pH Water for Microgreens
Whether you’re practising hydroponic gardening or the normal organic soil gardening, understanding the pH of your growing environment is paramount to the growth of your plants. The pH of your growing environment can be Alkaline, basic, or acidic; 5.5 to 6.5 are the general pH level at which most plants thrive and bloom. Below the 5.5 pH level, plants are acidic while any reading above 6.5 is either basic or Alkaline.
Therefore, gardening requires you to understand basics on pH level and how to fix them. Microgreens are the effective baby version of vegetables or plants you may already know and like. They are usually sprouts (or sprout-like small leaves) usually under 14 days of growth.Each of the micro greens will not taste exactly like the adult plant.
They are delicious and generally have from 4-6 times the concentration of nutrients you usually get in the bigger/adult size plant. That means you get more nutrients in a smaller package, like beta carotene, vitamin B, vitamin C and even amino acids.
However, they are usually milder, since they're not fully grown.Therefore, you need proper knowledge on watering microgreen, type of water and pH levels because it can make a big difference in their survival and growth rate.
Yes! You might be thinking watering is simple; add water daily perhaps finger test the soil if it’s well soaked and that’s it! Unfortunately, microgreens are delicate and you’ll need to be slightly more scientific than using rules of thumbin your approach.
Water Quality Guidelines
From normal perspective, the municipal water running through your faucet seems to be enough for the needs of your microgreens. However, it’s advised that you conduct a simple test to be sure if the tap or faucet water is as good as it looks.
Here is a step to simple test
· Grow a batch of microgreens in a container with your tap or faucet water
· Grow another batch in a container but this time with water from another source maybe a distilled water or bottled water.
Observe the two plants;
· If the first batch you plant with faucet or tap water have their leaves curled or faint yellow, then there’s excess chlorine in the municipal water.
· In most cases, plants grown with bottle water thrives well and taste better.
When you garden indoors, you are a weathercaster. Rather than merely predict rain, you make it happen.
As a home gardener, you might already have compared the results of various soils, or of varying temperatures, or of several cultivars of the same species of seeds, but probably not of water from different sources. You can laboriously analyse water in a lab, and cautiously sip it, and delicately immerse your elbow in it, and luxuriantly bathe in it, and daringly dive into it, and yet still gain little insight as to whether it is suitable for your crops.
Regardless whether municipal tap water or bottled spring water or gathered rain water or pumped up well water or piped in pond water or melted down winter snow, water quality is best judged by the results. And the results are microgreens.
Do a taste test. Grow two batches of seeds in the same soil under identical conditions of light and darkness and warmth, but not of water. Hydrate one with water from your faucet, and the other with water from an alternative source, for instance bottled spring water.
After two weeks, do they look the same? If not, if the greens hydrated with tap water are slightly yellow or curled, but the other batch not, then chlorine is to blame. Or if the two batches of microgreens look the same, next conduct an animal experiment, the animal being you. Do they taste the same?
Importance of PH Level:
Microgreens must absorb desired quantities of different nutrients from the mineral water solutions for proper growth. High or low pH levels may prove to be disastrous. In general, green plants demand pH levels between 5.50 and 6.5 (a slightly acidic range), though few exceptions are cabbage (6.5-7.5), onion (6.5-7.0) and pineapple (5.0-5.5).
Best pH for watering microgreens
Microgreens thrives generally in a slightly acidic environment, that’s a pH between 6 and 6.5. Although, they can survive in the range of 5.5 to 7 but they prefer the narrower for good yield, almost neutral range.
Basic Understanding of the pH values
0 – extreme acidity
0.5 to 0.9 – car battery acid
1.8 to 2.4 – lemon juice
2.4 to 3.4 -- vinegar
3 to 4 – orange juice
5.5 to 7 – water best for most greens
6 to 6.5 – water best for microgreens
neutral 7 – distilled water
7.36 to 7.45 – a healthy human’s blood
7.1 to 8 – many cities tap waters
8 – unpolluted sea water
8.2 to 8.4 – baking soda
9 to 10 – soap
12.5 – chlorine bleach
14 – extreme alkalinity
How do you get this figure?
Testing your water is easy, youdon’t need a PhD to know pH. All you need is a pH tester strip; it will show you the pH of your water.
I will show some of the best Ph Testers.
Digital PH Meter
HIGH ACCURACY: Ensure Your Pool, General Hydroponics Ph or Even Drinking Water Has a Perfect Ph Balance and Safe for Use with Tester Precision Ph Accuracy. Tester Has a Sensitive Electrode Sensor to Read Accurate Ph Levels. The Included Detailed Manual Will Show You How to Get the Best Accurate and Stable Reading
AUTO CALIBRATION: The Ph Meter Has an Auto Temprature Compensation Feature That Adjusts to Water Temperatures and Water Quality to Give Ph Readings Almost Instantly. As Well, You Can Calibrate the Tester with One Touch Button Using Buffer Powder.
AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION: No more need to take care about the temperature of testing liquid, as ph meter has built in (ATC) automatic temperature compensation, so that it can accurately determine pH value of the sample at any temperature in a range of 0°C - 80°C (32°F - 176°F)
WIDE USE: Ideal for Household or Laboratory Use, Suitable for Testing Ph Balance of Drinking Water, Pool, Aquarium, Ro System, Spa, or Hydroponics; Appropriate for Wide Range of Applications
MAKE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE PRODUCTS: Come with 1x PH meter, 1x user manual, 2x 1.5V LR44 button cells(build-in), 3x PH Buffer Powders
Yoyomax Soil Test Kit
Cut the guess work altogether and make your plants much happier. You will know what your plant need when and why; your plants will be healthier and growing.
3 in 1 design (Moisture/pH/Light Tester) provides you a comprehensive idea about the soil condition of your garden and lawn. With a quick check, you can tell if you need to adjust the plant food/water and if your plants get enough sunlight.
No batteries or electricity needed, ready to use out of box. Plug and read, making gardening easier than ever.
Compact and portable for indoor/outdoor use. A necessity for anyone who gardens or has houseplants, it will come in handy whenever you grow an interest in gardening.
Water Quality Tester
ACCURATE AND RELIABLE: To achieve high accuracy, equipped with premium quality titanium alloy probe, and reliable Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) ensures reading always be accurate at various temperatures.
MULTIFUNCTIONAL AND UPGRADED: Professional TDS, EC and Temperature Pen 3 in 1. Upgraded with big backlit LCD for easier reading, and auto-lock function for easier use.
EASY AND INSTANTLY: Just turn TDS meter on and stir water gently, then stabilized readings will be auto-locked on LCD in seconds, and the tds ppm meter will shut off automatically if without operation over 2 minutes.
MULTIPURPOSE TDS TESTER: Test drinking water purity to ensure it's healthy, monitor if Reverse Osmosis (RO)/DI System works properly, whether filter need replaced, maintenance aquarium, hydroponics(test nutrients), pool and spa, etc.
HOW TO OPTIMIZE pH levels of water
De-chlorinate
Virtually almost all water treatment plants require chlorine as a disinfectant to kill bacteria and make water more portable and safer to drink. Unfortunately, chlorine is responsible for the defect in taste and colour of your plant.
Carbon filter is one of the most popular easier tools to remove chlorine from water to feed your microgreens.
Filtrete Large Capacity Granulated Activated Carbon Water Filter
Great Taste Filtration reduces chlorine taste & odor, sand, soil, silt, rust and sediment for up to 3 months based on 3M Testing
Filter water throughout your home from appliances to bathing
Universal whole house sump style filters that work in most standard capacity whole house sump style systems
Best for Chlorine Taste & Odor reduction
Upgrade to Grooved filters (5 Microns) for longer-lasting filters
Tested and Certified by WQA against NSF / ANSI Standard 42
The temperature of the water
Cold water is not acceptable in microgreen garden, same as warm water. Microgreen requires a well-regulated water temperature that falls within 50⁰F - 60⁰F. Any temperature above 70⁰F will expose your microgreens to burns and curled leaves. Therefore, a simple thermometer with little observation time will guide you to a perfect temperature.
Hardiness of the water
Water hardness is caused by the presence of minerals in the water; these occur naturally as the water passes through the rock on its way to the treatment works. Calcium and magnesium carbonate are the two most common minerals which cause this issue.
Identifying hard water is quite easy while gardening at home. It is much more difficult to get a lather with soap, and also limescale will build up on the inside of your appliances. A perfect example is the white coating sometimes on the inside of your kettle; that’s a sign of hard water.
While it is not good for your appliances, it is beneficial for your plants. Soft water can slow the growth of your plants. But hard water is more likely to be alkaline, you’ll need to check and adjust the pH for your plants.
How To Maintain The Level:
The first step is to measure the pH of the solution with the help of a pH meter. Paper test kits and liquid pH test kits are also available for this purpose, but a digital pH meter can produce fast and more accurate results.
Once you obtain the pH value, the next step would be to choose the best pH buffer that should be added to obtain the right level. Two types of buffers can be found:
• pH Down: Used when pH level is above 6.5 (for the plants demanding the pH range 5.5-6.5). The buffer will bring down the pH level
• pH Up: Used when level is below 5.5 (for the plants demanding the pH range 5.5-6.5). The buffer will raise the pH level.
VAXA Homeopathic Medicinal Systemic Alkalizer for Buffering an Acid pH System
Alkaline Balance: Helps support beneficial alkaline/acid balance in the body for health & wellbeing
Digestive Health: Formulated to help protect against acid buildup & rebalance an overly acidic digestive tract
Potent: Made to pharmaceutical standards in compliance with Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the U.S.
Trusted Source: Doctor-formulated with 14 homeopathic tissue salts for alkaline balance; Vegetarian
PH METER BUFFER SOUTION
One good example of ingredients used in pH down buffers is phosphoric acid. Potassium hydroxide is among the best ingredients used for pH up buffers. Add the required buffer according to the manufacturer’s instructions and make sure to use pH meter to adjust the value to the optimal level. Remember that special precautions must be taken, as these buffers may cause burns or skin issues.
Choosing Right Buffer:
When selecting a pH buffer, you must consider some important things like:
• Water Quality: Usually water is neutral at pH value of 7, but if it is already acidic or alkaline in nature, the buffer must be selected accordingly.
• Type of Plant: Every plant has its own internal pH range that must be known in advance. (Microgreen pH range is 6.0 to 6.5)
It is also recommended to use pH meter to measure the pH level regularly, especially after the water is recycled. By following these steps, you can definitely add to the yield of your garden.