Acidifying soil using vinegar

[aliyesami]

I am a bit confused , i tried to test the acidity of 5% strength vinegar with the ph meter and it reads it as alkaline ... reading of 8.
I read some articles saying to dilute 5% vinegar 2 tblspc with 1 gal of water and apply to soil for reducing alkalinity.
my question is that if pure 5% strength vinegar is not showing acidic then diluting it with water would have no effect in acidification .

your thoughts ?

 

[Meadowlark]

Your ph meter is wrong...or you aren't testing 5% vinegar.

The ph of 5% vinegar ranges from 2.4 to 2.7.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yeah- specify that testing equipment. Are you using a soil stick for a liquid? Those things are calibrated to the expectations of usage. And why are you using acetic acid instead of sulphuric or phosponic acid? At least it could have fertilizing elements as it breaks down. Why not just sulpher and wait?

 

[YumYum]

Those cheap pH testers with the probe you stick in the dirt won't work in liquid. You would think they would work in liquid but they don't. Sometimes I can't even get them to work right in damp soil. I will have to say when they do work in the dirt they seem to be fairly close. I've never had one to work right in potting mix.

You could use vinegar but you should know what the final pH of the irrigation water is before you blindly water your plants with it or you can damage some plants. There are also other options as stated above.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Autumn coming up, find a couple of oak trees, make a good pile of oak leaves, and mulch with them next season. Tannic acid, they used to use oak sawdust with iron filings to make ink, and it's free. Get lucky you can charge for clearing the leaves

 

[cpp gardener]

And it will change back if you don’t treat it again at least every year.