[gOurd^jr.]

Well I've got a few so here goes. I am thinking about working some peat moss into my mix to bring the PH down a bit. My water comes out the tp around 7.5 and my mix doesn't counterbalance enough, I've been using lemon juice (from my tree) to bring the water down to about 6 before watering and this helps tremendously but next time I'd like to start out in a better range to begin with.

Thing Is i don't really know how acidic peat breaks down and thus how much to add in my mix. Heres the current mix all figures are estimates, but pretty good ones.
~60% OMNI brand organic planting compost-i love this stuff its dark, rich, and at about 4$ a bag from Home Depot very affordable.It is heavy though so i add
~20% Coco-coir to lighten the mix abit and get better aeration/drainage
~10% perlite to lighten the mix a bit and get better aeration/drainage
~10% worm castings-well who doesn't like worm castings.
I am working to get the mix as "stand alone" as possible so I add per cubic foot mix about 1/4-1/2 cup of each of the following


Kelp meal for K
Bone meal for N
Blood meal for P, Ca
Organic bloom food 3-6-6-this is a local product containing several guanos, meals and other organic goodies.
Dolomite lime- should I cut this out or keep it around for buffering?

If needed I also have Alaska fish 5-1-1 for Nitro boost and High P guano for tea purposes. I plan to work some molasses into my feeding regimen too.

I am thinking I'll cut the coco out as its basically inert and has a very similar texture to the peat. I'll keep the compost at about 60% and get the rest from more or less equal parts peat, perlite and EWC 10-15% each sound good??

Last ? how long will it take the peat to bring down PH, a couple days, a couple weeks, a couple months?? any and all comments greatly appreciated.

peace love positivity

[BurnOne]

Use the dolomite and throw that fuckin' pH meter away. It's organics.
Burn1

[sproutco]

I think I would reduce the dolomite lime and add some powdered gypsum and epsom salts in the water to supply more calcium and magnesium. I add 1/4 teaspoon of each per gallon of water every third or fourth fert along with the regular fert to boost cal/mag levels when using reduced dolomite lime. Neither of these are organic because they don't contain carbon. Peatmoss will have a ph of around 4 right from the start. I think the effect will be instant. You might make a small batch of soil with the same rate of the intended ingredients. Wet well. Wait a week. Test ph. You would then have an idea of what would happen on a large batch.

[BurnOne]

Dolomite isn't organic. Organic means it once lived. But it is natural and you want it in peat based mediums. It will provide all the calcium and magnesium your plants will need. 2 tbs./gal. of complete mix.
Humus (humates) will buffer the pH of organic nutes. Have plenty of worm castings and/or compost in your grow medium and you'll never have to worry about pH again.
Burn1

[sproutco]

Originally Posted by BurnOne

it is natural

Gypsum and epsom salts are also natural minerals/compounds. I just wasn't sure what "rules" the organic soil growers were using for additions to there plants. When I took organic chemistry in college, everything revolved around carbon.

[gOurd^jr.]

Well I appreciate all your comments guys, thanks.
Burn1, I know its organics and all, not that I'm super strict about that. However I clearly do need to worry about pH, I think mostly cause my water is so basic, but nonetheless can't do no harm to know whats going on with my pH.
sproutco, pH4 from the start eh? that helps alot thanks, and btw I do feed with epsom if I see signs of Mg def, which is not rare by any means
Guess I'll have to do some backyard experimenting with my numbers to see what I get.

Thanks again for all your comments and if you got anything else to add please do!

peace love positivity

[Verite]

Humates isnt the fix-all to poor ph management by tossing a mix of acidic and alkaline ferts unbuffered into your medium.

In fact poor ph management is actually counter-productive to the growth of the humates in the organic mix.

... Ultimately, building organic matter and humus levels in the soil is a matter of managing the soil's living organisms—something akin to wildlife management or animal husbandry. This entails working to maintain favorable conditions of moisture, temperature, nutrients, pH, and aeration. It also involves providing a steady food source of raw organic material...

https://www.attra.org/attra-pub/soilmgmt.html