soil ph what is the most accurate method to check it

uriah

uriah

Active Member
I bought one of the soil ph,moisture,light meters and everything I stick it in reads 8 all my pots, outside dirt even a cup of newly opened MG time release I use for my house plants, and I know it's usually around 5.7. So instead of buying another bum meter I've been checking my run off after feeding and it usually rises about 2 tenths watering with 6.4 usually comes out between 6.5 -6.6
 
AdReNaLiNeRuSh

AdReNaLiNeRuSh

Well-Known Member
In my opinion, those meters are highly inaccurate. Testing the runoff is your best bet, especially if you have the luxury of a digital pH meter.

:peace:
-AR
 
Woomeister

Woomeister

Well-Known Member
AdReNaLiNeRuSh said:
I'm always open to being proved wrong. Care to provide an explanation behind why you think this?

:peace:
-AR
Click to expand...
I wouldnt be able to prove you wrong as you believe testing run off has worked for you. What I can do is enlighten you to the fact that soil as a medium, especially when mixed with elements such as perlite and vermiculite will inherently create little pockets of unused nutrients etc. When testing run off water if one of these pockets of nutrient is released at the time of testing then you will get an inaccurate reading. This is quite common and the reason why I know using run off is inaccurate. Having said that soil ph isnt really such an issue in comparison to hydro reservoirs. This is all I am going to say on the matter as I am not here to argue, just to spread my experience/knowledge. If you disagrre then fair enough and good luck with all your grows.:eyesmoke:
 
S

steven22

Active Member
dont mean to hijack but are those dye based testers (dropping a couple drops of testing fluid into the vial of water and waiting for the color change) are these testers useless for checking soil ph?
 
uriah

uriah

Active Member
steven22 said:
dont mean to hijack but are those dye based testers (dropping a couple drops of testing fluid into the vial of water and waiting for the color change) are these testers useless for checking soil ph?
Click to expand...
I don't think they are useless, I was using one to begin with, it's just a little more involved and I second guessed myself alot looking at the color charts. Picked up a digi meter for $30.00 it's been worth it to me just to not have to test 2 or 3 times with the vial and droppers, to get to my desired ph. and the comfort of knowing the accuracy.
 
poke smot420

poke smot420

Well-Known Member
the best way is buy one of those Ph test kits from your local hydro store for 10 bucks. easy simple and very effective
 
uriah

uriah

Active Member
Woomeister said:
I wouldnt be able to prove you wrong as you believe testing run off has worked for you. What I can do is enlighten you to the fact that soil as a medium, especially when mixed with elements such as perlite and vermiculite will inherently create little pockets of unused nutrients etc. When testing run off water if one of these pockets of nutrient is released at the time of testing then you will get an inaccurate reading. This is quite common and the reason why I know using run off is inaccurate. Having said that soil ph isnt really such an issue in comparison to hydro reservoirs. This is all I am going to say on the matter as I am not here to argue, just to spread my experience/knowledge. If you disagrre then fair enough and good luck with all your grows.:eyesmoke:
Click to expand...
I hope no one is here to argue. I understand -AR's point in that he believes this method to work as I have been lead to belive the same. Too often I see ambiguous answers of people disagreeing or just saying do this, without substantiating why. To learn I like to know why and your answer seems much more plausible with a reason. I do still find myself in the position of finding an accurate solution to knowing my soil ph. Which is why I started the thread. I see you feel that it is pointless to check the ph of the soil, but I was taught to maintain happy plants soil and water ph were the foundation of a good grow.
 
poke smot420

poke smot420

Well-Known Member
because a lot of people here just tell you to buy the first thing that comes up on a google search without really knowing. although a meter would be helpful for a very large grow op(or if your just plain loaded with cash). for personal use the test kit is for you. good luck
 
Woomeister

Woomeister

Well-Known Member
uriah said:
I hope no one is here to argue. I understand -AR's point in that he believes this method to work as I have been lead to belive the same. Too often I see ambiguous answers of people disagreeing or just saying do this, without substantiating why. To learn I like to know why and your answer seems much more plausible with a reason. I do still find myself in the position of finding an accurate solution to knowing my soil ph. Which is why I started the thread. I see you feel that it is pointless to check the ph of the soil, but I was taught to maintain happy plants soil and water ph were the foundation of a good grow.
Click to expand...
You misunderstood my statement about soil ph not being 'such an issue' as with a hydro reservoir. I meant that soil ph variances does not effect plants so quickly an unforgivingly. I quite agree that you should test and maintain a balanced ph and a good soil ph test meter is very important.:blsmoke:
 
Dr. VonDank

Dr. VonDank

Active Member
Run-off will give you a ballpark fig that can be useful, But as Woo said not really accurate. The run-off will not give you accurate readings of the Rhizosphere zone PH or TDS but there are 2 meters on the market that will-------1. HANNA has a ppm/tds soil probe meter that very accurate. 2. SPEC METERS has a soil probe PH meter that is very accurate as well. CANNA TERRA PROFESSIONAL PLUS medium maintains a very stable 6.5PH for up to 10 weeks out of the bag.
 
uriah

uriah

Active Member
Woomeister said:
You misunderstood my statement about soil ph not being 'such an issue' as with a hydro reservoir. I meant that soil ph variances does not effect plants so quickly an unforgivingly. I quite agree that you should test and maintain a balanced ph and a good soil ph test meter is very important.:blsmoke:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the clarification.
 
stinkbudd1

stinkbudd1

Well-Known Member
uriah said:
Thanks first on my to do list 2moro. I wonder why they didn't just recomend that why I bought the crap meter.
Click to expand...
LETS STOP THE MADDNESS....TO GET THE RIGHT READING FROM THIS NETER THIS IS WHAT YOU DO: BEFORE YOU TEST YOUR SOIL GET YOUR WATER OUT AND SOME VINAGER DUNK THE TEST UNIT INTO THE VINAGER FOR 5 SEC. THEN REMOVE AND CLEAN WITH WATER PAPER TOWEL DRY THEN INSERT THE UNIT INTO YOUR SOIL WITH SOIL DAMP FROM PREVIOUS WATERING OR NOT DRY AND DONT RUSH SOMETIMES IT TAKES UP TO 10 MIN TO GET YOUR READING WHEN I FIRST STARTED I WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING SO THERE YOU GO GOOD LUCK....PEACE POT PROSPERITY..:peace::joint::mrgreen:
 
Dr. VonDank

Dr. VonDank

Active Member
Dr. VonDank said:
Run-off will give you a ballpark fig that can be useful, But as Woo said not really accurate. The run-off will not give you accurate readings of the Rhizosphere zone PH or TDS but there are 2 meters on the market that will-------1. HANNA has a ppm/tds soil probe meter that very accurate. 2. SPEC METERS has a soil probe PH meter that is very accurate as well. CANNA TERRA PROFESSIONAL PLUS medium maintains a very stable 6.5PH for up to 10 weeks out of the bag.
Click to expand...
I use the above meters and they are spot on accurate!!!:mrgreen:----hope that helps
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top