Ph problems

[carinia]

Hiya all..
I am having a ph problem with 3 of my plants. It is off the charts high, as in the ph meter is plugged at 8! Yikes, I know. So of course theyre experiencing all kinds of nutrient lock outs. I've been reading up on how to best solve this but I was wondering what the best/fastest way to correct the situation. The plants just started flowering, are experiencing mg and fe defeciencies, I have no ph up or down but I do have lime, epsoms salts, and ironite. Id like to foliar feed with some epsoms and ironite for now until I get the ph situation under control.

My main question is just the ratios i need to mix in order to accomplish this. Part of my problem is that these 3 pots have the built in drainage tray - I will never buy those pots again! Stupid walmart sale. So the soil is always moist. But how much lime should i be mixing per gallon of water, and how much epsoms and ironite should I be mixing per cup? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

carinia Reviewed by carinia on 02-17-2008. Ph problems Hiya all.. I am having a ph problem with 3 of my plants. It is off the charts high, as in the ph meter is plugged at 8! Yikes, I know. So of course theyre experiencing all kinds of nutrient lock outs. I've been reading up on how to best solve this but I was wondering what the best/fastest way to correct the situation. The plants just started flowering, are experiencing mg and fe defeciencies, I have no ph up or down but I do have lime, epsoms salts, and ironite. Id like to foliar feed Rating: 5

[carinia]

Sorry, not how much lime should I add, but rather how much buffering agent ( I was thinking lemon juice because its cheap and easily available) would be sufficient to lower the ph quickly but withot undue plant stress?

[stinkyattic]

Are you certain that what you are seeing is Fe and Mg? You should really be foliar feeding with a complete fertilizer if you soil pH is so horribly off.
Are you confident that your meter is calibrated correctly? When is the last time you stuck it in a 7.0 buffer?
Lemon juice isn't appropriate as pH down for a couple reasons, one being that it just isn't that strong. Commercial pH down is phosporic acid, H3PO4- a tri-protic acid that lowers pH VERY quickly and efficiently without interfering with your fertilizers.
You will want to first confirm your pH reading with a liquid test kit (soil pH going that high is rare). Next, flush with an appropriate flush solution. To lower from 8.0, use 3 gallons per gallon of dirt of a solution of tap water at pH 6.0. Don't go too low, because it is shocking to the plants. Add drainage to help keep them from staying too wet for too long. The last step should be to feed with a weak solution of grow fert at correct pH.

[carinia]

Thanks stinky. Ive been reading up on foliar feeding so I fed some mg and fe, and they are now much improved! I finally found a gardening store that had some hydro stuff in my area, so I also got some ph down and adjusted everything.

oh and the meter was confirmed, I had a liquid test running around and everything lined up. I guess my tap water is just really, really lame.

[Sjapp]

i just tested my soil's ph because i suspected it was off. the plants seem to be growing kind of slow and the leaves are starting to look unhealthy. I think it may have started when i started using advanced nutrients. I just tested my soil with a cheap ph soil tester and it showed green for high (ph > 7) and yellow for low (ph <7) and it was really dark green. i only have 2 plants currently but i plan on expanding to more. How expensive are legit ph testers? should i buy a digital one or something? my chemistry teacher said the ph of our tap water is around 6 - 6.5 and that i could borrow her ph meter if i wanted. i just dont what to tell her its for.

what ph do i want for my soil?
do advanced fertalizers for veg have high ph or low ph?

[stinkyattic]

Advanced Nutrients is a pretty reputable company and should not be screwing up your soil chemistry unless there is something else wrong with either your soil or your application method, since we know your water is fine.

A good pH test kit to start off with is only about $7 for the liquid indicator drops, and I very strongly recommend the drops over a cheap tester, since inexpensive pH meters are prone to errors that you might not catch if you don't calibrate the meter and check it in buffer solution each use.

You need to flush out your pots with plain tap water that has been adjusted to the correct pH, and then when you fertilize, make the fertilizer solution and then adjust its pH, too.

The whole General Hydroponics pH test, up, and down kit only costs about $15-$20 US and is everything you need to do this. I'm a professional chemist, and I'm too cheap to buy a 'real' meter, so that's what I use, too!