I am feeding with tps one and CalMag oac one time, then it’s back to regular tap water (well water) that comes at 8.5 pH with 156ppm of tds. The feed was approx a pH of 6.5. More importantly is the consistent soil pH which appears fixed at 6.8
I know it’s lazy! However…. I have noticed doing this to reveal to me that the soil pH is very stubborn and not easily changed by the pH of the water alone. Stuff in the water can definitely have an impact. But still, most feed waters I use don’t change the soil ph. I do make sure the pH is within a healthy range for soil, something between 6 and 7 I figure is ideal. I’ve found if there is enough lime in the mix, and as long as I don’t over feed soluble nutes, then the soil pH appears stable and fixed. With enough lime in the mix, I can ultimately arrest the soil pH at 7. It’s really cool. I thought adding too much lime would give me something potentially alkaline, and maybe it will. But I’ve added lots of lime before and still haven’t gotten past 7 pH. Maybe I didn’t add enough to go further? Nevertheless I’m not interested in going past 7.
I haven’t seen any issues with the speed of growth watering with 8.5 tap water, surprisingly. As I’ve said the soil pH would read 6.8 before and immediately after watering with the 8.5 tap. So….. I’m thinking the stability of the soil pH is a positive indication that the microbes are not being subjected to pH shifts, or at least nothing substantial.
I mean, at the end of the day when things are looking good, I feel like I must have something right.