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Friday, March 01, 2019 The Pumpkinguru Cornelius, Oregon

Entry 17 of 73  
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Well now its March, and its Friday, a nice way to start the biggest prep month of the year for the garden, so I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the month than talking about soil PH. I am no expert, so I am including a link at the bottom from people that know far more than I do. The attached picture shows the availability of the main nutrients your plants love in relation to your soil PH. Essentially, if you are too high on either end of the chart, chances are your plants will not love you back. For giant pumpkins, I like to start the season slightly above neutral at around 7.2, that puts me at neutral during the heat of battle when the plants are really growing in mid summer, and then by fall I have ended up slightly acidic. Now then, each state, each micro-climate, and for that matter each garden, can vary greatly in base PH. Here in Oregon we have very acidic soils, whereas other places, even in the region, can see neutral or even sweet soils. I recommend springing for a quick soil PH test to see where you are at and adjust from there. A little tweaking of your soil can really help your plants enjoy their day in the sun. Here is a link to a nice little article on soil PH for your Friday light reading. https://www.cropnutrition.com/efu-soil-ph
 



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