Ph question??

[IIIIROBIIIII]

Is it true you can use baking powder to get your ph down or is it a load of bollocks will it harm my plants??

 

[TrippleDip]

Is it true you can use baking powder to get your ph down or is it a load of bollocks will it harm my plants??

My opinion yes, but 1) you will have to bake it to get calcium carbonate - baking soda is calcium bicarbonate and 2) there is a whole thread here on why not to use calcium carbonate (it's called please don't use calcium carbonate... I think). I didn't find in a two second search, but I'm sure someone dedicated could find it using the search function.

Edit: big emphasis on OPINION here.
Edit2: I realized you said down instead of up as other posters have mentioned.

 

[Renfro]

I would go with a proper pH buffer like phosphoric acid. If you can get the advanced pH buffers they are about 10x stronger than the GH version.

 

[Lpena007]

You can use vinegar

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Is it true you can use baking powder to get your ph down or is it a load of bollocks will it harm my plants??

No you have it backwards. Baking soda can raise the pH due to the Ca content, but I wouldn't use it myself. If you want to lower the pH you need an acid. I prefer citric acid to lower pH, but lots of people use chemical pH down or even vinegar if you're desperate.

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

I was told vinegar will make your soil smell how about lemon would that work

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I was told vinegar will make your soil smell how about lemon would that work

Lemon juice is basically citric acid, so ya that'll work. If you use vinegar, you're using such a small amount that it shouldn't make the soil smell. I've used it before on house plants and didn't notice any bad smells.

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

OK thanks for your help mate

 

[PadawanWarrior]

OK thanks for your help mate

I don't know how you're growing, but you should know that the citric acid or vinegar is the organic way, and it's the way I do it since I'm doing the organic thing. It's not as stable though as the phosphoric acid that Ren mentioned, if that makes any sense. I am a stoner after all.

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

I'm using bio bizz light mix soil with a mars hydro 600 watt led I'm only growing one plant for now as its my first grow just want to have a little test run to see how things go lol my temp is at 27c and my humidity is at between 40 and 45 % growing auto bubblegum in a 10 litre pot

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

I've got bio bizz grow and bloom for nutes but have been told I shouldn't have to use the grow nutes because the soil should have enough nutes in it for veg stage

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

My tap water ph is 7.8 but when I tested the run of through my soil it was coming up 6.2 do I even need to worry about ph?? or is the soil buffering it

 

[PadawanWarrior]

My tap water ph is 7.8 but when I tested the run of through my soil it was coming up 6.2 do I even need to worry about ph?? or is the soil buffering it

It doesn't sound like you want to lower it. If anything it sounds like you might wanna raise it. Runoff isn't a great way to determine soil pH, but it can give you an idea of how the soil is buffering whatever goes in. If you're feeling at 7.8 and getting 6.2 for runoff I would think your soil is a little acidic. For soil you want to aim for 6.5. If you really want an accurate measurement of soil pH you will need something like this.


And pics help us a lot.

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

I have a soil tester

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

That's what my meter is reading

 

[Renfro]

That's what my meter is reading

That tester is complete junk. If your feeding at 7.8 and runoff is coming out at 6.2 then the ph in the root zone is likely in the low 5's or even 4's.

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

I use this metre for work it's been pretty accurate so far

 

[IIIIROBIIIII]

My soil is 6.2 it says on the bag. if I'm feeding water that is 7.8 how can it be in the 5's or 4's??