Hi, I am a backyard gardener and from my experience I dont worry too much if my soil PH is off a little from the ideal. What I find important is the incorporation of organic matter, trace minerals and Mycorrhizae fungi.
Mycorrhizae fungi form a
mutualistic relationship with the roots of most plant species (and while only a small proportion of all species has been examined, 95% of these plant families are predominantly mycorrhizal). Mycorrhizae fungi does not work on plants in the cabbage family but the results are very dramatic in tomatoes.
Try a "google" search on Mycorrhizae fungi and read up on it. At first I was skeptical about my living soil needing Mycorrhizae fungi but after using the product the difference in my plants compared to my neighbors N-P-K chemical garden are amazing. On baking soda, personally I would not use baking soda treated water when watering my tomatoes. The baking soda will kill the existing beneficial Mycorrhizae fungi. I do use baking soda, one level tablespoon per gallon of water to spray on the leaves to help prevent air borne disease like early blight and late blight and thats about it. No soil drench. I am no scientist but I find nature is very forgiving when you feed the soil living organisms instead of trying to change the soil PH through chemestry. IMHO a little cow manure and compost goes a long way.