adding Baking Soda to raise Ph safE?

[SMoKING Blees]

?adding Baking Soda to raise Ph safE?

 

[leafminer]

Hmmm.... baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. It's not really a base, it is a salt, though it acts like a base. It cannot raise the pH above 7 due to ionisation constants. Whereas sodium carbonate is stronger and can raise pH as high as 11.5

 

[Alistair]

The lady at the hydro store discouraged me from using baking soda, because it is a salt and we don't want salts building up in the soil. Salts can upset the osmotic balance making it difficult for the roots to absorb nutrients and water. I now use pH UP (KOH) in order to increase the pH. I still use vinegar to lower the pH, though.

 

[newgreenthumb]

Try using hydrated lime for soil and try using a Ph up solution. Here's an example: http://www.4hydroponics.com/grow_room/technaFloraPH.asp