Soil PH

[Halibut]

Hi Charlie,
Hope all is going well with the move. When you have time, I have two more questions on soil ph.

1) What is the Ideal ph, is it 6.5 or something else?

2) What is the best way to adjust the soil ph down for plants that are already established in pots? Is there a liquid product or something else that can be added to the water? Or something else?

I tried the granular sulfur, but it seems better suited to mixing into soil beds before planting.

Hal

[Charlie]

Hibiscus are fairly tolerant of a range of pH from 5.0 to 7.5. That said I would still strive for mid 6's such as 6.5 for best nutrient uptake. If you are only a little high then the HVH Acid fertilizer is intended for exactly that situation. It is very similar to the special-blend that we use but has the ability to lower the pH in situations that are not extreme. Professional growers will mix various types of acid into their irrigation water to lower the pH and anyone can do the same by using vinegar. This is probably not useful for lots of plants but for a a couple of dozen is probably manageable. How much to use depends on your water and would have to be measured and the pH taken to keep it in the right range.

Soil pH is not easy to change permanently with water treatments. Acidifying the water is good enough if done regularly in most situations. But to change the actual pH of the soil itself is trickier and takes longer. My question would be why the potting mix is too high to begin with? Good potting mixes are pH adjusted and stabilized with soil additives during manufacture but if your water is very alkaline the pH could go up over time. The HVH Acid blend fertilizer should be able to counter that.

Hope this helps.

Charlie

[Halibut]

My question would be why the potting mix is too high to begin with? Good potting mixes are pH adjusted and stabilized with soil additives during manufacture but if your water is very alkaline the pH could go up over time. The HVH Acid blend fertilizer should be able to counter that.

Hope this helps.

Charlie

The soil is fine, but with our Alkaline water here it has caused a slow, but ever Increasing high PH problem. We have been using your 17-5-24 for a long time, and will look at the Vinegar and your acid blend fertilizer.

Lastly, thank you so much for all the help you provide to your customer base, it is greatly appreciated!

Hal

[Halibut]

Hi Charlie,
I finally ordered a meter that will measure both PH and EC.  The Acid Blend Fertlizer seems to have helped, but I still have no Idea what the PH of the treated water is until I receive the meter.

I am looking into a Commercial type RO system, or will have to set-up a 55 gallon drum that I can fill and then treat. If the drum scenario plays out, what type of acid would be best for adjusting PH, and lastly what affect will the Acid have on the Solids in the water?

Sorry to be a pain, but greatly appreciate the help!

Hal & Jean

[Charlie]

Hi Hal, you are venturing into the deep waters with this plan. Not that you can't do it but making it convenient and good for the plants takes a bit of research and thought.

Probably the easiest and safest product to lower the pH will come from hydroponics stores and is often called something like pHDown. It will contain chemicals appropriate for plants and not be dangerous to use. I've used pHUP and pHDown at various times with good results.

When I used an RO system the water that came out was neutral, pH 7.0 but I have heard that sometimes it will come out very acidic. Not sure why that is but you should test to make sure if you go that route. My RO system had an extra pump that had enough pressure to push the clean RO water into a pressurized tank so that some was always ready to use. I could then pipe it to a mist system or use it through a hose since it was pressurized. The system cost about $2500 and required some ongoing maintenance costs but it did the job.

Using the 55 gallon drum and treating the water will be a lot cheaper and easier if not quite as convenient for applying the treated water. You could always sink a pump into the drum if you need pressurized water to flow through a hose or drip system. The only real reason to go with the RO system would be to remove high levels of soluble salts. If you only need to lower the pH then treating the water in a drum with pH down or even vinegar will do the job at lower cost and less trouble.

Charlie

[Halibut]

I finally got the meter. It is a Hach H170 and does both PH and EC. After calibrating the meter I tested the PH and it has been between 7.63 and 7.72.
I am adding a teaspoon of your acid blend fertilizer to my 2 gallon container and it adjusts the PH to approx 6.5. Is the one teaspoon sufficient, or should I add a little more of your regular fertilizer to the mix?
It should be noted that I also add one tablespoon of Super Nova as well.
Thanks!

Hal & Jean

[Charlie]

That's excellent, Hal. No need to use the regular fert if the acid blend is doing the job. You could add some HVH Booster once or twice a month but with the Supernova and the good pH level the plants should be very happy and bloom well.

Charlie