skeeterpeep
Member
what kind of lime should i use for a top dressing to bring up the PH of my medium? im using sunshine 4
lime 4 PH.....new guy
- Thread starter skeeterpeep
- Start date
Illegal-Seed
Member
Its called dolomite lime. Or garden lime. It comes in powder or pellet forms. The powder is fast acting.
Sunshine mix should have a good PH to begin with.
Slightly higher ph'ed water helps bring it up also.
Sunshine mix should have a good PH to begin with.
Slightly higher ph'ed water helps bring it up also.
skeeterpeep
Member
thanks illegal seed! my ph runoff is at about 4.5 when i put in water at 6.5 and is at5 when i put water witha ph of 8!! did i some how maybe screw up the sunshine mix? i use,until now, spring water with a ppm of 325 and a ph of 7.5-8 ,add my nutes and adjust it down a little to get 6.5 and go. im usinf gh floranova grow with a little mexican bat guano bout every 4-5 weeks.
starting tonite i will be using ro water,same nutes and so on but tomorro i have to get dolomite. should i wait to water until i have the lime and then water them with it (lime that is) or shouls i add this powder as a top dressing as i was suggested to do by someone? any help is welcome!
starting tonite i will be using ro water,same nutes and so on but tomorro i have to get dolomite. should i wait to water until i have the lime and then water them with it (lime that is) or shouls i add this powder as a top dressing as i was suggested to do by someone? any help is welcome!
Illegal-Seed
Member
Testing the ph of runoff water is very inacurate. About as inacurate as cheap soil ph meters. Just not good ways to read them.
My suggestion is to get a pill bottle...Fill 1/3 with tightly packed soil...Then 1/3 with R/o or distilled water...Shake a few minutes...Test ph of that water.
It will give you a much more accurate reading than a soil meter or runoff water will.
If your plants are not showing ph problems I wouldnt even worry about it.
When I grow in pro mix wich is basically the same as your sunshine mix, I adjust chemical nutrients to 5.8-6.2
Above 6.2 I begin having problems.
I dont bother checking for organic grows. And Have no issues at all.
If you feel you really have a low ph, then mix in a few tablespoons in the top soil. After a few waterings it will get mixed in pretty good.
Good luck.
My suggestion is to get a pill bottle...Fill 1/3 with tightly packed soil...Then 1/3 with R/o or distilled water...Shake a few minutes...Test ph of that water.
It will give you a much more accurate reading than a soil meter or runoff water will.
If your plants are not showing ph problems I wouldnt even worry about it.
When I grow in pro mix wich is basically the same as your sunshine mix, I adjust chemical nutrients to 5.8-6.2
Above 6.2 I begin having problems.
I dont bother checking for organic grows. And Have no issues at all.
If you feel you really have a low ph, then mix in a few tablespoons in the top soil. After a few waterings it will get mixed in pretty good.
Good luck.
dolomite lime doesnt really work as a top-dressing. it has to be mixed with the soil before you plant.
do your plants look like they are suffering?? i grow organic and have never measured runoff pH (but i also use dolomite in my soil mix)
if you are worried then dont bring the pH down before you water,
V.
do your plants look like they are suffering?? i grow organic and have never measured runoff pH (but i also use dolomite in my soil mix)
if you are worried then dont bring the pH down before you water,
V.
skeeterpeep
Member
yes,verdantgreen,they look to have a manganese def. yellowing with brown spots on the fan leaves about midway up. i measured the tds of the runoff and its upward of 1100 ppm! i never give more than 650 ppm of nutes. so im going to assume its lockout. how can i correct this?
