Foxfarm and Ph

CC Dobbs said:

Excuse me, is there a restroom around here?

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spyvy said:

Hello all. Ok i came across some Foxfarm OF / Happy Frog /and Light warrior/ plan on mixing together at = parts. This is my first 100% organic grows. I Will be using Earth Juice Grow & Bloom . My concern is from what I have been reading there are PH issues with Foxfarm soils so i need advise ..ok here we go

ok reading in organic grow forums one says never ph anything just water and feed without ever PH anything the soil will buffer the ph on its own and they say no problems .

next ones read check your runoff , then ph water and feed to adjust ph so runoff = out. meaning 6.3 to 6.5

next one reads only ph water going in and pay no attention to run off. meaning in 6.3 to 6.5 in

next one says add dolmite lime to balance the ph

I have tried them all except the never PH anything .... and doing all the others always had PH issues always testing soil PH and PH ing the water and feed to 6.3 to 6.5
so if your using Foxfarm soils can i get some help on this way to many questions and no correct answers im reading my brains out and still unsure thanks alot in advance for your responce

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Nullis said:

You read differing, seemingly opposing guidelines because every grower has different methods and operate under different paradigms.

The true living/natural/organic paradigm preaches no liquid pH adjusters because they aren't necessary (and they really aren't). Dolomitic limestone is useful because it neutralizes acidity while supplying calcium and magnesium (as is the case with dolomitic), and it does this long term. You see, nobody uses liquid pH up in their vegetable garden or on their lawn.

Potting mix isn't actually soil. It might contain compost or earthworm castings, but potting mix is based mainly upon materials that tend to be somewhat or slightly acidic. That includes coco coir, but the real culprit is sphagnum peat moss which by itself tends a have a pH of about 4.5. So, some form of limestone is added to potting mix (or powdered oyster shell which is also calcium carbonate) to neutralize the acidity of the peat. However, potting mixes are designed to grow all kinds of plants, from blueberries to zucchini. The pH can be anywhere from 5.5 to 6. For this reason it helps to add more pulverized limestone and I'd recommend dolomitic (1 heaping tbsp per gallon). This will prevent the potting mix from harboring reserve acidity, which is exactly what happen to sphagnum peat moss over time for reasons which relate to the Cation Exchange Capacity of the material.

Lime isn't very soluble in water, so it sticks around in the mix as precipitate and works over time to neutralize acidity. By itself, it has a pH of about 8 and is difficult to over do. pH Up on the other hand can be over done, and it only works temporarily. The real problem is that pH Up is for hydroponics. It has no real place in soil/organic growing, but people have come to suppose that when growing cannabis pH is oh so important because in hydro, it is so that must be true for soil too, right? Nope.

In soil, the pH of the rhizosphere changes all the time and you don't really need to worry about it. What you do need to do is have your soil set up adequately from the start, and don't even introduce pH up, because it tends to throw everything off and then you think you need to keep using it when you really don't.

I've used Earth Juice before for some time, and I used it without pH up (lime was necessary, pH Up wasn't). Earth Juice Grow is acidic by itself, and it will cause a drop in the pH of the soil solution but this rebounds shortly. Check out the EJ feeding chart, which mentions pH adjustment is not necessary. What you can/may want to do depending on the soil you're growing in, or if you didn't add lime: aerate the solution with an aquarium air pump/stone for 36-72 hours before applying. Before long you'll see that the pH of the solution goes up to about 6+, depending on how long you keep it aerating for.

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Nullis said:

Aerate and use immediately. Never stop aerating and let sit around, it will become anaerobic. Maybe after 20 hours it'll be closer to neutral. Either way it should be fine to use, the soil should manage. Pretty sure I used blackstrap molasses with the Earth Juice also.

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