A few tips for working with alkaline soil

Lowering the pH of alkaline soil is time consuming, and it's impossible to permanently "fix" alkaline soil in one fell swoop. Here are a few tips for making the most of alkaline soil:

The most direct way to lower the pH of alkaline soil is to amend it with garden sulphur, which should be thoroughly mixed into the soil.

• Use caution, however, and apply only a small amount at a time.
• Soil sulphur is potent. About 0.5 kilograms (one pound) per 10 square metres (about 100 square feet) will noticeably lower the pH, usually by half a point on the pH scale, but you will need to wait eight weeks before making another application.
• Even when it is thoroughly mixed in, using too much soil sulphur in one application will form pockets of strong acid in the soil that can burn plant roots, undoing all the good you are trying to do.
• In combination with soil sulphur, work acidic soil amendments, such as peat moss, oak leaves, leaf mold, or rotted sawdust, into the soil.
• In addition to lowering the pH, these soil amendments will improve the soil's texture and help it to retain moisture, which is usually a pressing issue where alkaline soils reign.
• To compound the problem of altering soil pH, the water, too, is often alkaline in areas where the soil has a high pH. As a result, the alkaline tendencies of the soil are reinforced each time you irrigate, using a garden hose and municipal water.
• You can help to offset the process by using fertilizers that are intended for acid-loving plants, in addition to making liberal use of organic matter and soil sulphur.
• Consider hooking up your house gutters to barrels and collecting rainwater, which is naturally soft, for use on special collections of acid-loving plants.

Rather than fight the terrible twosome of constant dryness and alkaline soil that can be found in many areas, and even along lime-rich concrete foundations, driveways, and sidewalks, many gardeners colour up their summer gardens with container gardens grown in neutral to slightly acid soil.

• Commercial potting soils are usually slightly acidic, and they can be amended, if necessary, with additional peat moss or organic material for growing hydrangeas, camellias, or other acid-loving plants.

• Bedding geranium
• Bergenia
• Boston ivy
• Browallia
• Bugleweed
• Butter daisy
• Cockscomb
• Cotoneaster
• Doublefile viburnum
• Dusty miller
• Fuchsia
• Golden rain tree
• Gypsophila
• Honeysuckle
• Hyacinth bean
• Lacebark pine
• Lantana
• Larkspur
• Lavender
• Licorice plant
• Pachysandra
• Peony
• Pincushion flower
• Plectranthus
• Purple coneflower
• Redbud
• Scarlet runner bean
• Stock
• Sun rose
• Thyme
• Trumpet vine
• Wishbone flower
• Wisteria
• Yellowwood
• Yucca

Although it's not the best situation to be in, it is possible to make alkaline soil hospitable for your plants. If you don't want to go to all that work, the container option is just as good. Either way, you're sure to have a beautiful garden.