Adjusting water and soil PH

Hey all,
I just tested my water and soil last night and my water a little basic at 8, and my soil is a little high at around 7. What is the best way to lower the ph of both? Should I lower the water to lower the soil? Thanks. Oh and my plants are a little over two weeks old from seed.

Well your soil lowes it naturally so I would use ph down to lower the water ph then after a week or so test your soil again to see how its doing!

soil ph and nute solution/water ph have little in common with one another..

you should always adjust the water/nute solution you are feeding your girls before you feed them... this ensures that the nutes are going to be available to the plants... which will help to cut down on salt build up in the soil from unused nutes...

soil ph has to be lowered with additives in the soil... if you use a fert that has ammonium sulfate in it, the ph will lower using the nutes... if you dont have ammonium sulfate in your nutes (which is for acid loving plants.. so more than likely not) you can add sulfur to the soil (must have certain conditions met) or use something like this http://www.planetnatural.com/site/chelated-iron.html.. you have to be careful and cautious when using it to not over due things..

also.. as salts build up in your soil it will lower the ph... you can avoid salt build up be adopting an "every other" style feeding schedule.. where you alternate plain water and nute water every other feeding... this will help maintain a good soil ph over time...

Motorbreath said:

Hey all,
I just tested my water and soil last night and my water a little basic at 8, and my soil is a little high at around 7. What is the best way to lower the ph of both? Should I lower the water to lower the soil? Thanks. Oh and my plants are a little over two weeks old from seed.

Click to expand...

simpsonsampson420 nailed it. A lot of people think they can adjust soil pH by just using pH'd water. It doesn't work that way with soil. It's always best to test your soil before you plant. You can adjust it after the fact but it's a lot harder. You can use gypsum to lower soil pH and dolomite lime to raise.

Motorbreath said:

Hey all,
I just tested my water and soil last night and my water a little basic at 8, and my soil is a little high at around 7. What is the best way to lower the ph of both? Should I lower the water to lower the soil? Thanks. Oh and my plants are a little over two weeks old from seed.

Click to expand...

7 is PH neutral, you don't need to adjust it. Fertilizer is naturally acid, so you're PH shouldn't rise...

If it ain't broke don't try to fix it

i always forget gypsum.. or at least i cant ever bring it to memory when i need to... thanks for the back up on that doc...

Well I am going to start to water with R/O filtered water anyway...I work in a brewery and have hundreds of gallons of it on hand. I just tested the ph of it and it is 6.5. As for the soil, I am just about to transfer the plants to thier large pots, so I would like to be able to make corrections as I am mixing the soil now. Should I add to the soil to lower the ph, or like Green Cross said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?

truely if your soil is at 7.0 its fine... shouldnt have to many issues with lockout of any sort... https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/133385-ph-lockout-guide.html

and if you are using r/o water, which is ideal anyways, and the ph is 6.5 then your set bro...

Cool. Thanks simpsonsampson, I've actually been following your thread for some good advice. We have some food grade gypsum at work that I am taking home just in case, for future reference, how much would I add to a 1 gal pot of soil, (3/4 organic soil, 1/4 perlite) if I wanted to lower the ph by say .5? Another question, I am stopping by a landscape supply on my way home to pick up more perlite, is there any kind of fertilizer or manure or something I should get as well, because chances are that I will be able to get it there.

https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/93392-acidic-soil-help.html


LUDACRIS.

Motorbreath said:

Cool. Thanks simpsonsampson, I've actually been following your thread for some good advice. We have some food grade gypsum at work that I am taking home just in case, for future reference, how much would I add to a 1 gal pot of soil, (3/4 organic soil, 1/4 perlite) if I wanted to lower the ph by say .5? Another question, I am stopping by a landscape supply on my way home to pick up more perlite, is there any kind of fertilizer or manure or something I should get as well, because chances are that I will be able to get it there.

Click to expand...

this may be a little late as you may have already made the trip...


1.. i dont know the ratios of mixing gypsum and soil to lower ph... im sure you can google it and find out.. i dont imagine it would be much tho...

2. i wouldnt worry to much about ferts or additives that you mix into soil.. if you are only using 1 gallon pots, and assuming you start with good soil, you shouldnt need any additional additives, other than your nutes you are using to feed...

Motorbreath said:

Hey all,
I just tested my water and soil last night and my water a little basic at 8, and my soil is a little high at around 7. What is the best way to lower the ph of both? Should I lower the water to lower the soil? Thanks. Oh and my plants are a little over two weeks old from seed.

Click to expand...

Just buy a ph up-down kit. Good luck with it. Oh don't beconcerned with the soil, just water.