lower a soil ph with plants in it

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

Well I got some end of the season bags of dirt and it appears 1 out of 3 batches identical mixes using the mix in my sig is out of wack running high ph, sitting at 7 after multiple slurry tests. Different bags of dirt for each batch...

Is watering with a lower ph going to be enough or do i need to take other measures to get it down a bit?

I have seen mentions of top dressing aluminum suplhate at 0.5tbs per 10 dry gal soil...

Was looking at empsoma product too... sulpher based it looks like..

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Espoma-6-lb-Soil-Acidifier-100508616/203192757

Any help would be great, 2 plants doing great, one is looking like shit after just a few days in with lowers yellowing and shriveling fading etc...

Best bet here? We are talking 45 gallon smart pots.

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

Ill run and grab a pic too. Be back in a bit.

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

goin downhill fast

goin downhill fast

Day 1 of transplant...

Day 3

Day 4

corky1968 · Sep 8, 2016

If you feed with water of pH 6.3 to 6.5 eventually your soil pH will go down.

Epsom salt does has sulphate in it as magnesium sulphate.

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

So ya say dont panic just keep watering with lower ph water? Dug down a bit for some samples for more slurry tests... the top layer of soil is banging a solid 7.

Im scared if this shit progresses worse tomorrow ha!

Think I should run out and grab some vinegar? Only thing i can get now short notice...
Or I could feed some maxi which will drop the water ph... 7.4-7.6 out of the tap.

She was looking pretty damn healthy going in. My other 2 plants are not showing these signs at all, same soil mix, different bags in each pot tho. Musta been a bad batch, last time im using happy frog.

BTW thanks im nervous as shit ha.

rykus · Sep 8, 2016

Don't use one that's aluminum based... There are a bunch of sulphate that lower ph... Look up earth juice micro blast... You can either buy the same ingredients and add them is pure form or just grab a jug and feed in the higher recommended dose...

Gypsum is calcium sulphate... Not as strong a ph down, but will neutralize ph and help tie up excess food if that might be an issue...

Be careful using Epsom salts to lower ph if you used dolomite lime in your mix... Could be a lot of magnesium...

Foliaring on some feed will help the plant stay green until roots establish, I find a half strength oil spray like sm90 or bug b gone neem ect helps the plant hold moisture as well...

corky1968 · Sep 8, 2016

Other than vinegar on short notice. You may be able to find citric acid sold at drug stores or health food stores.
It's the organic acid that is present in oranges, limes and lemons. It will drive your pH down as well. It's a nice
free flowing powder that is really soluble in water. You could make your own lemonade with it also.

Citric acid

Tynehead Tom · Sep 8, 2016

hmmmm man, this is a little beyond my depth simply due to the container size and I'm not familiar with the soils (happy frog).

that's pretty rapid yellowing so ya, perhaps the high PH is locking out some nutes?
natural PH of my media is 5.8 and it like to stay there. when I water with nutes and PH 6.8 , it seems to maintain a happy balance. interestingly enough when I start my flushes between every second feeding, the runoff from 6.8 going in, comes out 6.2 and gradually rises to 6.8 by the time I've poured 2 gallons in. Mind you, I'm using a 3 gallon pot (nursery calls it a 5 but it only holds 3 gallons water) , so it's really hard for me to apply my methods to someone growing in such a large pot hehehe

I'm out of my depth Tony. Pot size has got me as usually if I'm using big totes I run an organic mix heavily fortified with PH buffers (dolomite for example). Rarely do I see PH issues in those mixes.
wish I could offer more bud.

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

Yeah it is the amended mix in my soil. I think the trouble is happy frog is adding lime now i found out after the fact.... 2/3 plants doing fine no signs of stress... it must have been a bad bag.

Last time using bagged soil period. I gotta fix this shit. Goin to the store for some vinegar for now... I dot wanna know what it will look like tomorrow if i do nothing...

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

And eh whaddya mean Tom, these are the small ones for me

Off to the store...

Slipnot · Sep 8, 2016

Tony so what is the ph of soil in the one yellowing ????
the fastest way is ashes invite some friends over for weeny roast lol top dress the ashes and mix it in soil for amount of soil 3 - 4 cups then water do it carefully as to not flip it over to bad

Greenmason · Sep 8, 2016

Hey bro this is Limo...

The plants that are doing ok...are they the same? You check your good ones...pH-wise to compare? For sure looks to be a lockout to me.

unregistered190 · Sep 8, 2016

this,....citric acid is what is use for ph down. haven't ever tried to source it locally so don't know how fast you would find some....like corky suggested maybe call a few drug stores?

corky1968 said:
Other than vinegar on short notice. You may be able to find citric acid sold at drug stores or health food stores.
It's the organic acid that is present in oranges, limes and lemons. It will drive your pH down as well. It's a nice
free flowing powder that is really soluble in water. You could make your own lemonade with it also.

Citric acid

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

Thanks guys.

Yo, Limo thanks. Im off to get vinegar for a stop gap its late here, dont want this to get worse overnight, you can see she is tanking fast,,,, got slurry test sitting from each pot to collaborate should be ready to test when i get back...

PH of the top layer in the bad pot is 7.0..
Got samples from lower under by the root ball soaking now.

corky1968 · Sep 8, 2016

If you can find unsweetened powdered lemonade I think it's loaded with citric acid.

I wonder if that would make lemony buds? :woohoo:

Greenmason · Sep 8, 2016

Right on...ill be up for a bit and check back

Tonygreen · Sep 8, 2016

Checked root ball sample before Im leavin... 7.3-7.4 fuck me... back soon.

Coughie · Sep 8, 2016

Homebrew or Winemaking supply stores will have citric acid, Tony

Or there's tartaric acid (found in grapes)
Or malic acid (found in apples)

krunchbubble · Sep 8, 2016

Have a cat? That Looks like what happens when a cat pisses in your medium...

Slipnot · Sep 8, 2016

Tony do not buy vinegar it evaporates to quickly an will cause ph drift just go buy some lemon juice for quick fix problem solved but 7.0 cannot see it being that bad 6.8 - 7.2 for soil is normal

lower a soil ph with plants in it

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