And so it begins: My medical grow in Sacramento

So I went up to the nursery and bought an inexpensive pH meter. Mistake. I'm thinking I'd probably get more accurate results sticking my finger in the soil and feeling for the pH level. Oh well, you get what you pay for..

It was only then that remembered (funny how that works) that I have complete test kit that I use for my aquarium. I went up and grabbed a gallon of distilled water, came home and got busy.

First thing I did was fill two large plastic tumblers half-full of my soil, then added distilled water to one, and tap water to the other, enough to make it soupy. I set these aside to "brew" for an hour or two, and then it was time to start testing.

First I ran a test on just the water.

Distilled water: 6.0
My tap water: 7.4

Then drew off samples from each of my cups of "soup".

Distilled + soil: 6.8
Tap + soil: 7.2

One problem here is that the tap water was fresh from the faucet. I'm going to run another test tomorrow with water that has been allowed to sit for at least 24 hours, allowing allowing any chlorine to dissipate.

I welcome any comments.

BadAndy said:

Instead of using a shovel for straight digging in hard soil I uusually take a pick style tool to break up the dirt. you may want to try it out I find it so much easier.

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I've got a digging bar, and yeah, it certainly makes things easier.

i smoked some blister in williams not shure what it was but liquorish and lemon-orange was the flavor from 08 outdoor in the nut trees

pinkjackyle said:

i smoked some blister in williams not shure what it was but liquorish and lemon-orange was the flavor from 08 outdoor in the nut trees

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Thanks for that.

No difference with the aged tap water. I even broke out my swimming pool test kit, which has a narrower range, and I believe to be more accurate. It gave me the same results. It then occurred to me that reagents (the chemicals added to water for testing) have a fairly short shelf life, and that both of my kits are at least a few years old, so I went up to the local pool supply house and grabbed some fresh phenol red.

I've not done any more testing with the soil, but I did determine that my tap water is actually around 7.9 or 8.0, and that 1/2 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar will bring a full five gallon bucket down to 7.0

What I assume I've determined here is that my soil is pretty well adjusted, and I don't think I'm going to mess with it. It brings acidic water up into the healthy range, and it damn near brings alkaline water down into the healthy range.

I am going to brew another batch of "soil soup" tonight with the tap water that I adjusted with the distilled vinegar and test it tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to run with this soil the way it is, and just pH Down my water a little bit.

Input is welcomed.

Oh, and to anyone wondering why distilled water tested at 6.0, it's entirely normal. In fact 5.5 - 6.0 is normal. You'd think that it'd be completely neutral, an even 7.0, but the problem is that it has no dissolved minerals to act as buffers. It immediately snatches carbon dioxide from the air and produces carbonic acid, lowering the pH.

when testing that tap water test again 12 hrs later, if its exceptionally hard ill bet it rises again . tried 2 ph a bucket of water with an air stone and ph down 4 a week from 8.5 - 7.0 it wood go down then test again in morn it wood rise to previous levels . i gave up and bought a rain barrel

more people live in sactown than i thought

Good call, man. I've got half a bucket of the water I adjusted still sitting on the porch. I'll check it tomorrow too.

Keenly2 said:

more people live in sactown than i thought

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It is the State Capital and all.. =]

looks like a good grow in the making here

Well, I certainly hope so. I'm gonna show them all the tender love and nurturing I can.

This is Abby. She got lucky and got the spot with all the sun. Her sister, who I'll call Shabby, got stuck between the trees. Pics of Shabby tomorrow.

Oh, and as you can see, I have a rat problem.

d.s.m. said:

Oh, and as you can see, I have a rat problem.

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damn thats a big rat. it even has a collar! that plant looks nice man. very healthy +rep

also, to find clones and meds i use weedtracker.com
click on collective directory at the top and then cali. it will have each dispensary under the cities they are in. this is the only site i use to find them, sometimes they have clone only places.

She had just got a big dose of some stinky tea. Dr Earth 5 and a little molasses brewed for 48 hours with heavy aeration. It seems to attract rats. And yeah, I found weedtracker. It's a great resource.

Here's the skinny sister. Poor thing is just not getting enough hours of direct sun. It's the only place she can be, and I've already trimmed the trees as much as I can. I still expect good things, but she's just not going to be a monster.





And yeah, I know I need to do a little work back there, take care of those weeds and deal with the pile of trimmings. I know.

Oh, and I also need to figure out how to work my camera...

Nice job! Way to rep Sactown!

They are doing great.

Peace
doublejj

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys. I appreciate it, and I'll post more pics as things progress.