Help with soil pH, the affect of molasses and making aeration pipes to oxygenate the rhizozone?

[Ganja Droid 420]

Howdy Everyone!

Few questions. It's my first grow in soil in 5 years and my first one sucked before I switched to coco. back to chasing the organic green dream, I made a cheap decent organic mix from my local hardware store and im using Bio-Canna (Link in my bio to my White Widow Grow).

What should the soil pH test at. My nutes are mixing at 6.2-6.3 when I watered. My cheap though decent meter is reading a pH of about 7.0-7.5 (don't know how accurate this is yet... Any links to test soil pH? Do I have to strain it? Take a soil sample? Link me please!

I added a half measure of molasses to the first watering to promote microorganism growth and I've read it can affect soil pH. It's 100% Organic Blackstrap Molasses harvested by a small Organic producer made for soil.garden use.

I was also thinking of adding some pvc pipes with holes below the soil line to get some more air in there. My mix is good and drains well however I did pack the 7 gal fabric pots well this time after previous half pots...

Suggestions? Thoughts? Anything? Cheers!

 

[Ganja Droid 420]

I'm thinking I need some sort of accidic soil ammedment to lower its natural pH?

 

[SmokingWings]

What should the soil pH test at. My nutes are mixing at 6.2-6.3 when I watered. My cheap though decent meter is reading a pH of about 7.0-7.5 (don't know how accurate this is yet... Any links to test soil pH? Do I have to strain it? Take a soil sample? Link me please!

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Suggestions? Thoughts? Anything? Cheers!

Some thoughts are to relax and stop worrying about the 'soil pH'. It is possible to get a decent soil pH reading by going through the test procedure at home but a lot of growers now feel it is not worth the effort.

People that grow in a hydroponic style or method are constantly having to check the pH of every liquid going in and out and know all the numbers and tracking every little change in a leaf's color back to the pH and so on and on. It is so necessary in a hydro style of growing that many of them develop the feeling that soil just has to operate the same way. These growers include the sales staff at many of the grow or hydro shops.

But, soil does not operate the same way. As long as the water going into the soil is not at the top or bottom end of the pH range any half-way decent soil will take care of the pH drift of the water without the grower having to test.

Any links to test soil pH? Do I have to strain it? Take a soil sample? Link me please!

Just do a basic google style search using various search strings like this one:

how to test soil pH

Keep digging down through the suggested links to get past some of the very, very basic sorts of test. You will be looking for a test that involve measuring a specific amount of soil of a known level of moisture. The next thing needed is a specific amount of water at a specific pH. Mix for a specific amount of time. Then the pH of the soil sample can be figured out after testing the water from the soil mixture.

Or send a sample of the soil off to have a soil laboratory do the test. That is the easiest and usually the most accurate.

In the long run it is easier to test the water several times and work with that. Come to think of it, there are some of the well-known and long time experienced soil growers on this msg board that have done nothing more than making sure their water is "about 6.3 pH" or "about 6.0 pH" or "about 6.7pH" and do nothing more about it.