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Making soil more acidic

Tam_ThumbTam_Thumb Posts: 49
in Problem solving
Any tips on making a bit of a flower bed more acidic?

I'm mainly growing Lithodora and i've read they prefer acidic soil so bought a soil tester and it's alkaline 

Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    I think you will always fail long term if you try to alter your soil. There is ericaceous compost and feeds which you could try but I would much prefer to grow acid lovers in a pot.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Tam_ThumbTam_Thumb Posts: 49
    just been reading some sites, one mentions about pine needles and them decaying will give off acid.
    Luckily there's loads of pine woods around here i can get bags of the stuff
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    edited June 2022
    Just adding pine needles on top of alkaline soil isn't going to make much of an impact, at best the soil will neutralise the acid from the needles and it will still be alkaline. Compare the mass of soil under your plants with the mass of pine needles you might use as mulch and you can see that it won't work. You would need to change the soil for an ericaceous one first and to a fair depth then mulch annually with your pine needles.


  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    It's almost impossible to alter your soil type in the long run. You can make raised beds and buy in soil, or if the difference is slight, you can use an ericaceous feed but success is limited.
    If you already have the lithodora, I'd  try the feed and see how they go, but I don't believe the pine needles would make much difference, I'm afraid.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    It can take pine needles years to decompose. The acidity also decreases raidly after they fall. A friend used to remove them by the bag full as they covered her plants.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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