How can I properly raise a 2.3-3.5 pH Peatmoss

[CrimsonUndertow]

Recently I discovered that the peat moss I got was very acidic with a pH of 2.5 - 3.5 (written on the packaging). I am having trouble with raising my pH. I read some where that it might take a long time to raise the pH of the soil. Can I mix the peat moss with more perlite and/or ordinary soil to reduce the acidity? What is the proper way of fixing the pH of 200 litres of peat moss? can I add a pH raiser to the water that I use to fix this issue?

 

[HippyInEngland]

What is the proper way of fixing the pH of 200 litres of peat moss?

Use it for Azaleas, its way too far out for MJ.

 

[Alistair]

CU, why do you want to use peat moss? You're growing indoors in pots, right? Why not use soil without the peat moss? I don't know, but it seems to me that if there's a lot of it in the soil, it would be difficult to raise the pH, but I could be wrong.

Someone with more knowledge than I have will have to jump in here and help out. Good luck, I hope you get the problem resolved.

 

[leafminer]

slaked lime will do the job, but I can't tell you how much lime to add, you'll have to test it on a known amount - like 5 litres of peat moss - and then use according to the required weight. How about emailing the peat supply company and asking them (without mentioning the crop, of course)?

 

[CrimsonUndertow]

I called the guy at the garden store, he asked what I was growing, I ditched the question. He said to add 4 inches of peat moss as your top soil. He also said that it might take a year for it's pH to raise using chemical additives (which he did not mention) I'm getting the feeling the guy is a rip off. I thought I'm supposed to use peat moss perlite and vermiculite to make a good soil for pots. Is there no use for this stuff?

 

[HippyInEngland]

Dont open it, take it back, say he told you wrong, then say you want un nutrient potting soil and use that instead.

 

[Rockster]

If asked for what kind of plants you need compost just say its for tomato's.

But as I said before you'd be better off getting rid of the peat moss and repotting in a decent compost rather than faffing about trying to get the ph right with lime as its not a minor adjustment so change the compost as you are in veg so the plants will have plenty of time to reestablish themselves in the new medium and go on to finish without problem.

Peat moss with perlite and vermiculite is a crap compost for cannabis that has built in problems so just ditch it mate.

Peat moss is used in compost formulations to improve drainage and aeration but only in relatively small quantities as it is so acidic and has to be balanced with other materials or you get the problems you have now.

 

[leafminer]

:yeahthat:
I've had friends who have grown in pure peat, and the plants were good, but who knows what the pH was? Of course that was before we knew about such things. :doh:
I have some peat moss here so I looked up the details on their Web site and found it is listed at 4 - 5. So it seems that the stuff you have is *very* acidic!

 

[Alistair]

CU, I've learned the hard way not to ask people at nurseries for advise before first thinking about what to say, and what questions they might ask in response. When I go to the nursery I very seldom ask for help, and if someone should ask me what I want it for, I might tell them that I don't know, it's something that my mom asked me to pick up for her.

 

[CrimsonUndertow]

I got rid of the peat moss and I changed the soil but I got a lot of root damage. I hope they make it. I also got a new digital pH meter and it says that my tap water is 7.6 and my run off is 7.2. Is this noramal? should I try to bring it down?

 

[HippyInEngland]

Your PH is too high, you need it lowered, PH down is sold at hydro shops

You need to keep your PH within tolerances or you get nutrient lock out and problems during growth.

So you go searching for deficiencies and add what you think the plant needs, this doesnt help because the PH doesnt allow the deficient nutient to be absorbed.

PH IS VERY IMPORTANT.

 

[Rockster]

I got rid of the peat moss and I changed the soil but I got a lot of root damage. I hope they make it. I also got a new digital pH meter and it says that my tap water is 7.6 and my run off is 7.2. Is this noramal? should I try to bring it down?

Nice one mate and I'd not worry too much about a bit of root damage as a new root system will grow and fill out the pot as if this never occured.

Your ph is a tad high but not way out as mine is 7.3 coming out of the tap and I don't adjust yet get around 500 gsm with my compost as it buffers it down anyway but if you buffer down to 6.5 you'll right in the ph sweet spot.

May I ask which compost did you get?:watchplant:

 

[Hick]

..even when using .."MJ designer" soils,(FF or Black Gold) I add 1 tsp of lime per 1 gallon of medium. It not only serves as a ph "buffer", but provides the extra mg so often needed by mj.

 

[CrimsonUndertow]

I got the same brand (Sab-Germany) but this time I got the one with the proper pH of 6.5. It's designed for pots and has a fixed pH. The guy at the store thought I had a big garden so he gave me the wrong thing. Of coarse I did mislead him since I didn't want to say what I was growing so it's actually my own fault. Anyway the weird thing is I checked the run off water of one of my seedlings that has the old acidic stuff and it's about 7.2. I don't get it! if it was so acidic then why is the pH high? Is it wrong to consider the runoff water pH as the pH of the soil? Also should I leaf feed until the roots grow back?

 

[Alistair]

CU, perhaps you didn't properly test the runoff? Maybe the water just basically ran through the soil without fully assimilating the ions in it, and you didn't get a true reading.

It's good that you have good soil now. I think that your plants will be happier now. If you continue to have problems, it could be the tap water. Some tap water has too many dissolved solids in it, and that can cause problems.