I would change your RO filters and membrane something is very wrong, here in Hawaii we have the shitest water in the world with very high salt and ph. my RO brings into good range and taste.works great for a long time plants looked sickly, started watering with RO water Great growth and happy plants.
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Aluminum Sulfate
- Thread starter mmcdermott1
- Start date
Ok..now I am REALLY confused. I went through my plants when I got home. I have figured out, that out of 40+ varieties of plants, its ONLY the orange habs that are doing this. I have been growing this pepper longer than any pepper and have always found this to be an extremely forgiving and robust pepper plant. So with that said..all you super dooper pepper people out there help me out..whats the deal here?
I have a meter to test it. Looking at another one but it seems pretty accurate. The soil i use is supposed to be nuetral (7)..and if I stick the meter right in it..its about right on. Its after I start watering is when it starts going up. My water sucks
Why not just test the pH of the water? If you can do this please post the results because I have a feeling your meter is just sensitive to the amount of water in the soil. I will explain in detail if you post the results.
TLH..thats what I mean. What I do is mix my water until my pH reads around 6 to 6.5. Once I get it right, I water the plants (bottom). Once everyone has been given a drink, I put the meter down in the dirt and it reads like 7.5 to 8. So what do you think is going on?
Okay assuming your hard water is coming from a source rich to Calcium Carbonate and dolomite we can express the chemical equilbrium through the following reactions.
CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O <-> Ca2+ + 2HCO3-
CaMg(CO3)2 + CO2 + H2O <-> Ca2+ + 2HCO3-
HCO3- is called bicarbonate and your water source is full of this most likely if the above assumption is correct. Carbon Dioxide equilibrium with exists is a function of pH. See the following graph.
You can see that CO2 is in equilibrium with bicarbonate and carbonate ions as a function of pH. The maximum of HCO3- is between 7-9, about 8 from this photo. You can actually calculate the amount of bicarbonate in solution at a specific pH. However adding vinegar to your water will not fix your problem. As bicarbonate ion accumulates in the soil, it will continue to buffer the soil at this pH. pH doesnt work like you may think. Add a bit of acid to neutralize the base. This reaction
HCO3- + H <-> H2CO3
where H2CO3 is carbonic acid will only temporarily fix your problem. This reaction does nothing to eliminate the amount of possible HCO3- in the soil.
A pH of < 4 is needed to convert the bicarbonate ion to CO2 and then it will vent from the soil. You can't do this, it will kill your plants. How do you get rid of bicarbonate? Use a different water source if it bugs you. But you need to understand that using hard water eliminates the need to use CalMag if you add this your just making your problem worse. If you want to build a unit to fix your water, which is easy with low cost, I could possible write up the schematics for a DIY project. Hope this helps you understand.
CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O <-> Ca2+ + 2HCO3-
CaMg(CO3)2 + CO2 + H2O <-> Ca2+ + 2HCO3-
HCO3- is called bicarbonate and your water source is full of this most likely if the above assumption is correct. Carbon Dioxide equilibrium with exists is a function of pH. See the following graph.
You can see that CO2 is in equilibrium with bicarbonate and carbonate ions as a function of pH. The maximum of HCO3- is between 7-9, about 8 from this photo. You can actually calculate the amount of bicarbonate in solution at a specific pH. However adding vinegar to your water will not fix your problem. As bicarbonate ion accumulates in the soil, it will continue to buffer the soil at this pH. pH doesnt work like you may think. Add a bit of acid to neutralize the base. This reaction
HCO3- + H <-> H2CO3
where H2CO3 is carbonic acid will only temporarily fix your problem. This reaction does nothing to eliminate the amount of possible HCO3- in the soil.
A pH of < 4 is needed to convert the bicarbonate ion to CO2 and then it will vent from the soil. You can't do this, it will kill your plants. How do you get rid of bicarbonate? Use a different water source if it bugs you. But you need to understand that using hard water eliminates the need to use CalMag if you add this your just making your problem worse. If you want to build a unit to fix your water, which is easy with low cost, I could possible write up the schematics for a DIY project. Hope this helps you understand.
You can possibly leach your soil with alot of vinegar and water but it will take alot to get rid of all the bicarbonate ion and most likely leach all other important nutrients with it. Its a double edged sword.
Interested in what ya have. I have a RO system but its only 5 gallon. I think filters need changed but even with, 5 gallon system wouldn't be enough
I do have a cistern I use for gardening water but its REALLY cold so I don't use for indoor plants. It is very good collected rain water
Slow growth isn't a problem, in fact they are growing to dang fast quite honestly. Im even pinching off blooms daily. Just in the past week or so on my orange habs I am noticing curling leaves. Prior to this, I knew my pH was high but ignored it cause everything was growing well. After researching the curling leaf issue, I know its not to much water and its not to much fertilizer...only other thing I came across was lockout due to pH levels.
i have been looking at your other thread
i just want to say right here
your peppers look fantastic and i am jealous of them
you may want to just back it down a little and relax
if my grow was as sweet looking as yours i would be way proud of it
I THINK YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL
the orange habs with the curl of some leaves may be just varietal difference
how about you post a pic of some bhuts and manzanos you have
i bet they will make me even more jealous
i love pepper porn
i just want to say right here
your peppers look fantastic and i am jealous of them
you may want to just back it down a little and relax
if my grow was as sweet looking as yours i would be way proud of it
I THINK YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL
the orange habs with the curl of some leaves may be just varietal difference
how about you post a pic of some bhuts and manzanos you have
i bet they will make me even more jealous
i love pepper porn
my bhuts are doing well actually. Will post some pics tonight. manzano's are still short but very cool. Never grew before. They have a cool looking "fuzzy" looking leaf. The explosive embers are pretty to. A purple and green leaf. Will post pics later.
and thanks for the kind words on the plants. Just very nervous about my babies cause its my largest grow year to day and have put a ton of time into them and want them to survive
and thanks for the kind words on the plants. Just very nervous about my babies cause its my largest grow year to day and have put a ton of time into them and want them to survive
from what i have been reading here, i notice you are testing the ph of the water not the soil. have u ever tried measuring the ph of the soil with bottled mineral water (neutral water ) ?? what's important here is that the ph of the soil is neutral or (6.5 -7.5). you are contaminating the soil with your alkaline water. if there is compost etc or rotting materials in the soil it will make it a bit acidic and your alkaline water might be neutralizing it, have you thought of that ??
well this just my opinion.....
good luck.
Ps. you have got nice plants
) if you are worried if your water is rendering your plant from absorbing certain nutes? spray feed them that way you are directly feeding them thru their leaves. srin
yea i measure the water before putting in soil and then again after its in the soil. fine going in, crap once its in there.
I was actually thinking of foliar feeding next time so I know they get some nuits. my chinese for sure have some bumps so might need a little calcium and a bit of upcurl. I read foliar feeding with Cal-Mag will help both of those issues.
thanks for the input
yea i measure the water before putting in soil and then again after its in the soil. fine going in, crap once its in there.
I was actually thinking of foliar feeding next time so I know they get some nuits. my chinese for sure have some bumps so might need a little calcium and a bit of upcurl. I read foliar feeding with Cal-Mag will help both of those issues.
thanks for the input