Register ICMag Forum Menu Features
You are viewing our:
in:
Forums > Marijuana Growing > Organic Soil > ph testing equipment question

Thread Title Search
Click to Visit Greenpoint Seeds
Post Reply
ph testing equipment question Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 09-03-2006, 07:59 AM #1
Guest
Guest

Posts: n/a
ph testing equipment question

i have gotten a bottle of 'ph test indicator' and it shows readings from 6.2-7.4 ph is this a broad enough spectrum?
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 03:44 AM #2
Guest
Guest

Posts: n/a
nobody can help?
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 04:48 AM #3
vonforne
Guest

Posts: n/a
No. Soil PH should be 5.5-7.0 Have you added lime to your mixture? Do you see problems. Are you testing your soil PH or the water? I will be back later. You can give some more information and be specific. What is you soil mix. Do a search and find a few and compare to yours. Suby,Burn1 have some of the best mixes for Organic growers I have found. Post back after that and I will be back later if you still need any help.
Basically, the true Organic growers will tell you to throw that PH meter away and rely on your soil mixture to balance your PH. Talk to you later.
Von
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 05:06 AM #4
Guest
Guest

Posts: n/a
what i have is a sort of test plant that was planted before i had most of my supplies. its in a soilless mix of 5 parts spaghnum peat (similair to promix) 3 parts perlite and 1 part EWC. in the soil i have 2tbs/gallon of dolomite lime and thats about it. the PH indicator i bought you pour a small sample of your water into the container and put a few drops of the indicator in and whatever color it changes you match it on the chart and the lowest it shows is 6.2 and the highest is 7.4 .

i was lead to believe that because my plant was so yellow and had some brown spots on it that the nutrients in my tea (blood meal, high p guano, EWC, humic acid, fulvic acid and liquid seaweed) were being locked out due to the ph.

the past few waterings i have been watering with just pure bottled water and i think its helping the plant absorb some of the locked out nutrients in the mix because things are greening up. the plant looks 10x better than it did a week or so ago.
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 06:13 AM #5
vonforne
Guest

Posts: n/a
A question

check your tap water. Mine was coming out at 8.2. I adjust now to 5.5, let it sit for 24 hours and it goes back to 7.0. I adjust again to 6.0 and it stablizes there. Get some distilled water, pour through your container and catch the first run off. test that and that will give you your soil PH. You might cut your Dolomite to 1- 1/4 Tbls per gallon. but check your tap water. you could also catch rain water since it is acidic. Just not off the roof. It will have spores and bugs (maybe) better safe than sorry. These guys here are tired of answering the PH question. I just went through the same thing awhile back. And I did just what I described and everything is great now. You could also buy a water filter but you will still have to adjust the ph...once out of the tap and then in 24 hours. Have you let your soil cook before you transplanted? Once you have adjusted the water Ph your soil Ph will drift to it. But just let the soil do its thing. It will buffer the Ph.
You could also use Liquid Karma or some type of Humic acid. I use LK at every watering along with Blackstrap molasses. Results are great. The type of guano I use is FoxFarm Peace of mind. It also has Humic acid in it. It breaks down more slowly along with the guano. Hope this helps.

Last edited by vonforne; 09-04-2006 at 06:25 AM.. Reason: addition
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 07:13 AM #6
Guest
Guest

Posts: n/a
i was using the water from the hose outside in my tea's. is that a no-no?

my ph indicator only shows readings from 6.2 to 7.4 ph. should i adjust it to the lowest (6.2) before i water my plants? what are the negative effects of using too much lime? you said to use about 1 tbs to 1 1/4 tbs.

should i be using distilled water instead of hose water when i make my tea? where can i buy distilled water from? the grocery store?
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 07:49 AM #7
vonforne
Guest

Posts: n/a
Yes, you can buy distilled water from the store.But use it only to check the PH run off like I suggested to test the PH. It would get expensive to water all the time with it. It's about .75 cents a gallon. The hose water is ok If you let the chlorine burn off. Get a plastic container from wallyworld. It cost about 10.00.The big square ones.They are usually near the laundry soap section. Should be about 20 gallons or so.I have 2 30 gallon ones. Buy an fish tank air pump about 7.00 and an airstone(about 3.00). Fill the tank,put in the airstone and let it stand for 24 to 48 hours. Adjust the ph as low as you can get it(6.2) for you,which is good. I go to 5.5 because mine will rise again but after 24 hours check the PH again and adjust to 6.2 if thats all the lower you can go. I go to 6.0 so you are close enough.The dolomite lime will be alright at 2 tbls, it provides alot of Mg and Calcium which our plants use alot of. I just use a little less but I progressive transplant to larger containers as I go and add it every time so you are right in there with the amount you are using. Thats why I use a little less. Do you have a Hydro store near by? If not go to the pet store and get one (a different PH test kit) or Home depot pool department. They have a pretty good one there. If you are using a public water source, it is hard water then and will contain calcium and Mg also but come out of the tap at about 8.0 or higher. Mine comes out at 8.2 but hey what can we do on a budget ...right. I have read that you have had soil help from Suby and Burn1. Those guys really know their shit for sure. So, you have recieved some great help there. They are really against the PH thing. They let their soil do its thing. Thats what I have started doing but I still adjust my water Ph just to be sure I have no problems again. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions just post it up. Remember, the only stupid question is the one that isn't ask. Good luck and good growing.

Von
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 07:58 AM #8
Guest
Guest

Posts: n/a
ok, i will try and get a gallon of distilled water the next time im at the grocery store. i will then check my soil's ph.

if i am calibrating my plain hose waters ph to about 6.0 ish, when i add all my ammendments to the sea such as the liquid seaweed, humic acid and fulvic acid along with my solid nutrients in my tea bag is it prone to swing up or down? should i check it again after my tea has been bubbling for a few days and adjust as needed?
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 08:11 AM #9
vonforne
Guest

Posts: n/a
Your tea will be acidic. Check the PH after it has brewed. That is your finished product that you will give to your plants. You are using Peat? It has Humic acid in it which breaks down to fulvic acid for the roots to uptake. I do not add Humic acid in the liquid form. I use Fox farm Peace of Mind guano which contains Humic acid. And I use peat which contains it also. Just use the Distilled water to test. BUT make sure you let the chlorine burn off from your water or the chlorine will kill your microherd that you are trying to create in your soil. I only let my tea brew no longer than 48 hours. Then I take the left over material from the sock and add it to my next soil mix that is cooking. If you fix the water PH you should be alright. It takes about a week or two for the plants to recover. Using store bought water was a good idea on your part. you saved you plants life there and eased their stress.
Quote


Old 09-04-2006, 08:21 AM #10
3BM
Member

3BM's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 337
3BM will become famous soon enough3BM will become famous soon enough
First off, 6.2 is a fine pH to work with. I aim for 7.0 in the soil, and 6.0 in solubles. Get a better pH test kit, one that reads a wider range of pH. If your soluble mix is 5.0 and the test can only read 6.2 then you may be adding acidic solubles to the soil thereby locking out Mg. Yellowing and spotting on the lower leaves is Mg deficiency, also the leaf blade edges will curl upward slightly. However, another possibility is that you have hard water. Hard water usually contains high concentrations of Ca. Dolimitic lime also contains Ca in fairly high concentration. Ca toxicity can also lock out Mg. Get an analysis of your tap water from the utility company, they will happily provide a concerned customer with that info, to make sure. Watering with bottled water would ensure no soluble Ca entered the mix and might account for why the plants regreened. Mg deficiency can be tricky, but once you figure out the source of the issue it will literally 180 overnight.
3BM is offline Quote


Post Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


All times are GMT +2. The time now is 12:23 PM.


Click for great deals at MB Ferts!


This site is for educational and entertainment purposes only.
You must be of legal age to view ICmag and participate here.
All postings are the responsibility of their authors.
Powered by: vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2018, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.