PH Level Of Runoff

[Brosnan2]

Ph very high in my runoff.

So i made a new mix. Tried sumthin different this time.

Canna Terra
perlite
Vermiculitre
lime
Calcium peroxide

i watered with 6.5 and runoff was 9.1

Is this considered high?

 

[xX Kid Twist Xx]

how much water did u run threw it?

 

[ooS0uPoo]

I aim for 6.3.... otherwise lock out fur shur :lock:

 

[Brosnan2]

figured it out.

calcium peroxide raises the soil ph by about 2 points.
so gotta figure out a way to lower the soil ph now.

 

[Brosnan2]

i ran about 2 litres. thru it...i had tons of runn off.

i tested the run of my other soil...exact same mix without calcium peroxide. and the runn of was 6.2 or so.

dam calcium peroxide. any suggestions on lowering soil ph?

 

[xX Kid Twist Xx]

if u have lime you don't need calcium peroxide? peat moss maybe lowers ph i for get

 

[Brosnan2]

if u have lime you don't need calcium peroxide? peat moss maybe lowers ph i for get

lime doesnt oxygenate the soil the way calcium peroxide does. so thats why i used it.

:wondering

 

[budboy299]

Right on KidTwist! I checked into it to see for myself and every site I went on says the same thing...highly acidic. Not for use with plants that do not like acidic soil.
Good thing MJ likes it a bit on the acidic side of the scale.

 

[Brosnan2]

so if i take my soil and and add 50% peat moss....it should lower the ph?

 

[Brosnan2]

found this for anyone interested.

If your soil is alkaline, you can lower your soil's pH or make it more acidic by using several products. These include sphagnum peat, elemental sulfur, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, acidifying nitrogen, and organic mulches.

An excellent way to lower the pH of small beds or garden areas is the addition of sphagnum peat. (The pH of Canadian sphagnum peat generally ranges from 3.0 to 4.5.) Sphagnum peat is also a good source of organic matter. On small garden plots, add a one to two inch layer of sphagnum peat and work it into the top 8 to 12 inches of soil before planting. The addition of sphagnum peat to large areas would be cost prohibitive.

 

[budboy299]

Depends on what stage your plants are at. To be honest, if I were to do all the work of mixing in peat moss on an established plant...I think I would simply get as much soil away from the plant without damaging it and start with fresh soil minus the calcium peroxide.

I think I would lean towards fresh soil as opposed to try to fix an already existing problem, if that makes any sense.

A few things in there really aren't needed in my opinion...

Vermiculite is sometimes added to help retain water and stretch the soil. It also though will compact a fair deal which is counter-productive.

Lime...if you type in "liming soil" you will see all kinds of references to lime raising the PH of soil. Lots of ppl add it for buffering etc but with yourself..you are already having a problem of very high PH

Calcium peroxide...you probably are far more knowledged about this compound than I so can't really comment on it. But if you found it raises PH and its making the PH out of range. Better to mix up some more soil than try to rescue what you have.
Who knows how much Peat would even be needed to try and bring it back into line. You could be facing a never ending battle with it,

 

[mastacheeser]

wont running the vermi and the peroxide together just kill the vermi right away?