ph revisited...possible culprit for high

[OneLegUp]

I keep struggling trying to figure out why after all my efforts the ph remains in the 7.6-7.8 range..

As you know I added lots of compost and top soil. Thusly I went back to check their ph..7-7.2... not the culprit..

The watert in our area is consistently 7.8.....

I then went to check ph adjusted water I had let sit... the water had been ph downed to 6.8... then it sat for about 5 days... when I rechecked it 7.6

I'm using a ph down made with acid and citric acid... I'm wondering if the citric acid is only providing temporary relief... and I need to switch to a different type of ph down...

is it possible for this to be the problem the ph down isn't sustaining the lowered ph level...or am I smokin' errrrr you know what??

[meloyelo]

I think its likely citric acid is not stable in soil and trying a different remedy like real ph down will help lower your water ph. But you need something in the soil not your water. You already have lots of good possibilities. You might want to try some of them or try adding more of the sulphur.
-melo

[OneLegUp]

melo..thanks for the input..

What I think I'll do is add about 12 cu. ft of azeala potting mix to my garden. That'll add about 1" of acidic soil..then turn it in...I'm thinking along these lines right now only because I can detect results quicker which hopefully means a little more control versus the sulfur..which could be a guessing game...

[grasshopper]

wally world or any place that sells fishtanks will have ph paper like this one from wallyworld called Quick Dip
you might want to try that for a cheap but accurate baseline

instead of the azeala mix you can use regular peat moss that cost about $8 for a 3.8 cu ft bale
typically the ph of the peat will be about 5 or even lower and seems to get even lower as it decomposes in the soil

fwiw

[Old Toby]

Acid Loving ferts, made into a tea will help to get the root zone where you'd like it. Often labeled as camellia/hydrangea ferts....you can find EB Stone's organic mix in most garden centers....pretty cheap too.

Tobold Hornblower.