Raising soil PH

[Creeperpark]

Soil acidity is your friend because nutrients are more available when the pH is below 7. If you've ever seen acid dropped on a piece of metal you will see it bubbles. Those bubbles are the liquid metal from the metal and if it wasn't for the acid in the water the nutrients wouldn't be available. Think about how much more soluble salt is compared to metal.

 

[Dime]

Lime has a pH of 6.5 and dolomite lime has a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

I was referring to slake,I'm no expert but I think there are 2 types of lime used in agriculture,I think dolomite adds more magnesium so if the soil is in need of it that is used,the mesh used in screening has an effect on how much the soil PH is raised and how quickly I believe as well because it isn't really doesn't blend with water .I think the higher mesh raises the PH higher. The target is neutral or hopefully a 1/5th of a point under for fields,we sell it from our aggregate dock@50 mesh. Everything is an estimate for amount needed and fields will have slightly different PH throughout as well. i could well be wrong though so if I am,help me out.

 

[Creeperpark]

It has the same pH but the the finer micron the faster the reaction.

Research shows that finer limes (a high proportion of particles less than 0.5mm) increase pH faster, which is necessary for the rapid amelioration of acidic soil. Google

 

[Three Berries]

 

[flylowgethigh]

Ground up Oyster shells (I think BAS has them, or Redbud) do a nice job raising the pH of soil. I added a bunch of dolomite lime to one of my tubs, and the plants are bushier than they should be right now..

My philosophy is to have soil that is basic, ie above 7.0 pH. Closer to 8 is OK. Then the water at pH 6.3 can react. When I put a pH probe in soil that has roots and happy microbes, the basic soil registers a pH around 4 or lower. I call that 'sparkin', and I believe it is the cation exchange in action with lots of ions able to migrate to the roots. Ca+, Mg+, H+... those are ions.

 

[Hammerhead]

Every soilless medium mix I've tested is 5.5-6. If the medium is too alkaline cannabis will not grow well. Most of us grow in a soilless mix or hydro. In general, pH levels outside of the optimal range of 5.8 – 6.3 will limit growth. Growing in soil is what you find outside not in a bag. You can feed a higher ph of 6.3-6.8 as the soil is a buffer. Microbes like a neutral PH. There are a ton of PH charts for growing cannabis.

 

[Brother Nature]

Your plant looks beautiful and that's because you have the correct pH. You wrote above the plants seem to be growing totally fine at the moment. That's because the pH is supposed to be low and where it is. The water you're giving the plants has a pH of 7.5 and that equalizes the balance making a healthy pH in your root zone. Don't add a bunch of alkalinity to the root zone because you can lock out major nutrients in flowering. .

Every soilless medium mix I've tested is 5.5-6. If the medium is too alkaline cannabis will not grow well. Most of us grow in a soilless mix or hydro. In general, pH levels outside of the optimal range of 5.8 – 6.3 will limit growth. Growing in soil is what you find outside not in a bag. You can feed a higher ph of 6.3-6.8 as the soil is a buffer. Microbes like a neutral PH. There are a ton of PH charts for growing cannabis.

So for an update on my specific issue, these were the two posts that frame the issue best. Firstly, my mindset was not soilless, but soil, so my initial soil ph wasn't really an issue. I really didn't need to adjust or do anything different than I was in the first place.

The plants I used the calcium carbonate on are now at a very good soil ph of 6.1-6.3, but so are the ones I didn't fuck with and they're a lot healthier looking. The high PH feeds from the calcium carbonate caused a slight iron deficiency in one of the plants that I used it on. The specific plant was a heavy feeder and I was being overcautious and under feeding as well as trying to lift the soil ph, which worked, but caused other issues.

Sometimes you just gotta trust your plants.