Your tapwater pH is about the same as mine, and municipal water supplies commonly run in that pH range because of the CaHO they add so pipes don't corrode. It CAN be a problem. I have a little difficulty making Fe and Mn available because of a normal tendency for media pH to rise when water pH is that high. I combat it in 2 ways. In summer, I add Sprint 138 (an Fe chelate formulated for high pH water applications) and a Mn chelate to my fertilizer regimen, and in winter, I reduce the pH of my irrigation water by adding vinegar. It's not practical to add the vinegar in summer because I have 300+ plants & would have to do it by hand (watering can) for all those plants, so I do the chelate. If you have fewer plants & don't mind hand watering, you can simply use pH to reduce the alkalinity AND lower pH.

Buy a pond or aquarium test kit that can test pH from about 4.5-9.0. Then, determine how much white vinegar or citric acid it takes to lower the pH of a given volume of freshly drawn tap water to about 5.0 for most plants, and add that much acid each time you water.

Al

Thanks Tapla.

{{gwi:8007}} Al