Acidify my soil!

[Ziggaro]

My soil has been testing high lately and its causing deficiencies. I always PH water and nutes around 6.5, but the runoff reads around 7.5. Even when I severly drop the PH of the feed water the runoff reads around 7-7.5 I don't want to transplant cos the flowers are looking so nice i don't want them to die.

I can't seem to find anything that won't either work very temporarily, or significantly alter the nutrient content of my soil. What can I do??

Thanx

 

[Levitikuz]

how far are you into flower?

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

What if you told us a little about what you've tried? Remember, the more details you offer on your grow, the better diagnostic you can get. Makes sense no?
If you've tried products such as citric acid to lower the ph, perhaps even proffessional ph downers such as phosphoric or nitric acid and you still can't keep your ph down, then my guess is that you're using tap water.
You say your ph has been "testing high lately", indicating that an alkaline element has been building up successively in the soil (unless you changed something in your feeding), such as calcium carbonate. It is an often used alkaline additive to tap water, very tough to ph down.
If your problem is calcium carbonate, then you will simply have to filter it out of your water and wait for the amounts present in your soil to break down as the grow goes along.
A ph of 7-7.5 is nevertheless a zone in which the plant can thrive and yield admirably, so no panic needed. Just wait it out.

 

[Core]

A ph of 7-7.5 is nevertheless a zone in which the plant can thrive and yield admirably, so no panic needed. Just wait it out.

are you even serious here ? i'd like to differ on this....go over 7 ph in soil and you will have lots and lots of troubles...like he said Rosy he's having some def's as we speak....

and a other thing i'd like to add...coz i think there's a common misconseption that taking runoff's ph is accurate....it just is NOT accurate ime...

so i advise every1 to take soils ph with some distilled water....coz actually it is the way to go to have a accutrate reading of the ph levels...

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

Yes, I'm quite serious core. With a good soil mix, hard water free from impurities (except for calcium and magnesium) combined with high quality nutrients, I've had good results and no deficiency/lockout problems in a ph 7-7.5 environment.

I still prefer to knock it down a bit.

 

[Core]

hehehe i know you are serious Rosy ....im just saying i had problems when i hit 7.2 ph once..its just not adviced to take it so high ..thats only thing what i'm saying :smile:
i think i woz growing on canna professional (soil) then...

 

[Lady 420]

Apply 1/2 teaspoon powdered sulfur per gallon of soil mix. Sprinkle on the pot surface and water in.

 

[Ziggaro]

OK. I will attempt to answer some questions.
Levitikuz- the plants are 2 weeks into flower
Rosy- I have tried citric acid, yep. I haven't tried phosphoric. I have tried using lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to lower the PH. I have also tried using my Earth Juice nutes as a PH down. Each to no avail.

I had previously used PH up (wood ashes) to balance my EJ, but it took a LOT of it to balance. I'd test once when I was done making the mixture, then once more about 30 minutes later before feeding the mixture.
I have since started bubbling my EJ mix for a few days before feeding, and I notice it only takes a small fraction of the same pH up I was using to balance. Could that have done it?

So can I till in something to fix this? Or am I stuck with either transplanting or waiting it out?
Thanx again

 

[Core]

dude go buy some PH- and PH + instead of using non bufferd acids and other stuff....i know some of those are homeremedies but they are't always good in use...

my advice is to just poor 6.2 ph water/feedings in her..if thats not possible coz she's 2 wet .... flush her with that same level...

 

[MynameStitch]

You can add what people listed here or get some sphagnum peat moss; that will fix yer problem up err I mean down ! What size pots are your plants in?

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

consider this: a good an easy organic way to acidify your soil is by using your used grinded coffee, add it to the soil with the waterings, in three waterings and low-mid doses, say about three tea spoons per two liters of water. check the ph during the process too to not over do it.
good luck.
peace

 

[MynameStitch]

Coffee grinds do work; Good one paz! just sometimes depending on the coffee it can change ph. So get a kind that does not have additives to it..... folgers is a good kind to use.. the kind that you have to grind and has like mocha flavor and additives like this are the ones to stay away from since the ph is not stable.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

So can I till in something to fix this? Or am I stuck with either transplanting or waiting it out?
Thanx again

IF your problem is a tough alkaline substance such as calcium carbonate in your water (my guess), then you can till acidic products or transplant as much as you like, and the problem will still remain, because you're putting in more and more calcium carbonate everytime you water.

The solution (IF I'm right), is to filter the calcium carbonate out of the water, or change water alltogether.

Constantly adding high amounts of acidic products will also be detrimental to your root system and the microbiological life in the medium, in the long run.

Your best bet for an easy, uneventful grow is pure water. It's the basics of successful growing.

 

[Ziggaro]

consider this: a good an easy organic way to acidify your soil is by using your used grinded coffee, add it to the soil with the waterings, in three waterings and low-mid doses, say about three tea spoons per two liters of water. check the ph during the process too to not over do it.
good luck.
peace

will it acidify my soil or just buffer to 7? I hear brewed coffee is neutral

Thanx Stitch for the reply. I have considered peat moss, but using FFOF it already has lots in it and the last thing i need is to drown the girls

Core- pH down is definitely something I have my eye on. Will that keep my pH down or is it only a temporary fix? Can I put it right into the soil, or do I need to mix with water?

Rosy- I have put a lot of thought into a filtration device, but only because of chlorine and chloramine. My water report shows the alkalinity of the water is 23 PPM... You could be on to something!! I was watering with gallon jugs of distilled water previously, but it was just too expensive. Now i'm REALLY paying for it!!

Any recommendations for a cost effective filter? (i'm a college kid, paying for my own apartment on a shitty job and no extra income)

Thanx for all the replies, this is great!

**as the edit says, I forgot to thank someone. Thanx lady420 I have read good things about powdered sulfur as well, so its off to the hydro store if the coffee fails**

 

[Guest]

vinegar, citric acid and the like, are really bad choices for ph down, mainly because they are not stabile - as you have found out. try checking that same mix hourly for a day or two - the variation you will see - gave me a heart attack. Sure- sounds holistic and organic, but so is aquarium pH down (Phosphoric acid).


I never check my runoff - just what goes in. so long as the plant looks fine and is happy, it really isn't important, is it?

I use Fox Farms soil with pearlite and Dolomite Lime, so it's pretty well tuned for cannabis to start with.

 

[MynameStitch]

You can use vinegar and lemo juice but you have to let the water sit for 24 hours before using the vinegar and lemon or one or the other; other wise you will get uinstable results. because the chlorine has had a chance to disapate and that will cause ph to go up.

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

Core- pH down is definitely something I have my eye on. Will that keep my pH down or is it only a temporary fix? Can I put it right into the soil, or do I need to mix with water?

Rosy- I have put a lot of thought into a filtration device, but only because of chlorine and chloramine. My water report shows the alkalinity of the water is 23 PPM... You could be on to something!! I was watering with gallon jugs of distilled water previously, but it was just too expensive. Now i'm REALLY paying for it!!

Any recommendations for a cost effective filter? (i'm a college kid, paying for my own apartment on a shitty job and no extra income)

I realize now that your problem isn't that bad. You're only sligthly over the ideal ph range (in soil), and you haven't even tried phosphoric and nitric acid, which will probably be able to stabilize your ph adequately.

Filtration is adviceable (I would even say necessary) if your tap water contains a lot of impurities, such as industrial heavy metals and agricultural spill (pesticides, nitrates or other types of sodiums). If these substances are present in higher levels, then they will affect the health of your plants.

reverse/osmosis is presently the most effective way of filtering your water, but it might be over the top for you to get a r/o system. BRITA filters can take out much of the hardness, but those filters wear out quickly if your girls drink a lot.

You have a water report? Great. What does it say about prescence of bicarbonates and chlorides? Does it say anything about Carbonate Hardness (KH)? I'm not an expert, but if the "alkalinity of the water" (prescence of Ca and Mg ions) is 23 ppm, then I believe you must be reading it wrong. Somewhere between 300 and 500 ppm can be concidered 'hard' (alkaline). 23 ppm would be as soft as it gets.

As Stich said, you can let the chlorine dissipate out of the water by letting it stand for a day or two, or simply correct the ph again a day or so later.

 

[happyherb]

have just had some very yellow but healthy plants(aproxx 40)..tap water here is around the 9 mark(changed here at some point ?) also the bit of lime in the soil mix wouldnt have helped....gave them a 2/3 mix or iron chelates been using ph'ed water from now on...in 2 days there was a slite change...in a week all but two were green as green and are on track....2 weeks later still working on the two ...around 20 of those plants are in 2nd week of flower..those chelates helped me.HH. =]-~

 

[sativalicious]

... because the chlorine has had a chance to disapate and that will cause ph to go up.

How exactly does the evaporation of chlorine cause a solution's pH to "go up"? I am not a chemist, however logic tells me this assertion may be erroneous

Given that bleach has lots of chlorine (let's presume a high pH level, such as 12 or 13), then how will less of that substance increase the pH? (Remember, I am not a chemist, just posing a question.)

And remember, those municipal water systems that are keeping up with the Jones' are augmenting their water disinfection process with chloramine, which does not evaporate.

Cheers,
Sat.

 

[MynameStitch]

From what I remember when I was growing, I always let the water sit out for awhile and the ph always ended up going up no matter what I did with it

Chlorine does leave the water when you let it sit out a while..... I do not know where it goes but it is a lot less that what it was when it came out of the tap

Everybody's water is different, but for me my ph always went up.