confused about soil ph and water ph
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LetsGetCritical
Well-Known Member
I don't do soil, but this took about .5 second to find, does it help? How to test the pH of your soil mix
Measuring the pH of soil is just as important as with hydro applications, but few people know how to test soil pH to see if it is within the optimum range for growing robust healthy plants. Here I will try to explain my method of testing any soil / soilless mix, enabling me to spot any problems and correct them if necessary.
Firstly, wait till your soil has dried out and is due for its next watering schedule. Then take some plain water that you usually water your garden with, and adjust the pH to 7.0. You must make sure that you know the exact pH of the water going into your soil, and the neutral 7.0 is best, but anywhere from 6.5 – 7.0 will suffice.
Then place your pot into a bowl of some sort to catch the runoff water, and then start to water your soil slowly (with your pH- corrected plain water) till the water starts to drip from the bottom.
It’s the first drops of water that will give you the best reading of your soil, so make sure to water slowly till you see the first droplets. Then remove the pot from the bowl to eliminate excess water entering the bowl. Then perform the pH test on the runoff and compare it too your initial test.
The results of the runoff test will likely be lower than your starting value of 7.0. If this is the case, a small drop of 0.5 pH to 6.5 pH (example) would be ok and your soil needs no further alterations at the moment. But that’s not to say that it won’t need any future tests at all, just not at this time.
[Editor’s note: It may be beneficial to obtain an initial sample, as well as a ‘full flush’ sample in seperate bowls. In addition, test several plants in the garden just to verify your results]
What if the pH is off?
If your results prove to have dropped considerably, say to around 5.5 (which can happen in late stages of flowering), you will need to add some lime into your soil to help buffer the pH back up again.
Remove the first inch or so of soil, taking care not to damage any roots whilst performing this task. Then sprinkle the lime into the pot, nice and evenly at a rate of 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of lime per gallon of soil. Then replace the soil you removed earlier, and saturate the soil good to wash in the lime.
Do the same test next time your plants need watering just to check that everything is fine, if more lime needs to be added then just repeat the process again till you reach close to 6.5 – 7.0 with the runoff.
Ensuring that your pH is correct should be done throughout the life cycle; this will help eliminate any nutrient lockout that may occur. I recommend doing this once a month just to keep the PH in check, and you should never have a problem with deficiencies caused by pH lockout.
Measuring the pH of soil is just as important as with hydro applications, but few people know how to test soil pH to see if it is within the optimum range for growing robust healthy plants. Here I will try to explain my method of testing any soil / soilless mix, enabling me to spot any problems and correct them if necessary.
Firstly, wait till your soil has dried out and is due for its next watering schedule. Then take some plain water that you usually water your garden with, and adjust the pH to 7.0. You must make sure that you know the exact pH of the water going into your soil, and the neutral 7.0 is best, but anywhere from 6.5 – 7.0 will suffice.
Then place your pot into a bowl of some sort to catch the runoff water, and then start to water your soil slowly (with your pH- corrected plain water) till the water starts to drip from the bottom.
It’s the first drops of water that will give you the best reading of your soil, so make sure to water slowly till you see the first droplets. Then remove the pot from the bowl to eliminate excess water entering the bowl. Then perform the pH test on the runoff and compare it too your initial test.
The results of the runoff test will likely be lower than your starting value of 7.0. If this is the case, a small drop of 0.5 pH to 6.5 pH (example) would be ok and your soil needs no further alterations at the moment. But that’s not to say that it won’t need any future tests at all, just not at this time.
[Editor’s note: It may be beneficial to obtain an initial sample, as well as a ‘full flush’ sample in seperate bowls. In addition, test several plants in the garden just to verify your results]
What if the pH is off?
If your results prove to have dropped considerably, say to around 5.5 (which can happen in late stages of flowering), you will need to add some lime into your soil to help buffer the pH back up again.
Remove the first inch or so of soil, taking care not to damage any roots whilst performing this task. Then sprinkle the lime into the pot, nice and evenly at a rate of 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of lime per gallon of soil. Then replace the soil you removed earlier, and saturate the soil good to wash in the lime.
Do the same test next time your plants need watering just to check that everything is fine, if more lime needs to be added then just repeat the process again till you reach close to 6.5 – 7.0 with the runoff.
Ensuring that your pH is correct should be done throughout the life cycle; this will help eliminate any nutrient lockout that may occur. I recommend doing this once a month just to keep the PH in check, and you should never have a problem with deficiencies caused by pH lockout.
SeeRockCity
Active Member
Ideal water Ph is 6.3-6.8 (6.5 is a good target)
Ideal soil Ph is THE SAME!
because your Ph needs to be in that range to absorb nutrients...
if it goes above 6.8 or below 6.3..your leaves will show signs...
Ideal soil Ph is THE SAME!
because your Ph needs to be in that range to absorb nutrients...
if it goes above 6.8 or below 6.3..your leaves will show signs...
Nullis
Moderator
Smoking a bowl and just woke up here so bear with me... but a lot of that is crap. I've been growing in living soil for several years now, and I do use dolomite lime but would typically use more and make sure it is mixed in prior to planting in.
Run-off probably isn't the most accurate method of checking soil pH; it might give you a ball-park sort of idea where the soil soultion pH is at. Luckily it really doesn't matter too much as soil resists sudden, drastic pH changes. Soil pH can (and probably should) vary in any given area of the soil. Where it matters most is within the rhizosphere, where the root wall meets the soil and is exuding various substances to stimulate microbes living in the area.
Plants themselves influence or balance soil pH by exchanging hydrogen, hydroxide or bicarbonate ions for nutrients. Microbes living in the rhizosphere and within the substrate do this as well. Bacteria tend to produce alkaline bio-slime, protecting them and raising the pH in their vicinity. Conversely, the fungi produce organic acids and enzymes lowering the pH around them.
Incorporating lime into your potting soil before planting is important even if it says it already has it, likely doesn't have enough. Most potting mixes are sphagnum peat-based and this material tends to be acidic. Coco coir is a little bit better in terms of pH, but could still use lime. If you aren't going to transplant again relatively soon I would recommend using a heaping tablespoon per gallon. You can use less if you are going to use higher ppm tap water (hard water) that likely has sufficient calcium, magnesium and other minerals dissolved in it. Dolomite lime would be the best kind to use. It contains magnesium as well as calcium and dolomitic\calcitic lime will neutralize acidity over time.
Avoid hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). You can use too much too easily and will have to reapply sooner, not to mention it can be dangerous.
Run-off probably isn't the most accurate method of checking soil pH; it might give you a ball-park sort of idea where the soil soultion pH is at. Luckily it really doesn't matter too much as soil resists sudden, drastic pH changes. Soil pH can (and probably should) vary in any given area of the soil. Where it matters most is within the rhizosphere, where the root wall meets the soil and is exuding various substances to stimulate microbes living in the area.
Plants themselves influence or balance soil pH by exchanging hydrogen, hydroxide or bicarbonate ions for nutrients. Microbes living in the rhizosphere and within the substrate do this as well. Bacteria tend to produce alkaline bio-slime, protecting them and raising the pH in their vicinity. Conversely, the fungi produce organic acids and enzymes lowering the pH around them.
Incorporating lime into your potting soil before planting is important even if it says it already has it, likely doesn't have enough. Most potting mixes are sphagnum peat-based and this material tends to be acidic. Coco coir is a little bit better in terms of pH, but could still use lime. If you aren't going to transplant again relatively soon I would recommend using a heaping tablespoon per gallon. You can use less if you are going to use higher ppm tap water (hard water) that likely has sufficient calcium, magnesium and other minerals dissolved in it. Dolomite lime would be the best kind to use. It contains magnesium as well as calcium and dolomitic\calcitic lime will neutralize acidity over time.
Avoid hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide). You can use too much too easily and will have to reapply sooner, not to mention it can be dangerous.