Runoff red

Soil BioBizz Light mix + 10% worm casting BioBizz
Tap water ppm 0
Nutrients Terra Aquatica

So I watered yesterday and saw the runoff being dark colored, took a sample, tested it and ph 4 and ppm 3000+
I use ph drops from Ghe and ec meter from Milwakee CD611.
It was first feed 200ppm, ph 6.5.
Is it the soil? Worm Casting?

Last week I fed another two of them and they grow normal, no signs of deficiency, until now at least.

I've had "pre buffered, triple washed Coco" come out almost black and over 6000ppm. However the plants were fine. I spent most of my first few plants chasing runoff figures, but tbh, once I stopped checking or chasing I've had better results. Not saying that's what you should do in this case, just sharing my experience.

I just gave up testing runoff anyway myself and make sure the medium has plenty of microbial and mineral content which provide a buffer by itself. For example, just did these (amended Coco/loam based potting mix) for shits and giggles and I'm the runoff is coming out 5.1 and 2750ppm and I don't feed and haven't fed anything bar tap water. They seem happy though so I just let the good times roll.


A pH or 4 would scare the shit out of me though.

VincenzioVonHook said:

I've had "pre buffered, triple washed Coco" come out almost black and over 6000ppm. However the plants were fine. I spent most of my first few plants chasing runoff figures, but tbh, once I stopped checking or chasing I've had better results. Not saying that's what you should do in this case, just sharing my experience.

I just gave up testing runoff anyway myself and make sure the medium has plenty of microbial and mineral content which provide a buffer by itself. For example, just did these (amended Coco/loam based potting mix) for shits and giggles and I'm the runoff is coming out 5.1 and 2750ppm and I don't feed and haven't fed anything bar tap water. They seem happy though so I just let the good times roll.
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A pH or 4 would scare the shit out of me though.

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The ph is also my main concern. But there is not much I can do. I flushed with a ton of ph 8 water, I taught maybe the drops were the problem, and to be honest I don't know if anything changed. Same red 4ph color.
Maybe I should buy a ph meter

My tap water is 8, I water with ph around 6.5, BioBizz says soil and worm casting is around 6 ph ... Si I don't get it ??!!?!?

NorwayFTW said:

The ph is also my main concern. But there is not much I can do. I flushed with a ton of ph 8 water, I taught maybe the drops were the problem, and to be honest I don't know if anything changed. Same red 4ph color.
Maybe I should buy a ph meter

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I would grab a pen for sure. Your best bet if you are worried about medium pH is a slurry test and a reliable Meter.

You can get flo lime to raise medium pH and liquid sulphur will lower it if you run into alkaline soil.

I've had runoff come out at mid 5s, but a proper slurry test was returning mid 6s. Medium pH can be a finicky one to test depending on what measurements you use.

My yao water is also around 7.8 and 200ppm, I have calcitic lime, gypsum and mixed rock dust as a buffer and runoff still comes out quite low, while a slurry test shows a pretty neutral pH at 6.7.

Testing run off , its testing from all the previous feedings watering , so if there a build up out of the root zone , feeding , flushing will push everything out of the bottom …. Slurry is the way to go and a blue lab pens ….

I would agree that getting a quality ph pen is important to know your situation. If the plant looks good your measurement is off imo.

A color ph test wont be accurate using runoff in soil during the first few waterings. Theres a lot of organic matter in the castings and soil.

ComfortCreator said:

I would agree that getting a quality ph pen is important to know your situation. If the plant looks good your measurement is off imo.

A color ph test wont be accurate using runoff in soil during the first few waterings. Theres a lot of organic matter in the castings and soil.

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My exact taught ... thanks for the help!

Comparing runoff PPM to input PPM is useful, but pH testing runoff is a waste of time. A slurry test of your medium determines the actual rhizosphere pH, and make sure to test medium that's a couple/few inches down and not just the top layer.

PopAndSonGrows said:

Comparing runoff PPM to input PPM is useful, but pH testing runoff is a waste of time. A slurry test of your medium determines the actual rhizosphere pH, and make sure to test medium that's a couple/few inches down and not just the top layer.

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I know but atm I can't afford a ph pen for solution and one for soil ...
Will see what I can do with just one pen

You guys keep talking about slurry tests, but how's he supposed to do a slurry test from a container plant without ripping up a bunch of the root zone?

PJ Diaz said:

You guys keep talking about slurry tests, but how's he supposed to do a slurry test from a container plant without ripping up a bunch of the root zone?

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Scoop a pinch of the dirt out, soak it in a few mls of distilled water, test the water after what, 30 mins?

NorwayFTW said:

I know but atm I can't afford a ph pen for solution and one for soil ...
Will see what I can do with just one pen

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Slurry tests don't require you to have a soil pH tester, use your regular method of checking pH whether it's drops or whatever.

PopAndSonGrows said:

Scoop a pinch of the dirt out, soak it in a few mls of distilled water, test the water after what, 30 mins?

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That won't be accurate at all. All that will do is tell you some info about the surface of the soil, not the root zone. Also with a slurry test you should use much more medium than a pinch.

PJ Diaz said:

That won't be accurate at all. All that will do is tell you some info about the surface of the soil, not the root zone. Also with a slurry test you should use much more medium than a pinch.

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Did you read the part where i said scoop a couple/few inches down? Have you never dug a hole before??

PopAndSonGrows said:

Did you read the part where i said scoop a couple/few inches down? Have you never dug a hole before??

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Did you read the part where I mentioned ripping up the root zone in a container plant?

Slurry tests are much better for identifying the starting EC of your media before planting, or outdoor in field soil. Even digging "a couple of inches down" really won't give you accurate info for container plants.

You also probably want to use at least 25mls water : 25 grams of media, so that you have enough to actually test.

PJ Diaz said:

Did you read the part where I mentioned ripping up the root zone in a container plant?

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If you can't get a pinch of soil without just pushing a few roots out of the way, you probably need a bigger pot.

NorwayFTW said:

The ph is also my main concern. But there is not much I can do. I flushed with a ton of ph 8 water, I taught maybe the drops were the problem, and to be honest I don't know if anything changed. Same red 4ph color.
Maybe I should buy a ph meter

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Buy a new drop test kit instead. Far simpler and more than adequate for our purposes. Plus never needs calibration.