does ph down kill microbeasties?

Anybody know?

Too much of anything will kill zee beasties. Using it to ph water to 7 won't kill the bacterial that can live at ph 7.

What kinda pH down are you using, like some kinda powdered HCl ?

I always thought ph being too high would be more of a problem but yeah to much of anything is bad.

Feed them with fresh squeezed strawberry juice to feed them.

Just wondering because I saw an organic ph down at the store the other day. Didn't have time to ask about it.

Just read in the new skunk mag the rev said it does kill them. He doesn't use ph up or down.

As long as you have a diverse microherd, ph is not an issue. The bene's will break down the food while making it available in a safe form to the plants, regardless of ph. I don't ever even check my ph anymore, and I have not had any problems.

lol organic pH down. Was it just a big jug of cider vinegar?

Anything that changes the pH has the potential to kill some bacteria that live at the edge of a pH spectrum.

MrBaker said:

lol organic pH down. Was it just a big jug of cider vinegar?

Anything that changes the pH has the potential to kill some bacteria that live at the edge of a pH spectrum.

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Citric acid would be my guess. No more expensive then vinegar though. Just use lemon juice if you are concerned with ph and want to use something organic.

Bought the organic ph down. Only to use it when I cut clones and have to ph water. Been using tap water that I let sit out for a day. Plants seem to be happy ph of the water is 7.9 so I'm guessing the microherd is doing it's job. My plants never looked unhealthy I just was wondering if I could make them grow more optimal. I'm actually satisfied now with the growth organic teas been working great. Fed them a veg tea it had 1 cup ewc, 1 tsp fish emulsions, 1 tsp mollasses and one tsp fox farms fruit and flower. I let bubble for a day and a half mixed it 50/50 with dechlorinated water. Plants are thriving next time I'll add guano to that tea. Got the ingredients for this tea in the newest skunk mag.

I have no experience with growing organic, I'm just gathering information right now but I'm reading people saying don't pH in organics. Is pHing your water ONLY viable when you're feeding chemical fertilizers? All I know about pH is that at certain pH levels more or less of a nutrient is available. I assumed the reason for this availability of nutrients or lack there of is because too much of an acidic nutrient locks out other beneficial alkaline nutrients and vice versa? Am i completely missing the mark? Is it REALLY because certain microbes can thrive at certain pH levels?

What I'm asking really is does pH have a direct affect on nutrients or an inderect affect (like screwing up the micro-herd which indirectly affects nutrient availability)

Tunda said:

Bought the organic ph down. Only to use it when I cut clones and have to ph water. Been using tap water that I let sit out for a day. Plants seem to be happy ph of the water is 7.9 so I'm guessing the microherd is doing it's job. My plants never looked unhealthy I just was wondering if I could make them grow more optimal. I'm actually satisfied now with the growth organic teas been working great. Fed them a veg tea it had 1 cup ewc, 1 tsp fish emulsions, 1 tsp mollasses and one tsp fox farms fruit and flower. I let bubble for a day and a half mixed it 50/50 with dechlorinated water. Plants are thriving next time I'll add guano to that tea. Got the ingredients for this tea in the newest skunk mag.

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I'd omit the fish emulsion. I used Alaska Fish Fertilizer (emulsion) until being informed of it being derived from a heat process which destroys many of the microbes. That particular emulsion product has also lost its former OMRI designation due to heavy metals content and is no longer approved for organic production.

not try to jump on your post but you tell me i dont have to ph my water when make a tea brew bro

There's

henry1984kk said:

not try to jump on your post but you tell me i dont have to ph my water when make a tea brew bro

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There's no need to ph any of your water. The only place to worry about your ph is in your soil mix. Make sure you have that buffering zone with the dolomite lime or whatever you use and the microherd will do the rest.

Bacteria / Fungi can affect a soil pH. Bacteria move around in a "slime" and it has a pH more towards alkaline, they maintain this pH by somehow releasing H+ . Fungi dominated soil is usually more acidic, so a good balance between them and a healthy soil food web is what you want over pH adjusting.