Johnson410

how do you add pH down to your soil grow? my pH is a little high so i have some pH down (sulfuric acid). but how do i give it to the plants?

Sigg

own pH meters for both soil and liquids. You can find them both on Ebay or gardening stores ( I found my pH meter for liquids on Ebay for alot less than in any store) then always add small amounts and check before adding more. "it's always easier to add more then it is to take some out ) look to see if your pH reducer tells you it's pH on the label. E-mail the maker of your product if you have to. It's very hard to work with an acid or base when you don't know it's strength. Remember, pH reduction (or raising for that matter) will suddenly increase the closer you get to your mark. That is to say... if you add 10mls of acid to a gallon of 7.0 pH water, and the pH lowers to 6.5. Another 10mls. will "NOT" drop your pH to 6.0! most likely, the bottom will fall out, and your pH will end up down around 3.0 or 4.0 for lack of a better way to explain it, it's because pH strength is measured in multiples of 10,000... ok, to drop your first 1.0 its 10,000 x 1=10,000, adding the same amount again would then be 10,000 x 10,000=100,000,000 ok at this point I've confused the h*** out of ya. just add slowly and if you need more. Add much less than you started with. (a drop at a time) I always adjust the pH in a container of water or feed first. Then add that to my plants to be safe But "BUY" a pH meter. always measure. be consistant from plant to plant. Maybe start with one plant, and when it turns out right. duplicate what you did in the rest of them. (I hope they"re all in the same size pots). Write your info down for future reference. And go slow. In the future... adjust the pH of your feed before you use it to maintain your pH. Good Luck

daltron

Hello Johnson410,

Do you mean you have a soil grow and when you mix your nute's the pH of the mix is high......which after mixing usally comes out low and needs to be rasied......

OR do you mean the pH of your soil is a little high?

I think you mean the pH of your soil is high....

SO if your soil pH is just a little high I would not worry about it.........when you feed your nute's to your ladies just set the pH level to the lower end of the usable scale.....6.3.....6.4 even 6.5.......then as long as your soil pH is just a little high it will all work out OK

Before you start your grow is when you want to check the pH of your soil......some grower's will try to change the pH of soil durning a grow and some don't........it is all personel choice.........I chose not to unless it is way, way off

I have found that the soil pH will go up a little or down a little durning the course of a grow.......I choose not to worry about it and adjust my nute solution up or down by a point or two and everything has always worked out well......

If you feel you must lower the soil pH just re-pot any small plants in good soil......or if the plants are more well established ........just add some pH down to plain water adjust to about 6.1 or 6.2......with your pH down...... divide a gal of this mix / 3 plants.....let the soil set a couple of days and check it....... repeat if needed

hope I've answered your question.....
good luck and grow on

daltron

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Captain Bowlpiece

Most pH meters sold in garden stores are total crap. The cheapo wand types are the ones to avoid. A good soil pH meter is gonna set you back at least $50. Well worth it though, and absolutely necessary before you start trying to "adjust" your pH.

Good luck!

Cap'n

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grass_hopper

Yes, and the probe needs to be cleaned with a scrubby before every test in order to make sure you're getting an accurate reading. A good meter, used by a knowledgable person, should be able to test both water and soil. Just use a known neutral water to moisten your soil and you're all set.

If your soil pH is too high, adding a pH down of your choice to your water will probably rectify the problem. It's much easier to go down than to go up. Sulfuric / muriatic acid is probably overkill - a little vinegar in the water will do the trick, and it won't add as many salts like the chemical acids will. pH Up/Down from the pet store can be used in an emergency but again they add salts to the soil, which can lead to nute lock up.

If it's your water, you might want to switch water sources, either to a filtered pH adjusted water or to a bottled water. Over the life of the plant, you'll use much more water than soil by volume, which means a greater risk of that variable skewing the pH equation.

Good luck

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Sigg

Most acids contain salts and can be purchased as such(this is what you see on the caps of bottles or on car batteries). All salts contain water though they appear dry (unless they're sold as "anhydrous" and you wont find them anywhere unless your a specialist that deals directly with a chemical manufacturer). its what else they contain that you may want to consider. Sulfuric acid or H2SO4 contains sulfur. Simply said...it's 2 hydrogens, 1 sulfur and 4 oxygens (sulfur is a salt). Muriatic acid which is hydrochloric acid or HCl that is of poor grade (not a reagent) it contains alot of crap and chlorides (salts) and you may want to stay away from that. Nitric acid - HNO3, contains nitrogen and you might want to consider that. There are several good organic acids available. Vinegar is readily available at the supermarket, it is an organic acid (Acetic acid) and the vinegar is distilled and filtered (clear/white is the cleanest) and is diluted to 5% (it also breaks down to CO2 and H2O). It still only takes a very small amount (drops) to adjust a gallon of water. If you buy a pocket pH meter and Calibrate it with a known buffer solution - (the most common are 4.0, 7.0 and 10.0) and your meter reads correctly in these solutions after calibration...Well, then your meter is correct. You are only measuring the pH of water (which will be very close to neutral) you don't have to spend a bundle to do this. Your not looking to measure 2 or 3 digits after the point. you can own one for under $20.00. They work better than pH papers or color comparators. Have one, bought it new, works great (these probes are made of glass and usually filled with silver nitrate. don't ever touch the end of the probe with anything) The end of the probe needs only to be rinsed in clean water and stored in a 7.0 pH buffer solution. Soil probes do need to be cleaned with a "fine" scotch brite pad. pH has no preference. The math is the same and absolute, whether your adjusting up or down. The only thing that will change how much you use and how fast it will change, is the concentration of the acid or base that you are using to make your adjustment. All adjustment solutions should be dilute,and added to the largest volume possible, or you will over shoot your target over and over again, and then your solution is shot. As far as a soil pH meter is concerned, There are many grades, some that may cost hundreds. But you don't need to pull a sample from three feet under the ground to check a tree farm, or to sample soil for toxic spill contamination. Your probably checking a 2 or 3 gallon pot. Stear away from dual meters. A meter that claims to check the pH in liquids as well as soils is either overkill (and costs several hundred dollars) or a piece of junk. If your local plant store (you know... the one that sells tomato and pepper plants in the spring) is using it, it works fine. I am not a botanist, but I have worked in a lab for years testing solutions and spills for Kodak. You don't have to spend a lot of cash just to determine pH, if you shop smart.