How to make soil acidic

Determine the pH of your soil

There are two simple ways to test soil even if you already have flowers and plants growing in it.

Method 1

To use the vinegar and baking soda test, take two portions of the same soil and place them in a cup. Add vinegar and baking soda to each portion and observe whether the soil fizzes. If the soil bubbles when vinegar is added, it is alkaline, and if baking soda bubbles when added, it is acidic.

Method 2

At a relatively high cost, you can purchase a home pH test kit. Just test it according to the instructions.

Identifying soil types

This step is different from determining the pH of your soil, but it is a very important one. The type of soil you have will determine the soil acidification method you should use.

Loose soil

This can be distinguished by the naked eye. For soils with good drainage and looseness, the acidification process will be much simpler because there is a large amount of organic matter in the soil that can be decomposed during the acidification process.

Clay soil

The soil is heavy and compact, making it difficult to acidify. The acidification process requires increasing organic matter in the soil, but this practice sometimes increases rather than decreases alkalinity.

Soil acidification methods

Acidification of loose soil

To acidify this type of soil, organic matter is the best choice. Organic matter acidifies the soil as it decomposes, but it takes a lot of application to lower the pH. Here are some good organic materials for you to consider using: peat moss, composted oak leaves, compost, and manure.

Compacted soil acidification

Mixing organic matter into dense soil can make the situation worse because the soil will retain more water, increasing its alkalinity level. Therefore, the safest approach is to increase the acidity of soils with a high clay content using elemental sulfur or iron sulfate:

Work sulfur into the soil before planting, the deeper the better.

Use fertilizers containing ammonia, and focus on adding ammonia when applying base fertilizer, which is beneficial to soil acidification.

Acidification of soil where flowers and plants are grown

If you have already planted flowers and plants in the soil, you must fully consider the growth of the plants while acidifying the soil. The simplest way is to supplement the sulfur element. The most commonly used is ferrous sulfate, which can be sprinkled directly in the flowerpot. It can not only increase the fertility of the soil, but also acidify the soil, killing two birds with one stone.

One thing to note here is that you should not add vinegar to the flower pot casually. Although vinegar can change the acidity and alkalinity of the soil in a short period of time, because the change is too radical, it will kill the organisms in the soil, unless you don't mind the plants dying.