In article jn3E9.6713$XN5.993183@wards, jo
writes
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.

Clay soils can be alkaline - I used to have alkaline clay in Hove.

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?

You could try looking around nearby gardens and see what they grow. If
there are rhododendrons, lots of heathers, pernettya (which show up
easily at this time of year as bushes with red, white or pink berries)
then you are on acid soil

To see how clayey you are, take a walnut sized piece of soil and roll it
into a ball - if you can do this easily, without it falling apart, then
you have clay. If you are really cleye, you should be able to roll it
into a worm.

Clay is good - if you mix in lots of humus (eg garden compost) you end
up with a very rich fertile soil which doesn't dry out in summer.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/