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I’ve recently bought a property in a ‘dry chalk valley’. It’s an old barn with a paddock out the back.

I bought an electronic soil pH meter (two prongs with an analog dial meter) and followed the instructions. The result was a pH of 4.9.

I’m confused as there are lumps of chalk in the soil. Surely if the soil was so acidic, the chalk would have dissolved? I’m reluctant to buy another testing kit to get the same result, but then my flimsy knowledge of chemistry suggests that the meter I’ve used is inaccurate.

If the land was used for equestrian purposes in years gone by, could this have affected the soil pH? Is fresh horse manure highly acidic?

UPDATE

Here's a shot of plants growing adjacent to where I did the pH test. Additionally I bought some (ageing) litmus-style tests which suggested the soil was slightly less-than-neutral, but not outright acidic.

plants growing in the paddock currently

Deejay
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  • horse manure is high in nitrogen – black thumb Sep 09 '20 at 20:33
  • You can also determine the soils acidity by looking at the plants. List the plants that are doing well, and the ones that are yellowing or doing poorly. Then check which group is acid-loving. – Polypipe Wrangler Sep 09 '20 at 21:55
  • The presence of lumps of chalk would usually indicate highly alkaline soil conditions - having used a PH tester of the type you describe myself, I found it was extremely unreliable. – Bamboo Sep 09 '20 at 23:28
  • Most compost in mildly alkaline (pH greater than 7) but horse manure is an exception. It's pH is typically only about 6.5 though. pH 4.9 is close to the limit of being too acid for bacteria to decompose organic matter at all. – alephzero Sep 09 '20 at 23:38
  • Are any plants growing in the soil? What kinds are they? – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Sep 10 '20 at 14:37
  • Do you have acidic manure / soil on top of alkaline chalk base ? – blacksmith37 Sep 10 '20 at 20:51
  • Thanks for the comments. No acidic manure currently in place, and no signs of there having been in the last few years. The plants growing there are mostly grass and some weeds, although I haven't identified which. – Deejay Sep 11 '20 at 15:55

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