St Paddy's Planting!..and soil PH

In honor of St Patrick's Day-and because Spring is tiptoeing into my neighborhood-I bought a flowering heather. Now I only have the vaguest notion of heather being an Irish plant....something about moors and heaths and the wind that shakes the barley...who knows. But softly undulating fields of heather under rainwashed skies seems to me about as romantic as it gets.



Image courtesy of www.discoverirelandtours.com
(See, I told you it's romantic.)

Anyway here is an image of the plant that I purchased.

I have a perfect spot for it: damp but sunny and room for it to spread, but Heather needs acidic soil and I have no idea what the soil type is for my selected spot so I went searching for ways-other than buying a PH tester-to determine soil PH.
And, lo and behold, there's a totally easy-and free way to test!
Soil PH Test:
You will need 2 soil samples, 1/2 cup of vinegar, water-preferably spring water, and 1/2 cup baking soda.
Add vinegar to soil. if the soil fizzes it is alkaline.

If soil does not fizz, take second sample, add water to make...mud...and then add baking soda. If it fizzes or bubbles your soil is acidic.

If nothing happens in either case your soil has a neutral PH.

Wood ash or lime can decrease alkalinity.
Sulfur or pine needles can decrease acidity.
*Most plants grown in home gardens prefer soil that is PH neutral (7) or slightly acidic (6).
(Oh and apparently there's another way to test it, by tasting the soil, but I'm just not that committed a gardener.)