How To Deoxidize The Soil

How To Deoxidize The Soil

For many summer residents, the problem of soil acidity is relevant. The problem is that acidic land is less fertile than neutral. How to determine what type of soil on the site? Is this the reason for low yields of vegetables? What is acidic soil and how can it be deoxidized?

How To Deoxidize The Soil

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Instruction manual:

1. First, check the soil for acidity. The most common way to check is litmus paper, which is sold in various gardener stores. To determine the acidity, take a soil sample from a depth of 20 cm . Enough and 100 g of soil from the test site. Then moisten with clean water (rain, distilled, boiled). Sample the soil together with a litmus test in your hand. If a piece of paper turns red, the soil is highly acidic. Pink color - the soil has medium acidity. Slightly acidic soil will turn yellow. Neutral soil will show blue. If the color has a greenish-blue tint - the soil is close to neutral.
   You can also determine the acidity of the soil by weeds and wild plants. On strongly acidic soils, usually a velvety green coating - moss. On sour ones - field horsetail, horse sorrel, wild mint, tricolor violet . On slightly acidic, chamomile, dandelion, coltsfoot, chickweed, clover, wheat grass, ferns grow. Shepherd’s bag, nettle , wood lice, quinoa - these weeds indicate that the soil is neutral. On slightly alkaline soils, bindweed, poppy, and white sand are growing.
   There is another easy way to find out the acidity of the soil. You need to put a few leaves of cherry in a glass dishor black currant. Brew leaves with boiling water. When the water has cooled, throw a little checked earth into the dishes. If the water turns red - the soil in the area is acidic. If blue - slightly acidic, and if a greenish tint - neutral.


2. Deoxidation of the soil or liming is the process of applying calcareous fertilizers to the ground. The introduction of lime into the soil not only reduces its acidity, but also improves the structure, reduces the number of weeds, activates the activity of beneficial microorganisms. The finer the limestone is ground, the stronger and more palpable is its effect. For a milder effect, chalk can be used instead of lime.


3. Dolomite (limestone flour), which is also a valuable lime fertilizer, is also widely used for deoxidizing soil. Dolomite flour neutralizes and evens out the acidity of the soil, and also enriches it with magnesium, potassium and other trace elements useful for plants. Please note that dolomite flour and lime cannot be mixed with ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, urea, simple and granular superphosphate.


4. The use of marl (silty material), chalk-ruhlyak also gives a good effect. These are types of loose calcareous rocks. For deoxidation of the soil, wood ash can also be used. But note that the use of ash is justified when you only need to slightly correct acidity.