What kind of medium are you using? Soil? Coco? Soil mixed with perlite? What is the PH of your water before you pour it on your plant?
- Thread starter
- #3
Fox Farm Ocean Forest with some dolomite lime. I just poured in a dose of 5.5 PH, run-off came out to about 7. Is SWICK worth doing for ease of watering?
I do not know why you couldn't but a PH of 5.5 with FFOF seems a bit low to me. Your PH is closer to hydro levels as opposed to soil levels. I do not know much about hydro, doing my 1st hydro grow at the moment, but I am running the water for my hydro DWC at 5.7 and my soil plants at 6.2 PH. With soil I use cloth pots and occasionally have the same issue as you with the water coming out the sides of the pot if I water to quickly. What I find works pretty well for that is covering the top of the soil with a thin layer of clay hydro pellets. Then when I water as soon as the water is as deep on top of the soil as 1 clay pellet i allow it to soak in before adding more. Goes pretty quick.
- Thread starter
- #5
Well when I poured in 5.5, the run-off was still about 7. So I should pour in PH 6 instead? Or go by run-off?
Fuzzy Duck
Well-Known Member
Dolomite lime is a PH buffer and adjust soil PH level to around PH 7 the run off could be effected by the lime or how much you used when mixing in with the compost.
The soil PH value is the most important aspect for growing in soil & not the nutrients !
Most macro nutrients will work between PH 5.5 to 7.5 as for micro nutrients most will be chelated & basically means they will work on a broad PH range. (not sure about organic micro nutrients tho)
It is really not the PH of nutrients/water which make em work ! other wise if it was the case i know about in commercial practise in the standard hortic trade...
Ye i work in horticulture, soil PH differs over soil types & regions around the world... depending on PH value the soils may be buffered with various stuff & normally adjust in the range of PH 6 to 7 where most plants are happy to grow in such
Ok most store or purpose made compost should be buffered between PH 6 & 7 might be labels or mentioned on the bag it self if the brand name is of any good value.
PH correcting is mainly for inert mediums such as coir, perlite, rockwool, clay pebbles & water based systems where the water is the main medium of getting nutrients to the plants as the rest of medium used for growing is inert.
Ye peeps do PH correct & do crazy things if it grows weed why not whether peeps understand stuff is another matter at hand... you might get freaked out with PH value of rain fall on out door grows etc
Back to the air pots i'm a big fan of em
Might have them the wrong way around ?
Air pots should have a rim of blanked filled holes at one end should be an inch or so & that is the top off the pot, you need to fill compost past these & perhaps nearly to the top with a shallow bowl like effect in the middle... this should help stop the water gushing out of the sides
The soil PH value is the most important aspect for growing in soil & not the nutrients !
Most macro nutrients will work between PH 5.5 to 7.5 as for micro nutrients most will be chelated & basically means they will work on a broad PH range. (not sure about organic micro nutrients tho)
It is really not the PH of nutrients/water which make em work ! other wise if it was the case i know about in commercial practise in the standard hortic trade...
Ye i work in horticulture, soil PH differs over soil types & regions around the world... depending on PH value the soils may be buffered with various stuff & normally adjust in the range of PH 6 to 7 where most plants are happy to grow in such
Ok most store or purpose made compost should be buffered between PH 6 & 7 might be labels or mentioned on the bag it self if the brand name is of any good value.
PH correcting is mainly for inert mediums such as coir, perlite, rockwool, clay pebbles & water based systems where the water is the main medium of getting nutrients to the plants as the rest of medium used for growing is inert.
Ye peeps do PH correct & do crazy things if it grows weed why not whether peeps understand stuff is another matter at hand... you might get freaked out with PH value of rain fall on out door grows etc
Back to the air pots i'm a big fan of em
Might have them the wrong way around ?
Air pots should have a rim of blanked filled holes at one end should be an inch or so & that is the top off the pot, you need to fill compost past these & perhaps nearly to the top with a shallow bowl like effect in the middle... this should help stop the water gushing out of the sides
If water just gushes out the side your soil or medium is waaaay to dry and therefore its a pain to water it.
but the whole advantage to an airpot is that you can water it like mad and not drown the plants... when i am finished watering my plants i always add half a pint of water just to be sure of it so it drips like hell out the bottom and soil is compleately soaked... never drowned my babies and i've grown over 1kg of flowers in my 80x80 tent. i am not exagregating... i grow my plants almost in mud and they thrive since they get oxigen from the sides of the plant
A NICE TRICK for watering airpots is preparation before you plant anything in them... what i do is fill em to the top with soil then dig a cup about an inch deep and about an inch away from the edge of the pot... it foorms a nice waterholder and i can just dump a pint of water in it and move to the next plant... when i go through my tent the first pot absorbs the water and you can go for another round if not watered enough.
edit:
saw dickie there give the same advice after i posted this
well i described it a bitt better 
serves me right to write on forums high as a kite
but the whole advantage to an airpot is that you can water it like mad and not drown the plants... when i am finished watering my plants i always add half a pint of water just to be sure of it so it drips like hell out the bottom and soil is compleately soaked... never drowned my babies and i've grown over 1kg of flowers in my 80x80 tent. i am not exagregating... i grow my plants almost in mud and they thrive since they get oxigen from the sides of the plant
A NICE TRICK for watering airpots is preparation before you plant anything in them... what i do is fill em to the top with soil then dig a cup about an inch deep and about an inch away from the edge of the pot... it foorms a nice waterholder and i can just dump a pint of water in it and move to the next plant... when i go through my tent the first pot absorbs the water and you can go for another round if not watered enough.
edit:
saw dickie there give the same advice after i posted this
well i described it a bitt better serves me right to write on forums high as a kite
