madness
Active Member
Hey guys, I am new at this and like a lot of beginners, mistakes are made. I have been making one since Ive started so I thought I'd contribute my latest experience to maybe help others that are starting off like me, and that may still be doing the same as I was.
I have been growing for six weeks now, all has been going well, but I pretty much was having a Nitrogen deficiency the whole time. I didn't get it. I tested the PH with an aquarium fresh water tester as many of you have or are still doing. I would adjust the PH to 6.5, then I would add my nutrients and feed. I still had a Nitrogen deficiency that eventually lead to more deficiencies.
Today, I finally received my Hanna electronic PH tester pen. It was time for a new feeding so I did my usual with the exception of this time, I could now test the PH after adding the nutrients, which I could not do with the aquarium tester due to the solution being brown and of course it would not match up with the PH color chart.
I was blown away after saw the PH reading. It went from my adjusted 6.5 (before adding nutrients) to a really low 3.8 (after adding nutrients)
When growing marijuana in soil as I do, the pH of the soil should be between 6.5 and 7.0.
When growing hydroponic marijuana the pH of the nutrient solution should be between 5.5 and 6.8.
As you can see, a PH of 3.8 was way off any of the marks, thus the reasons for the deficiencies.
Plants need a specific PH range to be able to absorb the nutrients they are fed. If not, what happens is called nutrient lock.
You can also test your soil, by taking a bit and stirring it up in some distilled water, then test the PH. You can match that reading with the last bit of the runoff water (water that runs out of the holes at the bottom of your pot after watering) to get a good idea what your soil PH is like, and amend if necessary.
One more thing; it is a good idea to let sit your feeding solution overnight so that everything can stabilize. The PH will change after stabilizing and may need readjusting.
This of course is not everything on PH, but point being, an electronic PH meter is detrimental in the growing process. Information is key, so if you have all your proper readings, you will have a better control over your precious crop, as well as a better way of assessing and fixing a problem if one should arise.
Happy Growing!
Below is a pic of my happy girls.
I have been growing for six weeks now, all has been going well, but I pretty much was having a Nitrogen deficiency the whole time. I didn't get it. I tested the PH with an aquarium fresh water tester as many of you have or are still doing. I would adjust the PH to 6.5, then I would add my nutrients and feed. I still had a Nitrogen deficiency that eventually lead to more deficiencies.
Today, I finally received my Hanna electronic PH tester pen. It was time for a new feeding so I did my usual with the exception of this time, I could now test the PH after adding the nutrients, which I could not do with the aquarium tester due to the solution being brown and of course it would not match up with the PH color chart.
I was blown away after saw the PH reading. It went from my adjusted 6.5 (before adding nutrients) to a really low 3.8 (after adding nutrients)
When growing marijuana in soil as I do, the pH of the soil should be between 6.5 and 7.0.
When growing hydroponic marijuana the pH of the nutrient solution should be between 5.5 and 6.8.
As you can see, a PH of 3.8 was way off any of the marks, thus the reasons for the deficiencies.
Plants need a specific PH range to be able to absorb the nutrients they are fed. If not, what happens is called nutrient lock.
You can also test your soil, by taking a bit and stirring it up in some distilled water, then test the PH. You can match that reading with the last bit of the runoff water (water that runs out of the holes at the bottom of your pot after watering) to get a good idea what your soil PH is like, and amend if necessary.
One more thing; it is a good idea to let sit your feeding solution overnight so that everything can stabilize. The PH will change after stabilizing and may need readjusting.
This of course is not everything on PH, but point being, an electronic PH meter is detrimental in the growing process. Information is key, so if you have all your proper readings, you will have a better control over your precious crop, as well as a better way of assessing and fixing a problem if one should arise.
Happy Growing!
Below is a pic of my happy girls.
