Acid loving plants
Peat is a highly acidic soil type. It´s straightforward to make acidic soil more alkaline by adding lime. Making soil acidic if your plant needs it is more challenging, but we don´t need peat to get the correct acidity.
Soil can be acidic, neutral or alkaline and is measured on the pH scale:
- pH of 4.5 – 6.0 = acidic soil
- pH of 6.5 – 7.0 = neutral soil (and will benefit most plants)
- pH of 7.1 – 8.5 = alkaline/calcareous soil
Acid-loving plants are plants that grow well in acidic soil.
If you try to grow acidophilic plants in alkaline or chalky soil, they will produce yellow leaves and usually will not grow well and eventually die. The main reason is that iron and other soil nutrients they need become insoluble or ‘locked up’ in the soil at high pH, making it impossible for the plants to take them up.
If your soil is alkaline, you can try digging a large hole and filling it with a lime-free, peat-free compost. Although the results may be promising in the first year, the added acidic soil will eventually wash away, and the plant will begin to suffer. So, you need to keep the soil acidic, there are several ways to do this.
Choose plants that naturally thrive in your soil
Before planting a garden, it is always a good idea to check the pH of the soil and then choose your plants accordingly. Planting plants that do not thrive in your garden without manipulating the soil will cause constant hassle and—with or without peat—often leads to unsatisfactory results.
Why would you choose a blueberry when a currant will thrive much better in your garden? You can buy a simple test kit from garden centres or online, and this will tell you whether your soil is acidic, neutral, or alkaline.
Once you know the soil type and choose the right plants, you can ensure that your garden thrives instead of just-so survives.
Simple peat-free methods to acidify the soil:
- Mulch with pine needles
- Cover the soil with beech or oak leaf compost
- Throw coffee grounds around the plants
Upcycle your Christmas Tree
Shred your (organic) Christmas tree and mulch your acid-loving plants with it. Pine needles acidify the soil.
