I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

In article ,
Sacha wrote:
I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

That might work for the most extreme soils, but I doubt that it will
in general. Most soils don't have enough free acid or alkali to
cause obvious bubbles, and you would need to set up a crude gas
collector.

Incidentally, for the culinarily challenged, baking soda is
sodium bicarbonate and NOT baking powder :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 17/03/2013 11:19, wrote:
In article ,
Sacha wrote:
I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

That might work for the most extreme soils, but I doubt that it will
in general. Most soils don't have enough free acid or alkali to
cause obvious bubbles, and you would need to set up a crude gas
collector.

Incidentally, for the culinarily challenged, baking soda is
sodium bicarbonate and NOT baking powder :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.


+1

On Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:57:41 +0000, Sacha wrote:

I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

Most of the time that won't work. Soil can be acid or alkaline without
causing a reaction.

Steve

--
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

On 2013-03-17 13:27:03 +0000, Chris Hogg said:

On Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:57:41 +0000, Sacha wrote:

I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

Looks like it was written originally by someone with a smattering of
chemistry and no practical gardening experience. I fully agree with
what the others have said. The amount of CO2 liberated in such tests
wouldn't be nearly enough to form decent bubbles unless it's a chalky
soil with lumps of free chalk, when it's pretty obvious what sort of
soil you've got.

I'm sure you're all correct but - Has anyone tried this at home?! I'm
almost tempted! ;-)
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote ...

Chris Hogg said:

, Sacha wrote:

I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

Looks like it was written originally by someone with a smattering of
chemistry and no practical gardening experience. I fully agree with
what the others have said. The amount of CO2 liberated in such tests
wouldn't be nearly enough to form decent bubbles unless it's a chalky
soil with lumps of free chalk, when it's pretty obvious what sort of
soil you've got.

I'm sure you're all correct but - Has anyone tried this at home?! I'm
almost tempted! ;-)

When I kept some tropical fish I used to test everything I put in the water,
gravel and rocks, with vinegar to see if there was a reaction as the ones I
was concerned about demanded acid water. I used to use rainwater diluted
with a little tap water (hard) until it was the correct pH.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

On Sunday, March 17, 2013 10:57:41 AM UTC, Sacha wrote:
I've just read the following gardening tip. Add baking soda to a cup
of your soil and if it bubbles, the soil is acid. Add vinegar and if
it bubbles, the soil is alkaline.

Red cabbage juice makes a great wide range pH indicator. I don't know what the soil pH range is, and thus whether it gives enough resolution for the job.


NT