Sharing my method of applying citric acid.
Just a little background: Common bermuda, Sonoran Desert, no rain, no in ground irrigation. I am at the mercy of my water hose. High pH with very high sodium levels.. obviously coming from my water supply.
I treat 2700sq ft in my front yard with 1lb/M (sq ft). So I weigh out the necessary poundage of dry citric acid.
Rule of thumb is no more than 4lbs dissolved in a gallon of water. I dump my citric into an old 1gal countertop dispenser, and fill it up with water.. mix thoroughly. (I know it's actually less than a gallon of water I'm putting in, but it's because less is needed for 2.7lbs.)
So now, this 1 gallon of solution will be sprayed in 4 rounds, by filling up my hose end 4 times. 1 fill up covers the entire area with 1 pass. Each fill up I walk in a different direction and cover as best as I can. I use the shower spray pattern.
A very important part of this is the output setting. 2oz/G setting is the safest considering the heat I deal with, greatly reducing the risk of burn compared to spraying from a tank/backpack. I have an Ortho, but I'm sure a Chapin or Chameleon would work well.. as long as you can adjust the flow as shown.
Once all of the citric acid solution is down, the real work begins. I stay an extra hour hand watering the area to help get the solution into the soil and off of the foliage. I estimate maybe a 1/4 inch gets put down throughout the 2700sq ft in the hour I'm out there. I highly recommend one of these Underhill Rainbow nozzles, does a great job of putting out water without restricting any flow. Perfect for residential water pressures.
After the hand watering, it's time to move sprinklers. I use a variety of different hose end oscillating and impact sprinklers to take care of my watering. It takes a few hours, but I put them out in a way where I can get down a full inch of water all over.
Very important to put down at least 1 inch of water after citric acid applications. Treating soil with citric acid liberates magnesium and calcium which can become toxic to the grass if not flushed down with plenty of water. In my case, it also gets sodium out of the cation exchange sites and into solution. Water leaches all of these out before it causes problems.
Ideally, you could hose end citric acid in the rain (sounds fun), or run your irrigation immediately after spraying. In my situation, this is the best I can do for applications. I understand this is time consuming, but it's only 2 or 3 times a month when I do this. I happen to always be watering, which helps. Spraying early in the morning before the sun is out definitely helps mitigate burn, however the 2oz setting seems to be enough to do that.
This is definitely a unique method to put down citric acid, but it has been working well for me. I hope it helps someone out there in a similar situation.
I need to install irrigation. pls halp
Just a little background: Common bermuda, Sonoran Desert, no rain, no in ground irrigation. I am at the mercy of my water hose. High pH with very high sodium levels.. obviously coming from my water supply.
I treat 2700sq ft in my front yard with 1lb/M (sq ft). So I weigh out the necessary poundage of dry citric acid.
Rule of thumb is no more than 4lbs dissolved in a gallon of water. I dump my citric into an old 1gal countertop dispenser, and fill it up with water.. mix thoroughly. (I know it's actually less than a gallon of water I'm putting in, but it's because less is needed for 2.7lbs.)
So now, this 1 gallon of solution will be sprayed in 4 rounds, by filling up my hose end 4 times. 1 fill up covers the entire area with 1 pass. Each fill up I walk in a different direction and cover as best as I can. I use the shower spray pattern.
A very important part of this is the output setting. 2oz/G setting is the safest considering the heat I deal with, greatly reducing the risk of burn compared to spraying from a tank/backpack. I have an Ortho, but I'm sure a Chapin or Chameleon would work well.. as long as you can adjust the flow as shown.
Once all of the citric acid solution is down, the real work begins. I stay an extra hour hand watering the area to help get the solution into the soil and off of the foliage. I estimate maybe a 1/4 inch gets put down throughout the 2700sq ft in the hour I'm out there. I highly recommend one of these Underhill Rainbow nozzles, does a great job of putting out water without restricting any flow. Perfect for residential water pressures.
After the hand watering, it's time to move sprinklers. I use a variety of different hose end oscillating and impact sprinklers to take care of my watering. It takes a few hours, but I put them out in a way where I can get down a full inch of water all over.
Very important to put down at least 1 inch of water after citric acid applications. Treating soil with citric acid liberates magnesium and calcium which can become toxic to the grass if not flushed down with plenty of water. In my case, it also gets sodium out of the cation exchange sites and into solution. Water leaches all of these out before it causes problems.
Ideally, you could hose end citric acid in the rain (sounds fun), or run your irrigation immediately after spraying. In my situation, this is the best I can do for applications. I understand this is time consuming, but it's only 2 or 3 times a month when I do this. I happen to always be watering, which helps. Spraying early in the morning before the sun is out definitely helps mitigate burn, however the 2oz setting seems to be enough to do that.
This is definitely a unique method to put down citric acid, but it has been working well for me. I hope it helps someone out there in a similar situation.
I need to install irrigation. pls halp