soil ph question.

[baddagger]

k I been having some probs with my plants in the past looked like nut lock out or something. and a couple people in the infirmary told me to check my run off. now the ph of the water going in is at 6.5 and coming out at 5.7-5.8. oh and im using fox farm soil. now will this cause lock out? do I need to adjust my ph at all?

 

[canna woop!]

yes, you are probably dealing with lockout, yes you need to adjust the pH some how, but the pH of the water will not be so useful in itself and wont fix the problem, which is something that's going on in your soil. Also the pH of your run-off is not such useful data, relatively speaking (to the other factors in the soil beside pH such as nutrient availability etc). When the pH drops in your soil it can be an indication that you have the wrong microbes going on, or there are higher levels of available nutrients than the plants can handle. However you need to measure the pH of the soil (not the run off) to test this, by looking up how to do soil pH tests.

whew! sorry if that doesnt help much. You can raise the pH in your soil by top-dressing several tablespoons of pure calcium carbonate. It will be best if you can mix the lime into the soil, but top dressing helps too as calcium carbonate raises the soil pH considerably, unlike elemental calcium which helps pH but not as much i guess. this is the problem with products like ffof, you have no idea how much of each ingredient is in the bag, so we are left here guessing how much lime to add. could have been solved by some transparancy about the quantity of ingredients from the manufacturer, or by making your own soil so you know exactly how much is in it.

 

[nkatadelgormo]

Check soil Ph is the answer that everybody gives. Without pictures your diagnosis will be grim at best.

 

[Hank Hemp]

Are you growing in straight foxfarm? I would have added dolomite lime at 2 taqblespoons per gal of soil.

 

[baddagger]

yes Im using just straight foxfarm

 

[Javadog]

Are you growing in straight foxfarm? I would have added dolomite lime at 2 taqblespoons per gal of soil.

Hey Hank,

I am using FFOF too.

I am a mushroom cultivator. This provides me with a large sack
of non-dolomitic lime. (the Mg of dolo is not good for shrooms)

Q: If I already use Cal-Mag for the Mg, then can I use your formula
with plain limestone (high calcium limestone == Marble White 200)?

I am thinking of adding more perlite to my FFOF too.

Thank you for the time!

JD

 

[Hammerhead]

next time mix 1 bag of Happy frog with 1 bag of Ocean forest(extra Perlite not needed) this makes a great soil mix IMO.. I also add Light warrior or coco...

 

[Granger2]

If your water/nute mix goes in at 6.5, and comes out at 5.7 or 8, you obviously have an acidic soil. Not necessarily way low pH. I would be cautious about doing things that will permanently raise the pH, because it may throw the pH up too far or maybe it will do it down the road.

For now, I would use pH up or similar to bring your water/nute mix to a higher pH and see if that improves things. Don't get too drastic all at once. And yeah, next time take some of the suggestions about getting the OF pH right before planting. About 6.5 would be a good pH for soil. Good luck. -granger

 

[Sat X RB]

If your water/nute mix goes in at 6.5, and comes out at 5.7 or 8, you obviously have an acidic soil. Not necessarily way low pH. I would be cautious about doing things that will permanently raise the pH, because it may throw the pH up too far or maybe it will do it down the road.

For now, I would use pH up or similar to bring your water/nute mix to a higher pH and see if that improves things. Don't get too drastic all at once. And yeah, next time take some of the suggestions about getting the OF pH right before planting. About 6.5 would be a good pH for soil. Good luck. -granger

yes, Calcium Carbonate, Lime, Dolomite on the surface and water in.

But like quote above says: GO GENTLY!

you will prob find that sprinkling any of above minerals on soil like sugar on a donut ... then water in ... is safe.

but be patient! wait and see what happens before adding more.

 

[baddagger]

If your water/nute mix goes in at 6.5, and comes out at 5.7 or 8, you obviously have an acidic soil. Not necessarily way low pH. I would be cautious about doing things that will permanently raise the pH, because it may throw the pH up too far or maybe it will do it down the road.

For now, I would use pH up or similar to bring your water/nute mix to a higher pH and see if that improves things. Don't get too drastic all at once. And yeah, next time take some of the suggestions about getting the OF pH right before planting. About 6.5 would be a good pH for soil. Good luck. -granger

now should I up the ph of my water to say 7.0 ? or a little lower or higher?

 

[Hank Hemp]

Dolomite lime

Dolomite lime

Hey Hank,

I am using FFOF too.

I am a mushroom cultivator. This provides me with a large sack
of non-dolomitic lime. (the Mg of dolo is not good for shrooms)

Q: If I already use Cal-Mag for the Mg, then can I use your formula
with plain limestone (high calcium limestone == Marble White 200)?

I am thinking of adding more perlite to my FFOF too.

Thank you for the time!

JD

I would never use anything but dolomite lime. I've never read of anyone using other limes. Cal-mag's a good idea tho. Java I don't give advice to do something if I've not done it myself. A rule we all should live by!!!

 

[canna woop!]

I would never use anything but dolomite lime.

seems like a bit of a hard line view about lime. Shrooms are grown using gypsum, that is calcium sulfate. Plants need calcium to thrive and with dolomite it is tied in carbonate form, only loading the cation banks with minerals after several years of use, and meanwhile, significantly affecting the soil organisms in a manner other soil additives such as pure lime or gypsum do not. Further more, dolomite has elevated metals level- magnesium, iron, copper and the other ones. Only reason that would be useful is if you have a severely depleted soil, in which case dolomite's a way!