Checking ppm in soil....?????

To check the ppm in my soil do I simply test the runoff with my meter or is there more to it than that ?

im not sure if you can see how much nutrients is in the soil but if your plants are being burned flush them asap. after that you can just put the right amount in your water and help it recover.

Yeah, somewhat, you can check it to give you an idea what's going on. For example, if you pour in 200 PPM, and it comes out 1500 PPM, you have alot of crap in your soil. Back when I was anal about checking everything,lol I'd flush my medium when it had alot of buildup, and keep flushing until there was only about 100 PPM of waste picked up, as I poured my 35 PPM water through. Then, I'd be pretty much starting with a clean medium, giving them a fresh start.

Now, that I am used to feeding them, I know not to get carried away, and don't even check runoff, or soil PH anymore. I like to top-dress my soil with lime, at around week 6, giving me more peace of mind about the PH. Idk if it's even necessary, I doubt it, but I like to do it anyway, just in case.

I don't grow in soil or check my ppm, but if you were growing in straight up soil wouldn't there be alot of inert debris that your meter would pickup? Not sure if I used the word inert correctly, what mean is nuetral, non-nutrient material.

the only way to check your ppm is on top of the soil.

BillyBobJoe said:

I don't grow in soil or check my ppm, but if you were growing in straight up soil wouldn't there be alot of inert debris that your meter would pickup? Not sure if I used the word inert correctly, what mean is nuetral, non-nutrient material.

Click to expand...

In order for your meter to pick it up, it actually has to be dissolved in solution, which typically means....fert buildup. When you're still feeding them just water, that's a good time to take note of what the PPM is, before adding anything yourself. You're right though, in that soils aren't 'clean' outta the bag. Checking the runoff PPM, is mostly to satisfy curiosity, and/or to watch for extreme conditions.