ph of soils and its affects on plants

[Jennifer Wright]

Hello,

Your experiment depends on what type of soil you are using.  If you are 
using field soil, there are different problems that will arise that if 
you were to use regular potting mix which is more often than not 
considered to be a "soil-less" mix.  Your pH's may not give you many 
results either.  I think that plants generally like the soil to be in the 
range of 5.5 to 6.5 and this number also varies depending on if you are 
using field soil or potting mix.  Many of the problems associated with pH 
are those of its effects on the nutrients in the soil.  At lower pH Mn 
and Al become freed and can cause toxicity problems or can bind to other 
nutrients and make those nutrients unavailable.  I suggest checking into 
some soil science books.  If you cannot find anything tell me and I can 
copy some stuff I have.

Good luck :)
Jen Wright

On Tue, 6 Feb 1996, Harmonie Rhoades wrote:

>     We are biology students from Mt. Shasta High School. We are working on
> a problem concerning the pH of soil and its affects on plants.  For our
> experiment we are changing the pH of three soils and planting equal
> numbers of vegetables, radish, lettuce, dill and carrots in each of the
> pots.  We are going to change the pH to 5 in one pot, 6, and 7 in
> another.  We must have a hypothesis stating what will happen but we are
> having a hard time finding the research to base it on.  If you have any
> information on this subject could you please help us. Thank you.
> 
> Mandy Garcia
> Kim Harrison
> Kami Gray
> 
> mgarcia at sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us
> 
>