[MedUser420]

Do I need Dolomite lime w/fox farms ocean forest ,coco coir and perlite mix? What would the proper ph be for the nutes?

[Suby]

Yes, especially if you are using coco as part of your mix.
It's not for ph balance because coco is self buffering and neutral but coc tends to bind calcium and magnesium in it's food web, if you check coco specific nutes they have high levels of calcium and magnesium because they know this to be true ( eg. Canna nutes).
The FF is very rich and a great soil, it could benefit from the ph balancing of the medium with d.lime.
It really can't do any harm, I used 2TBS per gallon of dolomite lime when I used coco and it worked fine.
Any idea on the proportion of each element?
I suggest 40% soil, 40% coco, and 20% perlite, coco retains alot of oxygen at the rootzone and dries out faster than regular peat and perlite mixes.

Suby

[sproutco]

If your fertilizer water contains alot of calcium and magnesium, I might not lime. This would be overkill on the cal/mag. You can depend on the fertilizer water to keep the ph in proper range. Just adjust its ph after mixing. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.p...=sulfuric+acid Your soil mixture ph will gradually drift toward the fert water ph.

You can overdo cal/mag. Too much can lead to a deficiency of potassium. All three compete with each other. (Ideally, you want potassium to calcium 1.5-2:1 and calcium to magnesium 3-4:1) Also, there is the chance of micronutient deficiencys like too much magnesium = manganese deficiency and too much calcium = boron deficiency

[Suby]

There is no way in a 40% coco mixture he will overdo the cal and mag.
I've used these mixes before and you have to supplement with large doses of Botanicare calmag if using an ordinary fert like PBPro or FF, etc.
When you blend a coco mix with soil then you can back off the calcium and magnesium but it will still require more Ca and Mg.
Besides D lime is too slow release to affect nutrient balance to the point of lockout.

[MedUser420]

so when i water the plants with nutirents, waht ph should be the nutrients? I have been adjusting the ph to 6-6.3

[sproutco]

^^ I think I would adjust the fertilizer water after mixing to ph 6.

sproutco, im using FFOF now and the ph is adjusted in the mixture. i added DL to some of my pots and now the ph is about 6.8/6.9. i need to lower now. the other pots are adjusting themselves...are running about 6.4. i didnt read the bag before i added lime. stupid me. i read everything at the grocery store for me i need to do the same for them.
so i would not add the DL. if the ph needs to be adjusted i'd add to the water mixture and adjust there. my 2 cents

[MedUser420]

Originally Posted by sproutco

^^ I think I would adjust the fertilizer water after mixing to ph 6.

you think 6.5-6.7 ph is too high?


my nutes are

3/4 strength pbp for soil,
1/4 strength floranova bloom,
molasses,
high phos bat guano,
Advance nutrients voodoo juice

I usually bubble/brew the mixture in a 5 gallon jug for 24 hrs. Should I add cal/mag?

[sproutco]

At that high a ph, micronutrients become insoluble. Phosphorus becomes less available to plants. At ph 6, the micro's are soluble but not too low that they are toxic. Also, cal/mag is available still at this ph. At lower ph's cal/mag becomes less available. Also, the micronutrient molybdenum is less available.

You should only add the cal/mag to your nutrient solution if it is not already in your fertillizer. I think it is probably already in your fert. If you add more dolomite lime to the soil like suby is suggesting, then don't add cal/mag in the water because it would not really be needed. Sometimes even with dolomite in the soil, I might add cal/mag to my water that does not contain it already every third or fourth time I fert.

Since your an organic grower, you can use white vinegar to lower the "tea" ph instead of sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, etc...

[sproutco]

Originally Posted by vonforne

sproutco, im using FFOF now and the ph is adjusted in the mixture. i added DL to some of my pots and now the ph is about 6.8/6.9. i need to lower now. the other pots are adjusting themselves...are running about 6.4. i didnt read the bag before i added lime. stupid me. i read everything at the grocery store for me i need to do the same for them.
so i would not add the DL. if the ph needs to be adjusted i'd add to the water mixture and adjust there. my 2 cents

That's right. You don't want to really lime a soil that already has lime in it. You adjust the ph of the fertilizer water after mixing. The soil ph if different will gradually drift toward this ph. If you find that this is not working to lower soil ph especially with the pots that are close to 7 ph, you might try applying powdered sulfur to the top of the pot. I think I would use about 1/3 teaspoon (2ml) to a 6 inch pot (15cm). Ph will drop .5 to 1 ph point.