Garden Lime and PH question +rep

I'm a little confused on how garden lime magically keeps your soil in check. I did a quick search, but didn't find any satisfying info. I'll keep searching tho.

My question is: I added about 2 Tbsp of Garden Lime (Espoma). Do I still need to PH my water? Or does the Garden Lime take care of it all? How bad can my water's PH get? Will it stay in check no matter what? Given that my water stays in the 6.0 area of course. I should probably keep an eye on the PH of the water, I know this. I'm just wondering if it is necessary

+rep for help

First soil grow, so any garden lime help would be lovely

The soil pH is a measure of the active soil acidity or alkalinity based on a scale from 1 to 14. A simple explanation of soil pH is that it is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in the soil. The higher the concentration, the more acidic the soil is. On the pH scale, 1 is very acidic and 14 is very alkaline. Many of you have seen the chart that shows the availability of elements essential to plant growth at different soil pH levels. Some of the macro elements such as nitrogen, potassium, sulfur, and calcium, don't become fully available to the plant until the soil pH is 6.0. Some elements such as phosphorus and magnesium need a soil pH of 6.5 before they are fully available.

Lime neutralizes hydrogen ions, causing soil pH to increase. Lime nuetralizes otherwise acidic soil. Not all soils respond to a given lime application in the same way. Some soils have the ability to buffer (or resist) changes in soil pH by releasing hydrogen ions that are held on soil particles. Other soils have a lower capacity to release hydrogen ions. Soils that have a higher buffering capacity require more lime to reach a certain, desired, soil pH level as compared to soils with a lower buffering capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the ph of the soil to insure proper ph levels and it should not be automatically assumed the amount of lime applied will have the desired effect unless a ph buffer soil sample is taken first to provide exacting lime application.
All limestone materials are not equal. Some limestone materials have a higher ENP than others. Some limestone materials are dolomitic, meaning that they also contain magnesium.

Hydrated lime is preffered for it's quick solubility. Flour or Fine Dolomite Lime is not as water soluble and therefore will take longer for intergration into the soil medium.

Hmmm ic thanks for that. Lot of big words in there, but I liked the answer +rep

Lime is not the be all and end all but does help quite a bit. My advice would be to lookup how to do a PH Buffer test on your soil so you can add the proper amount if lime, if u are interested in doing to the tee.Fine Dolomite lime is the best bet-hydrated lime is ok, garden lime will be slow acting-very slow-wouldnt bother. make sure you have some vermiculite or some other medium to help with nutrient uptake and proper drainage.

I know i have seen a bunch of threads like this, but thought i would ask since this one is here and all. how stable are these "homebrew" meathods of balancing ph, in hydro. once it is down will it stay that way usually? or will it fluctuate or does it have a certain amount of time that it is effective, or will it take longer to rise or lower due to some kind of a chemical breakdown?

For Hydro I would stick with hydro ph buffers. Baking soda will raise ph in a pinch, but will cause problems if used regularly. Not sure about lemon juice, but I'd stick with a PH buffer like phosphoric acid that can be used by the plants.

I had problems with over 8 ph water and was using limeon a soil grow. Found out later it only raises ph, so I had problems when using it.

Got rid of the lime and down ph the water with lemon juice now, plants are happy.