water what's your water ph?

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

There's something wrong if your vinegar is ph 6

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

I tested the vinegar before I did anything to it. Thats what the meter read. I can't argue with that. Do I need to buy another meter maybe?

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

I'd try some different vinegar first

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

Straight vinegar should be too strong for a regular ph metre to register.

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

POTAWIE said:
Straight vinegar should be too strong for a regular ph metre to register.

I kept testing the water as I was adding the vinegar, and it was only bringing it down about .5 points per big splash. So even if the ph meter wasn't reading the vinegar properly, it should have been reading the altered water correctly... I think...

Ugh... I'm worried now...

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

Do you have calibration solutions or is your metre not adjustable?

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

POTAWIE said:
Do you have calibration solutions or is your metre not adjustable?

This is what I have:

http://www.burpee.com/product/gardening+supplies/garden+growing/electric+soil+tester.do

I just found this online:

What is the pH of vinegar?
In: Chemistry

Answer
The pH of vinegar depends upon how much acid is present, but most commercial distilled white vinegars contain 5% acetic acid and have a pH of about 2.4.

AAHH!! .... I'm assuming that tester I got is either junk or doesn't work with liquids... Hopefully my plants aren't totally ruined

I don't think I'll be trying to alter the ph of my water again... They've been ok with 7.5 so far, so they'll keep getting 7.5...

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

Don't use that metre for water, you want a meter that's made for liquid and one that can be calibrated at around 4 and 7 Ph

Pam · Mar 11, 2008

Go home and flush them with lots of water tonight.

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

POTAWIE said:
Don't use that metre for water, you want a meter that's made for liquid and one that can be calibrated at around 4 and 7 Ph

I'll go to home depot after work today and find one. Thank you everyone for the advice. I would have killed my plants for sure. Hopefully they'll be ok. Thankfully I didn't water my girlfriends vegetables - she'd kill me if I killed them.

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

Pam said:
Go home and flush them with lots of water tonight.

I will!!! Thank you Pam!

POTAWIE · Mar 11, 2008

I don't know if home depot would carry them, you might have to find a hydro shop.

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

POTAWIE said:
I don't know if home depot would carry them, you might have to find a hydro shop.

I haven't found a nursery that's open yet (it's still too cold here). If Home Depot or Lowes doesn't have it, I don't think anywhere will

willard3 · Mar 11, 2008

Really what you want to do is measure soil Ph which will be influenced by many variables.

If you want to measure Ph in liquids, the meter you want is readily available at hydro stores.

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=PHEP510

This one is kind of expensive and there are others that are just as good at less cost.

klyth · Mar 11, 2008

willard3 said:
Really what you want to do is measure soil Ph which will be influenced by many variables.

If you want to measure Ph in liquids, the meter you want is readily available at hydro stores.

http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=PHEP510

This one is kind of expensive and there are others that are just as good at less cost.

I've never grown anything hydro, so I don't know of any stores. Superpages.com isn't turning anything useful up. I'll just have to ask around at the store tonight.