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Some kind of disease/damage/imbalance - The PH is too damn high!!

StupidJerk

StupidJerk

Two of my plants are getting really ugly, really fast. I'm not sure what it is. I've been advised on my grow log that I should probably pull them. Anyone know what this is?
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looks like what mine looked like after some major root damage during transplant. they bounced back. could this be your issue?
 
Your in a community grow right? Check your neighbors for similar issues. Things spread. Also it could be damage from someones chemical spray. Weed killer etc. I had damage once near a fence  then I saw gardners using Roundup which drifted into my peppers.  Not to say that is it but look around.
 
Yeah, there are over 500 plots within a very short distance, and most are growing peppers and tomatoes. If there is a mottle virus going around it is going to be a sad summer.


Should I pull them and use aspirin water on the other plants?
 
I agree with guru.
Its sometimes easy to assume the worst when it comes to gardening simply because of the vast amount of information we now have access too via the net and the fact that maybe 20 'experts' have an opinion that we have access too.

In the good old days most people learnt via inheriting knowledge from local gardeners (often parents and grandparents) and might have had 1-2 good gardening books for reference (usually written by a long time gardener and trained horticultureralist) .

I am not saying that was the perfect scenario either but with the shear amount of information out there now (a good portion of it useless opinion) its impossible to be certain.

Keep with the KISS principle until you have exhausted all simple possible causes. 9 times out of 10 that will fix most issues
In other words 'Keep It Simple Stupid'
 
Well, I got one of the dropper PH test kits and the PH in that bed is much higher than it was when I amended it. I think my problem is a combination of high alkalinity and spider mites. Anyone have and good suggestions on how to bring the PH of the soil to a reasonable level? I added lots of peat when I amended the beds, but it seems the PH climbed back up. Either I didn't add enough, or our extremely alkaline water is bringing the PH up.
 
Use Citric Acid in the water to bring your pH down before watering if you need it (or often fish ferts will bring the pH down as well) you don't need very much at all.  In terms of dramatically lowering the soil pH quickly you can use Sulphur but beware that this will destroy many of the beneficial bacteria within the soil itself.  If you are willing to wait it out add pine needles and good compost and composted manures  and mulch with pine bark and over time coupled with lowering the pH of the water you are adding to the plot it should come down to a suitable level.  
 
Do you mind me asking what the pH was?
 
I don't have an exact number because I was using one of the dropper tests, but it looked to be around 7.5.

I have pine needles as mulch and manure mixed in the beds, so I suppose it will get better with time. I would add something to lower the ph of the water, but unfortunately the plot is auto-watered with a sprinkler system once a week. With the mulch I have it doesn't need to be watered any more than that.

I might be wrong about the water itself being alkaline, I haven't actually tested it.

BTW, what do you use to check your ph? I used a kit similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Luster-Leaf-1601-Rapitest-Soil/dp/B0000DI845

Thanks for the help everyone.

I'm looking at my water report: https://www.ladwp.com/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=OPLADWP014833&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased

As far as I can tell from that, my water PH is somewhere between 7.0 and 8.8.
 
What's the best way to feed the soil when it is automatically watered each week with high ph water? Should I put a top dressing of manure over my mulch of wood chips, leaves, and pine needles? Maybe some worm castings as well?

I read somewhere that a compost tea high in fungi will help to lower ph as well. Any good tips on this? Sorry I'm asking so many questions, just want to get as many opinions as possible.
 
When you say automatically watered, what do you mean? If you have no control over it, and everything gets watered with it, then simply adding more compost, manure, (things high in nutrient content) into the mulch around each plant will help get your ph down a bit. What type of "feeding" have you been doing?


That interveinal chlorosis in the pics there are also a sign of overwatering, i.e flushing the soil too much, ie raising the ph too much...etc etc
 
It's in a community garden plot that gets automatically watered once each week with a sprinkler system. I wish I could stop it somehow, but that's the way it is. I live in an apartment, so it's the only way I can have a garden. Maybe there are some herbs or something I could plant between the peppers that would help soak up some of the water as they grow?

I give them fish fertilizer about once every two weeks, and seaweed extract once a month. I also gave a foliar feed of seaweed extract last week.
 
Here's a good read to get you thinking in the right direction. These guys are talking about the southwest but it still applies to alkaline soils. Some good comments in there:
 
http://www.soilsecretsblog.com/2012/02/fertilizers-formulated-for-alkaline.html


Honestly, your mulch there, given enough time will correct most of your issues as it breaks down and builds your soil food web. :)


And don't forget, adding acid to a base makes salt....horrible for soil. So don't just try making an acidic solution to water with, it will only create more issues. Time and mulch heals all wounds
 
Pepper-Guru said:
And don't forget, adding acid to a base makes salt....horrible for soil. So don't just try making an acidic solution to water with, it will only create more issues. Time and mulch heals all wounds
Click to expand...
But it makes a really cool volcano!

Good information. I've become really interested in the soil food web recently, and I would be really hesitant to add anything that would damage the life in my soil. I think I'm going to add some manure on top of my mulch, in the hopes that it helps it break down faster and heal what's below. Does that make sense? I've only had this plot since January, and the person before me used chemical fertilizers for a decade or so until she decided to start growing in containers only. Luckily she left it undisturbed for a few years before I took it over, so it had a bit of a rest. I ended up tilling it manually because it was very compacted and had a weed cloth under it.

I plan on keeping the plot as long as I live in the area, and once I have my own yard using it to produce low maintenance crops for food banks. I'm also hoping I can get some of the more conventional gardeners to start noticing and learning to use more sustainable methods. Some people are out there every day watering their bare soil and are a bit shocked when I tell them I don't do any manual watering at all. Very few people there use any kind of top mulch at all. It's sad when you consider all of the work that goes in to importing water into this area.
 
Dude, for sure! I always love having people turn their nose up at the things I do, but then seem amazed at the yeilds, plant size, and apparent lack of watering and feeding in the end! Its priceless. In fact, I haven't watered my containers OR the I ground plants yet this season and the been in for about a month and a half. :)   


In the end, its just that people end up doing what they know and have been taught. For so long, if someone's been doing something continually, the same way, its often hard for them to grasp new concepts. Perfect example: The Dust Bowl.
 
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