How to Test Soil With Litmus Strips
Testing your soil with litmus strips will determine its pH. A pH test using litmus trips will assist you in discovering whether your soil is acidic or alkaline. Different garden plants. flowers, and bushes, as well as lawn grasses, thrive best in soils with certain pH levels. Once you determine the pH level, you can amend the soil by adding nutrients to adjust the pH level if necessary. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Red and blue Litmus strips
- Soil auger or probe
- Plastic buckets
- Spade or trowel
- Eye dropper
- Petri dish or clean glass plate
- Distilled water
Instructions
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Determine which areas of your yard to test for pH. If you want a general look at the pH level of your soil, collect your samples from several places in your lawn. If you have areas where plants do not thrive or your yard has features such as flower beds or vegetable gardens, take separate samples from these areas. If you recently fertilized or added a soil amendment such as lime to an area, take a separate sample from that area as well.
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Take several samples from different parts of the first area you wish to test using the soil auger or trowel. For lawns, lift a small area of sod and extract a sample 3 inches below the sod. For flower beds, vegetable gardens, and other landscape features, extract a sample 6 to 8 inches below the surface. If you do not have a soil auger, use a spade or trowel to slice out a small sample.
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Create a composite soil sample. Put all the samples you collect from your specific area (for example, your lawn) into a clean plastic bucket. Mix the samples together, breaking up any clods of dirt or clay. Use a separate bucket for each specific area you are testing (ie: your lawn, your flower bed, your vegetable garden).
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Test the soil pH by taking a small portion of your first composite soil sample and place it in the petri dish or on a clean glass plate. Dampen the soil with distilled water from the eye dropper. Place the red or blue litmus strip on the dampened soil. Red litmus paper will turn blue in the presence of an alkali or base; blue litmus paper will turn red in the presence of an acid.
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Tips & Warnings
Soil sample kits are available at most home and garden centers.
For more detailed soil sample testing, contact your local University Extension office
Soil that has been recently treated with fertilizer may result in a different pH than your soil's true pH.
