No More pH Adjustments. Check it Out.
danielfp
13 years ago
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homehydro
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Soil pH adjustment for the season
Comments (7)Sulfur can flocculate (form clumping) soil when it reacts with CaCO3 and makes the Ca+ unbound and available in the soil. The CO2 gasses off. It's more of a function of the Ca+ availability than the sulfur, but it's the sulfur that makes this happen. It is a concern is some high calcareous heavy clay or heavy silt soils depending upon how much you're applying. This same "negative" aspect in some parts of the world is a positive in others...such as sand/clay soils common in the South-West and parts of the Mid-West....See Moreif distilled water isn't pH neutral, how to measure soil pH?
Comments (10)seysonn, that's a good point you make. If neutral distilled water won't make a noticeable difference compared with tap water, then the only problem I have is finding a reliable way to test for pH. I thought my cheapo test strips might be off by a little bit, but the vinegar test does show them to be worthless. So what is the liquid test kit you're referring to. What brand is it?. I've been looking at better quality test strips, ColorpHast is a good brand (used by my scientist friend) , and also Phinex (4.5-9 pH range). I'd like to find some with a range of 2-9 pH so I can use vinegar as a low end standard. ColorpHast makes that range, but seems to be out of it every time I check. And does it matter if a test kit is labelled for saliva and urine...is that just because of the range, and can any pH test kit/method be used to test a soil sample? Any opinions on favorite pH testing methods? I think I'll start a new thread to ask that questions, or has this been done many times already?...See MoreOptimal pH for black spot and pH of Scott's top soil
Comments (5)Malcolm: thanks for the info. on pH meter. I checked on that before, and found that most of them are not accurate, and even the more expensive one above $200 need to be re-calibrated before each use. Red cabbage boiled in distilled water is quite accurate, since I am testing one agent against each other: color of Miracle-Gro potting soil is very pink, against the color of Scott's premium top soil with peat moss (greenish blue). I checked the colors of all 10 samples after 1 hour: peat moss gets even pinker, Scott's premium soil gets greener. Reg_pnw7: thank you for your feed back, my goal is to learn, and I don't need to be right, since I'm a newbie. Corn meal tested neutral, and the color of red cabbage boiled in my alkaline tap water is bluish purple, compared to the color of red cabbage boiled in distilled water, pinkish purple. If you google "optimal pH for fungi growth", there are several that cited preferably acidic for fungi growth. The red cabbage boiled in distilled water is an interesting experiment to test various materials. Try it and you'll see how accurate it is by testing with at least 10 mediums: few drops of vinegar, coffee ground, peat moss, baking soda, MiracleGro potting soil versus Scott's bagged top soil. The peat moss and MiracleGro potting soil get more pink after several hours, and the Scott's get more green. I used quite accurate fish tank litmus paper (Jungle brand from Walmart). It correctly gave a 7 for distilled water, and a 8 for my tap water. The direction said to read within the first minute - it took more than 10 minutes to get the epsom salt to dissolve, and this gave a more alkaline false reading at pH 7.3 to 7.5. However, when epsom salt is tetsted with red cabbage, this gave a correct neutral pH: the color did not changed compared with the control red cabbage boiled in distilled water. Blackspots can germinate on the ground and get splashed up by rain water. This year I have zero blackspots on 10 Austin roses mulched with very alkaline horse manure, as recommended by the British....See MoreAdjusting alkaline soil pH with coffee grounds for more flowering
Comments (6)strawberry hill, your post is so interesting. I've never tested my soil but knowing that it's basically decomposed granite (in some places solid granite just 1 1/2 feet down) is a good clue. Growing the right roses for your area, as has been emphasized on this forum over and over, is in my opinion the most important lesson to learn. Having once chosen the right ones, there are still steps that can be taken, as you point out, to fine-tune the results. A lot depends on how much you can or are willing to do. I've found that coffee grounds from my husband's coffee consumption, alfalfa meal and adequate water are the simplest way for me to have good-looking roses. Judicious pruning also has its place. Poisons never will; I'd give up roses first. It's part art, part science and part the will of the roses to live and thrive. It's a little different for everyone, and it is endlessly fascinating. Ingrid...See Moregrizzman
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