Compost tea PH adjustment options

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by justiceman, Nov 29, 2009.

  1. #1 justiceman, Nov 29, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 29, 2009
    So depending on your compost tea ingredients and microbial life the PH of Tea varies. I would like to discuss the different options that exist for safe PH adjustment to teas. Some people complain theire teas are too alkaline for instance 8.0 or others complain their teas are too acidic for instance 4.0.

    I have heard that humates like fulvic, and humic acid help to buffer nutrients so they can be absorbed across a wider PH range, but wouldn't a tea that is very acid hurt the microheard in the soil if you gave it to a plant with a soil ph of 6.5?

    PH Down
    Generally speaking acidifying(lowering PH) teas is not a problem. Many just add citric acid, lime juice, vinegar ect.

    PH Up
    This is where the problem arises. How does one raise the PH of their tea. I have heard of only two ways. Adding baking soda or Bubbling the tea for a day.


    Considerations:
    So does bubbling(aerating) a tea in fact raise PH?

    Are there other options to raising PH such as adding Dolomite lime, hydrated lime, oyster shell flour, or coral calcium to Teas?

    Yes most of those are soil amendments but is it plausible to use them for PH adjustment?
     
  2. Potassium bicarbonate.
    But honestly, organic growing myself and PH always manages to stay on track even if I give it solution at around PH4.5 it works its way up. I really never worry too much about PH with organics, adjusting something that naturally buffers itself to near neutral will make your medium extremely alkaline. I noticed that this was happening to me and stopped adjusting ph all together, never looked back.

    Yes, bubbling teas will usually make an acidic tea stabilize closer to PH6 and that is the easiest way to adjust it IMO.
     
  3. Thanks don. I'm going to try bubbling the teas for longer and see if the PH rises.
     

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