How to lower the soil pH with natural methods
How to lower the soil pH with natural methods
PH is the algorithm used to measure the degree of acidity of an aqueous solution. Soil has its own pH and this affects plant growth. Most plants prefer a neutral pH (close to 7), but some plants grow better with lower pH values (acidophilus plants) or with higher pH values (basophilous plants). Here we will see how to lower the pH of the soil if for example you are in the presence of calcareous soils.
One of the methods to lower the pH of the soil gradually is that of the protracted administration of manure and organic matter over time, but also mulching can help to correct the pH of the soil and in this sense we recommend the one with fir sawdust and leaves of oak (where available).
Unfortunately, even the indiscriminate use of irrigation with calcareous waters can go to raise the pH of the soil creating serious problems for example in the absorption of phosphorus, which makes it necessary to use synthetic phosphate fertilizers (with considerable economic expenditure and aggravation of the ecological conditions of the soils).
Leaving aside the use of chemistry to decrease the pH of the soil (with the use of acids and acid reaction salts) it is useful to know that all the processes that facilitate the humification of the organic substance tend to lower the pH of the soil.
It is therefore necessary to resort frequently, in addition to the contributions of organic substances, to the technique of green manure and the elimination of pesticides and herbicides which, by destroying the microflora and soil and other organisms, such as earthworms, are among the major physiological elevation of soil pH.
In these soils, the increase in pH further slows down the microbial activity that oversees the humification of the organic substance; in short, a vicious circle from which it is difficult to go out.
Unfortunately, these phenomena are often too neglected and agronomic science has been relegated to a mere addition of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides without understanding the complexity of the soil ecosystem.
Guido Bissanti