How do you ph?

[growingcrazy]

What is your method for checking your ph? Do you check nutes before they get to your soil? Do you check runoff? I can't find a good thread with a little more indepth info on ph'ing soil.

What method do you use?

 

[farmdalefurr]

fill your container up w/ water...... mix in your nutes (base first, then additives) shake n mix it up..... then ph your final mix. i dont personally check runoff but some people do. if your workin w/ good soil and good nutes you shouldnt have to check the runoff

 

[SumDumGuy]

What is your method for checking your ph? Do you check nutes before they get to your soil? Do you check runoff? I can't find a good thread with a little more indepth info on ph'ing soil.

What method do you use?

Lime stone buffers the pH in soil. Most premixed soils and potting mixes have this already added. When you feed your plant - His/her food must be pHed for the medium being used. Whatever method of grow you use will have an accompanying pH standard.

Soil 6.8
Potting Mix 6.2
Hydro 5.8

If I were feeding my soil plants this week I would calibrate their nutes to pH 6.8. I would feed till I see runoff. The runoff should match the start pH. If I see my runoff is lower than I may not have flushed the last feeding. But yes you should always test your runoff for soil pH testing. Its good to keep a running log of what you do and when you do it. This way you won't forget if you fed with nutes last. When water gets taken up as some also evaporates. The soil becomes saturated with salts which will make the root zone acidic and unhealthy. This is also why you need to water until runoff when you feed plain water. You want to not only catch the runoff to test but also to runoff the accumulated salts. I hope this give you a better understanding. Also shows the importance of the flush.

 

[Nationwide]

Lime stone buffers the pH in soil. Most premixed soils and potting mixes have this already added. When you feed your plant - His/her food must be pHed for the medium being used. Whatever method of grow you use will have an accompanying pH standard.

Soil 6.8
Potting Mix 6.2
Hydro 5.8

If I were feeding my soil plants this week I would calibrate their nutes to pH 6.8. I would feed till I see runoff. The runoff should match the start pH. If I see my runoff is lower than I may not have flushed the last feeding. But yes you should always test your runoff for soil pH testing. Its good to keep a running log of what you do and when you do it. This way you won't forget if you fed with nutes last. When water gets taken up as some also evaporates. The soil becomes saturated with salts which will make the root zone acidic and unhealthy. This is also why you need to water until runoff when you feed plain water. You want to not only catch the runoff to test but also to runoff the accumulated salts. I hope this give you a better understanding. Also shows the importance of the flush.

Perfect awnser... I was gonna help but this is as plain as it gets...

 

[junkyarddog]

Your first step should be to find out the ph of your incoming water. Counties usually have a department that will test your water for ph and other elements. If your ph reads between 6 and 7 then don't even worry about it. Any tester under $200 is totally inaccurate anyway so just assume that everything is ok. If your ph is above 7 or below 6 then you should pay big bucks for a good ph meter and adjust accordingly. Anyone growing in soil who says that the nutrients they are feeding their plants are adjusted to an exact ph level is full of shit. There are just too many variables.

 

[SumDumGuy]

Your first step should be to find out the ph of your incoming water. Counties usually have a department that will test your water for ph and other elements. If your ph reads between 6 and 7 then don't even worry about it. Any tester under $200 is totally inaccurate anyway so just assume that everything is ok. If your ph is above 7 or below 6 then you should pay big bucks for a good ph meter and adjust accordingly. Anyone growing in soil who says that the nutrients they are feeding their plants are adjusted to an exact ph level is full of shit. There are just too many variables.

Hi junkyarddog,
Today's digital tester is very accurate. There's no need to spend $200 dollars on a pH meter. That's more like the price of a trimeter. A good pH pen meter will rum about 50 to 70 bucks.

 

[the gnome]

for soil I use a Kelway ph meter, pretty accurate @ plus/minus .2%
it tests the soil in just a few minutes.
it also has a moisture meter to make sure your soil is ready for an accurate reading.
no batteries and you can easily recalibrate it yourself.
the cheapest you can get em is just over $100 if you order from the main distributer in frostproof florida.
don't rely on the cheepo ph meters you get at lowes and wally world.

proper soil ph is the solid foundation for any soil grow imo
if your growing in soil you should be using one of these or something comparable and
know what your soil ph is before and during your grow

 

[Hammerhead]

I use a ph probe with monitor Milwuaki I believe. I do have more then 1

 

[TriWingGirl]

I have a soil Ph probe that i use in the pots as well as when I'm mixing my soil. I try to start out with soil that is the proper PH to start with.

Then it is easier to maintain.

I don't check my food because i don't pour it though the plant. I feed from the bottom and only pour clear water through the plants. Plus i have a consistent mix so i pretty sure about its PH level. The dirt stays pretty stable until in needs to be flushed.

I only use water i get from my local water store. It has a stable Ph to start with. I never use the local tap water very nasty. Kill plants fast. PH veries but is usually at 7.8 +.

 

[use]

I am using a hanna ph/ec/tds/temp waterproof pen($140 on amazon). I test the water, then add nutes, and retest following the instructions on the sheet that came with my nutes(it calls for my ph to be no higher than 6.2 which seems a little low but it's working so far). I have also started testing runoff as someone posted above to keep a spreadsheet of activity for personal referencing.

I grow in soil and feed, water, water, weekly by hand.

 

[CANNATOPIA]

I always measure the PH of my nutrient solutions before they go in the soil. Seems to work well for me.

 

[Guest3498]

I've used the fancy meters and what not to measure pH, but in the end I've come back to the good ol' simple pH color test drops. So long as you don't add a ton of humics that turn the water black, it's the most reliable method imo. The batteries won't run out, and it doesn't have to be calibrated... Not quite as exact as a meter, but I can't remember the last time I had a pH problem. I'm in promix, so I just aim for golden yellow (6.0) and all is well...

 

[ibjamming]

I'm a drop guy too... My tap pH varies a lot... I'd probably end up double checking a pH meter anytime it changed a lot anyway...so WFT...I just use the drops.

 

[Frozenguy]

You do BOTH.

Check the pH going in, and check it coming out. It will tell you roughly the pH profile of your soil. If run off is higher, then your soil is more alkaline then your solution etc.

Do not use a nutrient solution to check the pH of your soil (at run off). Use RO water at a pH of 7.0 and see where the run off goes to

 

[growingcrazy]

You do BOTH.

Check the pH going in, and check it coming out. It will tell you roughly the pH profile of your soil. If run off is higher, then your soil is more alkaline then your solution etc.

Do not use a nutrient solution to check the pH of your soil (at run off). Use RO water at a pH of 7.0 and see where the run off goes to

I am guessing that the RO water is the correct way just because it is a constant ph wise?

I check nutes before and runoff after watering.I never ph'd and had no problems. Now that I am ph'ing all water going into the plants, I am getting deficiency's.

 

[Frozenguy]

I am guessing that the RO water is the correct way just because it is a constant ph wise?

I check nutes before and runoff after watering.I never ph'd and had no problems. Now that I am ph'ing all water going into the plants, I am getting deficiency's.

What method of testing are you using?
I've never known many to have much success with strips. I use a Milwaukee pen. If you use a pen, have you calibrated it recently?

If everything was fine before, then dont pH. why did you start pHing your solution?

 

[SumDumGuy]

I am guessing that the RO water is the correct way just because it is a constant ph wise?

I check nutes before and runoff after watering.I never ph'd and had no problems. Now that I am ph'ing all water going into the plants, I am getting deficiency's.

Hi Growingcrazy,
That may be so.. There are many many people here with hard water thats considered unhealthy so they use RO. You can even have you water tested. What were you doing before when you weren't pHing. How old are the plants. What pH profile are you using and how are you testing your start and runoff?

If everything was fine before, then dont pH. why did you start pHing your solution?

This is what I'd like to know as well bro..

 

[growingcrazy]

First off thanks Frozenguy and SDG for the replies!

As for testing method I am using PH drops..it is just what I prefer to use.

My well water is hard.. in the 300ppm range if I remember from the original test I had done.

I actually switched to GH floranova grow/bloom and this is when I started to PH. Basically I was running an organic grow and watering with aerated compost tea and Espoma ferts mixed into the soil.

Plants are at 2 stages.. current flower went 12 weeks veg and are now 30 days flower today. I also have plants in veg that have been ph'd since day one that show the same signs as the others.

My soil is mainly peat,perl, and humus/topsoil mix with the espoma ferts in it. All cooked 3+ weeks...I am watering currently at about 6.2 ph.

I am going to get some photo's today, I think that would help.


I still like to hear everyone's forms of phing just to see the similarities and difference's.

 

[whodair]

i use my tongue

 

[growingcrazy]

I don't think that my tongue is calibrated well enough to decide how acidic my soil is..lol