What is ‘pH’ and why is it so important in plants.
You may remember the term pH from chemistry class, but if those memories are a haze..here is a recap!
The pH, is a measure of how acidic or alkaline a solution is, measured on a logarithmic scale 7 is neutral, whilst lower values are more acidic and higher values are more alkaline.
But why is managing the pH important for my plants? All biological processes are dependent on pH, cells must maintain a specific and constant pH in order to keep their enzymes at the optimum state of protonation (which is a fancy word for GROWTH phase).
As we nurture our plants with specially selected nutrients, substrates and even water we are effecting our plants pH, we must understand our plants needs and manage the pH accordingly.
Often we spend money on powerful nutrients but we limit its potency & ability to help yield more fruitful crops due to a less than favourable pH. If you are reading this and you want to supersede your efforts, you need to get yourself a pH pen, the first step in understanding your soil.
