Adjusting PH levels in soil???

S

southpaw

Well-Known Member
Hello people,
I just discovered today that my soils PH level is at 8.0 maybe even a little more. I've got 8 plants and each one is reading the same.

What would be the correct way to go about lowering the PH level???

I don't have access to PH up or PH down but I'm about to go to the supermarket and I was wondering what kind of vinegar would be correct for this application and how would I apply it???

Comments and/ or suggestions are always appreciated, thanks. :blsmoke:
 
Why dont you have access to ph up & down,any pet store carries the stuff,so does walmart,meijers or any other store that sells pet fish,it only costs like $10 to get a bottle of each & can be easily located in the pet department.
 
a drop of sulfuric acid will do the job
i used white spirit vinegar but i found things growing in the water after a few days
ph down from the aquarium shop dose the trick
 
I didn't even think about the pet stores and such, cool. So, after I adjust the water, do I just go about my normal watering schedule or should I flush my plants until the soil is the right PH level???
 
And as for the flushing procedure....I just use twice the amount of water (2:1 ratio),
(i.e. 1 gal pot gets flushed with 2 gal of water)???

My only other question, and I know this might sound stupid but after all I'm still a n00b.
Do I use PH balanced water to flush the pots??? Or could I use regular tap water to flush out the soil???

Thanks for all your help guys. This is probably one of the most informative sites regarding our beloved Mary :mrgreen:.
 
I've never ph'ed my soil before, How did you do it? with a ph meter



And as for the flushing procedure....I just use twice the amount of water (2:1 ratio),
(i.e. 1 gal pot gets flushed with 2 gal of water)???

My only other question, and I know this might sound stupid but after all I'm still a n00b.
Do I use PH balanced water to flush the pots??? Or could I use regular tap water to flush out the soil???

Thanks for all your help guys. This is probably one of the most informative sites regarding our beloved Mary

only use ph correct warter on your plants what ever you are doing
 
southpaw said:
Hello people,
I just discovered today that my soils PH level is at 8.0 maybe even a little more. I've got 8 plants and each one is reading the same.

What would be the correct way to go about lowering the PH level???

I don't have access to PH up or PH down but I'm about to go to the supermarket and I was wondering what kind of vinegar would be correct for this application and how would I apply it???

Comments and/ or suggestions are always appreciated, thanks. :blsmoke:
Click to expand...

When I get soil that is way out of wack, I take several gallons of water and add a cup of white vinegar to it. This will drop the water to ph 5 or less. I send it thru the pots and collect the run-off. I check the soil ph and the run-off ph.

The soil will come down (from ph 8). The run-off will be much higher because the plants absorb the adjusted water rapidly. So the soil will adjust to ph 6. But, it won't stay at ph 6 for more than an hour; because of plant absorbtion.
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yea dude, flush with the PH'd water - otherwise why would you be using it? You want to change the PH of the soil and that means you put that PH into the soil. Also, I don't know what you bought but be careful using vinegar's and acid's because EVEN THO it'll change the PH of the soil that chemical will be LEFT in the soil after flushing and can kill your plants. I suggest you use a store bought PH-/+ kit for that reason.


peace!
 
I would flush until the drainage reads a ph of 6.2 - 6.8 and i wouldnt add nutes until the soil dries, so basically your next watering they could get nutes. The plants may become a bit droopy after your flush but dont let that bother you they will be much happier once the soil starts to dry out some and the ph is correct.
 
no problem hope everything goes good. Just be prepared to use more water than you expect, sometimes it takes alot you could be surprised.
 
Sorry about the double post but i forgot also i suggest either sulphiric acid or phosphoric acid for ph down the more preferable one being phosphoric acid it is much more stable than vinegar. Also be wary of any ph down that doesnt tell you what is in it. I have bought some ph decreaser one time and had to use almost the whole bottle in one gallon of water and still couldnt use it because it made the ppm's go up to about 1000. Anyways my suggestion is phosphoric acid and if you cant find that go with sulphiric aciid you can find these at pet stores, pool supply stores, and sometimes walmart.
 
NEVER!!!! use tap water most tap water contains chlorine which will kill plants distilled water is best if you have to use tap water put it in a gallon jug and let it sit at room temp for 24 hrs.
 
Damn guys, I wasn't even aware I needed to be Ph'ing my soil and water. Good thing I found out before flowering time, and got a ph kit. Does it cause alot of stress to the plant or stunt its growth if you dont pay attention to ph in soil? I really thought that was a hydro thing.
 
Not ph'ing soil or hydro could kill your plant it causes all sorts of problems, The best ph for soil is between 6.2 to 6.8 and in hydro around 5.5 to 6.0 dont go outside that range and your plants should grow well if all other elements are going right. including nutrient levels, lighting, watering, etc.... When you add your nutes mix them with the water and ph the mix before watering.
 
Hey guys check this out. So I guess it was about three days ago that I flushed my babies. When I did that the soil was finally reading about 6.5, but now (3 days later) the soil is reading a ph level of 8.0 again whats up with that??? :confused:
Is it normal for the soil to do that? The plants look great now and I'm planning to add their nutes tomorrow since I'm also going to start flowering them tomorrow as well(12/12). I guess what I'm asking is do I have to flush them again or should I just move forward as planned???
 
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