pH problems

For a new grower what products are out there to lower my pH levels in my soil.My soil is sitting at about 8.0

sulfur.
Pine needles and other organic mulch/compost can lower it as well, albeit slowly...

I would have the sol properly tested first though to see what might be missing from the soil, or if there are any toxic levels of anything.

ph up and down lol. other than that vinegar and baking soda does the same things

drolove said:

ph up and down lol. other than that vinegar and baking soda does the same things

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Yeah go to your local hydro store and get a bottle of PH down and PH up for about 10 bucks.

Are we talking white distilled vinegar or does it matter? I ask because my ph is close to 8 so I'm guessing it needs to come down.

TwistedEvil said:

Are we talking white distilled vinegar or does it matter? I ask because my ph is close to 8 so I'm guessing it needs to come down.

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Yeah if you are in soil try and get it down to 7. I have never used vinegar PH up/down is so cheap its too hard to pass up.

BeaverHuntr said:

Yeah if you are in soil try and get it down to 7. I have never used vinegar PH up/down is so cheap its too hard to pass up.

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I hear ya bro, just the closest hydro shop is 37 miles from me one way..and I got a whole bottle of wally world vinegar here. The vinegar shouldn't hurt the plants, right? I mean as long as I'm not jamming a funnel in the soil and pouring the bottle in While ur here bro, care to jump down to this and see what u think? https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/537763-leaf-issues-2.html

I do not have a hydro store in my town what about a product Espoma Organic Traditions Garden Sulfur Soil Acidifier. Is there more then one thing that can make your soils pH go up or down? I am sorry I am very new at this.

I have heard growers use vinegar for ph down and citric acid for PH up...From your pictures I kind of wanted to say heat issues because the leaf curling( but you said your temps were in the 80's), but if you are using Fox Farm Ocean forest soil it might be nute burn because Ocean forest comes with time released nutes.. I'm more of a hydro guy but I have used Ocean Forest and Happy Frog a few times and you dont need to add any nutes for a good 3-4 weeks, so it might be nute burn. It doesnt look that bad I would just water and monitor it.

or you can just water with distilled water it holds a PH of 7.0

thanks for the input Beaver

Everything that has been said is for HYDRO! soil ph is a different beast. Soil hold ph very well. simply running a liquid solution at correct ph will not change soil ph very much... The only true way to change soil ph is to incorporate the ph buffer into the soil. (tilling it in. So ph up and down are not very effective at changing soil ph. However it works well if your water source is bad off.

To buffer the soil to an acceptable range I think you need to add dolomite lime to keep it beneath PH 7.0. When adding nutes u can use store bought PH up or PH down but right now if there's other things to buy you could use something naturally acidic like vinegar or lemon/lime juice.

lahadaextranjera said:

To buffer the soil to an acceptable range I think you need to add dolomite lime to keep it beneath PH 7.0. When adding nutes u can use store bought PH up or PH down but right now if there's other things to buy you could use something naturally acidic like vinegar or lemon/lime juice.

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Dolomite lime will raise his PH and it's already at 8.0

Becorath said:

Everything that has been said is for HYDRO! soil ph is a different beast. Soil hold ph very well. simply running a liquid solution at correct ph will not change soil ph very much... The only true way to change soil ph is to incorporate the ph buffer into the soil. (tilling it in. So ph up and down are not very effective at changing soil ph. However it works well if your water source is bad off.

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I hear you but most people will chime in with dolomite lime and that will only raise his PH.. It's already at 8.0 feel free to correct me if I'm wrong I am more of a hydro guy but have grown a few soil plants/mothers in my day. Ocean Forest comes out at 7.3 from the bag.

BeaverHuntr said:

Dolomite lime will raise his PH and it's already at 8.0

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Yep, I wasn't too sure on it as I've never had it. Something will lower it but what? Is it sulfur?

Here are some ph buffers when your ph is too high: Use these SOIL PH Adjustments to lower your ph: sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and peat moss. Sawdust, composted leaves, woodchips and, lemon juice, PH DOWN.

Hydro PH Adjustments: PH Down (vinegar and lemon juices are good for soil, but not recommended for hydro use) Phosphoric acid during flowering and Nitric acid for vegtative growth.Thanks goes out to syko2 for that one! (Only quality PH buffers should be used to adjust ph and be sure the buffer and nutrient work's well together.)

Here are some that will raise the ph: use these SOIL Adjustments when your ph is to low: PH UP, dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells, potassium hydroxide <--- Thank you Uncle Ben!

Hydro Adjustments: PH UP,lime,potassium hydroxide and potassium sillicate .(Only quality PH buffers should be used to adjust ph and be sure the buffer and nutrient work's well together.)


FYI-This is from someone else

with highly alkaline soil like that, your best bet is to mix it with a more acid soil, so they stabilize. adding vinegar or any other acid solution can neutralize your alkalinity in the short term but youll be making salt, and salt is plant poison.

all the PH up and down solutions are caustic, and roots dont like caustic materials, your soultion should go into the soil between 6.8 and 7.2 or root damage will occur..

this PH 8 soil, is it your native back yard soil? if so, go find soil thats not toxic. caustic or acidic. dont buy the stuff at a buider's merchant, get it from a local farmer, a plant nursery or other garden store (walmart and home depot are NOT garden stores)

how did you test it? if you tested the runoff then your soil could be markedly different then the runoff. you have to know what your water is like before going through the soil, and then youll still only know what the water picked up form the dirt. test the soil, not the runoff. if you only have PH strips or a solution tester, dissolve some of your soil in a large volume of PH neutral water and let it settle out. then test the water on top.

municipal water ranging between 6.8 and 7.4 is unacceptable. you shouldnt need a chemist to prepare your mac-n-cheese! get a reverse osmosis system, or buy bottled water.

in your situation i would amend my soil with peat moss and tannin rich mulches (oak leaves and bark are best) to normalize the PH then keep a close eye on it. if you live near an oak forest go get some loam from under those trees and till it in.

with a wild fluctuation like that i would keep a PH tester on hand and test the water before and after preparing my nutrient solutions, then use PH up and down solutions to normalize the fertilized water's PH before putting it on the plants

BeaverHuntr said:

or you can just water with distilled water it holds a PH of 7.0

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Since my water is 7.7 I'm just going to treat the water to get it in the ph range and flush the soil with it once then add less than half dose of bio thrive nute next watering...and watch them..

TwistedEvil said:

Since my water is 7.7 I'm just going to treat the water to get it in the ph range and flush the soil with it once then add less than half dose of bio thrive nute next watering...and watch them..

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treating your water/nutrient solution to get it around 7 is the best plan but that wont fix your soil's caustic PH problem. flushing your soil will only eliminate all your other nutritive materials, resulting in a sterile mix of large particles of plant matter and pebbles. if thats your plan you would do better planting in coco fiber and perlite with a full spectrum hydroponic solution. that might be the best way to go if your soils is all nasty like that 8.0 shit

where did this soil come from? i expect that youre probably testing the runoff, not the soil itself, in which case your soil could be 8.5 or higher real easy. with water that ranges from 6.8-7.4 as your water district contends you cant learn shit from your runoff.

did you test a sample of your tap water for the 7.7 number, or is that what you get after adding nutrients?

test your plain water, and send us the PH, then mix a handful of your soil with a liter or so of that same water, then let it settle and test that water too. comparing the tap water to the solution of water and soil will give a more accurate picture of whats going on in your dirt.

you might have planted your dope in the most secluded corner of your garden which just happens to be the number one place people dump ashes from fireplaces, wood stoves and BBQs, over the years this can result in seriously alkaline soil laden with soda ash and heavy layers of nitrogen salts. such soil rarely grows plants well until you mix in LOTS of organic material and correct the PH. the shit makes a fabulous amendment to your less fertile soils, as its full of N and K add some potassium from worm castings and bird guano and you can rock with that.