Soil Ph. How Important is it to Get it Just Right?

the ph of my soil is about 7.5, i just added some ph down to lower it to 7.0 today, as i didnt want to possibly shock it or anything. i know its supposed to be 6.0-6.3 according to 'masters,' but i've never seen or heard of what problems you encounter or how much i should lower the ph with general hydro's ph down....anyone have any clue?

please- only real experience, no theories :joint::mrgreen:
 

bamslayer

Active Member
Hey from trial and past errors i tested the PH of the water that drained thru the pot to have a rough guesstimate of the soil PH.
Then added a little up or down to the next feed to compensate....
Dont really know it ever worked but iv never had problems in soil.
 
7.5 won't hurt anything, you should test the p.h of the water your feeding with,right before you feed, you adjust the waters p.h.
I have NEVER checked the runoff p.h, it isn't necessary if everything is done correctly.
 

Schtev

Active Member
the only problem i know of wrong PH in soil is that it prevents certain nutes from disolving properly leading to a build up of useless salts of which can be toxic to the plants, im not sure what levels of PH would cause this, but I guess even if its slightly over what it should be there will probably be a slight build up which wouldnt make a difference...

But if you have the PH meter an the ph down, why dont you just put it lower anyway?
 

mouthmeetsoap

Active Member
Schtev is right. Too high and you'll lock out micronutrients and too low and macronutrients get locked out. In soil between 6.3 and 6.7 is what I consider acceptable.
 
i was pretty much goign to use bamslayers idea, makes sense enough to me. as for next time i think im goign to add dolamite lime into the soil for some extra mg and lower the ph,....
 
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