Quick Question About Adjusting Water pH

11 years ago

Hi Everyone,
I have a potted meyer lemon and have read about adjusting the pH of the water/fertilizer mix to bring it down to about 6 ish (correct me if I'm wrong). I've finally got around to testing how much vinegar is needed in my water and its 2 Tablespoons. I don't know if its me but that seems like a little much per gallon. Is this too much or would it be still ok to use with the plant.
--
Thanks,
Carl

Oh also my tree wasn't very happy over the winter and lost all its leaves. They have just started to slowly come back but they are tinged with yellow and somewhat curled. It's planted in 5-1-1 mix and I've been making sure that the mix drys out almost complete before watering it again with water (from the bypass before the water softener that comes straight out of the ground) and a 1/4 teaspoon of Foliage Pro. Here's a picture. It's been outside most of the time for the past two weeks except when it rains. Since it doesn't have leaves I assumed it didn't need the extra water since its doesn't have as much area for transpiration to occur. Any advice to get it back to the beautiful state it was in last summer would be appreciated.

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Comments (9)

CraziiiCarl
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh and I will be getting the supplies for "real" gritty mix so if re planting in that will help let me know. Also if you would like to have a better picture of some of the leaves I can break out my higher def camera.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
11 years ago
I hope it comes around!
I would give it a nice thorough watering to ensure that all of the mix is wet, and to flush any accumulated salts. After that, I'd use a full strength dose of Foliage Pro.

Josh
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CraziiiCarl
Original Author
11 years ago
OK will do. So I take it that the 2 tablespoons of vinegar per gallon is ok? This time I wont use any but for future reference I'd like to know.
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mandarin1
11 years ago
Getting the pH to about 6 is fine, the amount of vinegar needed depends on how basic the water is in the first place. You're concerned about the vinegar but the vinegar's acidity should be offset by the alkalinity of the water, so it isn't "caustic" anymore. If you're still concerned, see if 1 Tbsp. vinegar gets you to 6.5-7.0 and stick there awhile. If your water is so basic that it takes 2 TBSP to get it down to 6.0, then IMHO the tree is better off with some vinegar than no vinegar, as the pH affects the uptake of certain nutrients. I use 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar per gallon, but my water is only about 7.1 to begin with...
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CraziiiCarl
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok you've clear up most of my worry. I'll try it with 2 Tbsp. in the proper pH range and just keep an eye on the plant for awhile. If it seems like its affecting the plant negatively I'll reduce the amount of vinegar to 1 Tbsp. which will bring the pH between 6.5-7 or about neutral.

Thanks for your help,
Carl
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CraziiiCarl
Original Author
11 years ago
On the other hand I think I'll just stick with 1 Tbsp per gallon for the time being. I retested the water and how much vinegar to put in and I realized the color was far more to the acidic end then I thought. 1 Tbsp. should be plenty to bring it down between 6.5-6. Again thanks for clearing things up.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
11 years ago
I use 1 Teaspoon per gallon...maybe you should start light, just to be safe.

Josh
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CraziiiCarl
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok. That's probably a good idea. I'll start with a capful (around 1 tsp.) and see if it gets results. If not I'll slowly work up to the 1 Tbsp. which will bring me into the proper pH range.
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johnmerr
11 years ago
The issue with vinegar, or any acid is when it combines with the base (alkalinity), it gets neutralized, but the product of that neutralization is salt. Since it obviously rains where you live, I would try to create a small system for collecting the rainwater, and use that to water your tree. Meyers are a little sensitive to pH and do best at soil pH of 5.5-6.5. Up to 7 (rainwater), they do okay; above that they need some special treatments. If you want to continue to use the vinegar method, at least put in the vinegar and allow it to stand for a while so that the salts will have a chance to collect at the bottom before using it for watering.
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Quick Question About Adjusting Water pH

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CraziiiCarl
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Quick Question About Adjusting Water pH

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