I am using well water pumped into a holding tank (275 gallon) inside my grow room to stabilize temperature. Then I use a recirculation pump in the tank 5 min before using water out of it. I then pull 3 gallons at a time and adjust from 6.9 or 7 down to around 6.4 with distilled vinegar. Usally around 2 ml per gallon. So everything looks good and I water. When i check the PH in the unused water the next day it reads around 7 to 7.1 even higher than the day before?
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@Jared temperature and aeration as well as microbial life can affect ph. Gotta mix it well and aerate it. The acetic acid in vinegar will break down over time as it is netrualized by the water (basically it breaks off a hydrogen ion in water and becomes an anion which allows it to pick up cations changing its chemical structure because it’s a weak monoprotic carboxylic acid and hydrophilic). So it will weaken over time.
Long story short, you have to use it shortly after you mix it.
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@Jared I forgot to mention that well water is also often high in calcium which further breaks down and neutralizes acids.
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@MDBuds how dose that work in your soil. Dose the water stored in your soil break down also causing a high soil ph even if you treat the water before using it? Is there something i should be using instead of vinegar to adjust ph down?
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@Jared once it goes in the soil after use it breaks down differently depending on soil structure and what’s in your soil. It takes a few days to break down in soil so it will still work as PH down for watering and for feedings.
You just want to use your waterings and feedings right away.
Another thing that works as PH down is Earth Juice Hi-brix MFP which is a molasses supplement I use every watering and feeding. It’s acidic enough to bring water and nutrient ph down as well.
Black strap molasses also works as ph down.
Granted they don’t work as well as vinegar but they don’t break down like vinegar in water so you can keep your solutions longer. I would still use it within 48 hours though after mixing.
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I have noticed blackstrap molasses takes about 5 ml per gallon to bring ph down. Is that feeding to much sugar while still in veg? @
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@Jared nope. 5ml is roughly 1 tsp which is the amount of molasses you should use for waterings and feedings. It isn’t too much sugar. The sugar feeds the microbes more than it does the plant and the microbes in turn feed the plant.
That is if you’re using unsulfured black strap with no added sugars. Natural sugars are fine but you don’t want the added sugars. They break down differently in soil.
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Yep i got lucky and local grocery store (harps) carrys the unsulpered.
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@Jared yeah always check local stores first. You can usually find a good deal on some unsulfured black strap usually cheaper than online and you know what you’re getting. Don’t have to worry about being sent the wrong thing. Lol
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I always try to shop local regardless of price (within reason) even finally found a local grow supply store. Small buisness first chain stores last is my motto.
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@Jared yeah I did the same thing but all of the small hydro and garden shops around here closed. Pandemic hit them hard so I’m stuck with going to big chain stores or ordering online now.
Just glad I live in a semi rural area though so there’s a tractor supply store near by I can buy what I need at usually. Anything I can’t find there I usually buy at home depot or from build a soil. Amazon is my last resort but I find myself using it much more frequently than I would like.
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I find the dried molasses powder to be easier to work with and store than the liquid. And boy am I lucky that my local small grow store is still open.
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@Rye I’ve never used the dry molasses amendment. How does it work compared to the liquid molasses? Does it have the same values and micros?
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That’s the thing it doesn’t have one
It’s 100 percent surger cane
My wife bought it for making cookies i know that black strap is 45 percent just wondering if to much sugar
@Daddy1971 generally you don’t want to use gold molasses or baking molasses for feeding but without nutrition values I can’t say 100%. Most of the time they have added sugars for sweetness and flavor and they don’t have the higher potassium, calcium, and iron that black strap gets from the high heat and cooking process.
I can say though that it is not black strap molasses. If there are no added sugars it should be safe to use but it won’t supplement as well as black strap.
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