pH chart.

Just before Christmas a customer asked if Strulch would make his garden more alkaline. Geoff gave him a comprehensive answer which I thought might be of interest to others. As a soil scientist Geoff is very familiar with soil pH and soil health. Our customer had been working a naturally acidic soil but the pH had been rising causing problems for acid loving plants. In his case the liberal and prolonged use of mushroom compost was the likely cause because mushroom growers use chalk or similar materials in the casing layer to produce mushrooms. This is an alkaline material and will alter the soil pH. Green waste compost and manure also tend to be alkaline but mushroom compost is particularly problematic because of the addition of calcium carbonate which is a liming agent. These materials are only an issue where an acid soil is preferred. Strulch has a neutral pH of 6.5 and so can be used safely on any soil and will not increase the alkalinity.