Leaves brittle and beginning to canoe and twist

mrgreen40

New Member
ok, so checked the ph of water with nutrient solution and it was down below a 6. It seems I may have read somewhere something about microbe activity in the soil raising ph which is why organic growers don't bother with checking the ph, but I could be very wrong as I have read a lot of different things over the last few years and don't really retain all the bits and pieces.
Anyway, I added a small amount of sulfuric acid to a few girls and now it's just wait and see time.
 

tyson53

Well-Known Member
use citric acid to lower PH in water....its the same stuff that gives the sour taste on them sour soft candies....can get at wal mart in thr canning section..its 2.37 for a 5 oz jar..a little goes a long ways....your leaves show a typical PH swing and a lock out....i had same issues...i started PH water and gone...dont forget lime takes awhile to break down in soil..its just powdered limestone rock...its a while before it buffers soil....and peat soils when it dries out changes PH fast....i PH nute solution also now...be surprised what some nutes bring your PH to....
 

mrgreen40

New Member
use citric acid to lower PH in water....its the same stuff that gives the sour taste on them sour soft candies....can get at wal mart in thr canning section..its 2.37 for a 5 oz jar..a little goes a long ways....your leaves show a typical PH swing and a lock out....i had same issues...i started PH water and gone...dont forget lime takes awhile to break down in soil..its just powdered limestone rock...its a while before it buffers soil....and peat soils when it dries out changes PH fast....i PH nute solution also now...be surprised what some nutes bring your PH to....
great suggestion, thank you. I think I'd rather do that than mess with sulfuric acid. I'll grab some soon and give it a try. What I don't get is that my soil ph is high (7.5) but my nutrient solution is low (below 6.0). If my nutrient solution is that low before adding any type of acid, how is my soil so high?
 

tyson53

Well-Known Member
dont go by them test kits....the reagents in them as they get old are inaccurate...they degrade...some have dates on them to show freshness....last year i had a bad ph swing in a peat soil mix...and what i did was take a milk jug 1 gallon....added about 10 tablespoons of fine powdered lime...and water ..shook the shit out it and watered it in the soil....did 2 gallons to each 15 gallon pot..took about 5 days for the soil to buffer out....so now I dont use peat in a mix..I use just compost now...
 

mrgreen40

New Member
dont go by them test kits....the reagents in them as they get old are inaccurate...they degrade...some have dates on them to show freshness....last year i had a bad ph swing in a peat soil mix...and what i did was take a milk jug 1 gallon....added about 10 tablespoons of fine powdered lime...and water ..shook the shit out it and watered it in the soil....did 2 gallons to each 15 gallon pot..took about 5 days for the soil to buffer out....so now I dont use peat in a mix..I use just compost now...
Thank you very much, that sounds like very good advice. Watered a few of them with the lime mixed in and now waiting to see what happens.
 
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