Soil pH, what's it all about?

Hello daylily bloggers.

I want to thank "chipper shredder" for their comment. YES, you are correct, a good sturdy piece of equipment makes life much easier in a garden. The shredder would be accessible anytime, you would know what exactly was in your mulch (no junk, ya know) and it would make for a great family weekend project.! :) I say that from experience. My stepson had a shredder and when we visited, we worked in the yard for several hours, making beautiful mulch. Then the dinner he served afterwards as a show of appreciation was Delicious. I think family projects/gatherings are great!

Now on to our new topic .... Soil pH. You may ask why soil pH is important for growing daylilies. Although daylilies grow in most any type of soil, if you want them to THRIVE, proper soil is something to consider. pH, is a measure of soil acidity or soil alkalinity.

We test soil because ...
we want to monitor the soil's nutrients
we want to amend the soil if necessary
it will let us know what type of plants will grow well in that area

One suggestion is to contact your local Cooperative Extension Office. They provide a soil sample kit. They provided us with a small box, and a form asking about our soil area, where we live and what we plan to plant. We took a clean trowel/shovel, put soil in box, returned it to the Ag Office and within three weeks was provided a report with detailed results. I believe there is a slight fee, but it is worthwhile knowing what your soil needs.

Another option is to purchase a soil tester. Some of the available soil testers include single prong tester, two prong tester, digital tester. They range in price from $10.00 to over $100.00. We found that our single prong "cheap one" gave us sufficient information.

All for now. You go out, test that soil yourself or get it tested, we will be back tomorrow and give some insight about good pH soil level for daylilies.

Until next time, Happy Gardening.