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Stanwood, Washington

Just got my PH tester and My well water is at a robust 8.1. Am I going to be needing gallons and Gallons of PH Down to get my water in range?

2/4/2023 11:26:51 PM

Watlington, UK

Depends on the pH of the acid you intend to use. The stronger it is, the less you need. That said, strong acid is more dangerous to handle, so be careful.

2/5/2023 6:02:59 AM

Lodi, California

My ph isn't nearly as bad as yours, its sitting around 7.2-7.4. The AG supplier down the road sells sulfuric acid for the purpose of lowering the ph of soil. Not sure if that's a good option, but if it is, I can get it in bulk for cheap.

2/5/2023 9:45:05 AM

Lodi, California

Ph down is phosphoric acid, maybe you can get a better deal on that than what they have in hydroponic stores. Steve Daletas told me he uses citric acid, but I think that's going in the more expensive direction

2/5/2023 9:48:54 AM

Oak Grove, Mn

My ph from the well is about 8. This year, I am set to lower it with the usage of a Dosatron. I have looked on amazon for phosphoric acid. Ph Down is competitive. I see gallons of 85% phosphoric acid for close to what Ph Down sells for. Ph Down is 81% phosphoric acid. It has the benefit that I am familiar with it from hydroponics. Later today, I hope to do some samples in a 5 gallon bucket to determine how much would be required for a season of outside growing. Or at least how much I need per 200 gallons. Other possibilities would include nitric and sulpheric acid.

2/5/2023 10:19:53 AM

Syracuse, NY

Innocent bystander here - does the water pH balance out with the pH of what it's being applied to? If the soil is 6.5 and the water is 7.5 and they were of equal VOLUME...
I wonder butt I don't need an answer for myself -
just wondering for wondering's sake - eg

2/5/2023 2:12:37 PM

Lodi, California

That's an interesting question, yeah the ph of your water should affect the ph of the soil, but I'm not sure to what extent.

2/5/2023 3:30:38 PM

San Diego

In San Diego we have 8.0 city water ph, no well options here. Myself and other growers can tell you that watering with high ph water raises the soil ph consistently. We got the soil to 7.0 and then by years end it would be up to 7.7 again. So lowering water ph is important. We use citric acid here when we can.

2/5/2023 7:08:37 PM

stoughton WI

my water p.h. is about 8.4, i have used p.h. down in the past and used approximately 1/2 cup to lower 300 gals to about 7.4. if im not mistaken soil with a higher p.h. will return to its natural state, so you will continually have to working on lowering p.h.

2/5/2023 7:54:38 PM

Syracuse, NY

Rick and Y'all - I had read recently that pumpkins prefer just below 'neutral' at about 6.8. A yet-unseen video by Jim Sherwood headlines that the ideal SOIL pH is 6.8 to 7.2. I don't know what mine is, but when I used to check via soil test, it was 7.8. Whoazers... I'm guessing the goal is to match soil and water pH to 6.8 to 7 and at least then, another circumstance is alleviated.
Okay, what're my SEEDS' pH, now?! lol---eg

2/6/2023 5:42:24 AM

Syracuse, NY

So, heck, maybe if your soil pH is one level and you can water it with another level of the WATER's pH and get the same result as amending either or BOTH long-term?
And, don't forget RAINwater...
Note to self: Find best deals on Citric Acid!
maybe...eg

2/6/2023 5:47:43 AM

Watlington, UK

Sulfuric is best

https://www.pthorticulture.com/en/training-center/acid-choices-for-reducing-water-alkalinity/

2/6/2023 7:18:41 AM

Kutztown, PA

I'll be using sulfuric and will definitely be wearing a full face shield and protective gloves when using it. It seems to be the least expensive.
My thinking is that regardless of your soil PH if 6.8 is the sweet spot and you hit it then it's all good. If your soil PH is high it's only going to make it better and if your soil PH is low its only going to make it better - right?

2/6/2023 10:36:36 AM

Stanwood, Washington

Thanks Rick, that's what I was looking for. It looks like you can get a gallon of PH down for about 30 dollars on amazon. At your applied rate that would be about a gallon per month. That isnt too bad in the grand scheme of things. I think I am going to want to go lower than that with my Ph but I have a smaller patch and wont be watering 300 gallons per day

2/6/2023 10:48:19 AM

Lymington UK

The real sweet spot is pH 6.5. This is the spot when the highest amount of nutrients fall in the “available” mode.
Food for thought.
There is one key element that is rarely used on BP and that’s iron. We have never had iron deficiency in our patch but we’ve seen it many times in our commercial crops.
It’s extremely easy to mix up with magnesium deficiency but if you know you have iron deficiency, it’s easy to fix the problem.
There are plenty of foliar feeds but the reason I’ve highlighted on this thread is because of the pH.
If you recognise iron deficiency you can add it to your watering but you need to identify the pH range. This is because you can get different iron feeds to suit different water pH’s.
The bottom line.
Don’t panic if you have a high pH or a low pH, there are plenty of ways to deal with most scenarios.
Ian

2/6/2023 4:17:09 PM

San Diego, CA

I tested the pH of my city water a few weeks ago and was blown away to find it was 8. Same as Duster indicated for San Diego. It's ran through a whole house filter and a chloramine filter before leaving the end of the hose. I always blamed my high pH soil on Fox Farms, lol.

Sorry if this hijacks the thread a bit, but can some of you share your favorite pH meters for testing both plain water and a nutrient solution. I don't really trust the litmus strips i have as the color bands are much too difficult to decipher.

2/6/2023 7:53:46 PM

Alaska

High pH isn't necessarily bad. It's high alkalinity that's a problem. High alkalinity has more influence and impact on your soils buffering ability. Alkalinity levels between 30 and 60 ppm are considered optimum for most plants.

2/6/2023 7:59:22 PM

Grittyville, WA

Yeah iron isnt mentioned much on here but since Captain 97 is a fellow Pacific NW grower, I will say that our soil here may test high but its not necessarily in the form that is most available to the plant, and it might be beneficial to add a chelated iron. A tissue test to see which nutrients are getting too locked up might be cheaper than making assumptions about what will or wont be available as a result of changing the ph.

2nd thought: Rain barrels? It doesnt usually rain enough for it to be the sole water supply. But it might be helpful to have an alternate water source.

2/6/2023 11:32:26 PM