I Learned The CRAZIEST Garden Tip From an AMISH Farmer (Soil Test by sight)

We have an Amish colony near our town, they are terrific neighbors, very direct and happy to chat. Just the other day, 70 of them helped move a (non-Amish) neighbor’s house away from the riverbank where it is threatened by floods. It looked like the house had grown legs like a millipede- they were all inside it! Just picked it up with manpower and moved it.

If you want to get a rough idea of whether your soil is alkaline, acid, or neutral, gather some soil and divide it into two cups, and mix it with distilled water. Add vinegar to one cup, and baking soda to the other. If the soil with the vinegar fizzes, your soil is alkaline. If the soil with baking soda fizzes, it is acid. If neither of them fizz, it is neutral. I have no idea what it means if they both fizz, but I would probably choose a different site for my garden!👽

We can learn a lot from the Amish. They are full of knowledge.

My grandpa used to work for the Brooklyn botanic gardens in the 70s and this is one of the many things he taught me before he passed. I was only 12 when he was gone but it’s so interesting because now that I’m starting to become an empty Nester, I am really getting into gardening and remembering everything.🥰

Love this. An Amish person would say, though, that they center their lives on being friends of Jesus and their love for the natural systems God put in place stems from a joyful acceptance of his directive to be caretakers and stewards of the Earth. Take care of the soil biome and it takes care of you. Those who understand this are and infinite source of wisdom. Thanks for continuing to be a lifelong learner and sharing things like this. I love such a simple perspective VS fiddling with a $24 kit.

My Dad was a wonderful gardener and he always said pick a handful up and squeeze it if it is squeezed and stays together it is good to plant in. Certain plants need the sandy soil too though.

Put your dirt in a jar of water, shake it up then let it settle for a few hours. The ratio of silt, clay, and loam will be clearly visible and you will know what you need to amend it. Silt on bottom, clay middle, loam on top.

I love learning new ways "which are really the old ways" from our Amish neighbors.

“ Rocked your world “ that old school gardening has worked for thousands of years without technology intervention ,please . the Amish farmer has yrs of experience ,,, a Great place of knowledge , to keep it simple

Would love to see an episode where you test this out. Match it with your homemade ph test method and an extension or formal test lab. As we MGs usually say, "test, don't guess!"

You can also look at how long materials like eggshells take to decompose. In some places, if your soil pH is too alkaline, they can last for years. In my soil, they disappear in a few months, so I know it's more acidic.

Now I know why there's a big bag of lime that was left in the barn when we bought this place. The soil is very sandy! This will be our first growing season here.

I think this knowledge really only applies to where the Amish lives. Local biogeography can affect typical ph levels differently. E.g. if I would spot reddish soil in southern Africa, it would not imply alkalinity but presence of iron oxides. In northern Europe, brown soil, or rather hummus rich soil, would imply acidity. The important lesson is not that acidic or alkaline soil looks like this or that, but that you should spend some time and effort learning to read Y–O–U–R local environment, just like you learn to read your local weather patterns, water table, morning fog, frost dates, microclimate, drainage and shades. Every location will be different, and you should try to understand your own growing conditions.

The Amish know....thanks Luke!😊

My grandfather was born in 1900 and he could put a pinch of soil in his mouth and taste it and tell my cousin what the should grow in that file.

Seems common sense. But you said so yourself, the background pH of a region's soils has a strong effect. Maybe a good approach would be to get pH info from a county extension agent, and then use that as a starting point for the visual test.

Can you do a video of what plants need what kind of soil ph. At least the basics please. Thank you 😊

This is why I wish I had asked my questions of my Great Uncle with his garden. He had a huge garden with so many great tasting fruits and veggies. 😢

When everyone farmed, everyone knew this. Also, we can identify ph by what plants are growing there. All good information.

Makes total sense, thanks for taking the time to explain it to us....