whats the best way to adjust soil ph without having to buy the phup/ph down? Should I flush the plants with 6.5 distilled h2o, or do i need to add anything else to the water? My run off after watering now is 7.2.
Traditionally the ideal pH range of soil is from 6.3-6.8. I keep my babies in a pH of 6.5. What is the pH of water you used to get the runoff of 7.2?? Usually to get an accurate reading you flush with water that is neutral 7.0 pH so as to have an idea. *Depending* on the pH of the water that you use initially you will then have to flush with water that is scaled to adjust the pH. i.e. Water in is 7.0... water out is 7.2. Means that *I* would flush with water that is slightly more acidic than my target pH... so 6.3'ish. If on the other hand I put in 7.0 water and get 6.0 that means that my pH is way acidic and off and I would flush with water of a higher pH 7.3 until the optimal pH range had been obtained and then use the 6.5 distilled h20 for watering normally after that. For pH down I would recommend acetic acid (white vinegar) and for pH up I would just use normal water (from the tap that has been left out 24 hours to evaporate the chlorine), as it will typically have a more alkaline pH. In my area the tap water is above 8.. so check yours. Good luck, hope this helps!
thanks for the advice, the water I use is adjusted to 6.5-6.6, i use a hanna digital meter to measure the ph. I already use the vinegar to lower and will get some acetic acid in case I ever need to raise it. I just wanted to make sure flushing would take care of the problem. I have had a ph problem from the start and just recently got my ph tester so hopefully after this I will have control of the ph. thanks again
Vinegar *is* dilute acetic acid and can *not* be used for pH UP. Use ONLY for pH down. For ***pH up*** use normal H20 as most tap water will be alkaline (pH of above 7.0)
99% of the fixes that have been mentioned here will produce results that will last about as long as it takes for you to get to the store and buy some actual ph up/down...just fyi