Hi everybody! I wanna ask since the Ph of my water is 3 and every time I water I Ph adjust it with lime, is that in any way bad for my plant? And if it is whats a better alternative ( I live in a small country, they dont sell Ph Up or Down). 10x
Why should it be wrong? Im sure its 3. Ive checked with the paper things a 100 times. So about the lime?
those litmus paper ph tests are very innacurate especially if they are older. I would get a digital ph meter and check it again. If your water was 3 it would basically be acid HAHAHA. Gotta be wrong unless you have alot of sulfur in your well water or sumthin. In that case go to the store and get distilled water.
Hey dudes my question was about the lime and if it does anything bad to my plant aside from fixing the Ph. Dont worry about the Ph of the water or the way I test it.
I know you really want to use/fix your H2O but if your test is good you would save your self some trouble in the long run by using a simple membrane R.O system,a thought.
Everyone,99.9% anyways is here to help and or learn, people looking to do something are at times unwilling to change or bend what they set out to do and when other solutions are offered they are affended. Take all info for what it is and make note of it,i know sometimes my plan is not always best,Really learned this HERE!!
Let's make sure we are clear on what kind of "lime" we are talking about. Dolomite lime is a rock and mineral that is the result of chemical and other processes on limestone. It is alkaline and will raise pH. The juice of the lime fruit is acidic (citric acid) and will lower pH. Neither should hurt your plants, assuming they are moving the pH in the needed direction. I do agree with other comments that a water pH of 3 has to be wrong. Orange juice is 3.5, so your water is more acidic than orange juice? Those paper test strips are close to worthless, at least get a cheap meter from a garden store but agree that a digital one would be better.
Doesn't dolomite lime both raise & lower depending upon what the PH of the medium is to begin with ? I thought that dolomite lime is a PH stabilizer, meaning it has a PH of 7, which is neutral. If you put dolomite lime in soil that is higher than 7 ph, will that raise the PH further ? Wouldn't the opposite occur, meaning the dolomite lime will make it more neutral, returning the PH closer to 7. And of course, in a soil that is lower than PH 7, dolomite lime will bring it higher, closer to 7. It's obviously best to mix in dolomite lime in the soil before the grow starts, instead of trying to correct any PH mistakes later on.
I don't know what the "natural" pH of dolomite is, or even if it has a single natural pH level, but true that the relative pH of the substance being added compared to the pH of the water/soil it is being mixed into will determine which direction it might move the pH. Even a strong acid with a pH of 2 will raise the pH of an acid with a pH of 1. Generally though dolomite is not for lowering pH in alkaline soil or water, something truly acidic should be used.
From everything I've read and understand, it is PH 7, which is neutral, and that's why so many people use dolomite lime to stabilize the PH of their soil. It's not alkaline and it's not acidic.
As far as I know from the Ph testing of all kinds of things with the papers, lime has a very high Ph about 12 or 14 so there is no way for it to move the soil Ph down unless its 15 which is impossible. 10x for the help dudes!
I have also read this several times,the 14-15 alkaline lime must be another mineral or have one added.