soil pH

[WaywardBob]

ive got this girl in 10 gallons of soil right now. the pH is reading 5.8-6.0 with my NON digital, cheap version, soil pH meter. i have some pH up, the water soluable concentrate. should i water her with a pH of 7.5 or so to try to balance out the acidity in the soil? i open to any suggestions including other products that work better or are easier for soil applications.

thanks guys

 

[WaywardBob]

bump it up

 

[jonezin]

I have the same thing going on right now. My ph in FFOF is 5.8 so I decided to do a ton of reading about it. Everything I read said to do what you're talking about doing. I just started trying to get mine fixed a few days ago. I decided to get the Earth Juice Natural Up and Down. I didn't really like the idea of using chemicals. This stuff is powder. I read not to go over 8 and it will be fine. The water you use to try to get it raised up I mean.

Hey are you having any rust looking shit on your leaves?

 

[Core]

you should't go much higher as the 6.3-6.8 recommendation....maybe 7 to 7.2 is the maximum i would use to correct things....i don't ever go outside the recommended level...plants don't like to be corrected with alkaline 8.0 ph water..(or acidic ..Under 6.0 ish)....even if it balances out better.....IMHE

but first you should dry her out realy well and then you should try and correct things...if the soil is still wet it will be more difficult to straighten the ph out...

 

[jonezin]

Well then I'm glad I didn't go that high then. I read that several times though...

 

[WaywardBob]

Hey are you having any rust looking shit on your leaves?

not yet.. my pH just went to shit recently because ive been using foxfarms beastie bloomz heavily because of my PK deficiency. this beastly 5 month old momma needs alot more than i expected. and i didnt add any wood ash or dolomite lime to my soil before i transplanted

one plant crammed into 4'x3' area

 

[WaywardBob]

you should't go much higher as the 6.3-6.8 recommendation....maybe 7 to 7.2 is the maximum i would use to correct things....i don't ever go outside the recommended level...plants don't like to be corrected with alkaline 8.0 ph water..(or acidic ..Under 6.0 ish)....even if it balances out better.....IMHE

but first you should dry her out realy well and then you should try and correct things...if the soil is still wet it will be more difficult to straighten the ph out...

well, my tap water should be right around 7. should i let my soil dry out an extra day then do a minor flush for the next 2-3 days and see where i stand?

ive never used dolomite lime before. is it possible to spread some over the top of my soil before i water to help balance my pH faster? im at day 38 of 12/12 right now and my plant is fiending for PK so a quicker fix is much needed

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Your plain water feeds are probably fine. It's the ferts you're adding that's pulling the pH down.

Top dressing with lime won't do as well as incorporating it into moistened soil and allowing it to activate over several months. Some folks let it cook a couple of weeks and some plant as soon as it's mixed in. Top dressing will give you the high swing buffer Core was talking about in post #4. 10 gallons of dirt is a lot, you'd probably need around 10 tablespoons of lime if it were mixed in. I wouldn't put more than a few tablespoons on top and scratch it into the top w/o damaging the roots if possible.

You mentioned pH up. You could mix it with ferted water to bring it back close to tap range. This might do the trick w/o top dressing with lime. pH up will add TDS so you'll have to lower the ferts to make room.

 

[BigPhil]

ive desided for my next grow to use the bio canna terra professional plus soil as it has a ph of 7, the soil im using now i water with a ph of 6.6 and the off run is always 6.0 5.9. i hear 6.5 6.4 for soil is ment to be spot on

i dont understand why people dont sell soil pre ph'ed at 6.5 that would be great and save alot of hassle of us newbies

 

[B.C.]

hmm...

hmm...

A fert with a NPK rating of 0-50-30 is bound to have a lot of mineral salts in it as a cheleating agent. I'm not positive that how it's made, but if it is, build up of these salts will drive down the PH. Food for thought. BC

 

[WaywardBob]

A fert with a NPK rating of 0-50-30 is bound to have a lot of mineral salts in it as a cheleating agent. I'm not positive that how it's made, but if it is, build up of these salts will drive down the PH. Food for thought. BC

ya im certain the BB made my pH drop like a mofo.

one thing i didnt know, and im sure ill get flamed for it becuase its called an additive, is that these water soluble additives foxfarm releases arent organic. this is according to my local hydro e-store. i went to foxfarms official site and read through their product information, and i didnt see anything stating whether or not its organic. can someone clear this up for me?

 

[jonezin]

The only Fox Farm products that are organic are their Big Bloom and Grow Big. Their Grow Big says it's Organic Based.

 

[poibear]

Are those cheap soil pH tester any good? I've gotten different readings depending on the moisture content of the soil. Are any better that others? My outdoor girls seem to be doing fine even though the meter sometimes reads 7+

 

[WaywardBob]

Are those cheap soil pH tester any good? I've gotten different readings depending on the moisture content of the soil. Are any better that others? My outdoor girls seem to be doing fine even though the meter sometimes reads 7+

they aren't dead on accurate, but useful for how cheap they are. and yes, they are supposed to be used when the soil is wet for the most accurate reading

 

[WaywardBob]

The only Fox Farm products that are organic are their Big Bloom and Grow Big. Their Grow Big says it's Organic Based.

are you sure about that? Tiger Bloom isnt organic?

i think i might start a thread just for this topic

 

[jonezin]

I've read that countless times. Tiger Bloom and Grow Big are organic based, Big Bloom is supposedly organic.

 

[jonezin]

here's one of the posts here's another here's a thread about it

 

[jonezin]

are you sure about that? Tiger Bloom isnt organic?

i think i might start a thread just for this topic

I forgot to add this. It's off of Fox Farms' website:

Our Peace of Mind® and Happy Frog® fertilizers are 100% organic. Our Big Bloom™ Liquid Fertilizer and all of our soils are also organic. We do offer some fertilizers with mineral-based, time-release ingredients that are not classified as organic. These include American Pride® and Marine Cuisine® fertilizers, Tiger Bloom® and Grow Big® liquids, and our soluble products like Cha Ching®, Beastie Bloomz®, and Open Sesame®. "

 

[eger]

I've read that countless times. Tiger Bloom and Grow Big are organic based, Big Bloom is supposedly organic.

exactly, they are organic BASED, not 100% organic, probably the N is UREA which is organic and the pk synthetic ...

 

[mr-natural78]

To raise your ph you could get a bag of hydrated lime from most nurseries. Mix about a tablespoon per gallon and then water. Faster acting than dolomite lime....but be very careful. It can take your ph much higher than dolomite lime will if you aren't careful.