Presumably lime lovers like brassicas do take up some lime so would be on the alkaline side and lime haters emphatically would not. The sap of most plants is mildly acidic and some plants - stinging nettles for example, quite strongly so. Whether taken as a whole the plant is acidic, I've no idea, but given the high water content and the fact that rainwater is acidic would suggest they may well be to some degree.
Digressing a bit, commercial bagged compost is usually on the alkaline side of neutral, I'm not sure why - possibly there is often some manure blended in, which tends to be somewhat alkaline, or maybe tap water is used in the processes somewhere, much of which has some lime content in the UK.
Alkalinity in soil derives principally from limestone. Acidity from rainwater. In areas like mine where there is no limestone and it rains a lot, the soil is quite strongly acidic. In areas like the Cotswolds with fairly shallow soils over a soft limestone and (comparatively) low rainfall, it's very alkaline. In much of the UK there is a balance so soils are within a point or two either side of neutral. These processes are not to do with the plants directly so as Pete says, there is an underlying character that is very hard to shift one way or the other.
But having said that, historically in gardens the regular addition of manure swings the pendulum slightly alkaline and then a year or two of rain pushes it back towards acidity, so long term cultivated soil is almost always close to neutral.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
That all makes sense - I suppose my answer should not have been 'no', but 'not necessarily'. Another question in my mind is whether, while rain is generally acidic, the water actually taken up into the plants remains so.
I agree with Raisingirl's view on vast areas and longterm. Soil conditions change very slowly and depends on original soil base structure, and rainfall levels, then you need to factor in the types of plants/leaves that fall and go back into the soil. In short, not easy to control unless you are deliberately growing a forest of pine etc.
If you could manipulate soil PH in one or two seasons, then we'd have heard about it by now. So the short answer to B3 is making your own compost will unlikely be acidic unless you go out of your way and only collect traditional acidic based plants' leaves to compost. Usually pine and plants grown in very high rainfall areas. Average garden compost will usually be neutral, with mild variations either way. Anyone putting in sulphur chips etc into the soil will have to maintain this as this is only shorterm and in confined areas.
I always though that logarithms must have some purpose ... we had to do enough of them at school but no one ever said why ........... If I'd known it was to do with gardening I might have taken a bit more interest
I found out when I was at Art School that they're used in photography too .......... why on earth didn't they say?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ha ha Dove - yes, if only! My OH often says it's the bits of maths that seemed most pointless at school that he uses the most now (in work as not as a mathematician but a visual effects artist). Apparently matrices are very useful and important... but don't ask me to explain how.
Ian I am enjoying how it's diverged from the question. It's still 'on topic' though, mostly. And I'm learning a lot (although it's raising more questions too).
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
Posts
It's the only way to be sure. But you may get different results from different areas in the compost
Initially your compost will be slightly acidic.
Over time the compost will become less acidic.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Presumably lime lovers like brassicas do take up some lime so would be on the alkaline side and lime haters emphatically would not. The sap of most plants is mildly acidic and some plants - stinging nettles for example, quite strongly so. Whether taken as a whole the plant is acidic, I've no idea, but given the high water content and the fact that rainwater is acidic would suggest they may well be to some degree.
Digressing a bit, commercial bagged compost is usually on the alkaline side of neutral, I'm not sure why - possibly there is often some manure blended in, which tends to be somewhat alkaline, or maybe tap water is used in the processes somewhere, much of which has some lime content in the UK.
Alkalinity in soil derives principally from limestone. Acidity from rainwater. In areas like mine where there is no limestone and it rains a lot, the soil is quite strongly acidic. In areas like the Cotswolds with fairly shallow soils over a soft limestone and (comparatively) low rainfall, it's very alkaline. In much of the UK there is a balance so soils are within a point or two either side of neutral. These processes are not to do with the plants directly so as Pete says, there is an underlying character that is very hard to shift one way or the other.
But having said that, historically in gardens the regular addition of manure swings the pendulum slightly alkaline and then a year or two of rain pushes it back towards acidity, so long term cultivated soil is almost always close to neutral.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
That all makes sense - I suppose my answer should not have been 'no', but 'not necessarily'. Another question in my mind is whether, while rain is generally acidic, the water actually taken up into the plants remains so.
Just came across this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/plants/trees/10633984/Do-conifers-make-soil-more-acid.html It doesn't answer the question either, but has some interesting points around the same topic.
I agree with Raisingirl's view on vast areas and longterm. Soil conditions change very slowly and depends on original soil base structure, and rainfall levels, then you need to factor in the types of plants/leaves that fall and go back into the soil. In short, not easy to control unless you are deliberately growing a forest of pine etc.
If you could manipulate soil PH in one or two seasons, then we'd have heard about it by now. So the short answer to B3 is making your own compost will unlikely be acidic unless you go out of your way and only collect traditional acidic based plants' leaves to compost. Usually pine and plants grown in very high rainfall areas. Average garden compost will usually be neutral, with mild variations either way. Anyone putting in sulphur chips etc into the soil will have to maintain this as this is only shorterm and in confined areas.
Last edited: 20 January 2018 10:36:21
really interesting answers. I suppose that what ends up in my containers depends on which bit of the heap it came from.
The points about what's underneath and what comes out of the sky make sense too.
Last edited: 20 January 2018 11:06:09
I've started wondering about acid in unripe fruit now. But I suppose that's another story
I always though that logarithms must have some purpose ... we had to do enough of them at school but no one ever said why
........... If I'd known it was to do with gardening I might have taken a bit more interest 
I found out when I was at Art School that they're used in photography too .......... why on earth didn't they say?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ha ha Dove - yes, if only! My OH often says it's the bits of maths that seemed most pointless at school that he uses the most now (in work as not as a mathematician but a visual effects artist). Apparently matrices are very useful and important... but don't ask me to explain how.
Ian I am enjoying how it's diverged from the question. It's still 'on topic' though, mostly. And I'm learning a lot (although it's raising more questions too).