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Colorado

Anyone out there know the pH of peat moss? I was under the impression that it is acidic (pH 3-5?) but I bought some this weekend, and tested it with my pH meter to find that it was pH 7. Are some peat mosses pH adjusted? Ideally, I need to find the most acidic stuff that I can get my hands on. thanks!

11/26/2006 5:53:09 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

4.0 but some peat is nutrilized to 7.0. When you tested this peat was it moist?

11/26/2006 6:28:30 PM

Colorado

yeah, I put some in a cup with water to get it thoroughly moist, and then tested it. It was dead on at 7.0

11/26/2006 7:41:35 PM

[email protected]

The pH of untreated Peat should be around 3.6-4.2 so this stuff is either treated with Lime or there is something wrong with the test.

How did you test the pH?

11/26/2006 10:36:50 PM

Colorado

I got the peat moss wet, and then put the pH meter in the moist peat moss...

I was using this device, which claims "simply push probe into wet soil"

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Rapitest-Soil-pH-Meter-Test-Tester-NO-BATTERIES_W0QQitemZ130052015463QQihZ003QQcategoryZ75670QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

11/26/2006 11:51:34 PM

wisconsin rapids WI

what was the ph of the water you used to wet the peat this could change your ph

11/27/2006 8:24:42 AM

My personal opinion of hand held meters at least the cheap ones is they are not a good device for testing(this is based on testing soil in beds vs. control areas),,,,but the packaging on your peat should tell you if it has been adjusted or a call to where you got it or the distributor should get the info.

11/27/2006 8:39:57 AM

I had one of those hand ph meters for soil. To use it you need use distilled water accoording to the direction or it mess up the test. Also to check to see if the meter accurate
use it to test a small cup of orange juice, Also remeber to clean meter after ever test or the dirt will damage the meters accuracy in the future.

11/27/2006 10:16:08 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Normal Denver Water Ph is around 7.8..... not sure what LongMont or where LongMont gets their water........One could use fish tank Ph adjuster to nuetralize the water first......HandHeld meters are not very reliable in this case.

11/28/2006 2:00:06 PM

Montoursville, PA

Wiz.........would'nt it be a whole lot easier to just target your soil PH at about 6.5 the lower end of what is generally considered excellent? Using your water as is would be foliar and drench without PH concern of the water.

One way to do that would be to use an organic fertilizer designed for acid loving plants. That's the way I run a few hills of spuds around the edge of my patch. It's enough to lower the PH suitable to grow spuds in a small area without adjusting the whole patch.

11/28/2006 7:46:51 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Doc I was just speaking about adjusting the Ph of the water for the test. Its already enough work to foliar without adjusting the Ph too. Although their is a great Ph nuetralizer with Buffering capacity I use for my fresh water tank that has trace elements in it.....perhaps the next secret to growing big? .....lol

11/29/2006 2:53:47 PM