Many garden and house plants we like and grow areacidophilic plantsThey must be planted in acidic soil, and if we do not have one,the soil for their cultivation must be acidifiedBefore we reach for mineral fertilizers acidifying the soil, it is worth consideringnatural home ways to acidify the soilSee which of them are effective, how to use them and whether it is possible toacidify the earth with a homemade method!
How to acidify the soil with a home-made method?
Many problems in growing garden and potted plants can be solved by usingproven and effective home remedies , without having to go shopping in a garden store and reach for various chemicals.
In particular, these home methods allow us to fight numerous diseases and pests of plants, and the substances commonly used for this purpose, available in almost every household are: baking soda, potassium soap (simply gray soap), milk (used e.g. for spraying tomatoes with milk), baker's yeast or self-prepared extracts and decoctions of garlic and onions. It is not surprising, then, thathome remedies for acidifying the earth are also often searched for
Before we startacidifying the soil with home-made methods , it is worth taking a soil pH measurement to make sure that acidification is really necessary. If it turns out that the pH of the earth is too high, then it is worth lowering it, i.e. acidifying the earth.
Among thehome methods to acidify the earth , 3 are mainly recommended:
- citric acid
- vinegar
- coffee grounds
Let's discuss them one by one: -)
Citric acid- we associate primarily with lemon juice, which is a safe product of natural origin. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Although it is a product commonly used in the food industry as an acidity regulator and antioxidant, it can be obtained both naturally (through fermentation) and synthetically. It actually lowers the pH of food products and therefore makes them acidic. Hence the belief thatwe can acidify the soil for growing plants with citric acid
Unfortunately, there are no official recommendations regarding its dosage, and the effectiveness in this regard has not been confirmed. Althoughacidification of the soil with citric acid seems to be safe for plants , and many amateur gardeners recommend this home method, unfortunately we must use this method at our own risk and experiment when looking for the right dosage.
If we add to this that we use citric acid obtained by the chemical industry, synthetically, we can conclude that it is completely pointless. In my opinion,is definitely better to use mineral acidifying fertilizer , which is tested and has the correct dosage on the packaging.
Vinegar- is another home method of acidifying the earth, often recommended on the Internet. Anyway, vinegar in the garden has a wider application, including as a repellent for cats, snails, ants and uninvited insects.
As a home method to acidify the soilvinegar is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 8 and the soil is watered with this solution. The ecological guide in which I found this recipe, however, orders to perform such acidification at least 3 weeks before the planned date of planting. Already planted plants should not be watered with vinegar.
The fact thatvinegar is not allowed to water the growing plants to acidify the soildoes not surprise me anyway.Well, vinegar is much better known as the recommended ingredient in a home weed remedy that destroys all weeds with comparable effectiveness to glyphosate-based total herbicides such as Roundup and Sprinter. This is the best proof that vinegar applied to plants that are already growing is deadly for them.
So if someone decides touse vinegar to acidify the soil before planting new plants , they must do so with caution and with this 3-week interval between acidification and planting. And before planting plants, be sure to measure the pH of the soil to make sure that its pH is correct.
" Coffee grounds- this homemade way to acidify the earth seems to be definitely more recommendable. It is completely natural, environmentally friendly, because we use coffee grounds instead of throwing them away, and this method has already been a bit researched and we can rely on some data that confirm that it makes sense.Well, inthe assessment of the usefulness of using coffee grounds , we were helped by the well-known Starbucks chain, which together with SUNSET carried out The Starbucks coffee compost test. As it turned out, coffee grounds contain, among others. phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and slowly released nitrogen. This is their advantage, because these ingredients are very important for acidophilic plants. In addition, they contain almost no calcium, which deacidifies the soil. But there is also a catch! Well, the pH of the tested coffee grounds was 6.2. It was therefore very close to natural (soils with such a reaction can be considered only slightly acidic). "
Coffee grounds can therefore be used on previously acidified soils , as a good fertilizer for acidophilic plants, which helps maintain the acidic pH of the soil. However, the power of their action is by no means large enough to effectively acidify the alkaline soil using the coffee grounds after brewing the coffee.
As you can see fromcommonly recommended home ways to acidify the soil , basically all of them have some buts.Their use does not have to be safe, and their effectiveness has not been confirmed. The most recommendable is the use of coffee grounds, but more as afertilizer to promote the growth of acidophilic plantsthan a typical soil acidifier. "
Among thenatural ways to acidify garden soil , I can recommend mixing soil with acid garden peat, pine needles and conifer sawdust, as well as mulching the soil with acid pine bark.
After mixing the soil with acid peat, we immediately get an acidic substrate(the effect is short-lived, however) and the sawdust and needles slowly decomposing in the ground willacidify the soil for a long time It's a good idea to combine these methods and add both peat and coniferous sawdust or needles.
Some gravel and pebbles used for mulching decorative beds, such as granite or quartz, also have an acidifying effect. Here, however, we must be careful, because many types of aggregate have the opposite effect, i.e.alkaline-forming. It is also worth watering acidophilic plants with rainwater, which, unlike tap water, does not contain calcium, and therefore at least does not counteract the acidification of the soil we want.
However, if any of you would prefer to reach forproven soil acidifying fertilizers, specially prepared for use in acidophilic plants , such as rhododendrons, conifers and blueberries, I recommend visiting our guide shop. We guarantee high quality products, attractive prices and fast shipping. To view the offer, press the button below:
