SOIL pHpH is a measure of how acid or base things are and is measured using a pH scale between 0 to 14, with acidic things having a pH between 0-7 and basic things having a pH from 7 to 14. For instance, lemon juice and battery acid are acidic and fall in the 0-7 range, whereas seawater and bleach are basic (also called "alkaline") and fall in the 7-14 pH range. Pure water is neutral, or 7 on the pH scale. THE IMPORTANCE OF SOIL pH The pH of soil solution is very important because soil solution carries in it nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), and Phosphorus (P) that plants need in specific amounts to grow, thrive, and fight off diseases. If the pH of the soil solution is increased above 5.5, Nitrogen is made available to plants. Phosphorus, on the other hand, is available to plants when soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0.
To know your soil pH you need the proper equipment, get it here Certain bacteria help plants obtain Nitrogen by converting atmospheric Nitrogen into a form that plants can use.These bacteria live in root nodules of legumes (like alfalfa and soybeans) and function best when the pH of the plant they live in is growing in soil within an acceptable pH range. If the soil solution is too acidic plants cannot utilize N, P, K and other nutrients they need. In acidic soils, plants are more likely to take up toxic metals and some plants eventually die of toxicity (poisoning). For instance, alfalfa grows best in soils having a pH of 6.2 - 7.8, while soybean grows best in soils with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Peanuts grow best in soils that have a pH of 5.6 to 6.6. Many other crops, vegetables, flowers and shrubs, trees, weeds and fruit are pH dependent and rely on the soil solution to obtain nutrients. The following chart is just an example of pH ranges for a few plants, these are their optimal pH ranges.
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