Help with pH level

I think I need to get my ph up a little bit too I can’t afford to order any thing and have been wondering what to use any suggestions out there?

Hey Jgro my friend says you can use baking soda. They also said you can use
lime. Good luck RDG1951

@Jgro I didn’t see your thread but go over to it and tag @garrigan62 or @Majiktoker @MacGyverStoner
Or all of them
One of these guys can point you in the right direction for sure
Maybe they can help you as well @Rdg1951

@Jgro

To lower soil acidity to the soil pH range that most plants normally need, add lime, organic matter or mulches. One quick solution is to occasionally spray soil with a mild solution of 1 tablespoon baking soda mixed in 2 liters of water. This will reduce soil acidity towards a more neutral or comfortably acidic soil pH range.

You can also apply dolomic limestone in tiny doses if soil acidity is below 6.0 to help plants absorb nutrients. Be careful to apply lime over time and in small doses. Too much too soon burns plant roots and is toxic to beneficial soil life

There are some ways to lower soil pH in alkaline soils and raise it to the soil acidity levels that most plants need:

Add acidic materials like sulfur or peat moss to reduce the soil pH.
Improve water drainage or prevent water evaporation by adding compost or a mulch of shredded leaves (which are very acidic) to wash away salts and chemicals.
Integrate coffee grounds around the plants to make soil acidic.

As always, going with the flow is the best strategy in growing plants successfully in alkaline soils. Grow plants for alkaline soil so that you won’t have to work very hard at improving soil pH:

I hope this helps

Will

1 Like

Well I got one of those pH testers the one that has the probs. I’m not very impressed with it. It’s giving me different readings. I went ahead and put some lime in…One table spoon per gallon. Hope this will help. RDG1951

I understand that you don’t want to spend any money but a ph pen on Amazon is around $15 and it’s invaluable. There is no way to guess what your ph is and its critical to a successful grow. You need runoff ph to be close to 6.5, much out of that range and you will have deficiencies which can severely stunt you plants growth and drastically reduce your yield, or worse, you could stress the plant enough to cause it to hermaphrodite. Hope this helps.

1 Like

Well said @Noodles

1 Like

I bought one that has the prongs and I’m not impressed with it. Doesn’t
give same reading. I’m going to get a different one. This is just a trial
grow and then I’ll start my ww seed’s as soon as these are done. Thanks
everyone for your support.

@Rdg1951
Yeah those 3 in 1 meters or 4 in 1 type I don’t trust either except for moisture readings
Your best bet I picking up a digital one on Amazon
Or type best ph meters in search on this site and a bunch of links for them on Amazon should come up bro
Good luck and happy growing

Okay I put my tap water in gallon jugs and add vinager to lower pH. I get it down to 6.5 or so and let warm up to room temperature. After a while it rasies back up to 7.0 or better. What am I doing wrong? RDG1951

how long a time is that?..one of the primary reasons pH down and up solutions are recommended, they have buffers that help maintain pH once hit.

“let warm up”…what temp water do you start with?..pH at the warmer temp.

I have pH’ed water, hit my target, walked away for 10 minutes and it has changed, numbers can balance out.

I have quite a few gallon jugs and I rotate the new one’s. So they are room
temperature. I will wait till they warm up before I add next time. I really
didn’t know the temperature of the water made any difference. Thanks my
friend.

Try ph water around 70 degrees if possible @Rdg1951
Most meters are calibrated for this temp range and if you do adjust at lower temps U can throw off ph levels once water warms up @kabongster is on point

1 Like

I’m not a mad scientist, I make things up on the fly to suit my thinking…pH’ing is a chemical reaction, buffering acids to alkalinity and vice versa…changing temps on things like that can change the reaction…

You might be a little bit of a mad scientist @kabongster

1 Like

that made me laff…sign me, “smiling”:joy:

1 Like

Thanks Countryboy. I guess it’s true… You learn something new everyday.
Just trying to keep all my ducks in a row…Lol. RDG1951

2 Likes

@Rdg1951 there really is no need to pH your water till it’s time to use it. And if you are adding nutrients, you pH after

@kabongster is def a mad scientist don’t let him bs you. Atta boy @Countryboyjvd1971

:+1: :grinning: :us:

3 Likes

Okay thanks guys… Aren’t we all a little mad scientist…lol

2 Likes

A bit late on tolib but just got my 2 meters
Water from tap
7.4 ph
From tds ec meter
658ppm
1 31 x10 us/cm which makes no sense