what can i use to drop my ph?

what can i use to drop the ph in my soil? looking for some "household" or backyard stuff i can throw in the mix to drop it. would charcoal ash have any effect? i dont have any ph up or down but i do have the test kit. it would be nice if i didnt have to go out and buy some ph down, or use distilled water. any info would be great

Distilled water is pretty PH neutral and easy to get

HottFuzz said:

what can i use to drop the ph in my soil? looking for some "household" or backyard stuff i can throw in the mix to drop it. would charcoal ash have any effect? i dont have any ph up or down but i do have the test kit. it would be nice if i didnt have to go out and buy some ph down, or use distilled water. any info would be great

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phosphoric acid for down............ calcium carbonate for up

Be careful when you are trying to lower and raise the Ph.

Do it slowly and you really should not need anything more than some distilled water like Boneman said.

You want to neutralize it, especially in soil.

DownOnWax said:

Be careful when you are trying to lower and raise the Ph.

Do it slowly and you really should not need anything more than some distilled water like Boneman said.

You want to neutralize it, especially in soil.

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thanks guys. i know distilled water is good i just dont wanna have to keep buying water. i put a tablespoon of distilled white vinager in 1 gallon of water and it got it to like 5.8 or so. any negative effects of vinager?

Vinegar is OK because it is basically a natural product and at the solution of 1 T per gallon then you are way OK.

I am a soil grower and don't really ever try to change my Ph. Just keep your water the same, your nutrients the same, and everything will be cool.

Marijuana plants can survive in a large variation of Ph from 5.5-7.5 and will actually thrive in any of those conditions. The trick is to just keep it steady and constant, plants will go through a lot of shock if you are constantly trying to raise and lower Ph.

It's when you get into the 5.0 (Acidic) or 8.0 (Sweet) Ph when you should worry.

With my grow plan and nutrient formula, my soil is always around 6.0- 6.5.

Like I said, just don't change it too much, fluctuation will shock the shit out of your plants.

DownOnWax said:

It's when you get into the 5.0 (Acidic) or 8.0 (Sweet) Ph when you should worry.

With my grow plan and nutrient formula, my soil is always around 6.0- 6.5.

Like I said, just don't change it too much, fluctuation will shock the shit out of your plants.

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ok thanks. it was at almost 8 so i was a little worried. but with the tbsp of vinager its like 5.8 might try a little less to get it more in the 6.0-6.2 range

by a bottle of ph down its not that expensive just my opinion

i cant believe no one mentioned lemon juice the easiest thing ever.

I did a test yesterday. my tap water is 7.7 after my tap water ran thru my brita filter it was 6.5. need a lil ph'd water??...pull out the brita lol

i was thinking of investing in one of those brita filters, but was worried it would be a waste of money and wouldn't get the right ph. looks like u proved my theory wrong haha