Does ph down kill beneficials in soil?

[catster]

New grower. Looked around for the answer to this but couldn't find it on the various forums. Question: Does using a non-organic ph down kill beneficial bacterium and microbeasties? If so, what can I do to get some new going and what product of the organics is a good one(or are they all the same)? Thanks

 

[insane420]

New grower. Looked around for the answer to this but couldn't find it on the various forums. Question: Does using a non-organic ph down kill beneficial bacterium and microbeasties? If so, what can I do to get some new going and what product of the organics is a good one(or are they all the same)? Thanks

Synthetic ph up/down products will harm the microherd - Earth Juice makes a organic ph up/down product you can use. However, your PH will not be much of an issue if you have a healthy biologically active mix with pleny of humates. Try making a compost tea with following recipe to feed the microherd in your mix.

5 Gallons of Water - needs to be dechlorinated - check your water company to see if they use chlorine or chloramines (this will harm the beneficials in your mix. RO water works the best from what I have found.

1 cup of earth worm castings
5 TBS of unsulphured blackstrap molasses

Brew this in a bucket with some airstones and a good pump for 24 hours to get the beneficials going and then feed your soil with this. This mix does not keep for very long if not aerated. I do this every other watering, but you can do this every feeding. You can look at my current grow to see how I built my bucket.

 

[The303Stoner]

yes acid can kill almost anything so just small amounts. you can save money and use 100% organic juice or vinegars in soil to lower ph.

 

[Purple Goose]

I only use vinegar myself as ph down I have found that not only does it not harm the micro herd but also the harsher acids seem to cause the soil to break down and create a much drier crust on the surface.