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How To Change Potting Soil pH? Why This Is A MUST For Houseplants & Containers | Soil Scientist
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Apr 27, 2022
Potting soil pH is SO important to the plants health. It can be the make it or break it for a plants nutrient needs. Potting soil pH in general is naturally lower then normal ground soil. This is due to the amount of organic material and how it decomposes over time. This gardening in Canada video looks at how to change the soil ph in a potting soil. And why soil ph so so important when it comes to houseplants. #houseplants #indoorplants 🌿Join our monthly newsletter! newsletter.gardeningincanada.net Website/Blog & FREE printables: https://gardeningincanada.net —————— 👩🔬 Grab your at home Garden Soil Testing Workbook! https://etsy.me/3dW5HLg ————— 👩🔬Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/gardeningincanada ————— Amazon Affiliate: pH Meter: https://geni.us/ZXQx0S
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hello plant people. How are you guys doing today? If you're a new round here, my name is Ashley and I'm a soil scientist on this channel. I'd like to take that science and apply it to all things plants and in today's video we're going to be talking about how to change the pH of your potting soil. So this is a highly requested video. Now I've done videos on
0:19
pH and garden soil. I haven't done any on how to change the pH your potting or your garden soil. This is very, very difficult to do. But potting, but potting
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soil is very doable and if you are a house plant person then you do want to watch this i i promise
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you you you want to watch this trust me there's no other video on the internet for you other than this
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one that's going to tell you how to do this correctly and why you need to do this because trust me
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you need to do this i know none of you do so because i've never heard of anyone else doing it on the
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intro webs so anyways but if you are a container gardener if you're a house plant person if you are
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using any form of container or enclosed container for that matter regardless of what
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you're using peat moss coconut quire regular soil sphagnum moss I don't care this
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video is for you it is very important because pH ultimately is your
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determining factor as to whether or not your plant is getting any nutrients in
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any capacity macro or micronutrient without being said what is the purpose of the
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pH for plants and why is it so important and it ultimately comes down to availability of the nutrients within the soil system
1:34
So pH is this fancy little thing that is basically a way of calculating the number of hydrogen atoms within your soil
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So it's a very fancy way of saying it, but there is a scale of 0 to 14 and you can fall anywhere in between their plants
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like to fall between 6 and 7.5. We'll get into that, just, you know
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a little bit later, but ultimately that's where you want to be for your nutrients to be the
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most bio available. So you may be asking, well, why would a lower pH or a higher pH affect
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this? Why does this matter? And it comes down to again those hydrogen ions. So say you have an
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abundance of hydrogen ions in your soil, all of which have a positive one charge. And you have
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a clay soil or a peat-based soil that has a cadine exchange capacity within it and that
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cattyone exchange capacity as always is negative and we've talked about this before so we have positively
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charged hydrogen ions we have a negatively charged potting soil and ultimately the hydrogen ions are
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occupying spots that nutrients could be occupying and therefore when we apply nutrients or nutrients
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is biodegraded within the system through microbes it is simply washed out or is valavalized out
2:51
into the air because it has nowhere to go because our battery pack is full that says
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battery pack being the soil itself. Now conversely, if we have a negative number of hydrogen ions
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so we don't have enough hydrogen ions, then we have a very, very high negative charge within our
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soil. And so what ends up happening is when we apply fertilizer or when our microbes degrade
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our organic fertilizer, it can't be, it's stored too, too tight. And so it's bound up into the soil
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and the soil does not want to let it go. And therefore, it's not bioavile
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it can't be solubilized in water because the soil is holding on to it much much too tightly
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and therefore again our nutrient capability for our plant's uptake goes down so it's a really
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really kindergarten way of explaining pH but anyways you guys get the idea ultimately so that is what
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we're looking at we're changing the balance and hydrogen ions to make it so that when it's between
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a six and a 7.5 the right amounts of nutrients are available to the plant
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And the plant roots are like a straw. There's no real simple way to determine this
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The roots don't actually take the nutrient and pluck it from a soil particle
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or from a peat moss particle. That not how it works It actually is suspended within the soil solution So when there is water within our soil solution it is dissolving those nutrients lightly pulling them away from that soil medium
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and bringing them over to the roots in which the roots then take that nutrients either through
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passive or active diffusion. I could do a whole video on those mechanisms unto themselves
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It's taking it from that soil solution, that water solution, and then bringing it into
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the root and so that's ultimately how soil nutrients works and therefore when our pH is
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out of whack we can't solubilize that nutrients into the water and of course there are exceptions
4:59
for this and et cetera and so forth or in some cases we solubilize too much which can happen
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in the event of say copper we solubize too much into the water and now we're getting into the realm
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of toxic and when we end up in the realm of toxic we end up killing our plants so
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kind of cool very neat but let's talk about how to fix that because i'm sure you guys
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your eyes all rolled into the back of your head and you all felt like you weren't great 12
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chemistry for the first time ever so we do have acid-loving plants um i'm not going to get into
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that too too much today but there are some that like it just as low as 4.5 and again that has more
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so to do with the abundance of toxic normally toxic micro nutrients and so when our pH gets into the
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the lower ranges, we end up with an overabundance of certain nutrients, which for some plants
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is what they thrive in. So for acidic soils, soils that are under seven, these are the nutrients
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that are bioavailable. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, and magnesium. In acidic soils, so soils that are under or below the number of seven, the nutrients
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these nutrients slowly become more and more unavailable. So the farther down the
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scale we get the farther away we get from uptake. And so these can be nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium
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calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. So those are the ones that become unavailable in acidic soils
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Conversely, in alkaline soils, so soils above seven and higher we get up on the scale
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the more unavailable they become is iron, magnesium, boron, copper, and zinc. And then in strongly
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acidic soils this is the ones where I was talking about the abundance
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becoming too too high and those are those nutrients that become too abundant and
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acidic soils are aluminum iron manganese which is not magnesium it's manganese big difference there I see that being mixed up all the time here on
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the YouTube's and again that becomes acidic two plants so I did want to insert
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that here so you guys have a little bit of a better idea so the best way into
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determine how a soil becomes aesthetic I guess you could say and this is why it
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applies so much to container gardening is because container gardening is susceptible
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to these changes because there's actually three main factors that will change the pH ultimately of a soil substrate or soilless substrate and so that's
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why container gardeners or house plant people are more susceptible to this
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conversely the nice part about container gardening or house plant people is that
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this is very easily reversible whereas in an outdoor system it's not as
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reversible because we're dealing with parent material we're dealing with ultimately for lack of a better term genetic issues with our soil so we're able
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to change these factors very easily in these container soil so the three factors
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that will cause aesthetic soil and things to keep in mind when you're trying to
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determine whether or not it's time to amend your potting soil or to make some changes to your
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potting soil. It boils down to these. So the first one being rainwater or just water in general
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especially those of you that water with distilled water, reverse osmosis water, rain water
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these types of water, and this is going to be highly controversial, but it comes down ultimately
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to the charge within the water system itself So they are notoriously notorious for leaching away certain ions And these ions are positively charged ions So this will affect the balance or the charge or the chemistry within the soil
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And when we change that chemistry, we're changing the ability to hold or lose hydrogen ions
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And therefore, we're ultimately changing the pH. And these main ions that are leached are calcium, magnesium, potassium
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and sodium. So we know this. I mean, I've talked about it in videos past. If you're noticing salt
9:15
buildup or if you're bottom watering your plants, then, and you're using reverse osmosis or distilled
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water, you're flushing the system out and you're flushing out these relatively large molecules
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I mean, we're talking about calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. These are large ions
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when compared to other ions in our periodic table. So these larger ions are very easily watching
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away and with them goes their charge so for in the case of calcium it's plus two
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so there goes a positive to charge and therefore we have access for more hydrogen
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actually two hydrogen atoms to move in ions to move in to the place of where that
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calcium was because what's in water is H2O so that's something to keep in mind and
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that is something that can ultimately change the pH of your soil so if you're using
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reverse osmosis distilled rainwater there's no reason why you can't very very good water it's very very good for your plant i mean microbially it's heads and tails better
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than chlorinated water but it's something to keep in mind it will ultimately affect your pH the second
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factor is the carbon dioxide release from decomposition within your potting soil system so if you're
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adding maneuors or compost or you're using a soilless medium meaning you're using organic soil which would be
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peat moss coconut quire something that originated from a plant in any form you will have decomposition
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over time it's just it's just what happens soil soil does not decompose it's big rocks that have
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literally been pulverized into a pulp and made into little rocks it's completely inorganic when we're
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talking about soil soil but when we're talking about peat moss or potting soil that's completely alive
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And so therefore, it's going to decompose over time and it's going to acidify over time as CO2 is released and the decomposition process takes place
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So your soil pH will decrease. And peat moss and coconut quire naturally have a lower pH just right out of the bag
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And that, again, has to do a lot with what it's made from. So right out of the bag, you can amend your pawning soil, no problem
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women actually would work to your benefit hugely in many cases and then this will happen both
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outdoors and indoors organic or inorganic uh leca for example this will happen in the luchy
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upon this will happen in is the roots so as the roots respire the roots respire the same as the leaves
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do they release like a weak very weak acid but ultimately over time that weak acid can acidify
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your soil and it is same kind of composition as like a microbial organic degradation
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And then lastly, we just have the natural process of decaying organic material causing nitric acid, sulfuric acid
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I mean, there's so many different ones. Again, all acidic, all decreasing that soil pH
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And then if you are using a conventional fertilizer, you also have your oxidation of your ammonium, ammonium sulfate, that sort of thing
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So again, that will cause oxidation, will cause an acidic soil. So just over time
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So long story short, what is the fix? And the fix is lime. Lime is your fix
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Now, with container gardening and houseplants, you do not want to use hydrated lime
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I'll put a link down below for what lime you do want to use. But it's very, very simple
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You're going to take one cup of lime, and you're going to throw it into one of the just
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regular potting soil bags of potting soil. So just like your regular ones you buy for your houseplants, not the giant ones
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but just like the regular medium-sized ones. If it is a smaller bag use a half cup It is a giant bag use two cups But lime is the key the other option is woodash and we talked about this in other videos you do want to be kind of careful with this while there is lime in
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woodash it is very difficult to calculate how much lime is in said woodash because it's going to completely
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determine on what kind of trees you burnt and how long they burnt for etc and so forth so the general rule
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is two cups but I would probably reduce that to one I find the stuff to be very very toxic so just
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something to keep in mind but it is it is available and you can use it for like an are really organic
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I mean lime is organic too it's literally big rock pulverized into little rock but yeah ultimately
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that that would work as well the line what exactly does it do it replaces the hydrogen item ions
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within the soil system ultimately increasing our soil pH It's very, very simple, basic chemistry that is taking place
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But because it is lying, it is solving two problems at once
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So it is raising our pH, but is also replacing that calcium, magnesium, the molecules we're
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talking about before that were removed through water leaching, sodium within reason
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It's not going to do a bunch of damage. But it is replacing those ions that had been removed through the decreased pH and placing them
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back into the soil suspension. The nicest part about lime is it is really inexpensive, so that is a
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huge benefit. And the two types you're going to go for is the dolomite lime or calcite limestone
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So those are the two different types that you can get. Either one is going to work. The dolomite
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is higher in magnesium. So something to keep in mind if you were, you know, lacking in magnesium
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then that's something that you may want to consider. But ultimately, line
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is going to be your solution for your potting soil. So if you're reviving the potting soil in the
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spring for container gardening, you know, throw in a couple cups of lime. If you are repotting
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plants up and you're using fresh soil, a couple cups of lime, obviously based on the volume you're
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dealing with. Or if you have houseplants and everyone's potted up and happy and you want to add
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lime, just do a little sprinkle around the top water. It'll force it down. And then every time you go
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water you know sprinkle a little bit more on top don't don't layer the top of this
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well may be tempting you'll end up with mold and fungus it tends to not sit
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very nicely on top of this well it floats and makes a mess so avoid that when
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possible but ultimately this is what you need especially if you're having
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nutrient issues you have old potting soil or if you're using a soilless
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potting soil that is in the form of coconut choir or peat moss so something you
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definitely want to add if you guys have not heard this tip before be sure to let me know
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in the comments down below hit that subscribe button give it a thumbs up and also share it with
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your friends that didn't know to add line to their potty so trust me you'll see pretty wicked
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results such as like unique color pops in your indoor plants and just overall better growth
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because pH is a serious factor when it comes to nutrient intake so just something cool to look at
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guys are really enjoying for whatever reason I'm not sure why really enjoying a
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house plant container garden type content when it comes as well I feel like it's
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because we're all switching our mindset from raised bed in bed gardening to like
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house plants and door gardening so ultimately I want you guys to thrive and do
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very very well show up all the competition on the block and this is the best way
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to do it I don't thank you guys so much for watching and I will talk to you next time. Bye
#Biological Sciences