HOW TO RAISE PH LEVELS IN MY TOMATO CONTAINERS FROM 5 to 6.8

[Stevorino]

Checked my 5 gallon containers with tomato plants that are about 3-4’ high now and the ph levels are down to 4.8-5
Need to get it up between 6-6.8
I put about 3 ozs of garden lime in yesterday then checked the ph levels doesn’t seem to be moving any
Any suggestions or recommendations

 

[Chuck]

Changing a soils Ph is not a fast process. It can take months or even years. You can change the Ph rapidly but in doing so you are taking a very big chance of either burning your root systems or stopping nutrient uptake. Adding lime is not fast acting and adding too much can be more detrimental than keeping the plants growing in highly acidic soils. Adding lime is the fastest way but it should have been done last year. Soil tests are very important as they will usually tell you how much lime to add.

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, lime is the "slow but sure" way I use to increase soil ph. For a "quick" fix you can use baking soda, sodium bicarbonate. Probably have some Arm and Hammer around. In addition, you can give those tomatoes some Epsom salts to help with mineral uptake.

Be careful with more additives since you have already treated with lime.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Those are containers. Your method of adding lime is for in ground use. Subtle things like the biodome are missing from containers and purified potting soils. There are immediately available calcium products that have the liming effect. Usually they come in liquid form for use in spraying. Calcium nitrate is a fertilizer with immediately available calcium. You can try stomach acid products that are sodium free, perhaps tums or rolaids? No salt though. Milk of magnesia since magnesium is a liming agent? No salts or unknown components though. Epsom salts has magnesium but sulphate too and I would not be adding sulfphur at this point I would think. There are hydroponic product like "PH up" that use potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate. Baking soda has sodium so not a good idea. Personally I am a pretty big fan of all things potassium for its "all around*" effects. You could boil a bunch of red cabbage (ph7) and use that water on them. That way there would be a little nuetral material in it. Tap water is usually pretty nuetral already though, but lord knows what they had to put in it to make it safe to drink.



* N-P-K mnuemonic: Up-Down-All Around

 

[Stevorino]

Thanks to all of you for that valuable info, I’ll forge ahead on the good advice

 

[Stevorino]

Thanks everyone for the info

 

[headfullofbees]

In the meantime, you can help your plants take up nutrients by giving them a watering with neutral, or slightly alkaline mineral water, not an expensive one of course.
We use one with a pH of 7.8 that costs 20c per pint.
Just use it once, one pint per plant.

 

[Stevorino]

Where would a good place be to buy

 

[headfullofbees]

Where would a good place be to buy

Any supermarket that sells mineral water.
In the panel that states mineral content, there is usually printed the pH of the water.
Get the cheapest above pH7

 

[Stevorino]

Thank you

 

[YumYum]

Hard water out of the tap contains calcium and magnesium carbonates and usually carries a high(er) pH. You can increase the pH of that water by simply aerating it, aquarium bubbler or shaking the water.