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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">In a recent episode of <a href="https://attra.ncat.org/category/podcasts/" title="https://attra.ncat.org/category/podcasts/">
ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture</a>’s podcast, Armed to Farm Program Director Margo Hale talked with Agriculture Specialist Nina Prater about soil pH. Following are some highlights and tips from their conversation.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: normal;">What is soil pH?</b></span><b><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Soil pH is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. It’s measured on a scale of 1-10; a low pH means your soil is acidic and a high pH means your soil is alkaline. Most soils fall in the range
of 5-8 naturally. A pH of 7 is neutral. Most crops need a soil pH in the 6-7 range.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: normal;">Why is pH so important?</b></span><b><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">The pH affects the availability of nutrients in the soil to the plants. When your soil has a low pH, many essential nutrients in the soil are not available to the plant. The same is true when the pH is high.
Having a pH in the target range of 6-7 “unlocks” those nutrients so your plants can use them. It also benefits the micro-organisms in the soil.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">While plants have the ability to adjust the pH of the soil right around their roots in order to make the needed nutrients available, that process take energy. You don’t want your plants expending energy adjusting
soil pH when they could be using that energy to grow and produce crops.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: normal;">How do you find out your soil’s pH?</b></span><b><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">To determine soil pH, take a soil sample and get it tested at a lab. Your local Cooperative Extension office will likely offer soil testing. You can also find soil testing labs at
</span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline"><a href="https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soil_testing/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soil_testing/</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">.
Watch Nina’s video </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6sHIoUZXWw"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Soil Sampling: A Management Strategy</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">
for a demonstration of how to correctly take a soil sample.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Although there are home soil pH kits available for purchase, Nina doesn’t recommend these as they are not as accurate as a test done at a lab.</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Soil pH can change over time and at different times of the year. Try to take samples at around the same time every year, and under generally the same weather conditions, so you can compare results from year
to year. </span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: normal;">More information on soil pH</b></span><b><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></b></p>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">For more on soil pH</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">including how to raise or lower your soil’s pH, why increasing your
soil’s organic matter is important to pH, and more</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">listen to Nina and Margo’s podcast episode
</span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline"><a href="https://attra.ncat.org/episode-164-soil-sessions-understanding-soil-ph/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Soil Sessions: Understanding Soil pH</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">.
Margo and Nina have two other Soil Sessions episodes as well: </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline"><a href="https://attra.ncat.org/soil-sessions-interpreting-a-soil-test-podcast/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Interpreting
a Soil Test</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> and
</span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline"><a href="https://attra.ncat.org/soil-sessions-soil-health-and-the-five-soil-health-principles-podcast/"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">Soil Health and the
Five Principles of Soil Health</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;">.
</span><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></p>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Please don't hesitate to contact Margo, Nina, or one of our other agriculture specialists if you have questions. You can email askanag@ncat.org or call 800-346-9140.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">With best regards,<br>
Robyn</span></div>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><b><span style="color:rgb(0,111,201)">Robyn Metzger</span></b></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">Program Specialist/Armed to Farm Coordinator</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="http://www.ncat.org/armedtofarm" class="OWAAutoLink">www.ncat.org/armedtofarm</a></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><a href="http://www.attra.ncat.org" class="OWAAutoLink">www.attra.ncat.org</a></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">479-442-9824<br>
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