Indoor Real Lemon Juice as pH Down?

[Tracer Productions]

My plant seems to be having pH issues after I stupidly applied humic acids with a pH of 9.0 without balancing it out first. The leaves are developing orange spots in some places, paleness in other places, tip burn on the tips & are generally unhealthy looking (though the buds are super healthy...for now).

I don't have any bottled pH UP/DOWN stuff at the moment & plan to start feeding again next week. I've been using like 4 drops of juice from a real lemon to bring down the pH of my feeds, which has worked in the moment when my test strips are used. But then I read that lemon juice only works "temporarily" for bringing down pH(?) so IDK what to think.

Mind you, I'm talking about putting both the fertilizer & lemon juice drops in water before watering my plants with it. Not putting it directly into the soil or anything. Is lemon juice in moderation a safe & effective way to bring down pH in water & fertilizer?

 

[Banjacked]

Short answer is "Yes".

There is even a theory that it can be "beneficial" as different nutes have better absorption at different pH levels so, as the citric acid (lemon juice) "degrades" until it reaches it's "stable" level, always higher than the initial levels, you can get better nutrient absorption so, as an example, you pH your water/nutes to 6.4 and, over the time between waterings the soil pH rises up to 7, going through the optimal pH ranges for different nutrient absorption.

Watch the ppm's though, lemon juice will raise them, be aware of that if you use it when you mix nutes

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

yes you can, but if you have white vinegar I would prefer that. Also, sulfur and aluminum will either lower pH in soil although not quite as fast as an acid. Some people say that lemon juice actually can help fix calcium.

Either way, if you use vinegar or lemon juice the effects are not permanent, the soil will buffer itself, so for long term pH changes it is better to use sulfur.

 

[Tony21]

I've used both, very briefly, beware slime and gunk. I think much better to use pure chemicals

I saw this https://www.autoflower.org/threads/citric-acid-with-distilled-vinegar-for-ph-down.48517/

 

[Waira]

...tell more about the humic acid you used, and how much,.. that's an odd reaction, unless it's the raw stuff and overdosed... We need pics to make a diagnosis too,...
.... lemon juice, vinegar are OK, but are weak acids, and don't have much "staying power",.. acetic acid is a bit better, (that's what I use), the stuff used in canning if great...