Peat Moss to lower Ph / Dolomite lime

Evening folks, here is my question (thanks for any help):

I did the peat moss + gallon of water test to check the Ph of my soil, I dont have a reader majig but it was close to if lower then 7. It was original at 8. Is this a safe method to keep using? Of course the peat moss material is sifted everytime I water (which is a bitch but w/e it takes), but should I expect any type of effect from the "Peat moss water" we can say..? Or am I okay?

And if I can use this method, should I go ahead and mix Dolomite lime in a soil mix to keep the Ph at its level? Any help will do, thanks guys. (Hope im right about using the dolomite lime too).

Edit: I also found some product on the homedepot site, just type in Ph adjusting and it will show the products.

That post made absolutely ZERO sense.

WTF are you asking? Trying to say?

Wet

i honestly have never heard of this "peat moss and gallon of water" thing. are you using the peat moss as a grow medium and then running water through it to check the runoff?

it is fairly common practice to check the water runoff as a guesstimate of soil ph (although there are several schools of thought on how useful of a tool this is).

my rule of thumb is i mix dolomite lime into any soil i use without even thinking about it. it's hard to overdo and its benefits are several. it keeps the ph in a fairly neutral range and also provides calcium and magnesium.

could you elaborate on this peat moss and water thing? or am i just misunderstanding the question?

I'm guessing he's running water thru peat moss and then watering with the water............that's a first for me. Peat Moss is acidic for sure and dolomitic lime will raise he pH so he seems to have that right. But, what a backward way of accomplishing neutral water.

Total Head said:

i honestly have never heard of this "peat moss and gallon of water" thing. are you using the peat moss as a grow medium and then running water through it to check the runoff?

it is fairly common practice to check the water runoff as a guesstimate of soil ph (although there are several schools of thought on how useful of a tool this is).

my rule of thumb is i mix dolomite lime into any soil i use without even thinking about it. it's hard to overdo and its benefits are several. it keeps the ph in a fairly neutral range and also provides calcium and magnesium.

could you elaborate on this peat moss and water thing? or am i just misunderstanding the question?

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First off I want to apologize, my communication skills sucks when it comes to this. SSHZ is got it (thank god). I did research on google and I believe it was either through grasscity or another forum where a fellow member used a bit of peat moss in a gallon of water, shaked it up, and watered his plants and his run off ended up being close to neutral (much better then original). The type of water he used btw was through just a BRITA filter. That filter isnt too bad.

Please tell me where im going wrong because I thought dolomite lime would keep your soil neutral after adjusting the ph you want in your water, am I using correct mariknowledgy?......*flame suit on*

Dolomite lime is slow acting and can taking weeks/months to break down, depending if it's "fine" or "course". Hydrated lime works much quicker but use MUCH less or you'll burn your plants.

Brita is ok, better than nothing but reverse osmosis is best. This way you are assured of it being 0-30 ppm- basically neutral.

Adjust your pH to 6.3-6.5 after fertilizing and then water (if you're in soil or soiless mix).

If you want quality bud, it's important to spend some $$$$$ upfront and but a pH meter, good quality soil (pro mix or sunshine mix or others). Use a high grade, complete fertilizer.

I could go on and on but it's all out there if you search.

SSHZ said:

Dolomite lime is slow acting and can taking weeks/months to break down, depending if it's "fine" or "course". Hydrated lime works much quicker but use MUCH less or you'll burn your plants.

Brita is ok, better than nothing but reverse osmosis is best. This way you are assured of it being 0-30 ppm- basically neutral.

Adjust your pH to 6.3-6.5 after fertilizing and then water (if you're in soil or soiless mix).

If you want quality bud, it's important to spend some $$$$$ upfront and but a pH meter, good quality soil (pro mix or sunshine mix or others). Use a high grade, complete fertilizer.

I could go on and on but it's all out there if you search.

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Appreciate it and believe me I use to be on this site and I hate asking questions, but everytime I do research its one persons opinion against another (of course) so I tend to ask something I REALLY need to know. Thank you guys.

The soil I use is from TLC and its not bad. My first grow I didnt check ph or anything and it came out perfect as you can tell in the avatar..but i say beg. luck. Now I will be doing more research so i can leave you guys alone, but will I have to be worried about ph levels constantly changing while using products such as ph down? Or different methods? Or is this where the hydrated lime comes in as a buffer?? I swear, its the last questions. Hope that makes sense and ill stfu. Thank you again.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.......that's how u learn. There's no such thing as a stupid question.

pH levels do constantly change, as does water pH from faucet- often depending on the time of year. Also, soil pH changes, often moving lower, as fertilizer (which are salts) build up.

over time. Don't know what TLC is so I can't comment on that. Don't use hydrated lime, unless it's an emergency. It's burns plants easily if you don't know what you are doing.

Please be very clear in your questions- sometimes tough to understand exactly what you are asking......

I appreciate it SSHZ. Thats one thing I did not know about using fertillizer, but im learning. I will have to do some science myself with the peatmoss and see how low (or if stays right below 7) it gets every time I water with it. Im afraid it will continue to drop, so Ill do different test. Here is a question that is clear enough hopefully:

I have never seen this at home depot: Viagrow natural pH Down. I know most members use pH up and down either in the hydroponics system or soil, never used it seeing that I have never checked pH before, but I love the science so I do want to learn. Question: what are some techniques to maintain the pH i receive from using this product? Or once you use these type of products, and hit your pH mark, does it stay there? (Im keeping in mind the salt build up etc). Thats my REAL question lol, how do I maintain a pH once I get it there. We maybe have mentioned it before but please refresh me. I do appreciate youre response. Take care.

Ok......... When I mix my fertilizer water to get to my 6.2-6.3 pH level, I wait about 10 minutes because it has the tendency to bounce around a bit. I would't worry about a moving pH in your soil because the soil works as a buffer. If you haven't added dolomitic lime to your soil, you can water with 1 tablespoon in each gallon once a month or so. Mix it well before watering. This will basically stabilize the soil- balancing the pH properly. It seems to me your not worrying about the correct things. ALL water need to be 6.2-6.3 going in and then you should be fine except for a build up of fertilizer over time. If you are using good ferts, this won't be a problem. If you are using shitty stuff, then you'll need to flush the medium once a month or so to reduce the salt (fertilizer) build up. Only use pH up or down if you know for sure where where your pH is- don't guess. Aquarium stores sell a pH kit for plain water that can give you a starting point but after adding fertilizer it will generally go down some by itself.

So, lets review: you need to add dolomitic lime to soil or soiless soil. Fertilizer will lower your pH but the lime raises it, counter-acting the fertilizer. If you adjusted the water to 6.2-6.3, then you'll be fine. If over time you develop problems, then you can check the water run off out of the pots and test that water. It should be 6.5-6.8 generally, which is fine. If it's out of these ranges, then you'll need to make some adjustments.

+ rep you are a good man, I understand what needs to be done now. Thanks SSHZ you made shit clear.

I'll try to make this as simple as possible.

Get some dolomite lime or garden lime, just NOT hydrated lime. ~$5 for a 40lb bag at HD or Lowes. Espoma lime @Lowes IIRC is also fine, but more $$$$.

ADD 2tbl/gallon of mix (ex:3 gallon container=6tbl of lime), or 1cup/cf of mix (cf=7.5 gallons. A large bag of mix is *usually* 1.5 cf=1.5 cups of lime).

It's best added to the mix before you use it, but if the plant is already in there you can 'top dress'. Sprinkle it on the surface of the container and water it in. Your regular waterings will take care of the rest.

That's it!

I do not pH water, or nutes, or anything really. My pH meter has not been out of the box for close to a year and even then it wasn't plant related. Just not needed with a well limed soil mix.

It does take time for lime to work, but it will. Don't expect much at all for a couple of weeks at least and don't add more. Just make sure you add enough to begin with and from now on be sure to add it to your soil before you plant in it.

HTH

Wet

The above only works if you start with pretty good water. If your water is of poor quality (too high or low pH which many places are), you'll have problems down the line guaranteed. My well water is of very bad quality with a pH that moves up and down (between 5.6-6. depending on the time of year. Things build up over time and many people develop issues after the 1st couple of weeks of flowering. I grow using 3.8 bales of pro-mix (soiless soil) and add 3.5-4 cups of lime to each bale. If you have pH'd your water all along, then you can eliminate that as a source of the problem if one arises. If not, that is usually the 1st place that causes plant issues......

^^^^^^WORD^^^^^^

My mix is pretty much the same. Well, peat moss from the same company (Premier), 3.8cf bales and I do my own amendments.

Wet

You guys have made valid points. I bought a ph meter today a $15 dollar one from homedepot, which seemed pointless but at the same time a bit accurate..I tried it in many different variables and got close/same readings. I use a Brita filter when watering. I stuck the prong down into the soil and it reads a good 8.5. It keeps jumping but I kept hitting that a few times (7.8-8.5). You cant really measure water with those things unless you have a medium, boo. I have to go from here..

Those *prong* type meters are less than useless. They are inaccurate and you will just be chasing a wrong pH.

An accurate soil meter will run you ~$250+. You can get a reasonable water meter for ~$20.

Did you get any lime while you were at HD? The simple $5 fix?

Wet

Wetdog said:

Those *prong* type meters are less than useless. They are inaccurate and you will just be chasing a wrong pH.

An accurate soil meter will run you ~$250+. You can get a reasonable water meter for ~$20.

Did you get any lime while you were at HD? The simple $5 fix?

Wet

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Espoma Garden lime, and this is suppose to act as a buffer?? Correct me if im wrong cause I seem to be quite often (or if you get a chance, hit me with your cliff notes). This Man at home depot mentioned ammonium sulfate to bring it down, to boned to listen to him, but did some reading. Anyways, I hate to ask this but, where do I go from here? To be honest, I took some initiative and purchased ph down crystals, adjust and move on from there. Let me know what you think. They did have a 499.00 meter that reads ph, fuck that.

YES!!!!!!!

Lime is a buffer. That's what it does. Supplies ca and mg (dolomite) also, but the main function is a soil buffer.

Go back a few posts for amounts and such and use that Espoma. I'd leave the pH+- alone for the moment.

www.eseasongear.com if you want to check out pH meters for much less than $500. LOL

Wet

Wetdog said:

YES!!!!!!!

Lime is a buffer. That's what it does. Supplies ca and mg (dolomite) also, but the main function is a soil buffer.

Go back a few posts for amounts and such and use that Espoma. I'd leave the pH+- alone for the moment.

www.eseasongear.com if you want to check out pH meters for much less than $500. LOL

Wet

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Glad I wasnt too noob for you. Let me wrap this up:

Mix the expoma in soil according to few post back (amount). You know I use Brita water...so I should just water as I normally do with the lime mixed and I should be okay? Is this correct? +rep player

That's all there is to it. Simple, no?

Add the lime to your mix, water and nute as regular. The Brita is fine.

Wet