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Sweet andand SourSour DirtDirt
A little understanding of pH A little understanding of pH to help you use to help you use biochar betterbiochar better
SweetSweet and SourSour DirtDirt
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Soils Have Flavors!
~2~
• Acidic soils taste sour• Basic (alkaline) soils taste
slightly sweetMike Lieberman of UrbanOrganicGardener.com
We don’t recommend this!
We don’t recommend this!
It’s possible to taste a difference between different types of soil
It’s possible to taste a difference between different types of soil
• The flavor of a soil affects…– How well different plants grow– What kind of microbes thrive in the soil– How well the solid holds on to various minerals
• We talk about soil’s “flavor” as pH
What Exactly is pH?
• Water allows some hydrogen ions to escape from their molecules
• pH tells the concentration of H+ in the solution• pH is a logarithmic (not linear) scale
~3~
pHpower of… …hydrogen ions (H+)…
Concentration of H+ vs. distilled water
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14neutral more acidicmore acidic more acidicmore acidic more basicmore basicmore basicmore basic
10X100X
1,000X10,000X
100,000X
1/101/100
1/1,0001/10,000
1/100,000etc. etc.
…in water
compare with compare with
distilled waterdistilled water
Finding the pH (without tasting)
4
Hydrangeas’ colors reflect soil pH
Litmus paper colors shows pH
Meters read pH directly
Do-it-yourself
home test kits
Strength of pH• AcidsAcids release H+
• BasesBases suck up H+
• AcidsAcids and basesbases neutralizeneutralize each other
~5~
Biochar Biochar is is basic (alkaline)basic (alkaline). .
It can It can neutralizeneutralize acidic soil. acidic soil.
Acids
Acids
acidic
Soil’s Natural pH Varies
6
Soil pH
Strongly Acidic
Mildly Acidic
Mildly Alkaline
Neutral
Heavy Heavy rainfall rainfall
& forest & forest acidic soilsacidic soils
Light Light rainfall & rainfall & prairie prairie
neutral soilsneutral soils
Drought & desert Drought & desert
alkaline soilsalkaline soils
Natural Natural limestone limestone bedrock bedrock
alkaline soilsalkaline soils
Cultivated & developed soils often differ from native soils
But soils can also differ from one yard to another.
Different Plants Like Different Soils
~7~
lilac
ash
blueberry
white birch
eucalyptuspomegranate
geraniumazalea
hydrangea
Soil is a Living CommunitySoil Ecology and pH
~8~
Resident What it does Effect of pH
FungiFungi • Decompose dead plants, animals, and bacteria into nutritious molecules• Some live in plant roots to help plants take up nutrients
Prefer slightly acidic pH
BacteriaBacteria • Decompose dead plants, animals, and fungi into living molecules• Exude nutritious molecules• Become food for higher organisms
Prefer slightly alkaline pH
Insects & Insects & wormsworms
• Excrete plant fertilizer• Open spaces in soil to let in air and water to support soil life• Become food for bacteria and fungi
• Don’t like extreme pH• Worms avoid acid pH
Supports Plants
Supports Animals
Unbalanced pH upsets the whole
community
Unbalanced pH upsets the whole
community
Source: Colorado State Extension CMG, GardenNotes #222
pH
Mineral availability in solution
Soils and Mineral Availability• Plants need many minerals
to thrive• Plant roots only absorb
minerals dissolved in water. • If solution is too acidic or
alkaline, H+ chemistry locks up some nutrients.
~9~
Examples: pH < 6.00
Mg deficiency Fe, Zn, Ma deficiency
Near neutral pH is Near neutral pH is
best for most best for most
mineralsminerals
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sulfur
Calcium
Magnesium
Iron
Manganese
Boron
Copper and Zinc
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sulfur
Calcium
Magnesium
Iron
Manganese
Boron
Copper and Zinc
Most Plants Like Near-Neutral Soils
~10~
Best forminerals
Best for fungi
Best forbacteria
Most plants
grow in this
range.
Neutralizing
~11~
Because pH scale is not linear, neutralizing different strengths takes very
different quantitiesEqual distances from neutral,
use equal concentrations
One pH number further from neutral, use 1/10th
as much of the strongerTwo pH numbers further from neutral,
use 1/100th as much of the stronger
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14neutral more acidicmore acidic more acidicmore acidic more basicmore basicmore basicmore basic
acid base=
acid base= acid base=
How to Modify Soil pH
~12~
Adding organic matter to the soil
makes both acid and alkaline soils more neutral.
Add one of the following:Ground limestone lasts a long timeHydrated Limeworks quickly
easy to over-doWood Ashes fast-acting
a little goes a long way
Raise Soil pH(improve acid
soils) Add one of following:Granular sulfur
slow actingAluminum & Iron Sulfate
fasterneed a lot
Acidifying fertilizerDoesn’t work well for pH >
7.5May contain a large amount
of calcium carbonate
Lower Soil pH (improve alkaline soil)
***** ***** ALWAYS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ****ALWAYS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ****
First – Test First – Test Your Your
Soil !!!!!Soil !!!!!
Biochar and pH• Biochar is usually alkalinealkaline• Biochar pH depends on the
pyrolysis temperature
~13~
typical typical formation formation
temperature temperature rangerange
typical typical pH pH
rangerange
biochar acidic soil
neutralizes
NOTE: ash created by pyrolysis is strongly alkaline strongly alkaline (pH 12-13)
Biochar’s neutralizing power diminishes after a few years.
Using Biochar to Change Soil pH• If your soil is already alkalinealkaline, don’t use biochar!don’t use biochar!• Because biochar is a pretty
strong basestrong base, use it sparinglysparingly
~14~
First – Test First – Test Your Soil !!!!!Your Soil !!!!!
• To keep pH moderate, add small amounts of biochar every few years, not all at once.• If your soil is strongly acidicstrongly acidic (<ph 5), you can mix a small amount of ashash into the biochar.
– Ash adds important minerals (calcium, sulfur, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium)
2%
by volume
per
application
strongly acidic