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[New Wisdom]

WARNING!!!!!

If I told any of you to put 2 tablespoons of distilled vinegar per gallon in your water then STOP DOING IT!!!!  My plants have been on decline for a while. It took a while after I started using the vinegar to take effect.  Anyways I had no clue why it was happening. My pereskiopsis were loosing leaves and had a slow growth rate.  I had skinnier branches and the color was off. 

I got discouraged because I couldn't figure it out and started to get lazy. I stopped using vinegar in the water about a month ago.  Well after about a month all my plants are doing 50 times better since I stopped the vinegar.  I think it was somehow building up in the plants and really screwing with things.  Anyways. I think it can be helpful if you use 1 teaspoon per gallon once or twice a month, but 2tbls/gallon every watering is too much.

Sorry if I told you to do this, but I reccomend you stop now if I did!!

Sorry!
New Wisdom

[Rife]

Try apple cider vinegar instead. Distilled vinegar has been used as an herbicide

[Psylover]

What happens is you are lowering the pH of the soil and when lowered too much the plants cant absorb nutrients unless it's a plant that like low pH which most plants dont.

[New Wisdom]

Yeah. I have heard from lots of people that when using tap water putting vinegar in it helps stop salts from building up in the soil. Which actually is a good thing, but using too much will hurt your plants more than help I have learned.  I think once a month with a small amount would be good for it.  Or even just flushing pots with distilled or rain water.

[Rife]

I think you can use dish soap too. Top watering usually prevents build up of salts

[DansMaTete]

New wisdom

Did you check pH of your water before and after adding vinegar ? Cause, if you drop too much the pH it, of course, lead to problem.

I'm concerned cause i have to lower a lot my water pH (8,8 where i live).

[New Wisdom]

I did not. I definitely should have.  My plants really love the rain water which is supposedly a bit more acidic than tap water. I'll have to check the PH of the tap and rain water and figure something out.

And idk about dish soap.  That seems a bit sketchy. Would raise the PH quite a bit and leave behind residue wouldn't it?

[DansMaTete]

Rain water is the best ! But as you i guess, here rains are quite rare.

As a cacti lover, i think you could be interested by this document if you don't know it yet.
It made me understand lots of thing about water pH

2 Likes plantlight and LIBERTYNY like this.

[New Wisdom]

Yep. It only rains like 2-4 times here during the summer.  Rains a lot in spring though.    I haven't seen that document before. I'll have to read it when I get home from work.