How to Acidify Soil With Peat Moss

Every successful flower and vegetable garden starts from the ground up, with careful site selection and soil preparation. Flowers, vegetables and fruit plants require rich, crumbly and quick-draining soil for nutrition and space, and thrive with organic amendments at planting. Some plants, like azaleas and blueberries, require higher acid content in their soil. Peat moss is one of the most acidic amendments and satisfies acid-loving plants in regard to drainage and long-lasting nutrition. Amend the soil with peat moss a couple weeks before planting to ready the soil for acid-loving plants.

Peat moss
Organic compost
Garden fork

Instructions

- 1
  Amend soil two to three weeks before planting to give it time to settle. Choose a site with full sun and good drainage, and set aside planting sites for your plants. Amend entire beds for vegetable and flower gardens or individual planting sites for larger bushes like blueberries and hydrangeas.
- 2
  Dig into the top 10 to 12 inches of natural soil for small fruits, vegetable and flowers, and the top 14 to 16 inches of soil for larger bushes like azaleas, blueberries, rhododendrons and hydrangeas. Mix the soil to aerate it and break up any dirt clods. Remove weeds and rocks.
- 3
  Lay 1 to 2 inches of organic compost and 2 to 3 inches of peat moss on the natural soil for small plants, and 2 to 3 inches of compost and 4 to 5 inches of peat moss for larger bushes. Turn the amendment into the tilled soil and mix until you have a consistent, even mixture of natural soil to amendment. Peat moss and compost loosen and nourish the soil while compost works to hold moisture between waterings.

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