| Archive for countrytalkandtips.myfreeforum.org ........................ smallholding, crafts and country life ................................................... IN IRELAND ....................................................... |
| blowin |
soil types and Ph levelsThis link is to a good little article article on the above subjecthttp://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about668.html |
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| wayland |
Talking of PH levels Blowin. How are your Blueberry's going. I planted mine in a raised bed with lots of conifer leaves in the compost. All seems fine at the moments. | ||
| blowin |
Nowhere near as well as I had hoped . I planted them last year but altho' they have grown upwards they have hardly filled out and have very few berries . I think several factors might be at play . We should start a new thread on Blueberries but to keep this one on topic I will mention that we are surrounded by bogland and I therefore assumed that our soil must be quite acidic . Even then I added peat to the planting-hole plus a mulch of the same on top . Same with the Cranberries but they have faired no better . Come to think of it nothing has done very well so I will have to do some sort of tests to find out what I am actually dealing with . On a more general note I am constantly amazed at how different this land is compared to what I was used to in the Thames Valley . Baked clay to porridge and back again within a week . Bog that won't grow blueberries . Water which runs uphill . Indestructible Iris . Still , the quartz rocks are exceptionally nice and bright in the rain !  
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| wayland |
Yes mate. Learning curve or what? We had a sandy loam in the fens. Very easy to cultivate but had no guts. I am now on Clay with lumps of shale. A bugger to work but has grown the best Collies ever and much of the other crops are looking very good. I planted water cress in the stream which grows in abundance  As to the blueberry's, fine healthy plants that will have to be transplanted next year. Loads of fruit but the birds are having them. I did a test last week and the PH was about 6. our ground comes out neutral so it will have to be raised beds in the future.
Good luck. |
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| blowin |
Just wondering whether Hydrangeas could be used as an indicator . I think I am correct in saying that you can make the flowers any colour from blue to pink simply by changing the pH around their roots . I think conditions vary quite a bit on my land so I could dot the hydrangeas around to give an overview . Worth it , or just a lot of hassle for an uncertain result ? ( I have had enough of those lately ! )
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| quarryman |
We have hydrangeas near the house that are pink and some that are 100 meters from that are blue, except one of the blue ones has pink on the edges of the flowers. No additional soil was added to the area. I think the old cabbage water test is the easiest to find the ph of the soil.
Cabbage water, soil and a few drops of iodine. |
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| blowin |
Sounds good but I haven't heard of that one before . What happens / what do you look for ? Cheers
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| quarryman |
Soak cabbage leaves in water for a day. Strain the water. Use this water to half fill a glass container. Add soil [about a quarter of the glass] stir it and let it settle. If the water takes on a greenish tinge it is alkaline, if it goes reddish, it is acid.
I mixed up the starch test using iodine so you don't need any. |
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| wayland |
Interesting test, and the iodine goes where?. I think that the Hydrangea turned from blue to pink in the presence of lime. Neutral soil can be lime free of course. | ||