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soil A few Q's on magnesium, calcium, soil acidity, etc...

gasificada

gasificada

Magnesium: How do I know if my plants need more? What are the signs of magnesium deficiency?

If I'm using epsom salt, what's a good dose/ratio, and how often should I use it?

Calcium? Same question: How do I know, etc...

And is too much Magnesium and Calcium bad? (not talking about 'too much' as in 'too highly concentrated', but rather, 'too much' as in 'continual watering with a properly diluted solution', etc..)

And lastly, soil pH: If I wanted to make soil a little more acidic in a pot that has a plant growing in it, would I use diluted vinegar to water the soil? If so, what's a good ratio (water/vinegar) and would I just use standard white vinegar?

Cheers!
 
I've been using epsom salt once a week to spray on the leaves.
1 tbl. spoon per gallon of water.

As far as calcium, ive read that peppers especially Chinense varieties use alot of calsium.
I use 1 tbl. spoon of organic bone meal once a month per plant.
Mix into the top soil and water in.

From what others have said here soil PH should be between 6.5 - 6.8 idealy.
I think you can lower the PH by using diluted vinegar or maybee coffee grounds.
To raise the PH you can use some garden lime
 
You can tell that your plants need magnesium when the leaves go light green or start to yellow. This isn't to be confused with the lower, older leaves going yellow and falling off. It's usually most evident on the new growth or near the tops of the plant. A weekly or bi-weekly foliar feeding (early morning or late evening) with epsom salts is good preventative action. I light misting is all that's needed. Don't spray it on until the plant is dripping. Like FTB said, mix it at 1 TBSP per Gallon of water. You can also put a pinch or two onto the surface and water it in when needed.

Bone meal is a good way to get the extra calcium needed. It's better to be preventative on this one as well because it takes a little bit of time for the meal to break down. Calcium also tends to move slower throughout the plant. There are other liquid fertilizers that have calcium and magnesium mixed together, but using them depends on how much you want to spend or a personal aversion to fertilizer. Other sources of calcium include, lime and dolomitic lime, and to a lesser extent worm castings. Symptoms of a calcium deficiency include leaf curl and 'bumpy' leaves usually in the young/younger growth. Be careful with adding lime because it can throw the ph balance off by raising it if you add too much.

You can temporarily lower your ph by adding small amounts of diluted distilled white vinegar. The exact ratio used in diluting it depends on how much you need to lower your ph. In my case I'm mixing 10ml per liter in order to lower my ph from 7 to 6.5-6.8ish. I had to play with the amount and water it into a couple of plants then test the ph before I was able to get it correct. Your amount may be different.
 
Blister said:
The exact ratio used in diluting it depends on how much you need to lower your ph. In my case I'm mixing 10ml per liter in order to lower my ph from 7 to 6.5-6.8ish. I had to play with the amount and water it into a couple of plants then test the ph before I was able to get it correct. Your amount may be different.
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Hmmm, what would be a safe ratio? My ph seems to be pretty high (my ph meter doesn't go higher than 7 and it sits at 7... so i don't know how much higher it is).

And is this something that is safe to do frequently if the soil doesn't want to stay acidic enough?

cheers!
 
I've used it a couple of times now and haven't harmed my plants YET. I can't guarantee that it won't harm your plants.

I said that it's a temporary measure because I've noticed that my soil tends to revert back to neutral (7) after a few waterings. In fact, I just took another reading and my soil is back to neutral despite being in the 6.5-6.8 range last time I watered them.

I have seen others recommend using 1 TBSP per gallon here on THP, but it seems to me that each case is going to be different and depends on the initial ph of your soil. Basically all I did was start with a very small amount of distilled white vinegar and worked my way up from there. I tested the soil after each increase in dosage. I started at 2.5ml/liter, then increased to 5ml/liter until I finally got up to 10ml/liter. I was able to reduce my ph from neutral (7) down to 6.5-6.8ish. I'd recommend that you do the same. Start low and work your way up. I'm still looking for other ways to reduce the ph, but haven't really found too many solutions just yet. There's a TON of information on increasing ph, but not so much for the other way around.
 
Hmm, yeah, I've heard that vinegar is only a very temporary solution - that's why I was wondering if frequent applications would cause harm or not.

I'll most definitely start small and see how I go.

I might even grow a few "test" plants to help me learn some stuff with one of them dedicated to frequent vinegar watering test.
 
I just got back from the local nursery here in town and found a 2KG box of Aluminum Sulphate made by Evergro. It's a more permanent solution to neutral or higher alkaline soils. It's even got fairly large letters on the front of the box that says "Use to reduce soil pH for acid-loving plants" :doh: I dunno why I didn't see it before. It's actually not that expensive either. I paid $14.99 for a 2KG box and probably won't need much at all. Call around the nurseries in your area and see if you can find it.
 
Blister said:
I just got back from the local nursery here in town and found a 2KG box of Aluminum Sulphate made by Evergro. It's a more permanent solution to neutral or higher alkaline soils. It's even got fairly large letters on the front of the box that says "Use to reduce soil pH for acid-loving plants" :doh: I dunno why I didn't see it before. It's actually not that expensive either. I paid $14.99 for a 2KG box and probably won't need much at all. Call around the nurseries in your area and see if you can find it.
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Hmm, Aluminum Sulphate... it sounds toxic :shocked:

Let me know how it goes though; if it's effective and you only need a little, I will probably have to consider it... I need something to lower pH here!
 
The PH in my pots is around 5 - 5.5

I should have some lime by Monday but I'm questioning weather or not to use it since the plants seems to be very healthy.

I dont think any thing is exact science when it comes to gardening
 
FadeToBlack said:
The PH in my pots is around 5 - 5.5

I should have some lime by Monday but I'm questioning weather or not to use it since the plants seems to be very healthy.

I dont think any thing is exact science when it comes to gardening
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah, I think I'm stressing a little to much... and missing out on all the fun!

I've been told before that pH is not a huge issue and I'm guessing that nutes are probably more important anyway (i did say "guessing"). I'm just a bit worried that my soil may be too alkaline.. it's hard to tell with the cheap-ass pH meter that I have. I'll try the vinegar first, see if it makes a difference, then deal with other solutions when and if I need to... (just remind me of my resolution or I'm gonna start stressing again in a day or two! hahaha)
 
i guess having a ph level of 7 should be ok . it does not affect the plant at this ph level. i got into problems when i adjusted my soil ph from 5 to 7. i think i adjusted it too fast.. the plant has to adapt to the changes if not it goes in to shock.

if its ph 7 , i feel its ok. if your plants look ok. don't adjust the levels of ph .
see chart below
http://www.avocadosource.com/tools/FertCalc_files/pH.htm
 
Great thread , stuff I wish I would have known before my growing season was over. It seems some of you use Epsom Salt way more than I did.

gasificada ..... if you have one of those pH meters with a single rod you stick in ground those aren't very good at all. I raised African Violets for a while. You needed to keep up with your pH good to get lots of flowers. My pH meter like that wasn't worth a hoot. I could get as close by tossing a coin.

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
P. Dreadie said:
Great thread , stuff I wish I would have known before my growing season was over. It seems some of you use Epsom Salt way more than I did.

gasificada ..... if you have one of those pH meters with a single rod you stick in ground those aren't very good at all. I raised African Violets for a while. You needed to keep up with your pH good to get lots of flowers. My pH meter like that wasn't worth a hoot. I could get as close by tossing a coin.

Peace,
P. Dreadie
Click to expand...

hi Dreadie ,
i got a 3 rod soil tester and i feel sometimes it is not giving accurate readings because sometimes the meter just over shoots the ph 1 . i mean how can the soil be so acidic !!!!

how to you propose to check the ph ??
i got these ph check strips which we use to check liquids.
any idea ?
 
srin2 ,

With potted plants like African Violets it was pretty simple. I used a pH Pen like the Milwaukee Digital pH pen. There are other brands. With these pens you have calibration pH solutions (pH 4.0 & 7.0 ) so you can set your meter and know it's correct to start with.

Now you don't stick these in the soil , they test liquids . So I would get a gallon of water or how much I thought I needed. I'd correct the pH of the water. Then water the plant and catch the run off and test it. If the pH was a lot higher or lower I knew I needed to correct the pH of the soil.

I like meters because they tell you with digits what the pH is. For me those strips are harder to use but many people do great with them. The idea is to get the pH as close as you can to what you want. That's the best you can do and the pH will change with time.

I hope that helped a little.

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
FadeToBlack ,

Can you calibrate yours ?? If so you could check to see if it's right and if not correct it.

Peace,
P. Dreadie
 
well, you guys have a prong up on me, I only have the cheap single prong meter :D. I've never really thought about calibration with these things.
 
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