How to add normal lime ?

[Evil6]

Hey there, I just measured the runoff water of my 5.5-6.5 soil ( or so it said on the bloody label) with a liquid ph tester and it showed a 4.0 reading, with the water going in having 7.0. The normal water I use has 6.5 and after it's run through my Brita filter. The soil I used is this http://www.international.compo.com/en/consumer/blumenerde/composana.html (the first one) and it's probably because of the peat. Now what do you suggest I do?

My seeds just popped a few days ago and the soil is already moist as I was too freaking stupid to check for it earlier. The only thing I could find so far to regulate ph is simple lime ( I think in english is called quicklime). It says it's for construction on the 1kg pack but lime should be lime right?


Now I was thinking how to apply this, I have 2 alternatives. First one is I sprinkle half a spoon on top of the soil evenly and nice and then water. Second which I think I will do is use lime water http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_water . I use like half a spoon of the lime I have, or less in 0.5l of water, let it sit for 12h or something, filter just the water leaving the sediment in the bottle and then water using that water. Would that work ?

I've been reading all over the place on how to use lime but so far I'm not 100% sure on what I should do. Of the seedlings I have one is just sprouting his first set of leaves and their just forming, have like 1-2 mm and I know it's too early but one of the two leaves is a bit twisted at the top and has a slight small discoloration on the edge it's twisted to it, I don't even know if it's normal or not which is why I think I should do something about the ph.

Edit: I mixed some of it with water and there is no big heat reaction, it might be hydrated lime, or partly hydrated lime.

Oh yea, this is my first grow, huge noob over here. Thanks in advance for any replies and pleaaase try to help poor old me.

 

[bombadil.360]

construction lime? um... I would not add that stuff to soil that is holding seedlings and seeds, it may burn the heck out of them.

you need agricultural lime; dissolve it in water and irrigate with it, it will take a little while before it starts to balance your pH... if you are in the U.S, you can find Dolomite Lime, which is what most growers use when in need of lime.

I think one table-spoon per gallon of water should be ok.

good luck!

 

[Evil6]

I can't get ahold of anything other than this type of lime. It should be just normal lime, I think it's partly hydrated. Since I am only stuck with this I need to find a way to add it into the soil without burning the roots.

 

[SGMeds]

For the next time around, wouldn't hurt mixing in the Dolomite Lime prior to planting... in fact, if it is still early enough... w/o damaging the tap roots... you could pull em with a spoon & replant in a fresh mix... dunno, but possible if very careful.


The Hydrated Lime will raise the pH real fast/real hard... it doesn't cap out so if you add more, it will just go up & up... over 10.0 isn't hard to do.

If I remember correctly, 1tblspn per 5gal of mix tossed it up near 8.0... definitely was high, but a while ago.

You'll just have to check after each addition & go in very small amounts at first... try a tsp per 5gal of solution to see how much it goes up.

Just have to be real careful with the stuff... but it rinses out quickly as "hydrated" lime readily dissolves in water.

GL!

 

[Evil6]

Yes I know about dolomite lime but it's just impossible for me to get it around here.

All I have is this lime. I decided I wll mix a bit of it in water, let it settle on the bottom of the bottle and then water. I just hope that this solves the PH problem and it doesn't come back but I don't know, if it rinses out that means in a few weeks time I'll be back with the ph I have now, which will suck big tme.

 

[Evil6]

Well I added the lime but the ph has stayed under 4.0. I think I'm pretty much screwed right now. The plants aren't looking all that good and I have no idea how to help them since I am afraid I will overwater, a little bit of algae has already began to form from all the moisture, since I'm using a 30W led and the temperatures are pretty low the water isn't evaporating all that fast. Humidity is stable between 50-60% though.


The little one is just 2 days behind the bigger one yet it's growth seems very slow and she seems to have some problems with the tip of the first set of leaves. I don't know what to do atm, looking for a solution. The only solution might be to wait for them to die and start again in a different soil since this one has been a huge problem. I will also get a ph tester I guess.

 

[SGMeds]

If the soil is actually that acidic, it'l only be a continual problem for the girls until you address the issue. They are so small & tiny right now, you could easily loosen the soil & spoon the tap root out... repot it in a different soil mix... one that isn't so acidic, or do a proper mix with DL... order it if you have to. Or don't...?

 

[Evil6]

If the soil is actually that acidic, it'l only be a continual problem for the girls until you address the issue. They are so small & tiny right now, you could easily loosen the soil & spoon the tap root out... repot it in a different soil mix... one that isn't so acidic, or do a proper mix with DL... order it if you have to. Or don't...?

How would I spoon the tap root out since I don't know how big it is, should I separate the roots from all the soil and then repot or repot with the roots still in this soil?

 

[jimbo99]

they dont look so bad to me. what are you using to test the ph of the soil?

 

[Evil6]

How long has this problem been going on?
4-5 days

What STRAIN are you growing?
Nirvana Short Rider

What was the establishing technique? (seed or clone?)
Seed

What is the age of your plants?
7 and 9 days

How long have they been in the soil mixture they are in now?
9 days

Were they in the same mixture when they were seedlings/smaller plant? If not, what mixture were they in before?
Same mixture

How Tall are the plants?
1 and 2 or 3 centimeteres

What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in?
Seedling

What Technique are you using? (SOG, SCROG etc)
Nothing at the moment.

What size pots are you using? (Include how many subjects to pot)
7 l Pot, 2 of them in the same pot

What substrate/medium are you using? What brand of soil mixture are you using?(percentage of perlite, vermiculite...etc?)
Using this soil http://www.international.compo.com/en/consumer/blumenerde/composana.html mixed with a bit of vermiculite.

What brand Nutrient's are you using?
No nutrients so far. I've only added lime to try and raise PH.

How much of each nutrient are you using with how much water? *Knowing the brand is very helpful*
1/2 tbs lime per 0.5 l water

How often are you feeding?
Not feeding, have watered only a few times so far trying to get the lime in.

If flowering, when did you switch over to using Bloom nutrients?
Not flowering

What is the pH of the "RUN-OFF"?
4.0

How often are you testing pH/ppm/EC/TDS?
Once a day, once every 2 days.

What method of pH test was administered? Using Strips? pH pen?
Measuring runoff water with liquid ph test kit.

How often are you watering?
I've watered 3 times since day 1 when the soil was moistened already, again trying to add lime in.

What size bulb are you using?
30W red&blue grow led

How old is your bulbs?
Brand new.

What is the distance to the canopy?
5-7 cm
What is your RH Factor? (Relative Humidity)
55% avg humidity

What is the canopy temperature?
30 degrees C

What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include fluctuation range)
23 at night 27 day.

What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.)
I'd say 1-3 CFM

Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ?
80MM exhaust fan, passive intake, running al the time.

Is the fan blowing directly at plants?
No.

Is the grow substrate constantly wet or moist?
Yes it has been.

Is your water HARD or SOFT?
I'd say soft after I run it through the britta filter.

What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water?
Tap ran through a Brita filter.

Are you using water from a water softener?
Brita filter.

Has plant been recently pruned, cloned or pinched?
No

Have any pest chemicals been used? If so what and when?
No pest chemicals, just lime.

Are plant's infected with pest's?
No.

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

Like Jimbo99 says, they don't look too bad, are you sure your PH test is right? 4.0 is mighty low, ain't that about the acidity of Cocacola? Soft water is much easier to 'swing low' than hard. I doubt that your britta filter is lowering the hardness much, I guess you have naturally soft water where you live. Our water is so hard that the PH is above 7.0. It takes a heroic effort to lower the PH to somewhere near 4.0. Too bad you can't come over and borrow a barrel of our tap water, that'd fix you up pronto.

 

[Evil6]

The tap water is 8.0-8.5 straight out of the tap after I run it through a brita filter it's like 6.5 which is why I water with that.

 

[TrueGangsta148]

The tap water is 8.0-8.5 straight out of the tap after I run it through a brita filter it's like 6.5 which is why I water with that.

yah my water from the tap is about 8.1, 170 ppm. after going through the brita, its 6.3-6.4 40-50 ppm.

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

Ahh, 8.1 at 170ppm, that sounds like artificially raised PH, not actual. If it was actual PH, the water would be much harder. The britta can remove some hardness, but not much. I guess it's also good at removing whatever they add to raise the PH. What you're trying to do when you add dolomite lime is make the water harder. If you had a source of naturally hard water, the dolomite would be already dissolved and ready to go.

 

[SGMeds]

Granted DL has calcium carbonate in it, but not exactly like the tap has DL dissolved... ;-))


Evil~ here's the dope... the peat is what is acidic, which is what the soil is primarily made up of... even pH adjusted (hydro-type) peat has batches that come in super acidic (low to mid 4's). The more water you flush through it (tap or RO, high or low pH) isn't going to change the nature of the peat itself... which is acidic.

DL & HL are additives that get into the soil itself to counteract the acidity of the peat. You need to add something to the soil itself (premixing is the best for this as solution mixes usually don't permeate all the way through the medium). HL is 'easier' to get into a soil after you mix it, but is touchy. DL is safer, but won't get all the way through the mix, so you will still have acidic spots.

Repot & it goes easier if you premix. Age-old soil tip here... for the same frustrations you have now.


Plants look okay now, but if your run-off is in the 4's... the peat is super acidic... and that will be a problem over time.


Old school IBM... you make the call. ;-)

btw, if you loosen the soil around the top with a chopstick, then insert the spoon about an inch & a half from where the stem goes into the soil, then go deep w the spoon and gently scoop up... whole tap root should emerge easily w the spoonful of soil... if you loosen the soil first. peace & hope they do well for you!!!

 

[Evil6]

Thanks for the advice guys, especially SGMeds. I've been reading up on it as much as I can and your post made me see things clearer.

I'm really thinking about repotting, it's just that I'm a bit afraid to do it. Would it stress the plant at all? Since this is an autoflower I can't really extend the veg period as far as I know so I'm curios if I should consider that when thinking about repotting.

If I do re-pot I won't buy any soil that has even been near peat. Nor will I ever buy a soil that has peat in it. Fuckin' peat.

Thanks for your help guys, much apreciated. I'm going to try and see if I can even order dolomite lime online, even though it might be expensive.

I'll update with some pictures soon. The little one is still in a little stage, the bigger one seems to have developed more except for the upwards curling on the margins of the lower leaves and some of the middle leaves, though I've read that could be because it was too close to the light so I lowered them from the light hoping it will go away.

Also I am going to try to pulverize some water on them in which I dissolve a low amount of epsom salts in case it is related to a magnesium deficiency.

Thanks again for all the posts guys. I really hope I can complete my first grow sucesfully and this doesn't turn into a disaster.

 

[Evil6]

Lately the curling on the margins is spreading pretty fast, especially the lower leaves. Also some leaves don't look particularly healthy. The small one is not looking that well at all, I don't know what to do next. God damn stupid soil. The small one is 2 days behind the big one, what could be wrong? I only added lime once and haven't added any more since then, I haven't watered for 3 days either.