Water quality report from November 2012:
This report lines up with what I saw during my hydroponic grow. I was getting about 9.3 pH at the tap according to my meter. Couldn't measure EC of plain tap water with my meter since it was below the cutoff level of my truncheon. In the past with hydro & container gardening I've always pH balanced my water which is fairly easy to manage on a small scale.
However, I do not have very much experience gardening in raised beds, only 2 good seasons under my belt. So far I haven't noticed a problem with nutrient imbalance due to pH but I was wondering if continually watering with such high pH water will cause problems in the long run? There really isn't a good way for me to pH balance the water I use on my raised bed due to location & size. The bed is in a community garden at work & there isn't really a good way for me to set up an irrigation system & thus am stuck watering straight out of the hose.
So basically I'm wondering if this will be of concern & if so is there anything I can do about it? Soil amendments to buffer pH perhaps? I'm going to test the pH of the garden soil before planting & again a couple times during the season to keep an eye on it.
Luckily where my container garden will be this year the tap water is much better, measuring right at 7.4.
This report lines up with what I saw during my hydroponic grow. I was getting about 9.3 pH at the tap according to my meter. Couldn't measure EC of plain tap water with my meter since it was below the cutoff level of my truncheon. In the past with hydro & container gardening I've always pH balanced my water which is fairly easy to manage on a small scale.
However, I do not have very much experience gardening in raised beds, only 2 good seasons under my belt. So far I haven't noticed a problem with nutrient imbalance due to pH but I was wondering if continually watering with such high pH water will cause problems in the long run? There really isn't a good way for me to pH balance the water I use on my raised bed due to location & size. The bed is in a community garden at work & there isn't really a good way for me to set up an irrigation system & thus am stuck watering straight out of the hose.
So basically I'm wondering if this will be of concern & if so is there anything I can do about it? Soil amendments to buffer pH perhaps? I'm going to test the pH of the garden soil before planting & again a couple times during the season to keep an eye on it.
Luckily where my container garden will be this year the tap water is much better, measuring right at 7.4.