Compost tea PH problem

Hello my fellow growers

i have NLS concentrate and i just finish doing compost tea of their product ,however when i check the PH of my brewed tea is 5 PH ,and 250 PPM ,is that normal ?
and can i feed that to my plants even though PH is low ,i dont know but after i let it stand for 48 hours ,i still can smell the boob smelly of the organic matter ,some youtuber said you should smell something earthy or close to nature smell to detrimne if it's ready or not,don't know if is that true .

if i use baking soda to rise the PH level ,does that harm the microbs in tea ?

It’s you’re 100% organic then pH doesn’t really matter. The microbes and soil will buffer to the right pH.

Ofc if the pH is very acidic or alkaline it may need adjustment but I’ve fed down to 4.8 with no issues.

Are u in veg or flower?

I made a tea and gave it to my flowering girls only to cause a microbe bloom which in turns blocks Nitrogen. They yellowed very fast after it so just a word of warning.

Nutty sKunK said:

It’s you’re 100% organic then pH doesn’t really matter. The microbes and soil will buffer to the right pH.

Ofc if the pH is very acidic or alkaline it may need adjustment but I’ve fed down to 4.8 with no issues.

Are u in veg or flower?

I made a tea and gave it to my flowering girls only to cause a microbe bloom which in turns blocks Nitrogen. They yellowed very fast after it so just a word of warning.

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its all about oxygen ,i put airstone for 24 hrs and i tested the tea and guess what its 6.8 PH now ,which means microbes are living ,as i read in some artical that microbes when they have enough oxygen and temperature they create their own enviroment which will lead to adjust the PH too ,that will happened when you are 100% organic as you mentioned.

I never check my ph because I use a filter I got from Boogiebrew.net called Boogie Blue Plus so I know my water should be the best they can get & I also use his 2 part organic veganic non gmo compost tea. I was gonna buy a ton of stuff to make the ultimate tea but Josh who’s an awesome guy based in Cali uses the best of the best so I save so much time just letting him do it for me especially since some of the ingredients must be bought in bulk & at the same time helping out a small business owner.

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Pothead Man said:

I never check my ph because I use a filter I got from Boogiebrew.net called Boogie Blue Plus so I know my water should be the best they can get & I also use his 2 part organic veganic non gmo compost tea. I was gonna buy a ton of stuff to make the ultimate tea but Josh who’s an awesome guy based in Cali uses the best of the best so I save so much time just letting him do it for me especially since some of the ingredients must be bought in bulk & at the same time helping out a small business owner.

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l also use boogie brew with RO water that comes out at 6.5-6.7 and it has taken me to about 8pH in 24 hours indoors at 76*! I am wondering what to do, dilute 1 to 5 or 1/10 with my usual 6-6.5ph water? I am growing organic but I am concerned about giving the soil such a high pH value to my plants. I know I am feeding the soil, but I am sure some of the tea will hit the roots. To be fair I tested it out on my houseplants and they love it, but I am really hesitant to give it to the babies. Should I just proceed with a little bit?

Ph is governed by the composition of the soil at the root zone. Adjusting ph of your tea or water does not affect the actual ph of the soil. Teas are not absorbed by plants directly unlike nutrients; that is why while ph is not completely irrelevant it is also not something that you need to worry about in organic soil unless of course the mix becomes inactive. Some may think their soil is “depleted” when in fact all they needed to do was add compost and/or other organic materials to spur on microbial activity which IS what helps regulate the actual ph in a living soil. A high level of microbial activity ensures the soil ph stays in the proper range for absorption. Teas can help the soil maintain high microbial activity for much longer than without it but simply adding fresh ewc regularly will do much of the same thing; just a bit slower.

Interesting, I was on the website for the fine folks who make boogie brew teas and hose water filters. In a nutshell, you do not need to lower ph for your tea,even if your tap water is 7.5 ! Apparently it’s no problem and further more if you must lower the ph it is better to use crystallized vitamin C ( ascorbic acid) , rather than the phosphoric acid in ph down. Vitamin C in this form is seen as a viable food source for microbes while phosphoric acid is nasty for microbes.

I know this is an old thread but here's a question: wouldn't it be worthwhile to get your pH right (ascorbic acid?) just after adding the brew ingredients and gently mixing? I haven't checked if pH changes during brewing (anyone?) but if it doesn't, wouldn't the microbes produced have a better chance of propigating in the soil if the environment they were born in was similar to the destination soil?

egregory6 said:

I know this is an old thread but here's a question: wouldn't it be worthwhile to get your pH right (ascorbic acid?) just after adding the brew ingredients and gently mixing? I haven't checked if pH changes during brewing (anyone?) but if it doesn't, wouldn't the microbes produced have a better chance of propigating in the soil if the environment they were born in was similar to the destination soil?

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I’ve been noodling around with this. I had some deficiencies after I switched over to using river water. I didn’t bother PH before I brewed and found out the tea was going in around 8.5. Started showing major signs of phosphorus/calcium deficiencies with red stems, bluish color to the fan leaves, etc. I started using citric acid to lower the ph down to 5.9-6.0 before the brew and found that it naturally rises to about 6.8, which is doable. I’m gonna continue doing this for a bit and test it, but so far it seems to be the solution. Ph before and let aerate for another 24 hrs before adding compost tea so any chemical reactions settle and less chance to kill microbes.

Organics pH themselves...... If you try to adjust it your just fighting nature. Grow with synthetics if you want to monitor and manage pH.

calvin.m16 said:

Organics pH themselves...... If you try to adjust it your just fighting nature. Grow with synthetics if you want to monitor and manage pH.

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I tried not PH Ning the water going in, but I get nute lock running 8.5 water. Ended up having to flush and do foliage spray to feed nutes for a bit but they bounced back.

How do I combat this without PH? I’m using good compost as part of the original potting mix along with happy frog. Alternating compost tea and molasses every other week (along with nutes). I feel like the microbes are well established but if I don’t PH then the plant suffers.

cccduncan said:

I tried not PH Ning the water going in, but I get nute lock running 8.5 water. Ended up having to flush and do foliage spray to feed nutes for a bit but they bounced back.

How do I combat this without PH? I’m using good compost as part of the original potting mix along with happy frog. Alternating compost tea and molasses every other week (along with nutes). I feel like the microbes are well established but if I don’t PH then the plant suffers.

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pH the water. People will say that it doesn't matter and maybe in some cases it doesn't but it definitely can as you have seen for yourself.

I've fought this battle myself after a recent move where my tap water went from 7 to 9.2 and it fucked shit up. Took me a bit to figure out as I was in the "pH doesn't matter in soil" frame of mind. It doesn't fuck up my outside plants but it sure did in the tent. So ya know there is some truth to it but you've figured it out, stay the course.

cccduncan said:

I tried not PH Ning the water going in, but I get nute lock running 8.5 water. Ended up having to flush and do foliage spray to feed nutes for a bit but they bounced back.

How do I combat this without PH? I’m using good compost as part of the original potting mix along with happy frog. Alternating compost tea and molasses every other week (along with nutes). I feel like the microbes are well established but if I don’t PH then the plant suffers.

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That seems like an extreme scenario though for sure. 8.5 pH tap holy fuck lol. I'd bring it down to 6.5 at least. I gotta sometimes remember no situation is the same. You should start bottling up your tap and selling it as alkaline water for $3/bottle like all these corporations xD.

calvin.m16 said:

That seems like an extreme scenario though for sure. 8.5 pH tap holy fuck lol. I'd bring it down to 6.5 at least. I gotta sometimes remember no situation is the same. You should start bottling up your tap and selling it as alkaline water for $3/bottle like all these corporations xD.

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It actually tested 8.9 today. Definitely the most alkaline water situation I’ve ever had, which is why I didn’t even bother testing, because I was doing organics. I get well water and tried going to the river to try that, but it came back similar.

It turned into a good learning scenario. I’ve never looked into foliage sprays to supplement nutes, but going to test cycling this into my routine to see how it works out. I brew a terp tea grow every other week and then do a small top dressing in between. I might add the foliage spray during the top dress weeks.