Hi Stush, could you give me the link to your results please?

On further research, it seems the marijuana growers have taken this and run with it so why reinvent the wheel (except to save some $$) - anyone tried Advanced Nutrients 3-part system? It balances the pH. pH Perfect Grow

It would probably be better to use something like PH Down, which only acidifies the water. It doesn't do anything else.

Love to know the results too Stush.

Sans like most of African plants are on the lower side of the ph scale. That means that it can absorb it's nutrients best at that level. In fact if not in range of its' ideal range it can't use them and it does more harm than good. Sans need very little nutrients in nature so the lower ph also helps to kill fungus and pests. I use sulfur dust for acid loving plants sold in most stores. It seems to have no bad effects and I used very little but I believe I could have used more. I posted this in a past post which I didn't go thru to find the exact post.

Hope it helps and maybe some one can add on to this.

Stush

Rainwater is ideal from what I've read. Municipal water supplies are buffered so they're not too acid/low pH to prevent pipes from corroding so, it's not ideal for Sans (or cactus, or blueberries...) but it doesn't look like they're sensitive - might grow better though.

Citric acid and white vinegar work well to acidify tap water. Use a given volume of water equal to about what you'd use in a typical watering session. Let it rest for a day in an open pan so dissolved CO2 can gas off. Dissolved CO2 causes a lower pH read in water straight from the tap, so pH will rise notable by the end of 24 hrs. After the water has rested, add enough citric acid, sulfuric acid (be careful), or white vinegar to reduce pH to 5.2 - 5.5. Note how much was used and add that much to each given volume of water every time you water or fertigate. You can do this w/o letting the water rest after your initial determination of the appropriate amount of acidifier to add. Check pH of your adjusted water periodically, as seasonal variation of tap water pH is to be expected.

Al

Thanks Al that's very helpful.

I'm wondering about adding a little granulated sulphur to the potting mix, same as for blueberries but then again, blueberries need way more water so I think that's the alternative to constantly acidifying the water - so it would be one or the other.