Any thoughts on a good way to make soil more acid? I just did a Google and many panned the idea of pine needles, oak leaves, and coffee grounds. Ammonium Sulfate was mentioned. I have used that outdoors. Miracid?
Making soil more acidic
The pH of container media is actually much less important than the pH of mineral (garden soils), with the media solution pH being the most important factor. Neutralizing your irrigation water's alkalinity or making it slightly acidic (6.0) (with vinegar) and using soluble fertilizers with urea as their base (as the N source) is far more effective/safe than any of the suggestions you outlined.
Al
This message was edited Oct 7, 2009 2:34 PM
I'm talking about house plants. You're saying make the water more acidic? OK, best way?
I understood you to be talking about houseplants, and I was talking about container culture in general, which of course would cover houseplants. There are several acids which are suitable for either neutralizing alkalinity or actually moving water pH south of neutral, but the easiest method for you would be to measure enough white vinegar into a gallon of irrigation water to make it pH neutral, then add an extra tbsp. That will halt the normal upward creep in pH as the medium ages and slightly acidify the water. That, in combination with using acid forming fertilizers, like MG 24-8-16 or 30-10-10 (in some cases), is a sound strategy.
Al
I'm sorry, you lost me.
If you're interested in what I was trying to explain - ask specific questions & I'll break it down further. You might also wish to outline what you're trying to achieve, and WHY. Unless you have at least a basic understanding of the science associated with container media, it's probably more likely you'll do harm than benefit your plants if you try micro-managing pH.
Al
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