Soil pH Solved Without Chemicals!

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Are you stuck in the “lime every few years” cycle?
Soil scientist Phil Mulvey joins me in the vineyard to unpack how pH really works — from aluminium toxicity and CEC (cation exchange capacity) to buffering and why plant diversity can stabilise pH and rebuild soil structure. We compare lime vs a biological approach (multi-species covers, legumes, deep-rooters) and preview a follow-up on fungal inoculation.

What you’ll learn:

Why pH ≈ 6–6.5 maximises nutrient availability

The 5.2 pH aluminium toxicity cliff and shallow roots

How CEC and organic matter “glues” create aggregation, infiltration & drought resilience

Practical seed-mix ideas for vineyards & grazing to buffer pH biologically

👀 Next episode teaser: How to inoculate your soil with beneficial fungi (don’t miss it — subscribe!).

🔨 Sponsor: Thor Post Drivers — accurate, powerful post driving for tractors, skid steers & excavators. Proud sponsor of Farm Learning.
👉 https://www.thorrockbreakers.com.au/equipment/post-drivers/

🎥 Related videos

Regenerating a Commercial Farm with Stuart Andrews: https://youtu.be/0S6PuhjDWLk

Soil Health Chat (agroecology & low-stress systems): https://youtu.be/K4x_OGxEYXI

📍 Location: Australia (vineyard)
🌱 Seed sources mentioned: Ardent Seeds (TAS) https://www.facebook.com/ardentseeds/ mixes (mid-row & under-vine)
👤 Guest: Soil scientist Phil Mulvey
🚜 Tractor cameo: Ferguson TEA20

#Hashtags
#RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #Vineyard

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00:00 Thor Post Drivers sponsor & intro
00:37 Why we lime: the conventional cycle
01:19 Meet soil scientist Phil Mulvey
03:00 What “lime” actually is (and isn’t)
05:00 Nutrient availability sweet spot (pH ~6–6.5)
05:13 Aluminium toxicity below pH 5.2 (shallow roots)
07:00 CEC 101 — how plants trade H⁺ for cations
10:49 Organic matter “glues” & soil aggregation
12:40 When pH drifts: structure collapse & hardpan
16:00 Nature’s fix: diversity, roots & buffering
18:00 Vineyard plan: mid-row vs under-vine mixes
21:59 Buffering capacity: keeping pH stable
23:45 Why 20–30+ species beats monocultures
24:46 Seed mix show-and-tell (peas, brassicas, radish)
26:12 Spreading seed in the vineyard
27:08 What’s next: fungal inoculation teaser
27:27 Like, share & subscribe