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Soil ph

  • Thread starter peter
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    soil
Recently I have decided to take the Ph of the soils out of curiosity. To my amazment most of my vft's soil had a ph of around 6-6.8 which is pretty neutral. I've heard that they'll do best in soil that is around 4.5-5.5, so does it really matter? My plants seem perfectly happy with their soil and are growing quite well.
Does anyone have any tips on how to keep the medium acidic?
 
Pine needles?
 
Im not very helpful but I would just repot it just before it comes out of dormancy and you shouldnt worry too much.
 
How did you measure the pH? Did you test a fresh sample of peat for reference?
 
Well if your plants seem to be perfectly happy with 6 to 6.8 pH than leave them be.No sence in fixing anything thats not broken.
 
See, this is crazy. I bought an expensive tester and it tested my freshly repotted plants at almost as high as the older pots; around 6.7 I use Schulz brand Canadian peat and perlite mix 50/50

What can one do? Someone mentioned Pine needles? I've also heard of one making 'tea' with juice of peat. Does any of this really help?
 
I though my ph tester was broke... LOL
The new bags of peat were also pretty neutral, around 6.5... Again, its not that big of a deal, I was just curious. Does anyone else have the same results other then goldslinger? I tested two different brands as well and both had the same ph, even though the quality of the two products were different (one was like mud when mixed, the other was better quality)
I guess I'll try raising the ph in several test pots to see if there is any difference in growth.
 
What kind of meters are you using? Have you tested them with calibration solution? What kind of water are you using to wet the peat sample?

I haven't run any tests but something just sounds funny.

Tony
 
Peat I've tested has come out red at around pH 4-5. It sounds like you have a dodgy kit to me!
 
  • #10
Mine is a RAPID TEST; the more 'expensive' model

Maybe it is a rapid failure. Canadian peat I'm told has
the lowest p.h.

what Kind of meter are you using Alvin?
 
  • #11
It was a few years ago. I can't remember the brand, but I remember I had to mix dry peat with distilled water and add the chemical. The color is turned to could then be compared to the chart.
 
  • #12
Was it something like Bromothiol Blue?
 
  • #13
I wouldn't worry about it. Over time the peat should break down and decay. Thus making it more acidic. Has anyone done tests to see if the pH really matters when it comes to growth?
 
  • #14
If one wanted to lower the p.h. for such an experiment; how would you go about doing it?
 
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