calcium, but also magnesium.

However, with an excess of the latter in the soil, phosphorus is poorly absorbed by plants. So too much magnesium is just as bad as too little.

And gardeners should also be aware that phosphorus, which is found in the soil, is available to plants only if its acidity is in a small pH range: 5.5 ~ 6.5.

"Delicacy" from eggshell

Eggshell serves to increase soil fertility and brings considerable benefits. First of all - as a means of reducing its acidity. As already mentioned, excessive acidity reduces the fertility of the earth, negatively affects the development and productivity of many plants.

Usually, lime, chalk and other ground lime waste are used as lime materials. But the eggshell should not be abandoned either. It contains about 94% potassium carbonates, 1.3% magnesium, 1.7% J phosphates, 3% organic matter. Ground eggshell is a unique fertilizer, which, in addition to these elements, includes proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other microadditives.

Collect the shell carefully. You can put it in small cardboard boxes and dry it on a radiator. In 1~2 days, the shell dries up and does not emit an unpleasant odor. After that, the shell is kneaded, and then passed through a meat grinder.

For better digestibility by plants, a small amount of the shell is ground in a coffee grinder. In this case, egg flour is obtained from the shell. Such a "delicacy" is added directly to the wells before planting. Coarsely ground shells go mainly when digging the earth.

Growing garden crops on the site is a favorite pastime of many compatriots. What could be better than planting green spaces in time and then enjoying the fruits of your labor as they ripen. However, sometimes it happens that all processes are observed, the beds are measured and the crop rotation of plants in the garden is normal, and the crops stop growing, bear fruit poorly and wither. The fact is that not all soils are the same in composition and quite often there are those that need to be neutralized. One of these procedures is called “Soil Deoxidation”.

The magic word "pH" for the gardener

Our ancestors also noticed that on some lands, useful crops feel good and actively develop and bear fruit. In other areas, illuminated and sunny, there is a picture of wilting and disease of green spaces.

It's all about the composition of the soil garden or garden plot. Any soil has its own acidity index, which affects the timely development of plants. Some green spaces do well in acidic soil, while others need soil that is more alkaline or neutral.

The acidity of the soil is indicated by pH and has a gradation from 1 to 14.

Soil acidity

Science has established that the normal acidity of the site is in the range from 6 to 7. Anything below these indicators on the scale indicates an increase in pH, and anything above indicates the predominance of alkali in the earth. There are several types of soils, namely:

• neutral;
• subacid;
• medium acid;
• sour.

In the range from 5.99 to 5, the soil in the summer cottage is slightly acidic, and from 4.99 to 4 - medium acidic. Anything below 4 indicates a strong acidification of the soil.

In order not to have problems with productivity in the future, when purchasing a site, experts recommend immediately measuring its pH in order to know what kind of care and intervention the soil requires. Also, measurements must be carried out annually in order to determine the land work to improve the condition of the garden.

Reducing the acidity of the soil is called the process of deoxidation of the site.

Measurement methods

There are several ways to measure the pH in a summer cottage: using special devices or using “old-fashioned methods”. The easiest way is to collect soil samples and take them to the laboratory for detailed analysis, but this takes time and money. You can also buy or borrow a special measuring device from your neighbors, which, after immersion in the ground, will show its condition.

If any of the listed components is not enough, then you can determine the acidity of the soil yourself at home. Chemical analysis can be carried out using:

• litmus paper;
• vinegar;
• soda;
• grape juice;
• leaf teas;
• by weeds.

Chemistry to help

Special paper treated with a chemical reagent is purchased from a specialized store. Next, soil samples are taken from different layers of soil in the garden, usually a depth of 20 and 50 cm. The topsoil is not touched, as it will not give a clear result.

The resulting clods of earth are placed in a container with distilled water and mixed until a homogeneous mud substance is obtained, which is allowed to stand for 20 minutes. At the next stage, a litmus paper is lowered into the mixture and the color of the reagent is observed.

The paper showed a red color - the soil is really acidic. An orange hue indicates an acidity level in the medium-acid pH range, while a yellow color indicates a slightly acidic soil. Green shades tell the gardener that the soil is neutral, and there is no need to improve or reduce its acidity. Alkaline samples of the earth turn litmus paper blue.

Vinegar, soda and grapes

Dedovsky is a method for determining the pH of your site by a gardener using vinegar. For analysis, soil samples are taken from the previously indicated depths. The samples are placed on a flat surface and a few drops of ordinary cooking vinegar are dripped onto them. If the earth did not react to the irritant, then its composition is acidic. Boiling or hissing of the soil surface is a good indicator, as this is a sign of a neutral pH.

Ordinary soda will also cope with the determination of the acidity of the soil. To do this, the earth lump is stirred with water until a homogeneous mass is formed. In the next step, the surface of the mixture is sprinkled with soda, and if the slurry foams, the sample is acidic and has a value below 5.5.

A good reagent is pure unfermented grape juice. If the liquid, when the earth enters it, changes color or hisses, therefore, the acidity level is within the normal range.

Green indicators

In spring and summer, you can use a decoction of fresh currant or cherry leaves as a reagent. The ingredients are brewed and infused in a container like regular tea. At the next stage, a soil sample is immersed in the liquid, and if the broth turns blue, then the soil is acidic. The green color of the natural reagent indicates a neutral pH tending to alkaline.

Also, the ancestors determined the condition of the soil by the weeds growing on the site. If sedge, horse sorrel or moss were seen in abundance there, it means that the soil is acidic, but when quinoa, chamomile, thorns or couch grass were found, they understood that the soil was neutral and good for growing garden crops.

Or maybe not deoxidize?

Before starting land work to neutralize low pH, it is necessary to decide which crops will grow on the selected plot. This is due to the fact that some plants gravitate towards acidic soils and need just such a chemical composition.

Representatives of the nightshade family and some herbal and woody crops love "sour", namely:

• watermelon;
• blueberry;
• cranberry;
• cabbage;
• gooseberry;
• raspberry;
• pumpkin;
• sorrel.

Some flowering ornamental plants don't mind medium to slightly acidic pH levels in their flower beds either. In soils with an acid level of 6 to 5 plant:

• heather;
• cloves;
• hydrangea;
• irises;
• lilies;
• juniper;
• rose;
• phloxes;
• eric.

Helpers in the fight against low pH

If you have to work to reduce the amount of acid in the soil, then you can resort to several proven methods. It is customary to deoxidize the site by such means as:

• dolomite flour;
• ash;
• lime;
• green manure.

The most common and frequently used method is liming. In this case, slaked lime is used, popularly called "fluff". The use of quicklime is prohibited, as it will be taken in lumps and there will be no sense. Experts recommend applying the product for winter digging of the earth so that it does not burn the young roots of plants.

Mortar

Fluff is made from a mixture of lime and water. When preparing, the proportion is observed and 40–50 liters of liquid are taken per 100 kilograms of the drug, and when it is absorbed, the fluff is ready to be thrown into the selected area.

Work to lower the level of acidity is carried out in the fall.

Spreading the deoxidizer powder over the territory, it is necessary to crush the lumps that come across. After the lime has evenly covered the topsoil, the soil in the treated area is dug up. A pH-reducing fertilizer will work best if it is placed 15–20 centimeters below the surface.

To reduce the acidity of the area allotted for fruit trees, experts recommend making lime in advance. The norm for preparing the land for planting in this case is the application time for 2-3 years.

To avoid active release of ammonia, slaked lime must not be used simultaneously with manure.

Dolomite flour

Dolomite flour will also help reduce acidity in the area. Additionally, the drug will assist in restoring the level of magnesium and calcium in the soil. Dolomite flour is recommended for use on sandstones and sandy loamy soils.

Compared to lime, flour is much safer and more effective. Each package of the product indicates its dosage for various soils. For example, 500-600 grams of the drug is used per 1 square meter of highly acidified garden soil. By reducing the medium acidic pH, 450 grams of dolomite flour are taken to the same area, and the slightly acidic soil of the greenhouse will not require more than 350 grams.

Ash as a method

Wood or peat ash is an old-fashioned fertilizer method that, by reducing the level of acid in the soil, will protect green spaces from pests. Usually burned pieces of trees are used in subsequent years after a powerful deoxidation of the garden plot with lime or other potent drugs.

To fertilize a square meter of territory, 200 grams of wood ash is soaked in 1 liter of water. If peat combustion residues are used as a deoxidizer, then its concentration should be 350 grams for the same volume of water.

Limestone in the fight against acidification

Summer residents with experience use crushed chalk to lower the pH level in the area. Quickly and effectively restores the level of calcium and acidity of the soil finely ground limestone. The larger the granules of the drug, the longer you have to wait for the "healing" effect.

Chalk is not extinguished with water, and they can fertilize the soil both in spring and autumn.

The rate of limestone per 1 square meter of loamy soils is from 200 to 600 grams. For sandstones and sandy loamy soils, from 100 to 200 grams are used. Fertilizer is enough for 2-3 years. The introduced deoxidizer is dug up with the ground to a depth of 20–25 centimeters.

With long roots, they not only get the necessary elements from the depths, but also loosen the soil, enriching it with oxygen. Commonly used green manure plants include:

• legumes;
• mustard;
• sweet clover;
• clover;
• phacelia.

Among trees, deoxidizers and green manure soils are pine, spruce, elm, birch or aspen. Growing up to several meters above ground level, they have a powerful root system that enriches and helps lower soil pH within a radius of 10 meters.

It is almost impossible to get a good harvest on acidic soil: plants shrink in size, change color due to a lack of nutrients, and as a result, the fruits are unsuitable for human consumption. For example, if you cook potatoes grown in acidic soil, then dark spots will be visible on its pulp.

In appearance, such soil is similar to a plasticine waterproof mass, the lumps of which are difficult to break. In summer, it cracks from the heat, because the water does not penetrate inside, but flows down the top. Not only the chemical component of the soil suffers, but also the microbiological one - the beneficial flora is oppressed and cannot process organic matter.

Effect of acidity on yields

Acidity affects the yield of vegetable crops in different ways. Most of them prefer a slightly acidic or neutral soil reaction. Many wild berries, such as blueberries, are the biggest acid lovers - they will not grow on slightly acidic, much less neutral soil.

Slightly less acidic soil is needed for tomatoes, pumpkin, sorrel and parsley. For example, potatoes respond well to slightly acidic soil, melons and gourds - zucchini, cucumbers, legumes, as well as radishes and radishes. A neutral environment is necessary for beets, garlic, onions and cabbage.

Beautiful ornamental plants - rhododendrons - also record holders for acidity. For them, it is necessary to specially prepare the soil at the place where it is planned to grow them and acidify the bed every year.

Why is acidity so dangerous? The fact is that the main nutrients - the NPK complex are not available to the root system, therefore, dwarfism of the aerial parts and fruits appears. At the same time, high concentrations of aluminum and manganese further reduce the ability of crops to absorb nutrients.

The intake of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus is reduced, and with it the immunity of plants. On acidic soil, they are more likely to get sick and are subject to epidemics of fungal infection.

Soil pH levels - norms for plants

The acidity scale is expressed in units from 1 to 14:

• the most acidic soils pH 3.5 - 4- only marsh plants can withstand such a value;

• extremely sour from 4 to 4.5;

• very acidic from 4.6 to 5.3;

• weak acidity is the range from 5.4 to 6.3;

• neutral ground - 6,4 – 7,3;

• up to 8 units- weak alkaline indicator;

• over 8- alkaline soils.

Both strongly acidic and strongly alkaline soils are an unfavorable environment for growing vegetable crops. In both cases, the absorption of nutrients is disrupted and the plants die.

What to do if the soil is acidic in the garden? If the pH is not always low, then periodic addition of alkaline substances is sufficient in accordance with the initial level of acidity.

Video: How to deoxidize the soil and fertilize at the same time

It is worse when the site is located in a lowland and there is always high humidity in the garden. Here, a slightly acidic environment will have to be created and maintained independently, which, of course, takes a lot of time: alkalization takes several years before it gives positive results. It could be two or three years.

The composition also affects pH - peat soils are more often acidic, loams are alkaline, chernozems are neutral, that is, the amount of humus directly affects the acid-base balance.

How to determine the acid content in the soil at home - methods

Before starting to carry out measures to reduce the acidity of the soil, it is necessary to accurately determine its amount, that is, measure the pH. To begin with, they inspect the garden and nearby areas for the presence of plants such as:

• plantain;

• moss;

• wheatgrass;

• woodlice;

• Ivan da Marya;

• horsetail.

If these grow in large numbers, therefore, the soil is highly acidic and the cultivated plants will be uncomfortable. In addition, at such a pH, a wireworm, a nematode settles in the soil, and the click beetle, pests of garden plants, actively reproduces.

The most effective and accurate way is to take soil samples from various parts of the garden to the laboratory. You can do it yourself, folk methods, but the results will be approximate. In this case, you can overdo it with deoxidizers, or vice versa - make a little.

How to test the soil:

• Take 10 young blackcurrant leaves, place in a half liter jar and pour boiling water. Wait until it cools down completely, then throw in a couple of tablespoons of soil. If the water turns red - the soil is acidic, it turns blue - slightly acidic, green - the soil is neutral.

• Take a handful of earth and pour on it teaspoon vinegar. If it starts to hiss, then the soil does not need deoxidation - there are enough carbonates in it. If hissing is not heard, alkalization measures will have to be carried out. With this method, there is no exact indicator, so this test is carried out if some crops grow poorly or do not produce a crop.

• Litmus paper helps to roughly determine the degree of acidity, but also does not give an exact number. To do this, mix the same amount of distilled water and earth, dissolve, insist 15 minutes, then filtered and lowered there litmus paper. In 3 minutes can be compared with the test scale.

There are instrumental, more accurate methods, for example, using a pH meter.

pH meter

There are high-precision devices made in Japan. If the soil on the site often changes its acidity, then it makes sense to purchase such a device and use it to control the composition of the soil. To check, you need to do the following:

• 20 g soil mixed with 20 ml purified water.

• Stir and infuse 1 hour.

• Filter the liquid into another bowl.

• Measure indicators.

After working with the device, it must be thoroughly rinsed with clean warm water and calibrated with distilled liquid.

What fertilizers deoxidize the soil

If acidic soil prevents garden plants from developing, what should I do first? Firstly, the indicators may differ depending on which crops grew in the garden before, so you need to check each one and add deoxidizers only where the indicators are lower.

Secondly, pay attention to what fertilizers are available for acidic soil - it may be enough just to feed the earth with wood ash or compost, and it will recover.

If there is a lot of acid, then you will have to use solid fertilizers, such as chalk, quicklime, dolomite flour.

Chalk

Chalk is a substance containing calcium. To make it work faster, you need to make sure that the size of the grains does not exceed 1 mm in diameter. For particularly acidic areas, you will need 300g per square meter, with medium acidity - 200 g for weakly acidic 100 g

The chalk is evenly distributed over the site, leveled with a rake, then dug up. It is better to do this in the fall. Next year, the chemical composition of the soil will partially change and it will be possible to plant vegetables in the garden.

Slaked lime

Liming is recommended to be carried out in several stages, annually within three years, contributing 1/3 of the prescribed amount. For example, if you need to enter 5 – 7 kg per square meter with very strong acidification, then in the first year they lay and dig 2 - 3 kg, for the second and third 1.5 kg lime.

For moderately acidic soil - 4 - 5 kg per square meter, for slightly acidic 2 kg. Depth should not be less than 20 cm from the surface. Before use, lime is poured with water and insisted for some time.

To remove weeds, you can pour more substance where plantations of plantain or other acid-loving plants grow.

wood ash

Wood ash is suitable for medium and slightly acidic soils. With a very strong degree, you will have to make a lot of it and wait a long time until the earth is restored. In addition, with this method, there is no accumulation of calcium in the soil, and almost all vegetable crops need it.

The fact is that all calcium goes to reduce acidic compounds. Calcium is necessary for the prevention of various rots, especially top rot in tomatoes and peppers.

Experts recommend using ash together with other substances - chalk or lime, as well as dolomite flour. 200 g of wood ash will be required per square meter, infused with water. If using peat ash, then the amount should be 2 times more.

Compost

Suitable for neutralizing slightly acidic soil and maintaining the optimum level of substances in the soil. By itself, compost has a neutral reaction. It is not suitable for heavily acidic areas.

Compost can be produced independently from vegetation residues, leaf litter, manure, hay or dry straw as a carbon component. Wait for the substance to mature for a long time. It usually takes a year and a half. The advantage of compost is that it restores the soil microflora well and contributes to the accumulation of humus in the soil.

To maintain a slightly acidic soil reaction, it is necessary annually apply 10 kg of compost per square meter.

Dolomite flour

Limestone flour or dolomite is the safest and most environmentally friendly way to restore the soil when compared with the use of lime. In addition, additional nutrients enter the soil - magnesium, calcium in the form of oxides.

In case of severe acidification, it will be necessary 600 g dolomite flour, with an average - 500g per square meter, with a weak 350 g.

If you dig up the soil after fertilizing, the effect will appear faster. If you simply scatter it around the site, then the substance will penetrate the soil only after a year. It is necessary to ensure that the flour is finely ground - so it will work faster.

siderates

Siderata not only contribute to the deoxidation of the soil, but also nourish it with various trace elements and nitrogen. This is a completely eco-friendly way than to fertilize acidic soil. True, you have to spend on it 2 - 3 years. With a very low pH, it is recommended to first add dolomite flour, ate or lime, and then plant green manure in the second or third year.

The advantage of green manure plants is that they contribute to the penetration of air and water into the soil. After the roots rot, tubules remain in the soil, through which moisture and oxygen enter. At the same time, the soil becomes loose, beneficial bacteria begin to multiply in it.

It is most advantageous to sow green manure from acidification before winter, after harvesting. Before frost, they have time to grow, but do not have time to set seeds, so their growth is easy to control. It is not recommended to dig green manure with soil before winter - this washes away nutrients, and it takes a lot of strength. If planted in the spring, then after a while the crops are cut and dug up so that they begin to decompose faster.

Depending on what crop is planned to be grown in the garden, you need to choose a suitable green manure plant. For example, cruciferous mustard is not planted before cabbage, otherwise the latter will start to hurt, and after vetch it is better not to grow beans or peas. The most useful crops in this regard are lupine, clover, vetch, peas, phacelia, sweet clover, white mustard and cereals - oats or rye.

What substances increase the acid content

The use of acidic fertilizers, such as ammonium nitrate, leads to a gradual decrease in alkaline elements in the soil. To avoid this, it is recommended to apply fertilizer in parts or apply alkaline top dressing - calcium and sodium nitrate. Up to a certain point, this will be beneficial, and then the reverse process is possible - salinization, so the soil must be periodically checked.

A large amount of carbon dioxide leads to a decrease in the amount of beneficial soil microflora, which also affects the ability of the soil to decompose plant residues. Especially if there is a lot of precipitation in the region and carbon dioxide dissolves in water and thus is retained in the soil, not being able to leave it.

If there are a lot of sulfur oxides in the soil, then when interacting with precipitation, they will give sulfuric acid. When using chlorine fertilizers, you can get hydrochloric acid in the soil.

In industrial areas where many chemical plants are located, acid rain often occurs, thereby transferring chemicals from the plant to the ground.

Why is it not advisable to use fresh manure on slightly acidic moist soils? Because when it decomposes, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released. If you add water to this factor, then the acidity of the soil will increase dramatically. For plant nutrition, it is better to use humus, from which carbon dioxide has already weathered.

Plants that need acidic soil

Summer residents who plan to grow wild berries on their site - cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries, blueberries, then the soil will have to be additionally acidified up to 4 - 4.5 units. Nothing else will grow with this acidity, so it is recommended to allocate a separate bed for the berries, preferably on the other side of the garden.

Such a high need for acid is explained by the fact that there are no hairs on the roots that absorb nutrients. This function is performed by one of the types of fungi that can only survive in an acidic environment. This neighborhood is very important for both species, so you need to create conditions for the survival of mycorrhiza.

To acidify the soil, sulfur powder, hydrochloric acid diluted with water, vinegar or citric acid are used. To maintain the environment, fertilizers are regularly applied - nitroammophoska, urea, ammonium, ammonia and potassium sulfates.

It is important to know that such activities should be carried out annually, otherwise, if there is food in the soil, forest berry bushes will not be able to eat, and the plantation will die. It will also help to introduce spruce branches into the soil for digging - pine needles, which lower the pH to the desired level and at the same time feed the crops.

How to increase acidity for rhododendrons

Azaleas, hydrangeas, conifers, heathers, and rhododendrons will not survive in slightly acidic or neutral soil. For them, the site is prepared taking into account the low pH level.

Before planting these crops, you need to apply high-moor peat and acidic fertilizers, as for berries growing in the forest. The best choice for rhododendrons is rotted pine needles, which can be prepared in advance and brought into the hole when planting. Usually the soil is prepared like this:

• take 2 parts horse peat, 1 part needles, 1 part ordinary soil;

• add for 1 cubic meter of such a mixture 10 g sulfur powder and 100 g sawdust.

For clay soil, more sand can be added. To keep the acidity by 3.5 - 4.5 units, can be watered with special top dressing - 10 g of citric acid per 6 liters of water.

How pH Affects Nutrient Absorption

At very low pH values, the absorption of such nutrients and trace elements as molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, magnesium worsens, resulting in leaf chlorosis.

Almost all calcium goes to neutralize the acid, so its amount is not enough to feed plants. Due to the lack of carbonates, cultures are threatened with fungal infection of the aerial parts.

Vegetable plants lose microscopic hairs on their roots, which are responsible for absorbing water. Because of this, crops suffer even more, as they do not have the ability to absorb moisture. In this case, the top of the plant is usually damaged, since the liquid does not enter there.

The root system develops poorly due to a lack of phosphorus, which is not absorbed at a low pH value, therefore, dwarfing of shoots, leaves and fruits appears.

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Increased soil acidity is harmful to all vegetable crops. They cannot assimilate the nutrients of such soils. No matter how much fertilizer is applied, the result is the same - growth inhibition, minimal yields.

How to reduce soil acidity?

The increased acidity of the soil is signaled by plants growing wild on it - horse sorrel, plantain, mint, field bindweed, wheatgrass, horsetail, heather. Reduce the acidity of the soil by liming it (slaked lime, dolomite flour, chalk, ash).

Liming is carried out in autumn or spring. Attention! When liming with hydrated lime (3 kg of quicklime per 10 liters of water), it is added to the soil in the spring for loosening strictly 3 weeks before sowing, planting, excluding the application for beets and cabbage. Contribute 200 - 220 g per m2 for loosening.

In autumn, they bring in for digging or deep (10-12 cm) loosening 200-350 g per m2. It is especially desirable to add cucumbers, onions, carrots, beets, all types of cabbage, garlic, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes - they will delight you with excellent harvests. When using mineral fertilizers, organics, peat, watering with hard water, it is desirable to carry out liming annually. During plant growth, it is better to use ash to reduce soil acidity: when planting in a hole, 1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water, 0.5 liters per plant, or 1.5-2 cups of ash per 1 linear meter of row.

Blackcurrant leaves will help determine if plants need help during growth. It is necessary to pour 10 leaves with a glass of boiling water. Throw a lump of soil into the cooled solution from the place of interest in the garden, because, in different places, the acidity of the earth may be different.

• The water turned reddish the soil is acidic, all plants need help.
• Became greenish - slightly sour. Potatoes, carrots, parsley, radish, tomato, pepper, pumpkin, eggplant, sorrel can withstand such soil and give a good harvest.
• blue tint - everything is fine, no help is needed, use the ash only as a fertilizer containing trace elements. Most plants prefer to grow in neutral or slightly acidic soil. In such soil, microorganisms, bacteria necessary for plants, feel great, all useful minerals are absorbed very well.

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If the acidity of the soil is increased, then these necessary microorganisms can die, and many useful substances go into a state where they are practically not absorbed by plants.