A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Soil Acidity or Alkalinity (TGH)

Some fruits and vegetables are very picky about the pH of the soil the will grow in. Testing your soil pH is quick and inexpensive in most situations, and it can make a huge difference in your fall harvest!

Here is a list of theOptimal Soil pH for many fruits and vegetables.

(From that guy they call The Garden Helper)

I am starting my first vegetable garden this year. I started my seeds in peat pots which I'll plant directly into the ground once they are ready. I still have to "build" a garden though. I was going to try one of the box gardens and was wondering if I could use horse manure as my compost? I will make sure its old, I know it usually makes great soil. Do I need to add any additional ingredients to put the plants in? Would I have to worry about the soil being to alkaline and acidic? Any help or advice would be great!

Yup, if the manure is aged...add it in. Are you using store bought soil or your own?

A friend of mine has horses with plenty of manure to spare! I was thinking of adding some hummus also. I read that tomatoes love it since its rich in potassium. Do you think anything else should be added before planting? I'm planting Corn, peppers, tomatoes, squash, mint and lavender.

What's your soil like to begin with?
Aged horse manure is great for corn, peppers, tomatoes and squash...use less, or none at all, with mint and lavender, they like slightly poor soil, and you'll have enough problems with the mint running wild as it is.
Horse manure won't alter your pH enough to worry about for a while.
I like to add bone meal to boost phosphorous content, tomatoes in particular benefit from it.

We have sand here, not much dirt/soil to it at all. My cactus's love it though. Thanks for the advice, I was worried about having to purchase a lot of extra material to add to the manure. I'll plant the lavender and mint in a top soil mix I have(its not that good) I'm also probablly going to put the mint in a pot so I don't have to worry about it, I read they can use some shade during the day. I'll look into the bone meal too. Thanks!

Thanks for this post.

I have been trying to identify all the variables in my garden and never even thought about this one.

This is my first year I just cleared the land for gardening. To be honest I just was going to blow this part off and wait until next year. My plan is to get a good base going this year. I am growing lots of potatoes because they need a lot of new soil added and a lot peas which also help the soil. This fall I am going to plant wheat and then in the spring see where I am at.

For blowing off soil conditions things are going great! I add some manure to some plants - but I didnt think of some pepper added. So Iam off to shovel $^*& - thanks pepper!!

Oh pepper one other thing - How much bone meal per plant?