Overheard a guy at the nursery talking about soil pH like it was rocket science

I was at Armstrong's in Riverside last weekend and this older guy told the cashier he tests his soil pH every single spring and fall without fail. Said he caught his azaleas turning yellow two years ago because the pH hit 7.1 instead of the 5.5 they need. I never even thought to check my dirt before, anyone else just wing it and hope for the best?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiesingh3d ago

Is he sure it wasn't just the sun or some other random thing? I feel like people overthink this stuff, plants have been surviving for millions of years without pH tests lol.

jamies453d ago

Ha, man that's next level dedication right there. I'm over here just sticking my finger in the dirt to see if it's wet, and this guy is out here with a full chemistry set for his azaleas. Honestly, I figure if the plant looks happy and isn't turning into a crispy critter, I'm doing fine. I'd probably spend more time testing pH than I do actually watering stuff, so I'll just keep winging it and hope for the best.