Ok I checked my pH of my soil, 2 of the 3 have a pH of 6.9 from everything I have learned on here I know that this is acceptable but I would like to bring it down by .04 so I have a pH of 6.5. I’ve read that you can use lemon juice to bring it down bur I’m not sure how much lemon juice to use. They are in 3 gal pots (I know those are small but I am in a sI tuition where I need to keep them kinda small) and they usually drink .5 gallons every other day with roughly a 10 percent runoff. So my question is what would you guys recommend for a ratio of lemon juice to water? Or would you just use a little lemon juice straight? Not really sure on this issue never been great at chemistry…PLEASE FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO HELP THESE 2 YOUNG LADIES
I’ve never used lemon juice but from what I’ve read you don’t need a lot? I would start with a teaspoon per gallon of water then check the Ph and adjust as needed.
How did you check the PH of your soil?
I have a probe that sticks in the soil you let it sit for one min then take your readING. Rapitest reader by luster leaf
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Is anyone else using this device? I wonder how accurate it is compared to measuring water runoff… Is this the item? Or, this one maybe??
Get a real ph meter that reads with a water probe. You do not know the ph until you do this
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I am a newbie grower so take my opinion for what it is worth, but I agree with @Fever. I originally got a soil tester and got some weird readings. So just to see what was going on I got a water ph meter and tested run off. HUGE difference and the water meter is defo more accurate.
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Those probe meters in a lot of cases aren’t very accurate. Don’t get me wrong there are ones in the market that work great but come at a premium price (blue labs I think is pretty accurate but very pricey)
The best way to check the PH at the root zone is with a digital PH meter that you would measure the PH of the runoff water.
I can’t speak for the model you have as I have never used it myself or seen anything on it but I have one of the probe meters that I bought with my first grow and don’t trust it so I went tom method I described above.
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Also, citric acid will only lower ph for about 8 hours. You would need to use something more lasting to have any real affect.
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Thanks guys I will be getting a different ph meter, this was just the only choice I had at the time so I thought it was better than nothing at that point
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I don’t recommend to use lemon juice or something like that because ph will grow up again. Lemon might work ok for soil , but citrus acid is a weak acid and breaks down pretty fast.
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What would you recommend it needs to come down .03
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Being off by .3 is not bad. Your soil is just a little “hot”. You should be ok to use it as is. What is the brand?
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Just some cheap potting mix from local hardware store nothing like ff
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Do you have a good pH meter? I would pH some water to 6.5 and then run it through a small pot of your soil until you get some run off. Check the pH on the run off. Or make a slurry of 6.5 pH water and some of your soil and check that. That will give you a good idea how much you will need to adjust your water. I’d be willing to bet you’ll need to purchase some “pH Down” to get that water in line where it need to be.
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Water straight from tap is 7.2 with a paper strip tester was going to check runoff tomorrow sence water day is tomorrow then probably flush them and go from there we have a artesian well in town so I’m going to try some of that water to see ph also
Tap water is ok but you need to let it sit for a couple days. That lets the chlorine evaporate off. I use 5 gallon buckets. Fill them and then let them sit out. My tap water is7.2 as well. I use pH down to get it to 6.5 if I am just watering. If I am adding nutrients, I add those and then check pH. My nutes usually drop it below 6.5 and I have to add pH up.
The 2 most important things you can give your plants is good water and good light. Nutrients come in a close 3rd. I used to think that all you had to do is put some seeds in soil and they would grow. It takes some time and attention to details to get the best results.
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The ph is my only new issue I never checked it 19 years ago
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Other than that I ask for opinions because I love to learn aND get different perspectives
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It’s become a kind of science hasn’t it!?