Blumats and Living Soil (my split from main thread)

[elanius]

I have just recently started organic soil + blumats and my main problem right now is the PH fluctuation and the stink from the reservoar :-o I am lowering the PH with citric acid to value around 6,3-6,5. In few days is 7.5 with very unpleasent smell to it. I have changed my reservoars and the clean one started to smell also in few days...

Is there anybody experienced with this issue? How do you guys lowering your ph with the organic grow? I thought the citric acid is good, relatively stable ph down substance...

 

[rrog]

Organic soil needs no pH balancing. If true living organic soil (like in the forest or fields) the microbes and plant define the pH.

 

[elanius]

I believe in that rrog, but im afraid i cannot recreate true organic soil. I did not have all the ingerdients available. My soil is mix of canna terra profesional plus, compost, vermicompost, guano and palm tree ash. I gave them initial watering with good aerobic compost tea, but still im not sure if all this was enough. The problem of mine evniroment is, that i had experience off gassing issues in the past, and im not 100% sure its fixed, although the main source is gone now. Bad air is a killer for microbes. That is why i wanted to be sure with optimized water PH.

 

[rrog]

Well, if you feel there are no live microbes, you'll have bigger problems. I've been growing in various soil mixes for 4 years and have not pH'd anything. I have all the equipment, however, from my chem hydro days, but it'd just not necessary.

I suspect your soil is alive and fine

 

[elanius]

..so i have decided to try that. To stop adjusting the water was realief i must say. So i fill the reservoar and let it be. After one week, i noticed the leafs are starting to curl. Im growing mexican sativas (30 days flowering), and they are sensitive so i decided to wait some time to make a decision. Now its more then 2 weeks and the curling is just really bad. Yesterday i measured the PH of the soil. I measure it by removing the soil from several areas of the pot and let it sit in distilled water for 24 hours. Then i measured the ph of the filtered distilled water. It was 7.7 At PH this high, one of the few nutritions the plant can take is nitrogen. I know the common opinion on curling/claw leafs is nitrogen excess. And in my enviroment i really dont know what else it could be. This never happened to me before. My tap water has PH around 8. Yesterday i started with the flush and will continue tomorrow ...