Soil Acidfier: How soon till you see results / change?

[FALaholic]

I'm trying to get the ph right in my soil. Base line for the soil is 7, I've added a Tsp of Organic Soil Acidfier, watered, stirred, check...still the same 7. So I'm thinking, does it take time for ph to change? If so how much.

Instructions say to add a Tsp for every 4 inch pots. I'm using SOLO cups, so I don't know how much one Tsp will change the ph. Any idea?

 

[FALaholic]

Great, now it takes "weeks" to see results:

[h=3]Sulphur
[/h]This is the common acidifying material. Soil organisms convert sulphur into sulphuric acid, so acidifying the soil. The more finely ground the sulphur the more quickly the bacteria can convert it; sulphur dust is quicker acting than sulphur chips. However, acidification by sulphur takes weeks to have an effect, and when the soil is cold in winter, months might be needed.

 

[Fisherman]

Use vinager...................

 

[johnlee1933]

Use vinager...................

True Immediate change but not too long lasting. Add sulfur also for longer lasting change. Oak leaves are acid so If you have them they make a nice acid mulch.

 

[bonehead]

what is the ph of your water or water fertilizer solution you are using. i change the ph of my water and fertilizer mix before using it. you usually have to wait a couple of hours to test the ph of it then change it to be the rite ph for the plants you are growing. it is kind of inportant to have the ph in the ballpark so you don't endup with nutrient lockout. i use general hydroponics ph up,down solutions to get it close and your plants instantly get a drink of the correct ph solution or water. don't forget every full percentage point up or down on your ph test meter is a ten fold or ten times increase increase in acidic or base. most plants grown in a soil from 5.8 to6.8 ph will do good. you can reference the rite ph for the spacific plants you wan't to grow.

 

[FALaholic]

what is the ph of your water or water fertilizer solution you are using. i change the ph of my water and fertilizer mix before using it. you usually have to wait a couple of hours to test the ph of it then change it to be the rite ph for the plants you are growing. it is kind of inportant to have the ph in the ballpark so you don't endup with nutrient lockout. i use general hydroponics ph up,down solutions to get it close and your plants instantly get a drink of the correct ph solution or water.

My water and soil are 7 (neutral) .
So you're saying that the Epsom acidifier will only take a couple hours before I see results? The package doesn't mention, info online sates weeks, and I just tested now after 10hrs of application and see the same ph reading as before.

 

[FALaholic]

True Immediate change but not too long lasting. Add sulfur also for longer lasting change. Oak leaves are acid so If you have them they make a nice acid mulch.

Vinegar will lower my pH, but I can only assume will neutralize with regular waterings.
I'm thinking I can water with vinegar added to the water to keep the soil acidic.
What I'm trying to do is get the pH to the level that I want and stay there. If I add vinegar on top of Epsom don't know what the pH will be 2-3 weeks down the road. What would give me a better understanding of the process would be to know how much it will lower my pH if I follow the recommended dosage on the package; 1 TSP per 4" of pot diameter.

 

[FALaholic]

The possible solution that I'm gathering from you guys would be to add 1 TSP of Epsom to each SOLO cup. And water with diluted vinegar until I attain my desired pH value.
Keep watering with diluted vinegar to maintain that acidic pH value, and slowly back off on the vinegar as the Epsom begins to take effect.
Yest still I don't know what the pH value will be in a week or two once the Epsom had a change to break down and begin to acidify, do I won't know when to add more Epsom, or wait longer.

 

[Fisherman]

The pot and hydro growers all mention sampling the runoff water from their containers as an indication of the soil mix.

What I found container growing is that when temps are warm to hot that the plants usually took up enough nutrients as the evidence quit appearing [ chlorisis of leaves etc.] But the cooler weather it made a difference. I started adding vinager to the gutter water in my system to combat the effect of alkaline water as I had added to much lime to my mix in the first place.

 

[bonehead]

you sample the runoff on hydro because the first runoff after you start the flood is always different from the tank measurements for the ph and ppm. it lets you know what is happening in the medium,soil ect. it lets you know if you should flush your system because of nutrient buildup,salts. i was talking about acidifiers,bases for hydroponic resevores. general hydroponics sells ph up + ph down kits for only a few dollars and a little goes a long way. enough for hundreds of gallons.

 

[FALaholic]

Ok guys tell me what you think.
I have to prepare 30, 18 oz SOLO cups for transplants.
My potting soil is at 7 pH. Instructions on the Epsom say 1 TSP per 4" of pot. I looked and found that 4" pots contain .5 Qts , which is 18 oz.
What I'll do is add 1 TSP of Epsom, and water everything down with diluted vinegar to get my ph to where I need it to be. Then every other day monitor my pH and start pulling back on the vinegar as I see pH drop lower than 5.8, as the Epsom begins to take effect.
Does this sound like a right approach to things?

 

[johnlee1933]

Ok guys tell me what you think.
I have to prepare 30, 18 oz SOLO cups for transplants.
My potting soil is at 7 pH. Instructions on the Epsom say 1 TSP per 4" of pot. I looked and found that 4" pots contain .5 Qts , which is 18 oz.
What I'll do is add 1 TSP of Epsom, and water everything down with diluted vinegar to get my ph to where I need it to be. Then every other day monitor my pH and start pulling back on the vinegar as I see pH drop lower than 5.8, as the Epsom begins to take effect.
Does this sound like a right approach to things?

If it were mine to do I'd leave it alone. 7.0 is neutral You can stand a point or so in either direction without a problem.

 

[Knucklehead]

I agree with John. It won't be a big deal for the couple of months that they'll be in the pots. Will you be container growing or transplanting to the ground? If you're container growing and using the same soil, it won't hurt to experiment andget a feel for what you'll be doing in the container. Do half of them and see if it makes a difference. If you have a patch, concentrate on getting some amendments worked in there. I made the mistake of just using the dirt as it was and ended up with some serious soil compaction.

 

[Fisherman]

Again I think that if the temperatures are 85 or so that the plant will do ok with the 7 ph. It is when the temps go into the 70's or lower that the plant seems to get finicky.

 

[FALaholic]

I would like to ask everyone, how long will vinegar last?
I have 18oz of soil in a cup. Added 1 Tsp of Epsom, and about 5 Tsp of vinegar (didn't measure). Got the pH to 6, last night. This morning it dropped to 5. I left the cup in the sun to dry out some, and now the pH is back up to 7. Is this what usually happens? Does vinegar only last a day or two, until it evaporates?

 

[bonehead]

what kind and brand of tester of litmus papers are you using? are you trying to use distiled white vinigar? no vinegar is recomended but if you use any it should be distiled white vinigar only. if you have a an electronic meter did you calibrated it with a buffer solution with a known value? are you storing it in a storage solution if it is one of the better ones with a permeable glass ball?

 

[FALaholic]

what kind and brand of tester of litmus papers are you using? are you trying to use distiled white vinigar? no vinegar is recomended but if you use any it should be distiled white vinigar only. if you have a an electronic meter did you calibrated it with a buffer solution with a known value? are you storing it in a storage solution if it is one of the better ones with a permeable glass ball?

I wish my meter was that sophisticated. I've noted its readings based on water (7), potting soil (7), and distilled white vinegar (off the scale).
Using white vinegar.

 

[Fisherman]

Meter makes a difference. I finally bought a blue lab one and I still havent used on soil itself. There are lots of variables. an ounce of epsom salts mite be to much for that cup causing your plants to go from a deficiency to an overdose and those are hard to overcome and cure. Vinager in the water lasts until the water is diluted. I was adding once a week maybe an ounce to 15 gallons and it dropped my ph from 6.9 to about 6.5 all that time.

Vinager is s stop gap method while your other acidifier takes hold is probably the best way to say it.

Usually at the point in a plants growth that would accomadate a 16 ounce solo cup.......... Unless you are crazy off the scale, a little miracle gro potting mix, or ordinary garden soil and a little half strength fertilizer is all they need as they will not spend to long in the cup unless you are trying deliberately to stunt them to hold them over as replacements maybe. Remember the hole to add in the cup.

 

[FALaholic]

Meter makes a difference. I finally bought a blue lab one and I still havent used on soil itself. There are lots of variables. an ounce of epsom salts mite be to much for that cup causing your plants to go from a deficiency to an overdose and those are hard to overcome and cure. Vinager in the water lasts until the water is diluted. I was adding once a week maybe an ounce to 15 gallons and it dropped my ph from 6.9 to about 6.5 all that time.

Vinager is s stop gap method while your other acidifier takes hold is probably the best way to say it.

Usually at the point in a plants growth that would accomadate a 16 ounce solo cup.......... Unless you are crazy off the scale, a little miracle gro potting mix, or ordinary garden soil and a little half strength fertilizer is all they need as they will not spend to long in the cup unless you are trying deliberately to stunt them to hold them over as replacements maybe. Remember the hole to add in the cup.

Whoa, an oz of epsom. I'm just using a Tsp.
I wish I had a Blue labs, they're just too expensive.

I'm going to take your advice and add vinegar to my water to adjust the pH. For me to buy enough Epsom for all the 5 gallon pots will just be too much.

 

[Fisherman]

I added about 2 handfulls to 10 5 gallon buckets the other day [total 67 buckets planted] Less than one of the blue bags from walmart.

Larry HAll channel on YouTube has many references to epsom salt usage in container growing. I used his gutter system this year with good success. One problem I see now is that he is in northern USA and I am in texas. My buckets dry worse than his and as plants get taller I get blow overs. If soil was wetter then I would see less I am sure. FOr this last set of buckets I am drilling a hole 2 " up from bottom on side of bucket to act as a sort of in-bucket resavoir instead of the gutter system. Will allow more bucket in contact with ground and maybe curtail the blowovers.

I have 73 more to plant this monday and I am thru for the year. I hope I am not to late for seed saving anyway.