{"id":7570,"date":"2016-01-18T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=7570"},"modified":"2016-01-13T21:54:04","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T02:54:04","slug":"soil-ph-whats-it-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2016\/01\/18\/soil-ph-whats-it-all-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Soil pH- What\u2019s It All About"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rhododendron<\/a>

Rhododendron<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Azaleas<\/a>

Azaleas at Callaway Gardens<\/p><\/div>\n

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Soil pH is an indicator of the relative abundance of hydrogen (H\u207a) ions and hydroxyl (OH\u02c9) ions in\u00a0garden soils (Table 1).\u00a0 These ions play a very important part of soil fertility and\u00a0a plant\u2019s ability to absorb nutrients from the soil.\u00a0The pH scale runs from 1 (highest acidity) to 14 (highest alkalinity). Soil pH of 7 is neutral.<\/p>\n

Fourteen (14)\u00a0of\u00a0seventeen(17) essential plant nutrients are obtained from the soil.\u00a0Most nutrients that plants need are readily available when the pH of the soil solutions ranges from 6.0 to 7.5, or slightly acid to neutral.\u00a0\u00a0Phosphorus is a major plant element that becomes less available below pH 6.0 and above 7.0.<\/p>\n

Plants drink (absorb)\u00a0nutrients that are dissolved in the soil water.\u00a0 Some minerals are more soluble in the company of H\u207a ions, and other minerals are more soluble in the company of OH\u02c9 ions.\u00a0 Acid soils hold more H\u207a ions, and iron, manganese and phosphorus are more soluble in these soils.\u00a0 Alkaline soils have more OH\u02c9 and\u00a0 calcium, magnesium, potassium, and molybdenum are more soluble in these soils.<\/p>\n

Table 1: pH range and Nutrient Availability<\/b><\/p>\n

Acidic Soil\u00a0(below 7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Neutral = 7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Alkaline Soil (above 7)<\/p>\n

More H\u207a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Distilled (Pure) Water\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0More OH\u02c9<\/p>\n

Key Nutrients Most Available below pH 6:<\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Key Nutrients<\/i> Most Available above pH 7<\/i>:<\/b><\/p>\n

Iron\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Calcium<\/p>\n

Manganese\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Magnesium<\/p>\n

Aluminum\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Potassium<\/p>\n

Molybdenum<\/p>\n

Most (not all) nutrient elements are available between pH 6.0 to 7.0. As soil pH changes up or down, some elements becomes more soluble and available to the plant. Extremes in soil pH range, below 4.5 or above 7.7, may\u00a0contain toxic nutrient levels and injure plant roots.<\/p>\n

Certain plants have specific nutritional needs.\u00a0 Acid-loving plants (in the Ericaceous family) such as rhododendrons, azaleas, and blueberries are some examples.\u00a0 These plants don\u2019t\u00a0“love” acidic soil, but\u00a0absorb higher amounts of iron compared to other plants.\u00a0\u00a0Ericaceous plants can not<\/strong> find enough soluble iron in neutral or alkaline soils where it is scarcer.\u00a0<\/b>They are also very efficient in absorbing phosphorus at a lower acidic pH.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Soil pH is an indicator of the relative abundance of hydrogen (H\u207a) ions and hydroxyl (OH\u02c9) ions in\u00a0garden soils (Table 1).\u00a0 These ions play a very important part of soil fertility and\u00a0a plant\u2019s ability to absorb nutrients from the soil.\u00a0The pH scale runs from 1 (highest acidity) to 14 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,398,681,665,9,202,712,777,1210,630],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7570"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8496,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7570\/revisions\/8496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}