PH WTF!!

Rastaman85

Rastaman85

Active Member
sup,
So I regularly calibrate my pen (4.0+7.0) plus keep it in storage solution so know it's pretty accurate. I always oh after everything added to approx 6.7-6.8. Checked runoff out of curiosity it was 5.8? Put through about 3 litres of 6.8 as that's all I had but ph 6.0? Why is this?

Just got some dolomite lime to adjust it. How much should I add per litre approx. Not much directions on it. Or should I just keep adding loads ph6.8 or higher till that's the runoff? Just not sure. Thanks guys
image.jpeg Peace out.
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
BTW if you are going to use that lime it's really only effective if mixed well with the soil prior to use. But shouldn't be needed if you're using a quality pro mix. I've screwed with lime and hardwood ash and the fact is if you have quality soil it's not needed. Because the PH of my pro mix fresh out of the bale is 5.7. So I wanted to raise it to 6.5 b cause I was having issues. But the issue wasn't the soil. It was lack of N in bloom nutes. So I've learned that all I need to do is mix in a little grow nutes for the first half of flower. That's keeps her nice and happy!
 
Last edited:
Rastaman85

Rastaman85

Active Member
GOLDBERG71 said:
If you're in soil you want a soil PH of 6.5. Testing run off is POINTLESS and irrelevant.
Click to expand...
GOLDBERG71 said:
If you're in soil you want a soil PH of 6.5. Testing run off is POINTLESS and irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Oh? Right? Damn?! I'm in biobizz light mix sorry! I read runoff should b 6.5-6.8 also so was panicking! I feel like a bit of an ahole now lol. Maybe just give them all light flush 6.5 next water? This pic was bout week & half ago:image.jpeg
 
Bugeye

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Hmm...guess I disagree with a lot said here.

Testing run off for ppm and ph is a useful diagnostic tool when you have an issue in soil. The soil ph will always buffer (overpower) your nutrient or water ph so in your case you likely have an acidic soil and you will have a difficult time correcting it with just high ph waterings. Soil ph is easily testable without a soil probe but you will need a soil sample which is difficult to procure from a potted plant. Lime will increase your soil ph but it will do so slowly so you may be better off going with wood ash (like from a fireplace) which increases ph quickly.

If your plants are looking healthy, I would avoid making any large adjustments. You can also expand your plants usable ph range by inoculating your root zone with myco fungi.
 
Rastaman85

Rastaman85

Active Member
Lol that's another side to the argument!
I Thot biobizz soil was ph'd? Cud b wrong. I just want to make sure wit I'm doing is right & not affect yield etc. I just assumed watered 6.5-6.8ph then runoff wud b same? This is my first photo grow aswell so. Thot adding some dolomite lime to a watering wud stable it a bit? Could b talking out my arse it has been known! Just not 109% if runoff ph matters in soil? Anyone else got anything to add? Really appreciate so far and willing to listen to more! Lol LA cheese smellin real nice already!bpeace!!
 
Rastaman85

Rastaman85

Active Member
a senile fungus said:
If you're in soil you likely dont have to check pH at all...

You'll just end up chasing your own tail, and making issues for yourself as you chase a problem that isn't there.

Are you seeing an issue with the plants? Or are you just responding to a number on a digital meter.....?
Click to expand...
Some of the lower/mid leaves yellowing & some crispy so decided to check runoff. Got cal mag & Epsom salt so don't think that. I just Thot ph was pretty important no matter wot medium?
 
a senile fungus

a senile fungus

Well-Known Member
All depends on what you start with, and what you put into it.

I don't check mine. If i was doing more of a hydro type thing then I would check EC and pH. But thats just me...
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
Rastaman85 said:
I just assumed watered 6.5-6.8ph then runoff wud b same?
Click to expand...
NO for the reasons I stated. Bugeye is correct. D lime works very slowly. There is another type that works faster but I can't recall the name right now. But if you want to raise the ph of the soil hardwood ash would be better.

Testing run off is pointless as I've stated. What good does reading something that you can't quantify what it's come in contact with? Unless you mixed your own soil you would be guessing. I can't tell you how much lime or other material the run off has come in contact with? How do you quantify the remaining nutrients that are in the run off from the previous feeding. And how does that effect the run off?

If your soil PH is below 6.5 there is an argument that could be made and I've made it. That feeding with a PH higher than 6.5 should bring your soil closer to the optimal PH. I have done this for a run and tested for results. I've also added lime and on another run I've done the hard wood ash. Like I said my pro mix PH is 5.7. The hardwood ash brought the PH to 6.5 easily and quickly. I fed at 6.5 PH with good results. I've also figured out that feeding plants isn't as easy as grow and bloom nutes and follow directions. In the end learning my nutrients was the key. I now use pro mix 50/50 with perlite and I feed at 6.5 and regulate my nutrients to what the plant needs and not some feeding schedule that I found on the bottle or on the Internet.
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
keep in mind there are other nutrients in the lime. I can't recall what they were but there's a LOT less to wood ash. So you soil is more of a clean slate. That's the purpose of using pro mix. It's a clean blank slate to start from. So you know exactly what is in there and it's not there until you put it there. :lol::weed:
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
a senile fungus said:
If you're in soil you likely dont have to check pH at all...
Click to expand...
I've heard this before and to each his own. That's the beauty of this everyone does what works for them. But there are facts that should be looked at.
image.gif
This is one of them. That's pure science and there's no getting around it. So I personally think staying near or at 6.5 is ideal. And I don't want my girls working on anything but flowering. Why would I want to make it hard on them to feed? Plants are like batteries. There's only so much life to them. I'd rather they expend every bit of energy producing flowers not fighting the environment I control.
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
a senile fungus said:
All depends on what you start with, and what you put into it.

I don't check mine. If i was doing more of a hydro type thing then I would check EC and pH. But thats just me...
Click to expand...
It's important in either situation but there's much more "wiggle" room with soil. Mistakes in hydro show themselves quickly and can do damage just as fast. Where as mistakes in soil have the aid of soil buffing. None the less properly maintained soil will out preform non maintained soil. My bloom mix at full strength late in flower is about 5.3 without correcting. I WOULDN'T DARE POUR THAT ON MY SOIL. Conversely with one of my grow nutrients reads 7.6 prior to correcting. I WOULDN'T DARE PUT THAT ON MY SOIL EITHER. I just figure if I'm going to put the time money and effort into something I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. PH adjusting the nutrients is way to easy to skip that step. There's only one thing that might be more important than making sure your plant can easily get food and that's making sure it gets enough light.
 
a senile fungus

a senile fungus

Well-Known Member
Dry/wet cycles will swing pH in soil, making the range of what you can put in to be wider. I use a good source of well water to start, and use a two part nutrient that i mix in three different ratios to get what i need. The simple fact is that checking my pH is a redundancy that i've eliminated from my own particular process. I'm not one to deny science. I embrace it.


Your mileage may vary.

Keep it simple, scientist.
 
Resinhound

Resinhound

Well-Known Member
GOLDBERG71 said:
NO for the reasons I stated. Bugeye is correct. D lime works very slowly. There is another type that works faster but I can't recall the name right now. But if you want to raise the ph of the soil hardwood ash would be better.

Testing run off is pointless as I've stated. What good does reading something that you can't quantify what it's come in contact with? Unless you mixed your own soil you would be guessing. I can't tell you how much lime or other material the run off has come in contact with? How do you quantify the remaining nutrients that are in the run off from the previous feeding. And how does that effect the run off?

If your soil PH is below 6.5 there is an argument that could be made and I've made it. That feeding with a PH higher than 6.5 should bring your soil closer to the optimal PH. I have done this for a run and tested for results. I've also added lime and on another run I've done the hard wood ash. Like I said my pro mix PH is 5.7. The hardwood ash brought the PH to 6.5 easily and quickly. I fed at 6.5 PH with good results. I've also figured out that feeding plants isn't as easy as grow and bloom nutes and follow directions. In the end learning my nutrients was the key. I now use pro mix 50/50 with perlite and I feed at 6.5 and regulate my nutrients to what the plant needs and not some feeding schedule that I found on the bottle or on the Internet.
Click to expand...

Calcium sulfate dihydrate,is the one you are thinking of maybe besides dolomite also known as gypsum.There is also hydrated lime but thats potent stuff.
 
GOLDBERG71

GOLDBERG71

Well-Known Member
a senile fungus said:
Dry/wet cycles will swing pH in soil, making the range of what you can put in to be wider. I use a good source of well water to start, and use a two part nutrient that i mix in three different ratios to get what i need. The simple fact is that checking my pH is a redundancy that i've eliminated from my own particular process. I'm not one to deny science. I embrace it.


Your mileage may vary.

Keep it simple, scientist.
Click to expand...
So are you saying that you've mixed the same nutes at the same rates for a long enough period time that you know you're ending up with a PH near 6.5. Or are you saying you're using nutrients that are off by a point or so and you're still having great results. Or are you adding a buffer to your soil. I feel like you're leaving something out here. Because it might work short term but long term that sounds like a disaster waiting to show its face.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top