Balancing the pH level of the soil is very important for healthy gardening. The requirements of a low-acidic level mostly depend on the plants you are going to propagate in that soil.
Most of the plants in your garden prefer neutral soil and are sometimes acidic. But, if your soil is too acidic it’s gonna hurt your plant. In that case, you have to move it towards the alkaline side of the meter.
To increase your soil pH and make it more alkaline use baking soda, limestone, compost, and wood ashes.
Too acidic or alkaline soil makes your plant have stunted growth as nutrients won’t be easily available for your plant.
However, some specifically beautiful fruits and flowering plants love to grow in the low acidic soil type. To make the soil more alkaline, you need to increase the clay part or natural loam quality of the soil.
So, here we come up with the best natural options to increase the alkaline level of your garden soil easily. Let’s learn the tricks and make your plantation more successful than ever-
Why Soil Quality is Important for Gardening?
Soil plays a crucial role in the proper growth of a plant. So, you must look for the required qualities of your garden soil, before starting gardening. There are lots of things that get settled by the exact eminence of the planting soil. Like-
- The distributing quality of water
- The draining quality
- The nature of carrying nutrients and fertilizer to the roots
- The circulation of oxygen into the soil, etc.
What is The Basic Excellence Planting Soil Need?
No matter you are doing indoor or outdoor gardening, some qualities of that soil are always essential, like-
- Structure of the soil
- Bacteria level of the soil
- Nutrient availability of the soil
- Toxic elements present in the soil
- The acidic-alkaline level of the soil balances the pH level properly.
Best Ways to Increase the Alkaline Level of Your Garden Soil-
How to Make Soil More Alkaline Naturally?
Some plants can’t thrive if the pH level of the garden soil is imbalanced. Besides, all plants need a moderate level of acidic as well as alkaline quality to grow healthily.
Thus, an expert gardener always checks the pH level of their planting soil before the plantation. Now, what if you found that your garden soil needs to be alkaline a bit more or heavily?
You must search for making some ways to reach the required pH level. So, stop trying naively and try these expert methods to make your garden soil more alkaline organically without spending much money on any market-based chemical products.
1. Use Baking Soda:
Using baking soda to escalate the alkaline level of your planting soil is a good idea indeed. If you are looking to balance the acidic level of the soil naturally and increase the alkaline level rapidly in the most inexpensive way then, this would be the best method for you.
Benefits of Using Baking Soda:
There are some common good effects, you can steal from trying this method, like-
- Baking soda works more quickly in raising the alkaline level of soil than other methods
- It provides comparatively gentle effects to your soil as well as the plant than the other alternatives
- And it is a budget-friendly option for any gardener to raise the pH levels
- Baking soda also helps to prevent fungal disease and weeds
How to Apply:
To apply this product for increasing the alkaline level of soil, follow these steps-
- Take 1 tbsp of baking soda with 1 gallon of water and combine them well
- Now use this mixture to water your garden soil thoroughly
Wait for a couple of hours and check the pH level of your soil. It will raise the alkaline level effectively within 24 hours.
2. Sprinkle Limestone:
If you want to try some long-lasting method to make your soil more alkaline, use limestone instead of any other options. Lime may take a bit longer phase to break down into the soil but keeps the pH level balanced for an extended period by increasing the alkaline level deeply.
Benefits of Using Lime:
Some great benefits you can grab from using limestone to make the soil more alkaline are-
- Lime gives the most long-lasting effect to keep your soil alkaline
- It contains a higher amount of calcium that is great for plant growth
- Lime has some other good nutrients, which are beneficial for the soil either
- And lime can reach the root zone easily, once it breaks down into the soil
- Prevents toxin buildup in your garden soil
- Dolomite lime is good for a vegetable garden as it enhances calcium and magnesium levels
- Crushed lime is a good soil conditioner, nutrient-rich, and it also stunts weed and moss growth.
There are different types of lime products you can use in this single requirement. The quantity of lime depends on the soil quality you are choosing for the plantation. There are several kinds of lime we have to choose from while using to raise the pH level of garden soil. Some common criteria are-
- Crushed oyster shells
- Calcium carbonate in the form of agricultural lime
- Calcium carbonate in the form of burnt lime
- Dolomite or magnesium carbonate in the form of crushed rock
- Wet lime
- Lime and cement kiln, etc.
How to Apply:
Choose the form you want and apply it depending on the quality of your garden soil. Simply bring the wanted form of lime and add it into the soil directly, some days before the plantation to make your soil more alkaline effectively. The perfect proportion for different soil types are-
- Use 2 pounds per 100 sq ft. of your garden bed on sandy soil type
- Sprinkle 3.3 pounds per 100 sq. ft. on loamy soil type
- And add 5 pounds per 100 sq. ft. of the garden soil on extremely clay soil type
3. Apply Wood Ashes (Sparingly):
Wood ashes contain a high amount of calcium carbonate that is a liming component itself. It also has a low-nitrogen level, and thus, can increase the alkaline level of your garden soil easily. If you are looking for a quick and long-lasting option, this will be the best pick for you. Using wood ashes in compost is also recommended and avoid using ash near acid-loving plants.
Benefits of Using Wood Ashes:
Some certain advantages you can get from applying wood ashes to your garden soil to make it more alkaline are –
- It comes in tiny particle form and thus blends in the soil completely and quickly
- As wood ashes merge in the soil rapidly, it reacts more swiftly than other alternatively
- This method neutralizes the acidity (increases soil pH above 7) of your garden soil as well
- Wood ashes are product waste, thus, this product comes in the most inexpensive form than other options.
- Increases your soil calcium and potassium levels along with other trace elements
How to Apply:
Wood ashes formulate when the wood is burnt completely. In this process of burning, high amounts of carbonates get produced from the wood. This carbonate increases the pH level of your planting soil naturally while applying accurately. The process of application is-
- Take 2 ounces of wood ash for every square yard of your garden
- If your garden soil is very low in potassium level try applying almost 10 pounds of wood ashes per 1000 sq. ft. of area
- Take the amount you want to invest in a bucket and wear garden gloves before
- Make sure you turn the ashes absolutely dust form before applying
- Now, simply sprinkle wood ashes around the base of your plants
- Make sure you pick a dry day to do this job
- This will let wood ashes merge into the soil quickly before it gets wet anyhow
4. Use Compost:
Using organic compost is another wonderful way to make your garden soil more alkaline. This is the best organic option we have in our hands, to balance the soil pH level naturally. All you need to do is just pick the compost type you want to use for your garden soil. Some useful composting materials we can use here are like-
- Rotten leaves, especially oak leaves
- Sphagnum peat moss
- Composted manure
- Bonemeal
- Ground eggshells
- And clamshells
Benefits of Using Compost:
By using compost in this attempt, we can have many other advantages, besides, increasing the pH level of your soil and making it more alkaline. Sch as-
- Composts are close to a neutral pH level, thus, beneficial for normal soil type
- Mixing compost into your soil will increase the organic content of your garden bed
- This method balances the pH level in your soil in an absolute harmless way
- Helps to boost the buffering capacity of your soil
- And makes your garden soil more nutritious along with making it more alkaline
Learn more about composting and know are mushrooms vegetables or decomposers?
How to apply:
To apply compost to your garden soil, follow these steps accordingly-
- Get a shovel or tiller or rake first
- Spread it directly to your garden soil in the raw form exactly as you get it
- Now amend by pushing the layer of compost into the top 6 inches of the planting soil
- After this, water the whole ground thoroughly for a couple of days
Make sure that water reaches the depth of 6 inches or more to get the best outcome of your action.
Pinterest Image: Increase Soil pH for Alkaline soil
FAQ: Acidic to Alkaline Soil
Why Is It Essential to Maintain Soil Alkaline Level?
The pH level of the soil always maintains the availability of fertilizer nutrients by controlling soil structure. Thus, it is essential to maintain an alkaline level of planting soil appropriately to provide your plant with the perfect growth through their regular food.
What if the Soil Turn More Acidic Than the Plant Need?
Highly acidic soil prevents the roots of a plant from accessing adequate nutrients that require for their optimal growth. So, if you make your planting soil too much acidic or alkaline than normal, it may stunt the growth of a growing plant.