New Grower Please help with pH and PPM.

[Moore]

Ok guys I went and bought .... GardenLime-Pulverized Dolomitic Lime. I hope that's dolomite lime because if it's not then. .. to late. I plowed it in with the top of the soil. Then I wanted it with a little bit of calmag in the water because I had some deficiencies going on. I did what ya said and pHed my water to 7.

MyNew plants leaves Are turning a lighter green then the rest of plant and the leaves seem like there drooping down a little bit. There not straight out like they should be.

So what could be going on with my plants with the drooping and lighter color? ?????????????????

 

[Topic12]

I'm having the same problem with my runoff!! Actually mixed soil myself 50% peat,25%peralite,25%playsand!! I just ordered dolomite lime from eBay yesterday to hopefully solve my problem!! And from my reasearch looks like around a teaspoon per gallon of soil for the dolomite!!As for drooping leaves sounds like an over water, along with calmag or nitrogen deficiency with low ph and distilled water!! Hope everything works out

 

[az2000]

Ok guys I went and bought .... GardenLime-Pulverized Dolomitic Lime. I hope that's dolomite lime because if it's not then. .. to late.

From what I've read, dolomite lime is different (less harsh as a ph adjustment) than ordinary lime. If it has the name "dolomite" (or dolomitic) it should be the right stuff. But, sometimes it will be called "agricultural limestone" (or garden lime, soil sweetener) and then you have to go by the analysis on the label. For anyone who finds this thread in the future, I believe it should be something like

Calcium 21%
-- 21% water soluable calcium
Magnesium 13%
Calcium carbonate 54%
Magnesium carbonate 45%
Calcium carbonate equivalent 109%

When I looked at this a few months ago, it seemed like there was a harsher, faster-acting type of soil lime which had different percentages (proportions between the measurements?). The products which claimed to be dolomite had measurements close to the above. (The above is from "Hi-Yield Agricultural Limestone.").

MyNew plants leaves Are turning a lighter green then the rest of plant and the leaves seem like there drooping down a little bit. There not straight out like they should be.

So what could be going on with my plants with the drooping and lighter color?

If you could post pictures it would help. The problem you face now is that you need to wait for waterings to filter the lime through the soil, etc. At the same time you don't want to over-water because that will easily cause another problem on an already stressed plant.

Just be patient. But, photos would help others judge what's happening.

 

[Muddy]

Ok guys I went and bought .... GardenLime-Pulverized Dolomitic Lime. I hope that's dolomite lime because if it's not then. .. to late. I plowed it in with the top of the soil. Then I wanted it with a little bit of calmag in the water because I had some deficiencies going on. I did what ya said and pHed my water to 7.

MyNew plants leaves Are turning a lighter green then the rest of plant and the leaves seem like there drooping down a little bit. There not straight out like they should be.

So what could be going on with my plants with the drooping and lighter color? ?????????????????

Garden lime is dolomite and is what you need. The cal/mag isn't going to do much until the pH comes up into the proper range as it's still being locked out by the low pH. Lime is slow acting so don't expect to see much change for about 2 weeks.

 

[az2000]

my research looks like around a teaspoon per gallon of soil for the dolomite!!

When preparing soil (or soilless) for growing, my searches showed 1-3 tbsp per gallon of potting medium was common. I've been doing 1.25 to 1.5 tbsp. I've read that it can't be overdone -- although it's hard to believe there's not some level that would be too much.

As an aside: It was the "can't be overdone" comments that contributed to my belief there is a difference between dolomite and soil lime. I'm nervous about someone buying ordinary soil-raising lime (more lime = higher ph). What I read was that dolomite lime holds PH at a neutral level, not necessarily raise it like a ph adjuster (where "more" just means "higher."). I could be wrong that there is a difference between dolomitic and lime used to raise PH.

If you're cultivating the dolomite into the top of the existing medium, 1 tsp sounds reasonable. It depends on the size of the container, etc. A 3gal container could (per my reasoning above) have 9 to 27 tsp of dolomite. With that size container I think you could cultivate a bit more (2-3 tsp) into the top of the soil and water it in on the first watering. You could also do 1tsp with subsequent waterings, taking it slowly.

 

[Muddy]

There are other types of lime, such as quick lime, which is used in concrete, and hydrated lime. Hydrated lime can be useful to raise pH quickly but can be toxic to the plants in excess. It may also kill helpful microbes in the soil. When used, it should be applied at no more than 1 tablespoon per gallon of feed or mixed directly into the top layer of soil. In my experience hydrated lime is always marked as such, same with quick lime. Dolomite is often marketed as garden lime so uninformed consumers know it's the proper type for garden use.

 

[Moore]

Thanks guys.

 

[Moore]

Ok guys I'm back.

My pH is doing better but my plants pH is still around 6.0 and it's been a few weeks.

I put just a little more lime in the top soil and their doing good but is there anything else I should try to do.

Should I keep watering my plants with water with a pH of 7 until they finally get to 6.3ish???

Anything will help guys. Please let me know.

 

[Moore]

Hey guys my pH is still out of whack. Still can't get it under control. Anybody have any ideas. will it affect my yeild.

What are the symptoms of messed up pH.
What does it do to your leaves?