Soil PH

Hey there, I have a generic question about soil ph. Lately using ph meter ive noticed ph getting to dangerously high 7.0 point, like in one pot its like 7 and 6.8 in other. The question is, if I water it with ph 4 water (150 ppm) and always remember to water it with lowered ph (4), will that be enough to keep my soil at 6.5 point or do I need to start top dressing, or what would u recommend?

edit: thank you all for help <3

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There is no need to worry about ph in soil as it is buffered.. Watering with a low ph will only cause fluctuations and
and lockouts.. A ph of 6 to 7 is ok.. Don't over think..

Don't even bother checking the run off pH.........it doesn't represent the pH of your soil.
The only way to check the pH of soil is with a slurry test.
I wouldn't bother checking it at all..........you'll just be chasing your tail for no reason.

MickFoster said:

Don't even bother checking the run off pH.........it doesn't represent the pH of your soil.
The only way to check the pH of soil is with a slurry test.
I wouldn't bother checking it at all..........you'll just be chasing your tail for no reason.

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I've grown for a while. I've NEVER checked a medium pH or done a runoff test. Never. I do adjust feed pH. I also use tap water. No problem.

hotrodharley said:

I've grown for a while. I've NEVER checked a medium pH or done a runoff test. Never. I do adjust feed pH. I also use tap water. No problem.

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I slurry tested my local inputs once when i first started playing with them.."ok, just a mild 7+ im good" ..was kind of an unknown when i first touched the stuff. Now i couldnt care less.

Throw out the soil tester
I use well water at 8.2 ph and never check it after adding nutrients

You most certainly SHOULD worry about PH of soil. Soils can be acidic or basic and if you don't have your soil PH in an acceptable range, plant growth will suffer. If you know your soil PH is in an acceptable zone, then no, you don't have to worry about the PH of water so much, as the soil will buffer it.

While the PH of run off will not tell you the PH of your soil exactly, it WILL tell you where your soil is trending and provide useful information for you to act on if necessary. For example, say you water your soil with a PH of 6.5 and measure a PH runoff of 5 - that tells you something important - like maybe your soil PH is too low.

Most PH meters are junk, and most people don't keep up on calibration which makes them even worse. Believe it or not, the best way to check the PH of your irrigation water, and runoff water, or any other liquids you'd like to test, is to use the PH test kit strips or vial/PH drops - no calibration needed, no additional costs and accurate 100%.

If your PH is too high in soil, you do not want to water with a PH of 4.. You'd want to water with an appropriate PH of 6.0-6.5. Watering with a super low PH of 4 will just produce stress on the plant.

Lowering the PH of soil, if needed, is not an easy task and takes time - especially if it's in a pot and a plant is already growing in it. In your situation, you could top dress some elemental sulfur - I've never found a concrete ratio of how much to use per gallon of soil - but I'd probably start with a 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of soil, wait 2 weeks, test runoff and go from there.

There is so much misinformation to lead you astray, I with you the best of luck!

Looks like the new generation of cheapo probe, added LCD but most likely same bullshit results… I would not believe that unless confirmed with proper tool. Might be interesting to see how accurate it actually is.

MickFoster said:

The only way to check the pH of soil is with a slurry test.

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Results equal zero, rather skip this test its just messing around for nothing

Regardless of what your application is h20 or nutes always check your ph input. Occasionally check your ph runoff to get ahead of any possible buildup of salts. Here's a pic from my runoff I measured last night. This shows my method isn't spot on either because my runoff after 2 waterings of 5.8 shows high. The "only" way to recover quickly is to flush until you're runoff is equal to your input. At this point you have a known baseline for moving forward.
Cheers

Bourbon 2 said:

Regardless of what your application is h20 or nutes always check your ph input. Occasionally check your ph runoff to get ahead of any possible buildup of salts. Here's a pic from my runoff I measured last night. This shows my method isn't spot on either because my runoff after 2 waterings of 5.8 shows high. The "only" way to recover quickly is to flush until you're runoff is equal to your input. At this point you have a known baseline for moving forward.
Cheers

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If it's good soil you don't need to jack with ph. All you need to do is mix nutrients and pour in. Keep microbes up and bam. Keep feed around 1.6ec at least most of plants some are heavier feeders some aren't. That the only fluid part you need to worry with. Definitely don't want to flush a soil.

My soil lands about 7 ph, I lower water to 6 ph from 7.7. The 6 water balances the 7 soil somewhere around 6.5. It does help

Decades of growing. Hydro, coco, soil. In soil I have never check pH and water straight from the tap with water that's pH'd to 8.2. I don't pH the water even when I add nutrients. I've never had any issue at all.

People get all hung up on pH in soil and then test it for no reason even if the plants look fine. Just like the OP. Some meter says pH is 7.0, they think that's too high, ask about pouring 4.0 ph into the soil. If the plants were fine before they won't be after doing that.

Leave the damn pH to hydro and coco growers where it actually needs to be monitored and maintained.

Checking soil runoff pH is just stupid. If it's gotten to the point that it so out of whack that you are having issues it's because you dumped too much crap in it or mixed in too much crap that you didn't need to. In that case you'll be running around in circles like a dog chasing it's tail.

Here is the water where I'm at. Treated to 8.2 pH and in decades of growing not a single issue growing is soil.

"Portland's water is currently treated to be at a pH of 8.2. The pH of Portland's water can vary by a small amount in the distribution system, but it generally ranges from about 7.4 to 8.4, with a median value of 7.8 to 8.1."

It matters when the water is well buffered, a ph of 8.2 that isn’t well buffered your good. My houseplants look like shit, I never change the Ph of my well water, my pot plants I always do and they look great.

Hairybuds said:

It matters when the water is well buffered, a ph of 8.2 that isn’t well buffered your good. My houseplants look like shit, I never change the Ph of my well water, my pot plants I always do and they look great.

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Well water is a completely different beast.

My water is from Tualatin Valley, near Portland.
Around an 8 PH.
My nutes bring it down to 6.2 - 6.5.
Recharge moves it up a little.
Never really have to measure or adjust PH.
Rarely get any problems.
Never use calmag either.
Our tap is excellent for growing.
Lucky I guess.

Some people are lucky.

Iv got friends who live in the north of my city who use tap water - no issues.

I couldnt understand why my plants were always going yellow. Eventually invested in a bluelabs soil pen and started checking stuff out.

Once i started PH-ing my water/ nutrient mix it changed my whole grow. My water comes out at 8.2 from the tap. I get around 5.2 from borehole/ well point water which I use on my outdoor crops - Still though, cant use that water on my outdoor pots that I grow prior to transplant as that small container swings too hard with the PH. When its in the ground however it works perfectly.

And I grow in purely organic soil mix - Mix of coco coir, worm castings, compost, perlite etc