Sunday Science - Soil pH

Today myself and version 2.0 child set out to find out the pH of the soil in our field.

I am not 100% sure yet what impact the pH will have, but it felt like a good idea to at least know just in case somebody (the Woodland Trust most likely) asks the question when we are planning our planting scheme.

I tried to take a measure a few weeks ago after some rain, but the soil was still just too dry. Today we went armed with lots of water and a few digging tools.


In some of the spots we tested, a friendly mole had lifted the soil for us and that saved us some work. He is making a bit of a mess but I figured it likely aerates the soil and if he is there, it must be because there are worms in the soil which suggests nice healthy soil.




Our results were pretty middle of the road, ever so slightly acidic with readings between 5.5 and 7. 
A quick google tells me this is pretty good and that both Beech and Oak will be happy here (they will be the cornerstones of the longer living species that we plant). 

So, another job is ticked off the list and we had some fun (well Version 2.0 did - mostly because I slipped on the wet grass and fell on my arse). 

While we were there, we sprinkled a packet of wildflower seeds in some of the trenches that the previous owners tractor had made in the winter. It will be interesting to see what becomes of those. 

On the way out, we spotted some naturally occurring wild flowers that I haven't seen before. Any suggestions? 






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