Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

One of my grandsons got involved with a summer project. The group he is with got a growing kit to grow tomatoes. All have the same plants, planter, soil, and fertilizers.

His is not doing to well. He tried feeding them and it doesn't seem to do any good. One of his friends is doing well and has some nice size tomatoes coming on. I checked the ph of the runoff water and it was high in alkaline (sp?). I know just about any acid will bring it down, but I know from my farming days that phosphoric acid is the best to use to bring down the ph for plants.

Where does a person find phosphoric acid? Or what else could be used to bring it down? I know that when the ph is to high or low that the nutirents that is given to them cannot be absorbed by the plant properly.

I'm hoping to get things going for him so he can have a good chance at the county fair.

Any ideas will be appreaciated

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

I have been told to use lime to bring down the acidity. It works well for my lawn and should work for tomato plants,make sure you treat the soil and not the plants

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

what river said, then spread aged cow manure; chicken shat is too acidic.

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

His problem is high PH or alkaline. Soil Sulfur scratched around the plant will cure it for next year. You have to test soil to be really accurate. I'm growing blueberries and they require a soil ph of 5.0. I have a 55 gallon barrel I treat the water with a couple of ounces of muriatic acid to bring the water, which is 6.0 if it's rainwater or 7.2 from the tap down to 5.0 and then water with this. You've got to do what you have to grow them in my rich loam soil. I had to dig out all the dirt 4x14x1 foot deep, throw all the loam onto the garden. In this empty hole went a couple bales of peat moss which is 5.0 ph, sand, pine bark chips and compost. Plus in went soil sulfur. Get this though, my regular garden dirt grows champion tomatoes with little effort. No manipulation of soil or water. Peat moss added to the dirt will help next year. Try some aluminum sulfate for immediate results.

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

Coors & Rivercat, Thanks but the ph is high which means there isn't much acid. Tomatoes contain lots of acid. If it isn't available, the plant is not going to produce.

WillBill, you got it. My only problem is growing in these silly 4 gallon pots. The soil mixture they supplied is some good looking stuff. I've used rain water, tap water, and water out of the nearby stream. All give the same results of 7.8+ after it has gone through the soil.

On my old job where I had to monitor the pools ph, we always used muratic acid to bring it down. I always added it when nobody was around. Some people freak out when they see you pour 5 gallons of muratic in the water they plan on swimming in. I myself think its weird too, but that is chemistry.

The soil mixture is a virgin mix except for the nutirents he has already added. I'm thinking maybe I should flush with some epsom salt to neutrilize the fertilizer salts that remain. Don't like doing that because it does set the plant back a couple of weeks. At least that is what I was told.

I've checked just about everywhere locally to find phosphoric acid, but nothing. I could order online, but the time it gets here would be too late.
Guess I'll use the muratic acid. I have some old fresh water holding tanks from my boat. I'll get the ph stabilized in those first and have him use that water. My target is to get the waters ph to 6.4 to 7.0. I also know if you go to low of ph it is just as bad as it being too high.

Thanks,,,,,,,,SS

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

broke new soil this year, had lots of half roten leaves around and we put about a 12" layer of these leaves on the new garden and tilled them in. Dad lives next door and my brother the other side of him. They both grow tomatoes also, mine are 3 times the size of Dads (and the same plants planted the same day) and at least 10 times the size of my bro's. We all use organic methods in our gardens, Dads has been used many years with organic stuff added every year, bro uses wood chips. from this I would say tomatoes like rotting leaves. Something I do to mine is pile dirt up on them, everything that is under ground will root, more roots more growth and fruit, ya'll have fun now hear

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

The ones I have planted in the ground are doing excellent. It is growing them in that dang on container. The folks putting this on wants them planted in the pots so that they can be brought to the fair. They judge on how well the plant is as well as the fruit.

At the age of 13 I worked in the fields in the Ohio River Valley. The farm that I worked at usually always had between 100,000 plants to 150,000. That was just one of the many big farms. My starting pay was 50 cents an hour. At 14, I got 80 cents an hour. At 15 I got promoted to driving the tractors for a buck an hour. Staking, suckering, and tieing that many plants takes a lot of labor. When I turned 16 with my operators license, I then got to drive the produce truck to Pittsburgs markets. Liked that pay for that period of time,,,,,$150 a week,,not bad for a 16 year old in 1972. BTW, never ever saw one Mexican during that time.....

Did I say I hate growing produce in containers,,,,,,it just aint right!

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

from the moniker you can tell i know a little bit about maters...

dump dolomitic lime on the container - just spread it across the top about 2-3 handfulls
and
water once a week with water

water once a week with miracle grow

Plus full full sun (but you knew this)

Do you bury the plant when you planted it? Normally you are supposed to buy a 10inch plant or so then remove all the leaves but the top ones and bury the entire plant except for the top 2 inches.

tomatolord

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

Thanks Tomaterlord! My grandson had already put the plant in the container before I was involved with this project. As usual, they always come to me with something isn't doing right. Still trying to figure out if they do this to make me feel important or for the free help? Just part of being a grandpaw!

I top dressed with lime and watered. Once I tested the ph and it was way out of range, I figured that was one of the main problems. I didn't find any phosphoric acid, but used muraitic instead. The ph is spot on now. The plants are starting to turn nice and green with new foilage.

Now to teach him how to use a small artists paint brush to pollinate them. Had to put some chicken wire around the plant. Seems as if one of their dogs was watering the plant,,,,,that is not good at all! Probably the biggest problem of the cause.

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

amonia sulfate get it at rurual king 50 pounds around 11 dollars every week 1tsp fertilize around your tomato plants after the tomatoes begin to grow step up to 2 tsp per week. if ya read my profile i em a farmer. this will give you the best and most prductivy plants. use no more then what what was stated here or you end up with 7foot tomato plants pretty and lots of foliage. but no fruit..and yes a tomato is a fruit lol
gl. this method is proven.

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

yep maters don't like yellow water

tomatolord you ever do the upside down maters in a bucket? My dad is doing this now, they dont look bad for bein in a bucket growin out the bottum,,,

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

a word of advice about useing lime.. lime is used to activate the magnesium in the soil. witch does go dormate after the land has set. but lime will do you no good the first yr you put in on your garden it takes a yr for it to affect the soil ph. take soil sample of your garden every yr. most seed and feed places can do that for you.that will give you a good reading of what you need to do to increase or decrease your soil ph. gl.

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

lime - according to my brother to raise the ph of an acre of soil 1 point you need 1 ton of lime - so I just apply the dolomitic lime right into the hole and make a sweet spot...

Dont pinch the suckers that will make the plant taller and with less but bigger fruit - if you want more fruit but smaller size dont pinch

You pinch the growth between the V of a main branch - that is a "sucker" and will eventually produce fruit.

I have not done the upside down maters - might be cool to do as a something different in the garden.

- yellow water is just too high in nitrogen - it is ok i watered down..

---------------
Now if you want GIANT tomato's what they do is let the plant grow 3-4 tall and then when the 1st 12 or so fruit ripen they cut the top off and the keep trimming the suckers off.

that way the plant puts all of its energy into growing the fruit instead of supporting the vine or dozens of fruit.

then as time goes on some of the fruit ripens too early or splits and you get down to 2-3 maters on the plant

Tomatolord

Re: Need help adjusting ph for tomaters

I have terrible sclay soil. I bought a few bags of miracle grow soil for veggies and dug a small hole. Filled the hole with the bagged soil, planted my tomato plants and they are growing great. I also used landscape fabric around them so I use less water and don't need to weed. The bags of soil cost 5 dollars and three bags were enough for 22 tomato plants, 3 cucumbers, 6 squash, two 8 foot rows of beets and one 6 foot row of swiss chard. They are all growing fast and the tomato plants will produce fruit in one or two weeks. In upstate NY that's pretty good considering I planted them at the very end of May 200.