First of all, when I say "pH isn't important in soil," I do not mean that the pH of the soil isn't important....what I do mean, precisely, is that adjusting the pH of your nutrient/water isn't important.
Why is that? Think of a bucket of soil like a huge jug of pH down, and another huge jug of pH up. It's a buffer. You can water with pH of 8....and the runoff will be 6.5ish.....you can water with pH 4......runoff same. More importantly, the actual pH of the soil stays very stable.
Why? Well, first there's the physical properties of the stuff that makes soil: Peat, barks, organic matter, lime, etc.
But even more important than that is the microbial action in the soilweb.....the stuff that lives around and inside the roots. The microbes are constantly adjusting pH on a microscopic and macroscopic level.
There is a profound misundertanding on these forums when it comes to pH and soil.
If you build your soil properly, there is absolutely no need to adjust the pH of the feed water...provided:
1.)decent sized container
2.)Total alkalinity of the water is reasonable
There are millions of houseplants, vegetable gardens and flower gardens whose gardeners never check pH......they just buy soil at K-mart or HomeDepot.....fill a pot, and grow plants.
Pot Forum mythology has greatly overcomplicated things!!!
For example...adding a bunch of phosphoric acid to a gallon of nutrient solution greatly increases the amount of Phosphorus in the mix.....excess phosphorus inhibits uptake of zinc, iron and copper.....so the hapless gardener begins a long odyssey of adding this, adjusting that, trying a new soil, etc.
They look at other gardeners who have gorgeous plants, and wonder why they have trouble.....
Bottom line: If you're a soil gardener, just relax! Make up a good soil, use a large pot, periodically re-charge the microherd and add organic matter and molasses.....and relax! The plants will grow.....
Soil is not hydro! Everthing I said above does NOT apply to hydro.
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Why is that? Think of a bucket of soil like a huge jug of pH down, and another huge jug of pH up. It's a buffer. You can water with pH of 8....and the runoff will be 6.5ish.....you can water with pH 4......runoff same. More importantly, the actual pH of the soil stays very stable.
Why? Well, first there's the physical properties of the stuff that makes soil: Peat, barks, organic matter, lime, etc.
But even more important than that is the microbial action in the soilweb.....the stuff that lives around and inside the roots. The microbes are constantly adjusting pH on a microscopic and macroscopic level.
There is a profound misundertanding on these forums when it comes to pH and soil.
If you build your soil properly, there is absolutely no need to adjust the pH of the feed water...provided:
1.)decent sized container
2.)Total alkalinity of the water is reasonable
There are millions of houseplants, vegetable gardens and flower gardens whose gardeners never check pH......they just buy soil at K-mart or HomeDepot.....fill a pot, and grow plants.
Pot Forum mythology has greatly overcomplicated things!!!
For example...adding a bunch of phosphoric acid to a gallon of nutrient solution greatly increases the amount of Phosphorus in the mix.....excess phosphorus inhibits uptake of zinc, iron and copper.....so the hapless gardener begins a long odyssey of adding this, adjusting that, trying a new soil, etc.
They look at other gardeners who have gorgeous plants, and wonder why they have trouble.....
Bottom line: If you're a soil gardener, just relax! Make up a good soil, use a large pot, periodically re-charge the microherd and add organic matter and molasses.....and relax! The plants will grow.....
Soil is not hydro! Everthing I said above does NOT apply to hydro.
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