jo wrote in message
news:jn3E9.6713$XN5.993183@wards...
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

Hi Jo,
Having filtered water won't normally alter the PH, they are just there to
remove certain impurities that are there and mostly just to remove
particulate.

Distilled or deionised water is the best trick as pointed out in this
thread. You can get the small bottle that are used with steam irons
relatively cheaply or the local garage will have battery top up water. If
you can't be bothered to hunt around for it, just catch the steam from the
spout of your kettle, be careful though. You only need a small amount for
the soil sampling so an upturned cup over the spout to catch the steam and
another one held underneath to catch the condensate would surfice. Not
perfect, but simple and quick.

HTH

Pete

www.avara.co.uk
www.skydat.com

"Nothing is impossible", remember professionals built titanic and amateurs
built the Ark !


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