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water ripening / growing and water ph.

P

pwb

after i started a week ago with using citric acid in my water that had ph of 7.0 but with some citrix acid it goes down to 5.5/6.0. After two watering its looks like the plants grow faster and the pod ripes faster, some of the plants really started to grow fast the last two days and more pods seems to ripen faster. Is it the lowering of ph on the water that could do this? Its a long time since i gave them bigger pots, so i dont think its the change of pot size that did it. The other thing i did was using litle epsom salt in the water (not as spray).
 
It really depends on your soil acidity to start with.  If it is basic(pH of more than 7) then acidifying the soil will be advantagous to the plants.  Why were you adding citric acid to the water to begin with?
 
It is hard to say what has caused the change as you have a few variables at play.  It could be something else completely like the weather getting warmer or more sunlight hours.
 
I've seen recommendations of pH for chiles between 5.0 and 7.0, depending on the source. NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute recommends pH of 6.5. So regardless of whose advise you use, you're not far off with pH of 7.0. Won't hurt to lower it a tad from time to time, though. 
 
I agree that it's hard to determine the source(s) of improvement based on the info you provided. Chiles don't produce well below 60F or above 95F, so the temp in your area can make a big difference. All the typical things in addition to pH apply. 
 
My tap water is quite a high PH, I have been reducing it to about PH 6 using citric acid for the past few weeks.
So far so good, and I have used it with every watering.(and when I have fertilized)
Plants do look healthier to me
 
nzchili said:
My tap water is quite a high PH, I have been reducing it to about PH 6 using citric acid for the past few weeks.
So far so good, and I have used it with every watering.(and when I have fertilized)
Plants do look healthier to me
Click to expand...
How much citric acid have you been using? I have high pH tap water also and our rain barrels are running low. Our pH runs from 7.7 to 8.2. I think my soil may also be alkaline but I need to confirm this.
 
My tap water is around 7.8 to 8 PH.
 
I usually keep the PH meter sitting in the water while I mix it so I can see the PH drop as I add the citric acid - but I would estimate it takes about 1/8 a teaspoon, to bring 1 litre of PH 8 water, down to PH 6.5..it does not take much.
 
I would also suggest you sprinkle a little bit of sulphur around the base of your plants :)
 
Yes "IF" your soil pH is already where you want it then watering with neutral pH water is better than alkaline water.  Slightly acidic soil is best for increasing mineral availability, but as others have already noted, success level depends on multiple things.  Pods ripening faster is most likely just a matter of days gone by since they grew.  The first few pods seem to take forever but then once you have a few dozen or more, it's inevitable that ripe ones keep popping out.
 
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