PH problems with soil, need help

I am experiencing some plant difficulties due to ph and am having a difficult time finding accurate information on how to address and remedy the problem. I recently bought a PH meter for my food/water and one for the soil. My soil ph from the 3 plants I sampled is, 4.8, 5.3, 6.5. All are fed the same water and food, i am curious why the range between the three.

specs:
soil, Fox Farm Ocean Forrest
feeding 3x per/week: GH 3 part + cal mag+bloom+ripen( all as prescribed)
PPM 900 flowering

I will be using ph up and ph down, so please no advice on how I need to buy lime, or that I need to switch mediums.

The basics first, what is my ideal soil ph? What is my ideal ph for food, and for water when I am not feeding? Should they be the same? When soil PH begins to get too far from one end of the desired spectrum how do we get it back, in what method and how quickly should it be done for optimal results?

From "The Cannabis Grow Bible", Greg Green 2010, he states that ideal soil ph is 7 and that it can cause problems when it is less than 5.5, or above 8. What I was confused about in his discussion on this topic was his method for balancing non optimal soil phs back to 7. He state, p.172, a 5.6 soil PH should he moved up to a stable 7, by adding 1.4 ph by using ph up. the precise method he advocates is for a 3 gal pot with the 5.6 ph, one should add 3 gallons of water at a ph of 8.4 to neutralize it and produce the desired 7 value of ph.

The people I discussed this with somewhat at length at the grow store suggested that I be feeding my plants in a ph range of 5.5-6.8, optimally being around 6.2, and suggest that my soil should be 7. When I told them of my problem , low soil ph, they suggested that I ease the plants back up to a higher ph slowly starting with feeding them around 6.3 for a while and increase to 6.8. slowly, so as not to "shock" them.

These two suggestions differ dramatically and Im inclined to believe the grow store operators, but I dont understand how they ever get their soil ph to 7 if they are always feeding and watering at a low ph around 6.2. Does the plant waste in the pot produce a PH up effect? I was under the impression, though Im not sure why that plants increased soil acidity with their own waste.

That said, onto my specific problem. Now that I have the meters and have been able to see what I have been feeding them for the last 4 weeks into flower, I can tell you that my food has a ph of about 6.3 and my water that I water with, while Im not feeding, is 7.5-8. This has resulted in the soil ph values I listed above of, 4.8, 5.3, 6.5. What do I do, force balance the soil PH like Greg Green suggested or ease them back to a higher soil ph level as the grow store suggested, using small steps like a feeding of 6.3 followed by a watering of 6.5, followed by a feeding of 6.8 over the course of several days?

If I am able to fix this with your help, I want to know what may have caused the severity in damage that my plants have undergone. Could it be from feeding nutes that are 6.3 ph, and watering with the tap water at a level of 7.5-8? Do these extremes hurt the plant, are they what is making my soil acidic and killing my plant?

This is the first time I have had ph issues with soil, any help is appreciated, its not just for me, its for the poor suffering plants! thanks!

Finally is there an easier way to manage soil PH? whats the deal with ProMix instead of soil, and Advanced Nutrients claiming to have PH buffered nutes? Can humic acid make ph balancing soil more difficult? What other products should one avoid that may cause issues with ph in soil.

Thanks!

sometimes I get runoff ppm's in the 2500-3000 range and ph in the 4.8-6 range and the plants are healthy.....

and the plants are healthy.....



well, there ya go. put the ph meters away

lemme see these healthy plants

That is the question. I have also been trying to find out best way to p.h test soil. Local grow store told me run off method. Another told me professional testing in a lab. Im fairly new to this but from flowring same strands and coming out with 3 compley looking and tasing nugs with everythig else beign the same except ph runoff when tested. Best and most potetnt being smack on 6.5 ph run off others ranging from 5.2 to 5.7. It leads me to belive i need to figure out this soild ph situation any help woild be great. Also using ffof mixed with promix soil. Ff nut line. Just started adding dolmite lime to try and bring up to 7 but depending on accuracy of testing method could be going about things compley backwards.

run-off is nonsense. make a milkshake of your soil and some distilled water. test that. that is your SOIL'S ph. but don't bother. your plants health says your ph is okay............imo

Hey scrog... Dip the ph pen in the shake and bang??

yup. not too thick, not too thin.

i thought in soil grows u should shoot for 7.0

Your making something easy seem very complicated. Dont worry about measuring the soil ph ,its about neutral, so just make sure all feed and waterings go in at 6.5 not 7. Also ditch the greg green book.

*BUDS said:

Your making something easy seem very complicated. Dont worry about measuring the soil ph ,its about neutral, so just make sure all feed and waterings go in at 6.5 not 7. Also ditch the greg green book.

Click to expand...

Thank you sir, only actual advice I got on here. I believe your right. This is the first time I have had a problem with it in years of working with soil so I suppose I just freaked out because I couldnt find a straight answer anywhere. So few people let them get as bad as I did, so most dont have to learn how it works. Ill probably have to kill the two burned ones, I dont for see them coming back from this, 80% of fan leaves are toast and the flower growth is looking stunted.

Any one use promix? Is the ph battle easier to fight in that medium?

The best way to get your ph right in soil is to never check it or F with it. Soil works best with organic nutrients and a healthy, living rhizosphere. If your soil is alive, and not just a dead, chemical-soaked space-filler, the micro life will handle your pH for you.

May be too late for that this grow around, but give it a try next time. You'll be stoked.

SpicySativa said:

The best way to get your ph right in soil is to never check it or F with it. Soil works best with organic nutrients and a healthy, living rhizosphere. If your soil is alive, and not just a dead, chemical-soaked space-filler, the micro life will handle your pH for you.

May be too late for that this grow around, but give it a try next time. You'll be stoked.

Click to expand...

To achieve this living rhizosphere, do you recommend products like GH M and B cultures? Does GH floralicious also aim to balance this living bacteria balance in the soil? I had since cut those out of my nute regime to lower my ppm, removing them might be why I am now seeing these problems.

Also, what do you recommend for organic nutes?

As of right now Im taking *Buds's advice and 6.5ing everything, water and feed. Ill update thread with phs and plant progress. thanks everyone for contributions

Grown since 1964 and never checked a soil pH. It's a fools errand in most cases. Check my DWC daily. Listen to BUDS!

Fuck the ph and all this other witchcraft, you're feeding 3x a week in ffof, I saw the problem from the get-go. Lay off the nutes. Ocean forest is hot as is. Unless its been in the container for like a month already I wouldn't add anything. Buy some bottled water from the little machine in front of the grocery store for .20 a gallon, or use tap water and throw that ph pen in the drawer.

You dont need much in terms of "products" for a living rhizosphere, but the innoculants ( Great White, Subculture, etc) are good to use at transplant. Many products that aren't organic will actually kill off some beneficial microbiology in your soil.

The best route to a living soil (IMHO) is actively aerated compost teas. Many times when I brew a tea, I add the ingredients together and the pH is maybe 4.0. Bubble it for 24 hours, and it bumps to about 6.5. If that isn't SOLID evidence that microbiology can do your pH adjustment for you, I don't know what is. Those pH checks are purely for my own learning and curiosity; I do not add anything to adjust pH, ever.