hey all just to recap... my 400 watt hps comes today around 4. im so excited!!! anyways. i bought this rapitest soil test kit from ace hardware to test my soil, it tests ph,k,n,and p i dont know if i should trust it but its saying i have a high ph level. ive ran multiple tests and i get the same results. well i have 1 little girl going under some cfls and she seems to be dieing on me. lighter color leafs, and browning spots starting. yellowing bottom leaves....i think my high ph level is locking out nutes in my soil. so just to do a test i wanted to try and lower the ph of 4 other pots full of soil that i will be planting in when my light arrives. so i have 5 pots. all have high ph. 1 has my baby in it. 4 pots will be test subjects in my quest for perfect ph i know how to lower ph with ingredents that can be bought from stores but im a week from payday and my little wont make it that long i think. so are there any organic or home made items and ingredents that i can use to llower ph? any help would be appreciated. thanks gc!
bump... if i had soil with a ph level of 5.5ish and added it to soil that had a ph of 7.5 to 8 and mixed it alllll reallyyyy good. would it....you know....lower the ph?
I've heard battery acid will do it, but a very small amount as it's like 1 ph. I mean like an 1/8 or 1/16 of a tsp lol. Or organically, I heard dolly-mite lime, adding a top coat over your soil will help lower it. But if you don't want to deal ith organics, when your pay comes in (a week isn't TOO bad to wait with a somewhat high ph) I would get pH and pH down by GH. Just remember to flush every 3 weeks as a rule of thumb to remove any salt buildup. Goodluck
Lime raises ph. 7.5 isn't bad I'd leave them alone. However, from experience, I think plants like a slightly acidic watering. But I don't like using the ph downs. I don't normally give info if I haven't tried but search lemon juice.
7.5 isnt my exact ph level. that was just a hypothetical question i was asking. i believe my ph to be anywhere from 7.5 to well...high. its hard to get a good read with this test kit. i know its high. also....on a side note. just got my 400 watter installed...it went from 73 to 97 in a matter of 10 to 15 minutes. 0_0 going to have to make a vented hood for it.