Ph too low/growing in soil

[Pat the stoner]

I have my plants in a soil mix of miracle grow 4-1 perlite. I just transplanted them from a similar mixture I had left over from my summer garden the ph was 6.5 on avg. with no issues , plants still look good after transplanting them but ph is 2. I checked this mix before putting them in it , it was 6.0 . I thought ok thats good . Each day the ph has shown lower . My water res ph is 5.5 . The nute ph is 5.5 . I dont know why this ph is going down unless something has been flushed out . More importantly is can anyone please tell me how to get it to the right level before my girls die from this . I read dolomite lime , but what do I do with it ? Do I put it on the top around the base of my plants or do I put it in a watering can and water them with it , or do something else ? Please help .

 

[comed]

i would re-pot in new mix - could be some bad soil or bad microbe/fungus causing ph to drop that fast.
lime you can add to soil and mix in by hand in first few inches or dissolve in water (water option may stress plants due to fast ph change)

 

[frmrboi]

if it was 2.1 it would be dead, your ph metering is way off.
dolomite is the slowest of limes and is best mixed into the soil and allowed to do it's thing a while before planting in it.

 

[Pat the stoner]

The girls don't look bad . I thought a ph that low would have shown signs in them by now . I will definitely get a new tester tomorrow . Seeing as this is the last time they will be transplanted(just put them in 5 gal. pots) I'll check it again with the new tester and re-pot if necessary . Seriously thank you I was having a heart attack just worrying about this. My only option was to grow my own . Been here for a few years and well it's been tough without my medicine . When I first saw this site , well it gives me hope .

 

[jawbrodt]

Also,....bump up your water and nute mixes to both 6.5, and that'll help keep your PH from dropping quickly. 5.5 is too low for soil, IMO. I try to keep my water and ferts, between 6.4 and 7.0.

 

[Pat the stoner]

ok , will do. That sounds good . I was gonna start my 12/12 today or tomorrow , but now I want to take care of this first and make sure everything is ok . I got a heavy duty plastic trash can someone recommended for my water res and I only mix as much nutes as I need for that day , as I nute , water , water every other day. Just like it says on the instructions . I have spent a lot of time researching this stuff and still have lots to learn . I got a recipe for success starter kit with all kinds of goodies in it . The advice here has helped me a lot . I really appreciate everyones time who has responded to this .

 

[Jack Harer]

At this point you don't want Dolomite lime. Get some garden lime (finely powdered, like Talc) and sprinkle that on top of the soil and water it in.

But before you do that, get the pH of the soil. Gently scoop a spoon full out of the middle along one side, and put that into a container big enough for your meter to fit in. Add enough distilled water to cover that by an inch. Let it sit for a bit (20 min or so) then check the pH. Runoff water is not an accurate measure of the soil pH because it isn't in contact with the soil long enough to let the soil buffer it. As the water retained by the soil sits in contact with the soil, the soil will buffer the water to the pH of the soil. Most soilless mixes need to be limed because most of them contain peat, which is acidic. An alkaline soil is much harder to correct, and the better option is to transplant into better soil at that point.

 

[dannyboy602]

Why won't DL work Jack? Something about particle size?

 

[Jack Harer]

Yeah, all of the dolomite lime I've seen is a large granule (unless you can get it pulverised, and the powdered garden lime will work pretty fast!

 

[Pat the stoner]

I checked the ph like you said and it was good , 6.5 - 7 on all samples I took . Awesome tutorial on how to check the ph ! Thanks a million !

 

[Wetdog]

The ground dolomite lime I have is fine like talc. The pellets are powdered lime, formed into pellets with a fast dissolving binder. Makes it easier to work with, but it is still powdered lime in the end.

I was trying to find a coarser grade for long term release in my garden. Still looking.

Jack is right, you want it as fine as you can get.

Do a top dress with it. It is ground up rock and does not dissolve in water. Mainly it just sinks to the bottom of the watering can, thus the top dress if it's too late to add to your mix. Regular waterings will work it in.

*I* use 2tbl/gallon of mix (10tbl for a 5 gal container), or 1cup/cf of mix.

Wet

 

[jawbrodt]

^Another tip that works pretty well......

.....take a piece of wire, like a coat-hanger, and poke a bunch of holes down into the soil, after you've dumped the pellets on top of your soil. This allows a bunch of them to fall deeper inside the medium, and I believe, helps the lime work faster, allowing it to go where you want it to go. I try to make sure to get some close to the center mass, because common sense will tell you that's the place where the lime will take the longest to work it's way down, otherwise.


P.S. Although it might not be necessary,...I sharpen the end of the coat-hanger, to minimize any possible root damage.

 

[Pat the stoner]

Thanks I did that and it really helped out a lot . It seemed to make the difference that was needed to have healthy plants .

 

[ML75]

yea I agree that how to test the ph in your soil is the best Ive seen

 

[Jack Harer]

Glad it helped you out. Far too often people get confused about pH in soil, thinking they have to worry about what goes in or can check what comes out. The soil will adjust the pH of any liquid going in to that of the soil as the liquid sits in contact with the soil. If the soil pH is right, so will the pH of the watering solution.

 

[lime73]

Also,....bump up your water and nute mixes to both 6.5, and that'll help keep your PH from dropping quickly. 5.5 is too low for soil, IMO. I try to keep my water and ferts, between 6.4 and 7.0.

agreed ...here's a ph chart for soil/hydro