[BurnOne]

I hear a lot of people asking or talking about the pH of their organic soil mix or organic nute solution and how they might correct or adjust it. pH in organics is not an issue like it is in synthetic growing.
The best place to settle the pH issues in organics is within the grow medium. A medium rich in humates (humus) is the place to start. Humates work to "buffer" the pH of organic mediums and the nutes you pour (or mix) into it.
Humates come from compost, worm castings and bottled humus. If you use a peat based medum, use dolomite lime to raise the pH of the acidic peat. Dolomite should be used in any soil or soiless medium to provide magnesium and calcium. But since we are talking about pH here, I'll mention dolomite lime's pH correction benefits.
A medium of coir has a pH near neutral (or 7.0). But humates are still neded to allow uptake of organic nutrients that are outside a near neutral pH range.
With an active medium rich in humates you can pour in nutes like Pure Blend Pro, Earth Juice and guano teas with pH anywhere from 4 to 9 without worry. The humus will allow the nutes to be taken up through the roots, even at such an extreme pH reading.
So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.
Burn1

[sannie]

It is the fungi in your soil that settles the ph by your roots.

But why make it difficult for your soil life.
It costs a lot off energie to make the ph right for the roots off the plants,maybe better to youse that energie for transport off nuts and water.

greetz ******

Originally Posted by ******

It is the fungi in your soil that settles the ph by your roots.

But why make it difficult for your soil life.
It costs a lot off energie to make the ph right for the roots off the plants,maybe better to youse that energie for transport off nuts and water.

greetz ******

What?????

I couldn't agree with you more Burn1...since I switched to organics about 11 months ago...I don't even think about checking my ph anymore. About once every three months...I pull out the Kelway meter for fun....and of course every container is exactly the same ph. 6.8 on the nose, whether in straight coco/perlite, or peat/perlite/amendments.

Can't beat the organic farming.

Cheers,
SH

[LEGI0N]

I use Fox Farms Ocean Forest and only check the nutes I give them, about 6.0. If I were in Coco I might go a little lower.

[Don Chocolate]

I've been using dolomitic lime in my soil at a rate of 2 tbs/gal. Ever since then, pH problems and the use of epsom salts for Mg is a thing of the past.

Every so often I'll check the pH of the water I'm giving them and sometimes it's below 6.0. I don't notice any ill effects ever, but wouldn't it be better to give them correct pH balanced water?? Not that I'd do it... Let's face it, organics is lots easier than most think.:smile:

Originally Posted by Don Chocolate

I've been using dolomitic lime in my soil at a rate of 2 tbs/gal. Ever since then, pH problems and the use of epsom salts for Mg is a thing of the past.

Every so often I'll check the pH of the water I'm giving them and sometimes it's below 6.0. I don't notice any ill effects ever, but wouldn't it be better to give them correct pH balanced water?? Not that I'd do it... Let's face it, organics is lots easier than most think.:smile:

You shouldn't have to adjust your water, with or without nutes in organics. Just throw it in, even if it has a very low ph. It will drift back up over the next day or two, and while it is drifting back up....more nutes that would normally not be as available in higher ph levels will become available.

Then the soil will balance back to a normal ph, until you feed again....and the drift will happen all over again. It's a good thing!

Cheers,
SH

[Verite]

Drifting ph is a good thing? Use acidic water is ok? What books on botany employ those methods?

Thank you Verite . Wondering where they got theyre info .
Anyway , people , we are growing cannabis , indoors , (organically in this section anyway). We don't have all tha other natural elments inside so we play mother earth and must harness what we know and provide our plants with care so they grow fast and healthy . Now , by providing your plants with tha correct frequency of ph , they aren't gonna have to wait for other factors to (lime or whatever) adjust it . Give your plants what they can assimilate and I bet you will have a faster , stronger harvest . By feeding em an off ph'ed nute , obviously tha plants are gonna have to "work" harder to convert it to a usable frequency . Why would you wanna make your plants work harder , let em focus on bud production , not having 'em work harder to work to eat .

[PazVerdeRadical]

Originally Posted by BurnOne

So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.
Burn1

indeed mr. burnone, good post. thanks!
recently i was exchanging a few words with african growers and south american growers about traditional cannabis cultivation, all is organics and outdoors and no one seems to care about pH; it was a relief to have found through my own experience in organic soil that the whole culture of pH perfectness to be more of a fetiche than anything else...

steel savage, i would like to see if there are any real numbers regarding how much more yield and quality of yield will a plant in organic soil grown outdoors that has been grown with a careful look after the pH does compared to a traditionally grown plant. i think a good organic soil is the universal medium for cannabis, as the plant will naturally adjust to the slight pH variations that there may be; this thought comes from considering some spanish breeders who keep their pH at odd levels like 7.2 because it does better for specific medicinal strains according to them... this tells me the plant is able to adjust, rather than thinking it is us who adjust the soil for the plants.

also, another important issue about this topic is considering the conditions under which the plants and soil used to determine the data backing up pH theory were. if they were hydroponics, well, you know it would make sense, but scientifically, we cannot transport this data to any growing medium.

peace.