how to lower soil ph?

plantz

plantz

Well-Known Member
I have 3 different strains at 4 weeks in veg, i took a soil sample and put it in a cup of tap water ( my tap is about 7.2) and let it sit and then got a reading of 7.1. so obviously my tap is a little too high. Its hard to get an accurate reading of soil ph but i beleive its a little higher than it needs to be and im getting nutrient lock. My plants are looking a little stressed. So what do i need and in what is the recipe and how do i administer it to the plants. Can i just put dolomite lime on top of the soil? i dont want to lower it more than 6.5
 
sandmonkey

sandmonkey

Well-Known Member
Depends on the pH. My tap water is around 7.6, and I use about two teaspons to a tablespoon, depending on whether I'm adding nutes or not.

Just use the pH tester and gradually add.
 
plantz

plantz

Well-Known Member
sandmonkey said:
Depends on the pH. My tap water is around 7.6, and I use about two teaspons to a tablespoon, depending on whether I'm adding nutes or not.

Just use the pH tester and gradually add.
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ok so, if i start PHing my nute solution and water to say 6.5 the soil should eventually even out and come down a little bit so i may not even need to adjust the actual soil itself? I have ph up and down for that. I think i was confused because what some people do is adjust the soil itself, or they adjust the nutrient or water they give the plants to correct the ph issue in the soil, im not sure which i should be doing at this point. I dont know if that makes sense to you..
 
RetiredMatthebrute

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
plantz said:
ok so, if i start PHing my nute solution and water to say 6.5 the soil should eventually even out and come down a little bit so i may not even need to adjust the actual soil itself? I have ph up and down for that. I think i was confused because what some people do is adjust the soil itself, or they adjust the nutrient or water they give the plants to correct the ph issue in the soil, im not sure which i should be doing at this point. I dont know if that makes sense to you..
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soil PH is what it is for the most part. try using a larger soil:water ratio to test or use a balamced solution (water) which 7 is nuetral anyways and 6.8 is ideal for soil so if your at 7.1 your really not that bad off man.......
 
plantz

plantz

Well-Known Member
Bakatare666 said:
I use ONLY White Distilled vinegar. and 1 capful from the Heinz Jar per liter of water brings my PH down about .9
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well i have some ph up and down, but what im saying is, is just adjusting water and feeding solution enough to fix this over time or should actually do something to the soil?
 
sandmonkey

sandmonkey

Well-Known Member
DO NOT add dolomite lime. It will reduce acidity, i.e. increase pH.

Flushing your soil with the correct pH solution should correct this.
 
yesum

yesum

Well-Known Member
I use lemon juice to take down the water ph of 8+, about a tsp or 2 per gallon. I quit using lime as it raises ph not lowering it at all.
 
sandmonkey

sandmonkey

Well-Known Member
yesum said:
I use lemon juice to take down the water ph of 8+, about a tsp per gallon. I quit using lime as it raises ph not lowering it at all.
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The problem with lemon juice is that the citric acid breaks down in the soil, and thus the pH lowering effect doesn't last.
 
prosperian

prosperian

Well-Known Member
Bakatare666 said:
I use ONLY White Distilled vinegar. and 1 capful from the Heinz Jar per liter of water brings my PH down about .9
Click to expand...
I'm running 7.1 at the soil. I'd like to get that down a bit. Should I go with the distilled vinegar at the recommended dose above?

My water and feed is 6.0 and my runoff is 6.5 Most the organic folks are saying forget the in and out PH and focus on the organic soil, this isn't hydro.
 
kagecog

kagecog

Well-Known Member
I'd go with the distilled vinegar personally out of those two methods. The best possible method you can use though is aluminum or ammonium sulfate, or any type of sulfer fertilizer, although they are a bit harder to find.
 
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