Hey Steve, Rick and Brian, thanks so much for the insight. It’s funny I had an Abutilon, that at my old home I used RO water and it did great. My new home it languished and I gave it to a friend who grows Abutilon very well. He lives north of me and has a different water mix in his area then I do. He gets more desalinated water in his area plus he uses RO and rain barrels for the most part. Maybe the Abutilon is the canary in the coal mine for water quality in my area. My buddy has made no changes but his water vs. mine. I just saw an article that shared thaf ablution can be sensitive to water quality. The only difference was the water. RO at my old home and now it gets RO again or rain barrel water. He flushed the soil with water, it’s been at his house for 3 months and looks great again. So that and the water report my neighbors got, prompted me to ask the ph question, I’ll look online at the water quality report also. Thanks to you all, Mike San Diego..,. My water comes from big cement aqueducts. On Sun, Feb 20, 2022 at 10:44 AM Steve Marak via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > As Brian says, municipal water systems often adjust the pH rather high > to prevent corrosion. Here in NW Arkansas, where most of us are on the > Beaver Lake Water District, their required annual water quality report > gives the pH as 8.59, which is quite alkaline. I have a decent pH meter > and that's about what I get too, though I've seen it as high as 9. (As > Rick notes, an alkaline pH - above 7 - and alkalinity, as it is usually > used - the ability of a solution to neutralize acids - are not the same > thing.) Our water is perfectly drinkable, though, despite the high pH. > > Mike, if your water system is really producing water at pH 7.6-7.9, I > wouldn't bother adjusting it. Tap water usually doesn't have much > buffering capacity, so it won't change the pH of your soil much if any, > especially if you are adding fertilizer with any regularity. But if you > do want to adjust it, I know a lot of people use vinegar because it's > cheap, easy to get, and safer than many alternatives. You'll want a > cheap pH meter to know how much to use of course. I haven't had to do > that myself because we use an RO system for the plants, and if anything > I would have the opposite problem, pH too low. > > But you might check the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) of your water. I > know some orchid people in the San Diego area who have to fight that > problem, and it can change the buffering capacity of the water. You > might also look at your system's required quality reports, which should > give the pH, TDS, and lots of other interesting information. Probably > available online. > > Steve > > On 2/20/2022 10:53 AM, Rick Rodich via pbs wrote: > > There is quite a large difference between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon of > vinegar in a gallon of water. Both can be right, and one size doesn't fit > all. It not only depends on the pH of the initial water and your desired > pH, but also the the alkalinity of the water. pH and alkalinity are not > the same thing. Rick Rodich > On 2/20/2022 11:05 AM, Brian Whyer via pbs wrote: > > > > Lime is often added to municipal supplies to minimise corrosion of > > metal pipe/plumbing systems and make it drinkable in very peaty areas. > On 2/20/2022 3:02 AM, Mike via pbs wrote: > > Curious if any members find adding vinegar to their water is useful in > > lowering soil PH, for plants The water in San Diego,is about as alkaline > as > > potable water can get.. My neighbors had a lab test their water and PH > was > > between 7,6 and 7.9 over the testing period. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>