TIL a greenhouse volunteer's trick about potting mix pH

At a master gardener event in Portland last Saturday, this older lady showed me how a simple vinegar test on my soil mix saved me from killing another batch of seedlings. I used to just eyeball bagged mixes, but now I check pH before every repot. Has anyone else tried the baking soda method for alkaline soil?

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richard1373d ago

How much vinegar are you actually putting in the mix when you test it? I've heard about the fizz test for years but never got a straight answer on the ratio, like a spoonful per cup of soil or what. Also worth noting that vinegar only tells you if it's alkaline, it stays quiet on the acid side, so baking soda on the same sample is how you catch mix that's already too sour. What did the master gardener say about the range seedlings actually want, because a lot of bagged stuff runs low and people blame damping off when it's really the pH locking out what the roots need.

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