Is it worth the stress?

Hi guys long time out door grower new to this forum, I hope your all staying safe and sane in this current weird world we are in.

I've recently transplanted my out door ladies in to 5 gallon pots, so far so good. Yesterday I did a soil test and the PH was an average of 6.8 and TDS was 300, my concerns are firstly: did the water I used give me an inaccurate reading?? and secondly: if the reading is correct is 300 PPM too low? To be honest I'm pretty new at testing my TDS so not much experience. I'm about 2 to 4 weeks off going in to flower so if I understand correctly I should be upping the PPM now?
My soil amendment is made up from:
*Worm castings 10%
*Veg compost 20%
*Organic soil mix from my local nursery(7% phosphorus, 10% calcium and 2% silicon) 35%
*Coconut husk 10%
*Perlite 15%

I know this is lacking a little potassium but I'll start adding that during the early stages of bloom.

One question I have about doing a soil test is I know it's best to use RO water(PH of 7 and 0 TDS) but I don't have a filter yet and here in Latin America options are limited. I googled bottled RO water and Evian was one brand that was recommended so I got a couple bottles of Evian's but Evian is not RO it's reading was 7.2 PH and over 150 PPM.. ?
Because I used the Evian does this mean now my soil test is completely off? Or can I minus the extra 0.2 over the nuetural PH level on my reading so 6.8 was actually 6.6?
I have rain water available which has 0.1 TDS but the PH is 5.5..
My tap water is actually nuetural at 7.0 but contains minerals so maybe I use the tap water just for the PH reading.. does that work? And the rain water for the TDS test because it's basically at 0 PPM? Any help here would be greatly appreciated ?

Sorry if this is confusing but basically I am asking if I use one type of neutral water(my tap water) at a PH of 7 for the soil test will the PH be correct or will the TDS throw that number out? And vice versa if I use my rain water(0.1 PPM) for a TDS soil test will that be more accurate than using Evian(150ppm)?

Maybe someone can also please recommend a brand that is actually RO bottled water.
Thanks in advance ?

if your water is 7.0 i think it is ok to use.
steam distilled water is PH of 7.0. and 0 + - TDS.
that should be around to buy.
the TDS i do not know much about.
but for me my mixed ferts are under 300 when i tested.
some one else can tell you more about TDS.
hope this helps a bit.
Lruss

I'm still not sure if I'm worried about nothing but I did another soil test today with my rain water(TDS 0.1) and my PPM was around 90 so the majority of the minerals that were in the reading(300ppm) I took using the Evian water yesterday?. I've just transplanted so maybe the soil has to have a few good waters for a more accurate reading but I have no idea.. Can anyone chime in and help?

If it makes you feel better I never measure ppms and do just fine. If you can drink the water it's ok. Your pH is very good
and that's a big plus. Just don't overfeed the plants and all will be well. The worse thing people do is change too many
things at a time. Just up your feeding a little at a time if you need to. Otherwise, don't do anything drastic.

In soil, pH 6.4 to 6.8 is great.

I wouldn't worry about 150ppm. That's not bad. My tap is 600ppm so I use RO. I only care about the feed PH. Don't care what it is before that. I make sure my PH is 6.5, 1.2ec before I feed.

Ok so its no major stress, good to hear.

My concern isn't in my water it is the TDS of the soil, and the fact that it's so low. So in theory if I slightly up the TDS count in my water each feed it will slowly higher the levels in my soil? And to be honest I don't know the negative affects of low TDS or if there really is any. For the past 20 years of growing I never tested it once so maybe it's over thinking the whole process

troutman said:

If it makes you feel better I never measure ppms and do just fine. If you can drink the water it's ok. Your pH is very good
and that's a big plus. Just don't overfeed the plants and all will be well. The worse thing people do is change too many things at a time. Just up your feeding a little at a time if you need to. Otherwise, don't do anything drastic.

In soil, pH 6.4 to 6.8 is great.

Click to expand...

^^ that right there ^^ is a "golden nugget". If you mess with more than 1 maybe 2 things (if related), one has no clue what caused what and, what "actually" remedied x, y or z.

BloomBlood said:

Ok so its no major stress, good to hear.

My concern isn't in my water it is the TDS of the soil, and the fact that it's so low. So in theory if I slightly up the TDS count in my water each feed it will slowly higher the levels in my soil? And to be honest I don't know the negative affects of low TDS or if there really is any. For the past 20 years of growing I never tested it once so maybe it's over thinking the whole process

Click to expand...

I believe you might.

I grow in HP Promix and I never bothered with TDS nor soil PH for that matter. I feed every 2nd watering in a schedule of W, D, D, F, D, D, W. So basically once a week. I follow the mfr's recommendation and will swing my PH between 6.2 and 6.8. That being said... my former nutes were problematic. I changed nutes and all is well. I use straight tap water that has been sitting for 24 hrs + (allow time for chlorine to evaporate) from a 45gal drum in the garage. That drum is supplemented with the water from my dehumidifier (summer). Water tests at 7. Check link in sig.

Thanks guys, as my fellow chef's practice in the kitchen 'less is more' which is often the case with plants.
The Korean Natural farming book JADAM is all about that practice, letting nature(sun, water, air and earth) do their thing on their own and not to question everything.