help, plants not looking so good. pics included

Plants are growing outside in 7 gallon pots. They are about 5 weeks old. I noticed about 1 week agoo some on the lower fan leaves were turning a bit yellow, and they seem to be getting worse now.I am slowly seeing it creep up the plant so now some of the higher fans leeaves are starting to get the same look. I phed using 2 part soil and one part distilled water to get a ph of 5.9. I gave a foliar sprays with epsom salt at 1 teaspoon per gallon, but I am not seeing any improvement. I just fed again this morning with a micronutrient solution that included mg thinking this is my problem. In pic 2 you can see bug damage as well, dont know if that is contributing to the prblem or maybe that is the problem. any help would be appreciated.


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Originally Posted by sags82

I get my water from an underground aquifer. I think it is phed at 6.5 give or take and low 100's tds. will the baking soda have a lasting affect or is it rather a quick fix? I was looking into dolomite lime. only lime i have access to is granular and i heard it takes awhile to take affect.

when poured into an acid medium (your dirt and apparently your water) baking soda will neutralize the acids, by making a tiny amount of salt, which can then be rinsed away with later watering. if your soil contains decomposing wood materials, your soil will continue making more tannic acid, so more sodium bicarbonate will be needed, resulting in more and more salt. the baking soda mix is intended for a quick fix of acid soil from somebody putting in an acidic solution, and to help your plant over the hump in slightly woody/tannin rich soils. with a water ph of 6.5 your soil is only going to become MUCH more acidic, so get some dolomite lime and use that, if all you have available is chunky lime, use 2 stones to grind it into a powder and sprinkle it over the top of your soil and water it in. you might also want to save the eggshells from your kitchen so you can dry them and crumble those into your soil as well (eggshells are calcium and carbon, both of which plants crave) which will also help reduce your acidity problem in the short, medium and long term.

Science time!

baking soda is made of sodium and carbon, which are unstable and in the presence of an acid, they break apart, creating sodium metal, and raw carbon. the sodium joins with available chorine/choramine to make table salt which is toxic to plants in high doses, but normal and harmless in small amounts, and the carbon joins with oxygen to make carbon dioxide this is why baking soda bubbles when mixed with vinegar or any other acid solution.

Table salt is sodium (a shiny metal that burns in contact with water) and chlorine (just like the bleach in your laundry room) together these two toxic materials that can KILL YOU IF SWALLOWED! make ordinary table salt which you need to live.

the woody plant material in your soil is being droken down by bacterium, and tannic acid is a byproduct of the digestion process. this stuff is used to make skins into leather, and can turn a plant into a dead pile of leaves. many evergreen trees make the tannins so that any plant growing near them will die off and not be a competitor for nutrients and water. sadly when you buy potting soil, its made form a mix of plant material including tannic acid producers (cedar, pines, spruces, oaks, junipers, etc etc etc...) and if not completely finished composting they continue to make tannins in your flowerpot or garden, making your soil acidic and barren.

with municipal water PHing out to 6.5, eggshells and dolomite will break the acid down and make co2 for your plants, but you could also grow the fuck out of some blueberries! I'm taliking a 5 gallon pot producing shitloads of the biggest sweetest blueberries you ever seen right on your patio. you know you want this homey. dont even try to front.