Water pH question
 

Hello,

We had a huge dump of snow last week, but now that the weather has warmed up a little its starting to melt and I have collected some for water my vanda, kingianum and a few phals.

My question is, is what is the idea pH. Having tested the pH using my fish tank kit, the pH came back at 5.5. Is this to acidic especially if I add fertilizers to it?

Second, anyone have any experience with vermicompost tea and use on orchids and other tropicals.

Thanks for your thoughts and advice!

WOW! I'm complaining that I had to put on long pants this week, and you've got snow!

A solution pH between 5.5 and 6.5, +/- 0.5 is fine. However, the fertilizer will affect that, as will the plant and the potting medium. The thing to do is make up your solution, and water thoroughly, saturating the potting medium. Wait 15 minutes, and dribble about 50 ml (or so) of pure water over the mix, collecting the runoff. The pH of THAT will tell you what the plant is experiencing, and that's what's important.

As to "worm teas", read THIS.

Thanks, yeah I'll give it a try and see what kind of numbers I get back.

Nearly pure water, like snow melt in most areas, takes up carbon dioxide when exposed to air. This accounts for a pH of about 5.5, but as long as the water has very low dissolved salts that will have almost no effect on the final pH when fertilizer is added. Another source of pure water, like bottled distilled water or RO water, may not be so acidic if it hasn't had enough time and exposure to air to take up carbon dioxide, but in no case is dissolved carbon dioxide significant once a fertilizer is added. If you happen to be directly downwind of a bad coal power plant or iron ore smelter, or in an urban area with smog, then the pH of the snowmelt may be from dissolved sulfuric acid or nitric acid. That could be an issue, but I doubt that is the case for you in BC.

Ray

Are you recommending that Inocucor be used every week while Kelp Max is done monthly?

Nope. Normal usage is 1:100 solution added to irrigation solution once per month.

Ray

Thank You When I went to that link, it looked like it was saying to use it more often.