Potassium sulfate any good to use?
 

I'm thinking of buying some potassium sulfate online and adding it to soil and container mixes where I plant bananas. Is this a good way to add potash, and if it is how do I figure out how much to add?

Re: Potassium sulfate any good to use?
 

I'm assuming you want to lower the pH? Home Depot has pH meters that don't require batteries. Just stick it in the ground or soil for a reading. When it's the proper pH you want/need, then don't add any more.

Re: Potassium sulfate any good to use?
 

I've been reading here about bananas needing fertilizers with high potassium numbers (15-5-30, etc...). I haven't seen any such fertilizers at the local nurseries, big box stores, so I thought I could add some potassium sulfate to my normal fertilization routine. Just like I sometimes add epson salts. I'm not sure what this has to do with changing the pH...is potassium sulfate acidic like ammonium sulfate is? Is that what you're referring to?

About pH meters, I think the ones I would trust the least would be the $10 ones from Home Depot. I've had them but the results have always been variable. Worse, I never know which result is accurate. Same with test strips, I've used el cheepo ones, and el better ones. Results vary also. To make sense of this, what I need is an accurate test solution(s) to use as a standard, then I can see which pH meters are accurate and consistent enough to use. Also, the methods used are important...do you mix the soil sample with distilled water or with tap water (is your tap water high or low pH?). Do you clean the probe first, and what do you clean the probe with (4000 grit sandpaper, special expensive probe cleaning material, your wet greasy fingers?).

But back to potassium sulfate...is anyone using it as an add-on fertilizer for banana plants?

Re: Potassium sulfate any good to use?
 

Anything with sulfate in it is going to be acidic and thereby lower the pH. I have been using the same pH meter I bought from HD for almost 20 years now, and it's still as reliable as the day I bought it. My research demands accurate results, and that meter is accurate. I won't recommend things I don't use myself.