New Grower Ph and Soil

[Hopper]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge on how to raise soil PH without buying the expensive hydro store stuff.. The most common case is low Ph, as most water - especially rain water causes its PH to drop. Not to mention that various vital(for the plant) elements cause the soil to go acidic.. I would like to know what you use to stabalize your soil ph. There are various commercial products that offer to do so, but there are also many household items that would do this just as efficiently if you know how to use them. One safe item often used by gardeners to increase soil PH is limestone. I was wondering if any one knows any other easily available items for rising or lowering soil ph please share the knowledge.

Also.. if any1 wants to help make this topic become a bit more informative by posting pictures-examples of Ph locked plants that would be great. Low or High soil Ph causes something that most of us know as 'Ph-lock'. This means that due to the soil Ph certain nutes are "locked" in the soil and are unable to be "sucked up"(simplified term) by the plant. Within a week you will notice certain deficiency symptoms in your plant like stunt growth and yellow crispy leaves.

 

[Hopper]

Nearly forgot..

How to test Soil Ph with Ph-strips.

1) Pick up some distilled water (shouldnt need adjusting) or just your regular water and adjust the Ph to 7(neutral).
2) Put your flower pot into a bucket.
3) Slowly run the water(Ph 7!!) down the pot (do this as a regular watering, under regular watering conditions).
4) Catch a rather small amount of water in the bucket (the result will start to become more inacurate as more water poors out).
5) Test the water with the strip. (if u dont know how to im sure the box has enough info on how to)

To test soil thats not in a flower pot:

Mix 50% (ph=7)water, 50% soil in a bowl or a bucket and dip the trip in there... (never tried this my self)

 

[Cave Dirt Cody]

Wood ashes will raise ph. It is what I use outdoors in soil. Even before I knew what it did.

 

[Muddy]

IMO the easiest and cheapest way to raise pH is to use hydrated lime. It can be added to the soil when mixing or applied at the rate of 1 tablespoon per gallon of water as a feed. For an in depth discussion of pH, go here: http://www.autoflower.org/f42/ph-information-1956.html. Lock out can often be mistaken for a nutrient deficiency. Also check the other links in the Reference Links sub forum for several good guides that show the various effects of pH lockout.

 

[Hopper]

Ow thats great muddy, didn't spot that topic before So how would one apply wood ashes to a potted plant?

 

[Hopper]

Wow that link is great. Learning so much - Thanks

 

[Cave Dirt Cody]

Mix wood ashes with your water or just scatter them on the surface and water. The best soultion for potted plants in soil is to have a good micro herd and forget about the PH.

 

[Muddy]

You're welcome. I need to go read it again. I pick up something new every time I read it.

Wow that link is great. Learning so much - Thanks

 

[Mossy]

Muddy...that is a Brilliant PH link....Thank You..

too much to read in one go..but I will be back to it...Cheers Bro...

Informative..and Simple enough for Me to understand...

 

[Muddy]

Thanks but Jackal gets credit for that one. He found it.