Lowering the pH in soil

[Zayah]

OK so something I’m confused about is when I water my plants with a pH balance of 6.5 does that make the soil a pH balance of 6.5 as long as it runs runs out the bottom enough ? I’m needing to lower the ph of my soil but confused on how it works. I read about lemon juice 1/4tbs per gal, water it and I guess it lowers the ph ? How exactly does that work?

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi Zayah... Why do you think you need to lower the pH of your soil? You have just admitted that you don't know how it all works, yet someone has convinced you that you need to do this silly thing. Let me give you some base knowledge so you can see that your advisors are blowing smoke at you.

First, the proper pH to adjust all of your fluids is 6.3, not 6.5pH. Whatever source you have been using to get your information, if they didn't mention that 6.3 pH is where mathematically the most nutes are the most mobile, then they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Your soil is set to a high pH for a good reason... it is called drift. Your goal when watering is to run your container through the entire soil pH range... not set it to some specific number and expect it to stay there. The usable range in soil is 6.2-6.8 pH. If you water at 6.3, for that moment, as you have saturated your soil till runoff, that column of water/soil suspension is at 6.3 pH. The molecular weight of the water overrides everything else, and the pH of your container HAS to be the pH of your incoming fluid.

Immediately however, the soil / water / nutes and the buffers in the soil begin to interact with that water, and it causes the pH of the water to start slowly creeping up, working itself through the usable range. This is called drift, and it is very desirable. Next, the soil is set to a high base pH, usually around 6.8, so that as it dries and loses the influence of the lower pH water and nutes, it reverts to its base pH... again taking the nutes on a ride through the range, as designed to do. As the soil begins to dry out from top to bottom as the water level falls in that container, the soil at the top will be at the base pH, and the wet soil at the bottom will be closer to the pH of the water you gave, minus the drift. Depending on where you measure, the pH is different in different areas of the container, based mostly on how wet that soil is.

This system has been used for centuries to grow plants in containers. We have known about the buffering capabilities of lime and its ability to sweeten soil, and I have always taken that term to mean that the soil has a nice easy to work with range that you can come in at in regards to pH and the soil will buffer it, allowing the plants to get way more nutes than if everything was locked in at a single pH.

If you follow the advice you have been getting, you will remove the buffering ability of your soil, and you will wreck the soil for growing cannabis well... your soil will be more suited toward growing orchids or some other acidic loving plant.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

I grow in soil and Ph has never been an issue for me ever and I use my tap. My only grow supplies include Happy Frog Grow Big Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom never have I used anything to correct Ph in my soil except for a good watering with my tap at a Ph of 6.5 to 7 and maybe some coast of Maine for top dressing.

 

[Zayah]

I use a soil tester to test pH, you know one of those devices you stick into the soil and it says it. Well it says mine is 7 to 7+ In different areas of the container and that explains maybe why some of my plants aren’t getting the nutrients they’re being given like phosphorus. There showing signs of not getting the right nutrients and when I tested the soil with the meter it showed 7 to 7+. That’s why I came to conclusion that I needed to lower my ph a little bit

 

[Zayah]

Hi Zayah... Why do you think you need to lower the pH of your soil? You have just admitted that you don't know how it all works, yet someone has convinced you that you need to do this silly thing. Let me give you some base knowledge so you can see that your advisors are blowing smoke at you.

First, the proper pH to adjust all of your fluids is 6.3, not 6.5pH. Whatever source you have been using to get your information, if they didn't mention that 6.3 pH is where mathematically the most nutes are the most mobile, then they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Your soil is set to a high pH for a good reason... it is called drift. Your goal when watering is to run your container through the entire soil pH range... not set it to some specific number and expect it to stay there. The usable range in soil is 6.2-6.8 pH. If you water at 6.3, for that moment, as you have saturated your soil till runoff, that column of water/soil suspension is at 6.3 pH. The molecular weight of the water overrides everything else, and the pH of your container HAS to be the pH of your incoming fluid.

Immediately however, the soil / water / nutes and the buffers in the soil begin to interact with that water, and it causes the pH of the water to start slowly creeping up, working itself through the usable range. This is called drift, and it is very desirable. Next, the soil is set to a high base pH, usually around 6.8, so that as it dries and loses the influence of the lower pH water and nutes, it reverts to its base pH... again taking the nutes on a ride through the range, as designed to do. As the soil begins to dry out from top to bottom as the water level falls in that container, the soil at the top will be at the base pH, and the wet soil at the bottom will be closer to the pH of the water you gave, minus the drift. Depending on where you measure, the pH is different in different areas of the container, based mostly on how wet that soil is.

This system has been used for centuries to grow plants in containers. We have known about the buffering capabilities of lime and its ability to sweeten soil, and I have always taken that term to mean that the soil has a nice easy to work with range that you can come in at in regards to pH and the soil will buffer it, allowing the plants to get way more nutes than if everything was locked in at a single pH.

If you follow the advice you have been getting, you will remove the buffering ability of your soil, and you will wreck the soil for growing cannabis well... your soil will be more suited toward growing orchids or some other acidic loving plant.

That was some good information thank you .

 

[013]

I’m not too sure about the accuracy of those 3 way probe meters that supposedly read moisture, ph and light. I put one an inch away from a Mars 250 watt LED and it read 50% light (say what?) soaked it in a glass jar of water and it showed 60% wet... WTF???

But stick with what Emilya shared... a good brand of commercially bagged soil should be ph balanced and have buffers built in.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

I use a soil tester to test pH, you know one of those devices you stick into the soil and it says it. Well it says mine is 7 to 7+ In different areas of the container and that explains maybe why some of my plants aren’t getting the nutrients they’re being given like phosphorus. There showing signs of not getting the right nutrients and when I tested the soil with the meter it showed 7 to 7+. That’s why I came to conclusion that I needed to lower my ph a little bit

Yes the ph in soil is different from top to bottom so it is in the right range for proper uptake somewhere.

 

[Zayah]

OK but it’s in the middle or towards the bottom so it’s 7.8 to 7.9 that’s not good right ? Honestly I’m not sure how far the roots go because it is potted plant but I feel as if it’s somewhere in the 7.8 range

 

[Zayah]

I’m not too sure about the accuracy of those 3 way probe meters that supposedly read moisture, ph and light. I put one an inch away from a Mars 250 watt LED and it read 50% light (say what?) soaked it in a glass jar of water and it showed 60% wet... WTF???

But stick with what Emilya shared... a good brand of commercially bagged soil should be ph balanced and have buffers built in.

I found out that the three-way one is in accurate so I went out and bought one that just shows pH and that showed me I’m sending the correct PH because with the three-way meter was show me was it was at a I found out that the three-way one is in accurate so I went out and bought one that just shows pH and that showed me I’m sending the correct pH because what the three-way meter was show me was it was that it was at a 1 everywhere on every plant. I was not happy with the results so I went out and bought another meter one that only shows the ph

 

[Zayah]

This plant is showing route zone I believe 7.8 and it’s been showing signs like this for a little bit That’s why I’m wanting to lower my pH because I believe that is the problem or the cause of the damage

 

[Zayah]

This is the meter I went out and purchased. For 15+ dollars this thing better fucking work right .

 

[BigD13]

Here’s a few links for your reading pleasure.

Water Alkalinity vs pH in your Growing Medium - What's the Difference? | PRO-MIX Greenhouse Growing

Water pH measures the amount of hydrogen (acid ions) in the water, whereas water alkalinity is a measure of the carbonate and bicarbonate levels in water.

www.pthorticulture.com

Do we need to pH adjust our nutrient solutions?

Greetings all! I recently had a running email conversation with the "Grower Services & Product Development Director" at ProMix (aka Premier Tech). I began the conversation by posting a question on their website, asking if I should be treating ProMix HP as soil or soil-less when mixing...

www.420magazine.com

Water alkalinity and pH: What they mean in regards to water quality

Understanding the difference between alkalinity and pH and how alkaline water can affect plants is important in determining what to do to remedy possible nutritional problems.

www.canr.msu.edu

 

[oldsmokey]

Those pH moisture meters are junk don't trust them. Best way to test soil pH is a slurry test. If you stick to quality soil you shouldn't have to worry about your soil pH. What brand of soil are you using?

Testing Ph In Your Soil - Aptus Holland

In this article we’ll show you how to take pH measurements in your soil. I can hear you think, why would you need to measure the pH in your soil when you already measure it in the water you give your plants? Well, your soil is alive, and there are all kinds of processes going […]

aptus-holland.com

 

[Emilya Green]

This plant is showing route zone I believe 7.8 and it’s been showing signs like this for a little bit That’s why I’m wanting to lower my pH because I believe that is the problem or the cause of the damage

Even your more expensive meter is not telling you the truth of the situation. All you can measure accurately in soil is its base pH, or the pH that it reverts to when it is dry. The ONLY way to get this measurement is by doing a slurry test... a probe sticking into the soil WILL NOT accurately measure the base pH, it will only approximate the pH in any particular region of the container, measuring the soil and the moisture together. The larger point is that you are insisting on believing what you believe about this pH being too high and that the working pH is not directly related to the pH of your incoming fluids, and that you somehow need to adjust the soil.
You can go out and get some acidic orchid soil and mix it into your soil to your hearts content... reduce that soil pH down to where you think it should be. You can also add aluminum sulfate to your soil to instantly reduce its pH. I don't recommend doing these things, but sometimes it takes killing a crop to get it into someone's head that the problem all along was a misconception... not some externality out of their control.

 

[bobrown14]

This is the meter I went out and purchased. For 15+ dollars this thing better fucking work right .

They are not very accurate. pH is logarithmic scale so any deviation is a large deviation.

The only way to get a proper pH reading from soil is to send in a soil sample and get it tested in a LAB.

The proper way to lower soil pH is to add sulfur. But again you need a soil test to determine the amounts to add.

Also Ascorbic acid is a great way to lower your WATER pH.

Water pH will have an effect on soil pH but the more soil you have the less effect water will have.

In containers of small-ish size you can lower soil pH over several weeks with water that has a low pH.

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

I’m not too sure about the accuracy of those 3 way probe meters that supposedly read moisture, ph and light. I put one an inch away from a Mars 250 watt LED and it read 50% light (say what?) soaked it in a glass jar of water and it showed 60% wet... WTF???

But stick with what Emilya shared... a good brand of commercially bagged soil should be ph balanced and have buffers built in.

Multi-meters are not a tool I would depend on. Soil pH can only be determined with a very good pH meter, a representative soil sample and DI water. You test a saturated paste. Like you said, use a well buffered media. I don't even bother with pH any more.

 

[Zayah]

Thanks everyone,
Now In anyone opinion can someone use Fox Farms Ocean forest soil the entire
Grow time ? I read it’s meant for seedlings and cuttings but I didn’t have the greatest luck with fox farms happy frog, possibly
Because I may not have added enough perlite but I had a suffocation problem because it would harden up so much. The only thing I can think of is I didn’t Add enough perlite to the mix. Also read someone’s using tomato soil, does that have enough to grow? They did seem to have a lot of additives maybe because the soil isn’t super soil? I’m just needing another kid of ready made soil. Read up on this Coast of Maine cannabis made soil but isn’t sold near me so I’ll have to have it
Ordered . Has some good reviews.

 

[Emilya Green]

Thanks everyone,
Now In anyone opinion can someone use Fox Farms Ocean forest soil the entire
Grow time ? I read it’s meant for seedlings and cuttings but I didn’t have the greatest luck with fox farms happy frog, possibly
Because I may not have added enough perlite but I had a suffocation problem because it would harden up so much. The only thing I can think of is I didn’t Add enough perlite to the mix. Also read someone’s using tomato soil, does that have enough to grow? They did seem to have a lot of additives maybe because the soil isn’t super soil? I’m just needing another kid of ready made soil. Read up on this Coast of Maine cannabis made soil but isn’t sold near me so I’ll have to have it
Ordered . Has some good reviews.

I am using almost exclusively Fox Farm soil... I use happy frog to start seedlings, since it is mostly sphagnum moss and is very good for that job. Later I add Ocean Forest in as half of my new containers, because it is a much stronger soil and can last much longer than Happy Frog. Neither of these soils can completely supply everything the plant needs all through the grow... they can only do that job for the first 3 or 4 weeks before running out of available nutrients and from then on you need to feed. Perlite is good to add, but not necessary... if you noticed, Fox Farms already has added quite a bit of perlite to their soils, and I like their mix the way it comes.

If you want a good supersoil that can supply everything needed, then you need to learn to grow organically, taking care to keep the microlife in that soil alive and going strong. This requires good water, and if you really want to do it right, some regular microbial innoculations to the grow.

 

[possum hunter22]

Hi Zayah... Why do you think you need to lower the pH of your soil? You have just admitted that you don't know how it all works, yet someone has convinced you that you need to do this silly thing. Let me give you some base knowledge so you can see that your advisors are blowing smoke at you.

First, the proper pH to adjust all of your fluids is 6.3, not 6.5pH. Whatever source you have been using to get your information, if they didn't mention that 6.3 pH is where mathematically the most nutes are the most mobile, then they don't have a clue what they are talking about.

Your soil is set to a high pH for a good reason... it is called drift. Your goal when watering is to run your container through the entire soil pH range... not set it to some specific number and expect it to stay there. The usable range in soil is 6.2-6.8 pH. If you water at 6.3, for that moment, as you have saturated your soil till runoff, that column of water/soil suspension is at 6.3 pH. The molecular weight of the water overrides everything else, and the pH of your container HAS to be the pH of your incoming fluid.

Immediately however, the soil / water / nutes and the buffers in the soil begin to interact with that water, and it causes the pH of the water to start slowly creeping up, working itself through the usable range. This is called drift, and it is very desirable. Next, the soil is set to a high base pH, usually around 6.8, so that as it dries and loses the influence of the lower pH water and nutes, it reverts to its base pH... again taking the nutes on a ride through the range, as designed to do. As the soil begins to dry out from top to bottom as the water level falls in that container, the soil at the top will be at the base pH, and the wet soil at the bottom will be closer to the pH of the water you gave, minus the drift. Depending on where you measure, the pH is different in different areas of the container, based mostly on how wet that soil is.

This system has been used for centuries to grow plants in containers. We have known about the buffering capabilities of lime and its ability to sweeten soil, and I have always taken that term to mean that the soil has a nice easy to work with range that you can come in at in regards to pH and the soil will buffer it, allowing the plants to get way more nutes than if everything was locked in at a single pH.

If you follow the advice you have been getting, you will remove the buffering ability of your soil, and you will wreck the soil for growing cannabis well... your soil will be more suited toward growing orchids or some other acidic loving plant.

 

[possum hunter22]

Great information