Hi all. I have recently had my garden restructured (ie new beds dug, new
patio etc) and now have a blank canvass on which to grow. I bought a soil
testing kit (from Homebase) to assess the pH of the soil and being very
careful not to contaminate my samples (I took 3 from different areas of the
garden) I carried out the tests. All 3 samples showed a highly alkaline
result (a very deep turquoisey colour), which seemed strange as my soil is
very sticky and seems to retain water easily, which I assumed to be more of
a clay consistency. I was under the impression that clay soils were acidic.
So I tested the water I used for my soil tests and this gave exactly the
same deep turquoise. The water is from a water filter so I assumed this
would be fairly neutral. Surely the soil samples would have shown a
slightly different result to the 'pure' water.
I am completely confused by the conflicting textures and alkalinity of the
soil. Can anyone offer some advice?
Jo