Soil ph Won't Go Down?

Miracle grow organic soil from walmart. I check the runoff in two gallon pot and it is red ph with liquid indicator. I flush ten times, adding a quarter bottle of ph up base solution 8 oz bottle, and its still reddish orange? I'm about to pour the rest of the bottle in with a gallon of water. It takes a few drops to change the water but a few ounces and the runoff barely changes at all. Oh and I would have no clue where to get bat guano so don't suggest that lol.

As pointed out to me, the title should say that the ph will not go up.

Anyone have any ideas?

Doesn't red orange signify low pH. Your title says PH won't go down yet you are adding pH up? I am confused.

I assume that the soil has fertilizer already in it? And that you are trying to get the runoff into the lime green?

Yeah thanks I guess I confused people. It won't go up. The soil has organic nutes/ferts in it to supposedly feed up to two months.

Get some dolomite lime to add to your soil and quit dumping that pH up on them before you kill it.

1/4 bottle?!!?? Are you insane? Or, just really trying to kill the poor thing?

Get the lime and use it. Cost ~$5 for a 40lb bag, or look for Espoma organic garden lime, or similar.

Wet

I don't have any funky garden stores around me just walmart/lowes idk if they have that. And it want a quarter bottle at once it was flushed over and over within a week with gallons of water. And why would the ph up not be effective is what I don't understand.

I get my lime at Lowes, $5 for a 40lb bag. Lime is so common, just about any place with a garden section should have it. At Lowes, it's stacked up on pallets.

Wet

yeah dolomite lime is the way to go.

Takes the plants out and shake the mix off the roots. Remix the soil with lime and repot.

Don't add too much dolomite, I did that now my pH is stuck around 7.4 even if I flush.

How much do you add, roughly? Like 10% of the soil?

So I got lime and picked up more soil, this time its sta green with fertilizer because it would be too convenient for lowes home depot out walmart to carry an unfertilized soil. I filled a 16oz cup and test the soil water ph its orange. I add as teaspoon of lime mix it up and flush, waters orange. I double then triple, then five times as much. Soil ph still orange. I give up idk what to do. If the soil changes the ph of the water so quickly why doesn't the lime. Is it going to take time or just needs more lime idk but I'm so frustrated right now.

You are having problems because runoff is in no way, shape or form a means of telling what a mediums pH is...........

Heh thanks how is that true? I put in water at 8 ph it comes out 4? Not to mention everyone seems to say that is how you test your soils ph.

algag85 said:

Heh thanks how is that true? I put in water at 8 ph it comes out 4? Not to mention everyone seems to say that is how you test your soils ph.

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Because they do not know any better. It comes out lower because it is picking up dissolved solids(the precharged ferts)lowering the pH of the water. The only true way to know your mediums pH is to actually test the medium itself......

Well since the ferts are basically implanted in the medium isn't it basically combined as one? And if its true is flushing the soil with gallons and gallons and gallons of water to rid the fertilizers my only chance? The water does come out yellow so there must be a ton of fertilizer in it.

We measure the runoff because it's the water that goes into the plant. Mix one tablespoon of dolomite per gallon or one cup per cubic foot. If the pH of the runoff indicates yellow, you are good.

just use lime, it will bring the PH right to 7.

Muffy said:

We measure the runoff because it's the water that goes into the plant. Mix one tablespoon of dolomite per gallon or one cup per cubic foot. If the pH of the runoff indicates yellow, you are good.

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1 cup=16 tablespoons. 1 cuft=approximately 7 gallons. You say 1 tablespoon per gallon and then follow by sayinng 1 cup per cuft, which would be 16 tablespoons for 7 gallons of soil. More than double the 1 tablespoon per gallon you first reccomend. Which is it?

flushing soils with time released ferts... releases more ferts... since most of the nitrogen in pre mixed soils is available as urea.. which is highly acidic... theres your damn runoff problem.