In the lecture about water Ryan explains that the optimal pH for water is between 6.2 and 6.5. I use an osmosis system that gives me a pH of 6.5, optimal, however when I add liquid fertilizer the pH drops to approximately 5.2. My question is, do I have to ensure that the mixture of water and fertilizer is 6.2/6.5 or if the water is on that scale it is enough.
Thank you very much to the community in advance!! Greetings to all the Miraiers!
Interesting that the fertilizer dropped the pH that far. Which fertilizer are you using?
If you are only applying that fertilizer every week or two then it should not be an issue. Your regular water will wash out any ions from the fertilizer that are leading to the low pH. However, if this is your standard water then it may cause an issue over the long run as the soil pH is reduced into the area where some of the nutrients are not readily available to the tree.
Interestring…Yup, should be OK…
Organic liquid fertilizer?
What is your tap water pH, and how long have you used RO to water?
Unless you ARE adding ions back , the RO water actually should be closer to neutral, at just below 7 pH… since there is NO free ions left in it. Water does ODD things, and rearranges untill it is happy. It, also, steals free ions from wherever it can-- metals, plastics, fertilizers, etc… (Dont drink RO water without adding salts, it forces potassium and sodium from the blood and causes diarrhea… that whole blood osmolality thing.) This may be what is going on…
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I did recently test and document that the soil in a bonsai pot, using organic fertilizer, with a good microbiom —drops the soil pH drasticlly… to about 6.5… starting with a drinking water pH of 8.2.
I did not think to test JUST the solid organic fertilizer…?..
K
Hi @MartyWeiser & @KurtP!!
I’m from Spain and the fertilizer that I use is an organic liquid one called Lombrico. The ph of my tap water is around 7,8 - 8,2 but has a lot of chlorine and calcium. I’m using the RO system around 8/9 years but recently I bought a pH meter and when I measured the mixture of water and fertilizer it gave me that value and it made me doubt about that.
Are your trees HEALTHY right now? Have you been using the fertilizer for more than one summer?
Then not a problem… Keep it simple…
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It sounds SIMILAR to the pH drop range I see, using my tap water and the soil/ fertilizer mix flow through pH check. I use solid organic fertilizer(microbiom) and some liquid organic.
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Try mixing your normal volumes of liquid fertilizer with TAP water, and check the pH. The chlorine would be reacted with a small volume of the fertilizer-- and be neutrilized… The city culinary drinking water chlorine should be in the 500ppm range, so it wouldnt be an issue. THEN, water with the RO water as normal…
The water calcium is in a form the plants cannot utilize.
It shouldnt be an issue either. The weekly amount would be negliable, and wash through…
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I’m going offline for a week, high mountain visit… Ya, bonsai hunting…I’ll check back about Oct 14 th.
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Marty… any thoughts?
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Hi @KurtP!!
Trees are healthy and I’m using this fertilizer for years but when I measured I was hesitating and I was curious about it.
I will try what you wrote about tap water and fertilizer to see the ph value.
Enjoy your mountain visit and good luck with the hunting!!
Thanks for share your knowledge.
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