PH issues

[Kapncannabis]

I am Using a super soil formula of my own and find that my pH is hanging low because of the pro max so I’m using,.any recommendations,suggested to bring the pH up? I have tried General hydroponics pH up and I have tried lime both at around 9.0 with my water well with no nutrients watering schedule which always tests 8.2 But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

 

[garybo]

I am Using a super soil formula of my own and find that my pH is hanging low because of the pro max so I’m using,.any recommendations,suggested to bring the pH up? I have tried General hydroponics pH up and I have tried lime both at around 9.0 with my water well with no nutrients watering schedule which always tests 8.2 But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

@ Kapncannabis, you really need to provide a little more info. How old, what size pots they in, outdoor/indoor, are the plants showing any malady signs?
Help us out now.

 

[SmokingWings]

But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

Are you talking about the pH of the soil? Or, the pH of the water that runs through the soil and comes out of the bottom of the plant. Neither of these means as much as some of us used to think. It is the pH of the water going in that is important in a soil grow. If the water is being mixed with any nutrients then it should be measured and adjusted after the nutrients have been added.

As has been already mentioned we will need more info.

 

[MochaBud]

Welcome to the forum @Kapncannabis

I am Using a super soil formula of my own and find that my pH is hanging low because of the pro max so I’m using,.any recommendations,suggested to bring the pH up? I have tried General hydroponics pH up and I have tried lime both at around 9.0 with my water well with no nutrients watering schedule which always tests 8.2 But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

I asked Google, and it said...
Baking soda produces almost immediate results, and so you will never have to wait for ages for the liming compound to work. In fact, you can realize some changes in the soil pH in less than 24 hours provided using baking soda.

 

[Stoned Ape]

Is dolomite lime useful in this situation.

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Welcome to the forum @Kapncannabis


I asked Google, and it said...
Baking soda produces almost immediate results, and so you will never have to wait for ages for the liming compound to work. In fact, you can realize some changes in the soil pH in less than 24 hours provided using baking soda.

Howdy do,
Just gona have to add to this if you don't mind.. if using baking soda to adjust the ph of a nutrient solution, it will accumulate in the soil and continue to increase the soil ph. I ran out of ph up and decided to use baking soda as a substitute. This is what happened to me,whilst using baking soda.
The soil ph crept up to nearly 10 even though my nutrient solution didn't rise above 6.5. I've found using Ph strips is more reliable than using a Ph pen, whilst using deionized water for a slurry test..
There is quite a bit of info online about ph pens not reading correctly with deionized water on its own..


This is what she looked like before, during and after..

I was raising my nutrient solution from 4.5 to 6.3.
When I took a soil sample from the bottom of the pot, I added a little bit vinegar and there was a reaction; It started frothing up, showing there was large amounts of bicarb still in the soil...it doesn't degrade naturally I think

 

[Kapncannabis]

Will the hydrated lime work better mixed in water or sprinkled on top and watered on? Its a seven plant mixed variety, in 5 gal fabric pots with promix base and dry amenments. I test soil and feed water most everytime with bluelabs ph meter. I have checked the ph of all the amendments and the pro mix base is the culprit. I have topdressed and mixed hydrated lime in feed water. got the feed water up to 9.1 but have seen very slow results, they are 6 - 8 weeks old all on 18 hr schedule. Maybe just give the lime a little time ? My water without lime comes in at 8.2 but that is not high enough to raise the ph. I relealized this after last grow,when i got the bluelab and saw the actual soil ph. and started searchin for the reason. Promix Base soil! Will post photos

 

[Paul Squiggle]

Try and get your hands on some ph paper strips and do a slurry test with those. all 4 of my pH pens had the soil ph at around 7, that is why I could understand what was killing the plant.. i then read an article about using the paper strips and it gave me a totally different result to the pens.

 

[Gabby987]

Howdy do,
Just gona have to add to this if you don't mind.. if using baking soda to adjust the ph of a nutrient solution, it will accumulate in the soil and continue to increase the soil ph. I ran out of ph up and decided to use baking soda as a substitute. This is what happened to me,whilst using baking soda.
The soil ph crept up to nearly 10 even though my nutrient solution didn't rise above 6.5. I've found using Ph strips is more reliable than using a Ph pen, whilst using deionized water for a slurry test..
There is quite a bit of info online about ph pens not reading correctly with deionized water on its own..


This is what she looked like before, during and after..

I was raising my nutrient solution from 4.5 to 6.3.
When I took a soil sample from the bottom of the pot, I added a little bit vinegar and there was a reaction; It started frothing up, showing there was large amounts of bicarb still in the soil...it doesn't degrade naturally I think

That is good to know..
I have been using baking soda to raise the ph in my nutrient solution because the Ph up didn't seem to work as well. It took so much of it to raise 5 gal of water from 4.8 to 6.3.

 

[Paul Squiggle]

That is good to know..
I have been using baking soda to raise the ph in my nutrient solution because the Ph up didn't seem to work as well. It took so much of it to raise 5 gal of water from 4.8 to 6.3.

I believe its OK to use it once and a while; but I would go back to using ph up, even if it does use quite abit. It may just be my soil, clinging on to it; I am unsure of the process that's happened..
But, the results speak for themselves.

 

[Kapncannabis]

They don’t really look too bad yet but I don’t wanna wait till they do. FYI one is an auto.

 

[SmokingWings]

Will the hydrated lime work better mixed in water or sprinkled on top and watered on? Its a seven plant mixed variety, in 5 gal fabric pots with promix base and dry amenments. I test soil and feed water most everytime with bluelabs ph meter.

If you are in a soil mix then it is almost impossible to know the pH of that soil without doing a slurry test like is done in a testing lab. Just getting a pH reading of the water that runs through the soil does not tell what the soil pH itself is. It just tells the pH of that batch of water.

A suggestion is to go to google or similar web search and look for agricultural or gardening articles on how long it takes for lime to actually change the pH of the soil. It is not something that will happen in a few months or even a year. Lime will change the pH of the water in the soil and that can help the plant. It takes approx 2 years after the addition of lime actually changes the pH of the soil itself.

 

[Gabby987]

They don’t really look too bad yet but I don’t wanna wait till they do. FYI one is an auto.

They look good.
I agree. Prevention whenever possible is best..
I'm doing my first run with autos, and I'm afraid to screw up.
Photos give you more of a chance to correct the issue.

 

[Paul Squiggle]

They don’t really look too bad yet but I don’t wanna wait till they do. FYI one is an auto.

I think you would be seeing signs of a pH imbalance by now, they look healthy.. how are you testing your soil ph?

 

[Emilya Green]

I am Using a super soil formula of my own and find that my pH is hanging low because of the pro max so I’m using,.any recommendations,suggested to bring the pH up? I have tried General hydroponics pH up and I have tried lime both at around 9.0 with my water well with no nutrients watering schedule which always tests 8.2 But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

Why are you even worrying about soil pH if you are not using nutes that are unlocked by being in a certain pH range? Your microbes, soil or your plant really don't care about the pH, as long as it is within 9-4.5 or so, so that life can be supported... and in almost every situation it is.

 

[Gabby987]

I think you would be seeing signs of a pH imbalance by now, they look healthy.. how are you testing your soil ph?

I use the blue lab pen, but I confess, I often double check with the strips.
The pen let me down once. ( I had ph imbalances due to that in my last grow). There is no way to know when they need calibrating, other than your gut saying: " Hell no, this is wrong".

 

[bobrown14]

I am Using a super soil formula of my own and find that my pH is hanging low because of the pro max so I’m using,.any recommendations,suggested to bring the pH up? I have tried General hydroponics pH up and I have tried lime both at around 9.0 with my water well with no nutrients watering schedule which always tests 8.2 But cannot get the ph up. Still hanging around 5.4

how are you testing your soil pH?

Unless its lab tested your results are NOT accurate.

pH is a logarithmic scale = a little off is way off.

That and plants have the ability to change the pH at the Rhizosphere and how they uptake nutrients by regulating the pH in the root zone/Rhizosphere in harmony with microbes and fungi.

You well water pH is high. I have the same issue - its actually alkaline. pH and alkalinity are related but not the same. It's complicated but the reason for your high pH in your well water is from the rocks the water percolates thru and is likely limestone.

I decided long time ago to use an RO filtration system as the ppms and pH of our well water fluctuate hourly... and it can go way up to 10pH. This will kill plants IN CONTAINERS regardless of your soil pH in about 2-3 weeks you will see signs of plant issues.

For soil pH - you can do a slurry test - look up how to do it and that test is not accurate enough to do something or make changes.

You cannot add lime to soil with a plant in the container and expect any changes other than possibly killing your plants. Farmers lime fallow fields in late fall or early spring. That should be a clue that adding lime to a potted plant with a plant in there is bad practice and wont do what you want it to do as you have already found out.

So do nothing - pH adjust your water if you need to bring it down and you should - try getting some Vitamin C (ascorbic ACID) powder - a jar will last several years and cost WAY less than a chemical in a bottle.

As an aside to above:

I use peat moss in my soil mix. When I mix my soil several weeks before planting in it I add oyster shell flour ( 96% calcium carbonate) - this will offset the acidity of the peat moss. Then I add more Ca in the form of Gypsum - which will not change the soil pH over time. As a liming agent you can use gypsum with a growing plant to add Ca not to change soil pH.

Soil you should look at it as a living organism. A natural balance of all your amendments in a living soil. I mix my soil and let it grow. I grow micro-organisms and fungi..they in turn grow the plants. So I'm very mindful of what I add to soil in containers. Outside in the ground its still living but you can mess up BAD and its buffered so you have a lot more leeway. In a container a very small amount of anything can be detrimental.

Hope that helps

 

[Kapncannabis]

how are you testing your soil pH?

Unless its lab tested your results are NOT accurate.

pH is a logarithmic scale = a little off is way off.

That and plants have the ability to change the pH at the Rhizosphere and how they uptake nutrients by regulating the pH in the root zone/Rhizosphere in harmony with microbes and fungi.

You well water pH is high. I have the same issue - its actually alkaline. pH and alkalinity are related but not the same. It's complicated but the reason for your high pH in your well water is from the rocks the water percolates thru and is likely limestone.

I decided long time ago to use an RO filtration system as the ppms and pH of our well water fluctuate hourly... and it can go way up to 10pH. This will kill plants IN CONTAINERS regardless of your soil pH in about 2-3 weeks you will see signs of plant issues.

For soil pH - you can do a slurry test - look up how to do it and that test is not accurate enough to do something or make changes.

You cannot add lime to soil with a plant in the container and expect any changes other than possibly killing your plants. Farmers lime fallow fields in late fall or early spring. That should be a clue that adding lime to a potted plant with a plant in there is bad practice and wont do what you want it to do as you have already found out.

So do nothing - pH adjust your water if you need to bring it down and you should - try getting some Vitamin C (ascorbic ACID) powder - a jar will last several years and cost WAY less than a chemical in a bottle.

As an aside to above:

I use peat moss in my soil mix. When I mix my soil several weeks before planting in it I add oyster shell flour ( 96% calcium carbonate) - this will offset the acidity of the peat moss. Then I add more Ca in the form of Gypsum - which will not change the soil pH over time. As a liming agent you can use gypsum with a growing plant to add Ca not to change soil pH.

Soil you should look at it as a living organism. A natural balance of all your amendments in a living soil. I mix my soil and let it grow. I grow micro-organisms and fungi..they in turn grow the plants. So I'm very mindful of what I add to soil in containers. Outside in the ground its still living but you can mess up BAD and its buffered so you have a lot more leeway. In a container a very small amount of anything can be detrimental.

Hope that helps

Why are you even worrying about soil pH if you are not using nutes that are unlocked by being in a certain pH range? Your microbes, soil or your plant really don't care about the pH, as long as it is within 9-4.5 or so, so that life can be supported... and in almost every situation it is.

OK, so I haven’t made the full graduation to organic growing yet. Thanks,I must remember I am feeding my soil organisms . I was just thinking a 5.5 pH would not be a good growing environment even for organic grow. Must research more.

 

[Emilya Green]

OK, so I haven’t made the full graduation to organic growing yet. Thanks,I must remember I am feeding my soil organisms . I was just thinking a 5.5 pH would not be a good growing environment even for organic grow. Must research more.

yes... Microbes exist in the deepest ocean, in volcanoes... they can evolve into some pretty tough critters. When we are long gone, microbes will remain. They can handle a little bit of non neutral pH, without huge extremes of course. In an organic minerally enriched soil, there are plenty of spots around the organics where the local pH will soar, in either extreme... imagine the pH right near a chunk of dolomite lime, or some potassium phosphate as it is breaking down. It certainly isn't neutral. The roots simply adapt and deal with it, their choice to go into that region or not... same with the microbes.

Ph is way way down there on my list of things to worry about in my organic gardens. That is one of the main reasons I moved away from synthetic nutes into organic gardening... so I no longer have to worry about pH. I basically apply only water, so that is in range, and I know that years from now my soil eventually will acidify and go flat on me. When I see my soil change its character and I start losing plants, I will check it's pH to confirm what conditions are already telling me, and I will replace it. I think maybe it is the soil manufacturers who make such a deal out of soil and pH so that people will experiment and jack up their soils, so they need to buy more soil... who knows?

Anyway... wean yourself from your pH meter... just keep it handy in case some day for some odd reason, you need or want to use it.

 

[bobrown14]

Like @Emilia said - soil can work with a very large pH range. As long as its not changing with a big swing like adding lime in the middle of a grow.

Same if you're using fertilizers - follow label with regard to pH and your golden.

If you worry about soil pH, its nothing that you can change with plants growing and even without plants say 1 season you lime your soil its only a temporary change.

I'm good with soil at 5.5pH specially if my water is alkaline.

The reason for adding lime without plants is so the micro-organisms can break down the lime that changes the pH. It's best to let the roots interact with the microbes via root exudate - let the plant regulate the pH. That's how it happens naturally.

We hoo-mans tried to get smarter and use synthetic chemicals to bypass this interaction with roots and soil microbes. It's not going very well.... things like pandemics and disease which are rampant around the world are the result of our superior intelligence.

Go figure.