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G
Guest
i just checked the hose water and my ph indicator only shows 6.2-7.4 and it was above 7.4 . my bottled water that i was watering with was around 7.2... does this mean that the lime in the soil is bringing it down or what? is the lime supposed to make the ph go up or down? why would the water of 7.2 let the nutes be absorbed? i thought the water you were supposed to water with was supposed to be like 6.0 ph...
V
vonforne
He has a great desire to learn! Nothing like wanting the best though. Good man, Curtisd.
V
vonforne
If you look at your PH chart that came with your PH testing kit. It will show you the nutrients avaliable and in which area of Ph.
3BM
Member
Curtisd:
Lime raises the pH. Adjust your water to somewhere around 6.0 and you should be fine. Hard water does contain Ca and S, the question is in what concentration. Judging from the pH of your water it sounds like you have fairly hard water. I also have hard water. In my soil mix I do not include gypsum, since these nutrients are provided in soluble form. Further, I do not add any soluble forms of Ca or S until the plants are feeding heavily (after seedling/clone stages, or after stress recovery). Blackstrap molasses is high in Ca. Finally, double check the pH of your soil. Check out Suby's link and choose a technique that works for you. A high soil pH can indicate that you have added too much dolomitic lime. Powdered forms become available more rapidly than pelletized. Have no fear, though, the organic matter in your soil will lower the pH as it breaks down. Just accomodate for the soil pH in waterings, and wait for the situation to improve (remember this in future soil mixings too). I would discontinue feedings and water with pH adjusted bottled water until the plants show marked improvement. If they continue to show yellowing and spotting, try adding Mg in foliar feedings. If they still dont improve, try transplanting. Transplanting solves most problems; give the roots more room to move and they will adapt to challenges better.
3BM
Lime raises the pH. Adjust your water to somewhere around 6.0 and you should be fine. Hard water does contain Ca and S, the question is in what concentration. Judging from the pH of your water it sounds like you have fairly hard water. I also have hard water. In my soil mix I do not include gypsum, since these nutrients are provided in soluble form. Further, I do not add any soluble forms of Ca or S until the plants are feeding heavily (after seedling/clone stages, or after stress recovery). Blackstrap molasses is high in Ca. Finally, double check the pH of your soil. Check out Suby's link and choose a technique that works for you. A high soil pH can indicate that you have added too much dolomitic lime. Powdered forms become available more rapidly than pelletized. Have no fear, though, the organic matter in your soil will lower the pH as it breaks down. Just accomodate for the soil pH in waterings, and wait for the situation to improve (remember this in future soil mixings too). I would discontinue feedings and water with pH adjusted bottled water until the plants show marked improvement. If they continue to show yellowing and spotting, try adding Mg in foliar feedings. If they still dont improve, try transplanting. Transplanting solves most problems; give the roots more room to move and they will adapt to challenges better.
3BM
ok curtis i'm going to go out on a limb and say your tap water at home is very hard and is unfit to use for now until you know more.
you know it's above 7.4 but unless you know how much above you are flying blind.
Perfectly neutral water is ~ph7 like the bottled you have, your tap water could be as much as 8+ you just don't know.
Lime is a buffer, this means it can both raise AND to an extent lower the ph of your soil,
A buffer simply acts to maintain a ph, in the case of dolomite lime ~7 if you combine that with the acidity of your peat medium usually you end up with a perfect soil ph 6.0-6.8.
The reason your bottled water is better is because it is pure, your tap water has alot of dissolved solids which means the water has peaked in it's capacity (or close to) for dissolving.
So here's what may be going on, your soil has been on a continuous feed of water with a high ph and the lime is just kicking in after a few weeks and the soil microbes are unbalanced.
There's a simple remedy to all this, ph you bottled water down to 6.0 and water your plants until you get runoff, use vinegar to lower the ph.
After another watering or two your soil ph should be fine, if your seing improvements already then the water is the key to this whole thing.
you know it's above 7.4 but unless you know how much above you are flying blind.
Perfectly neutral water is ~ph7 like the bottled you have, your tap water could be as much as 8+ you just don't know.
Lime is a buffer, this means it can both raise AND to an extent lower the ph of your soil,
A buffer simply acts to maintain a ph, in the case of dolomite lime ~7 if you combine that with the acidity of your peat medium usually you end up with a perfect soil ph 6.0-6.8.
The reason your bottled water is better is because it is pure, your tap water has alot of dissolved solids which means the water has peaked in it's capacity (or close to) for dissolving.
So here's what may be going on, your soil has been on a continuous feed of water with a high ph and the lime is just kicking in after a few weeks and the soil microbes are unbalanced.
There's a simple remedy to all this, ph you bottled water down to 6.0 and water your plants until you get runoff, use vinegar to lower the ph.
After another watering or two your soil ph should be fine, if your seing improvements already then the water is the key to this whole thing.
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G
Guest
ok, so what i should be doing is adjusting my bottled waters ph down to 6.0. i water with that until it starts draining out the bottom. do this for a few waterings, then its ok to start feeding it a ph adjusted tea? my tea should be 6.0 aswell i presume, right?
also, for my tea i should use bottled water instead of the hose water because the hose water is very hard and has alot of unwanted things in it, am i right?
also, for my tea i should use bottled water instead of the hose water because the hose water is very hard and has alot of unwanted things in it, am i right?
G
Guest
suby, can you give me the measurements of what i should put in my teabag for 1 gallon of water? my plants dont drink much...
i have:
blood meal
bone meal
high P guano
EWC
fulvic acid
humic acid
liquid seaweed
i dont have any kelp meal
i have:
blood meal
bone meal
high P guano
EWC
fulvic acid
humic acid
liquid seaweed
i dont have any kelp meal
Use
1TBS EWC
1TSP bone meal (you never use blood meal in a atea)
1TBS liquid seawed
1TBS of molasses
1TBS of fulvic or humic acid
skip the guano until later in flowering
seing as it's a small batch skip the tea bag and just mic everyting together an brew it 24hrs-48hrs.
1TBS EWC
1TSP bone meal (you never use blood meal in a atea)
1TBS liquid seawed
1TBS of molasses
1TBS of fulvic or humic acid
skip the guano until later in flowering
seing as it's a small batch skip the tea bag and just mic everyting together an brew it 24hrs-48hrs.
G
Guest
i thought bone meal couldnt be absorbed in water, but blood meal can... did you make a mistake? and when you say skip the teabag do you mean just pour everything into my water?
G
Guest
does it dissolve into the water or just sit at the bottom? because im using bottled water do i have to bubble it for a bit to evaporate the clorine?
no bottled water is unchlorinated.
when you make this tea you rememberthat you have to use an airstone on a air pump right?
This will bubble the solid elementsaround inside the container, don't worry about chuncks getting in the water or even pouring out while watering with the tea.
when you make this tea you rememberthat you have to use an airstone on a air pump right?
This will bubble the solid elementsaround inside the container, don't worry about chuncks getting in the water or even pouring out while watering with the tea.
G
Guest
ok sounds good!
