MUMS are here.
N = Nitrogen for growth and lush vegetation.
P = Phosphorus for fruiting and flowering.
K = Potassium for Strength and hardiness.
These are the start of fertilizers your plants will be craving. They are not the only one's that are necessary for the health or beauty of your gardens. Calcium(Ca), Magnesium(Mg), Sulfur(S), Copper(Cu), Iron(Fe), Manganese(Mn), Zinc(Zn), ect...., are also beneficial to what most people forget helps keep their gardens looking and lasting time.
To test your soil PH:
Simply take 2 level tablespoons of soil at least 1/4" below surface, combine with 4 tablespoons of distilled water.
keep volume ratio 1:2(soil/Water) Mix and allow to sit for 45 minutes. Pour off extract liquid and test.
Best if PH is 5.0 to 6.5. Depending on plants you have.
Adjusting your soil pH :
Once you have determined the pH of your soil with a good tester, you can amend the soil if needed to accommodate the plants in your garden using inexpensive materials commonly available at your local garden center.
Adjust soil pH slowly over several days time, and check pH often as you go. Radical changes in pH may cause osmotic shock damage to the roots.
Raising soil pH : (to make it more alkaline)
It is generally easier to make soil mixes more alkaline than it is to make them more acidic. The addition of dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells will help to raise the soil pH.
In soil: add dolomite limestone to the soil; use small amounts of hydrated lime.
Lowering soil pH : (to make it more acidic)
If your soil needs to be more acidic, sawdust, composted leaves, wood chips, cottonseed meal, leaf mold and especially peat moss, will lower the soil pH.
bloodmeal/cottonseed meal during vegetative; bonemeal during flowering.
Raising hydroponic pH : (to make it more alkaline)
In hydroponics: use potassium silicate, provides silicon at an effective doseage. In bioponics/hydro-organics: add small amounts of sodium bicarbonate or lime.
Lowering hydroponic pH : (to make it more acidic)
In hydroponics: use nitric acid during vegetative; phosphoric acid during flowering.
Stabilizing pH with Dolomite lime
The best way to stable PH is by adding 1 ounce of Dolomite Lime per 1 gallon of planting soil.
Dolomite Lime is available in garden nurseries. Buy the fine Dolomite powder (There may be several kinds of Dolomite like Rough, Medium, Fine)
Dolomite Lime has been a useful PH stabilizer for years, since it has a neutral PH of 7 when added to your soil it stabilizes your soil at PH 7.
Mix the dry soil medium and dolomite together really well, give the mix a good watering then after the water has had chance to settle and leech into the soil a bit give the mix a really good stir. Then water the soil/lime mix and give it another stir
Best plan is to mix fine dolomite lime into your mix before planting. Fine Dolomite will help stabilize your pH; however, if the ph becomes unstable or changes, you can then use Hydrated Dolomite Lime. Add some of the hydrated lime to luke warm water and give it a good stir then water your plants with it. Give the plants a good watering with this hydrated lime added and your PH should fall or rise back to 7
Dolomite lime is also high in two secondary nutes that can often be overlooked by fertilizers; dolomite is high in both (Mg) Magnesium and (Ca) Calcium.
Welcome to the Mike's Nursery official WebSite! We specialize in the hard to find indoor and outdoor gardening products and hydroponics supplies. Mikes Nursery is Chautauqua County's first and largest hydroponics store .
Mikes Nursery and Hydroponic Growing Supplies
199 East Fairmount Ave.
Lakewood, NY 14750
716-763-1612
Copyright © Mike's Nursery. All rights reserved 1999 to 2017, and still going strong.
Welcome to Mike's Nursery and Hydroponics.
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Monday - Friday 9 AM to 7 PM
Sat. 9 AM to 6 PM
Sun. 9 AM to 5 PM Closed Easter Sunday