PH testing

[suckitansee]

Ive just been reading up on pH testing. Its a must. More important than flushing, trimming and almost all the other little tricks we try. It will save you countless issue further down the line plus give you bigger better sweeter bud come the big day.If you start testing because there's a problem after pH testing your run of dip a truncheon in. If it starts flashing like a dirty ol man its time to act. But don't panic. Its called weed for a reason. Have fun, unless thrips turn up, then get the uzi out

 

[Jackalope]

PH is important. How important, changes for what you are doing. For hydro it is extremely important. For soil not as much. It also matters what you use for soil.

I grow in soil. After a couple basic tests to see what the city water was. I have never checked PH going in or out again. I only checked it when I moved. If you don't need to mess with it don't. Not only is it easier. You don't risk mixing it wrong. Like you mentioned marijuana is a weed grow it like one.

PH changes more than just the water. It changes how the plant can use the water in some case's. Bad PH levels can lockout nuits the soil has. This can make problems harder to diagnose.

Be careful anytime you mess with PH in the water. My PH is in the 6.8 to 7 range. Yep that is on the high side. It has been growing great pot for years so I leave it alone. I just mentioned to a friend I have a brand new digital PH meter I have never pulled out of the box. I bought it over 5 years ago. What a waste of money LOL.

 

[bobrown14]

I'm not sure. I keep yelling at mother nature cause she keeps sending me water @ >5pH and I my plants are supposed to grow with water at 6-7pH. She never listens to me but my plants are fine. I cant understand why.

Then the flushing starts when it rains and then everything is back to normal.


In soil pH is not that important. As long at its within a tolerable range say 5-7.5pH you will be fine. If you're running soil-less yes you need to be checking water pH as well as your hydro feed.

More important than pH is whats actually in the tap water if thats what you're using. By asking "whats in your tap water" you need an EC meter. My tap water EC reading is 290ppm out of the well and it will kill my plants in containers. So I use an RO filter everything fine and I dont pH test my RO water.

 

[suckitansee]

I know what you mean, I've been growing i n the same place for two years never a issue with pH. First time in new place and problem after problem. Nitrogen issue the most damage. Maybe just bedding in an adjusting to environment. Plus new cuttings from new supply. Gotta move again tho. Joys of growing.

 

[cr8grow]

I just chopped my first grow and had problems a couple weeks into flower with yellowing leaves and some burnt tips. Grow was in Roots Organic Formula 707 with added perlite. It never occured to me I could have a basic issue with my well water. Ph is around 7.5 at the tap. My organic nutes drop Ph to 6.5 when I water. I bought a EC meter and tested my well water. I dont know what the numbers mean other than I have a high value of TDS. Ppm is 149 ( in the red on the meter) and EC is 319. Are those numbers OK for an organic soil grow? Plants are drying in the grow cabinet...planning grow #2 now.

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

I use a well buffered medium(Sunshine # 4 Mix)and 30% RO added to my very hard(350ppm TDS) well water. I don't check pH as the media is so well buffered with gypsum and dolomite.

 

[bobrown14]

I just chopped my first grow and had problems a couple weeks into flower with yellowing leaves and some burnt tips. Grow was in Roots Organic Formula 707 with added perlite. It never occured to me I could have a basic issue with my well water. Ph is around 7.5 at the tap. My organic nutes drop Ph to 6.5 when I water. I bought a EC meter and tested my well water. I dont know what the numbers mean other than I have a high value of TDS. Ppm is 149 ( in the red on the meter) and EC is 319. Are those numbers OK for an organic soil grow? Plants are drying in the grow cabinet...planning grow #2 now.

My PPM was 290ppm - have no idea what was in there but it was killing my plants until I got my RO filter up and running now everything back on track.

The only way to answer your question is to get a comprehensive water test. Well water Its just a guessing game whats coming out. You would know if its hard water tho - ours is extremely hard on our fixtures etc so we have a whole home water softener. That basically is salts that are not good for container gardening. The cool thing in all of this is that the RO filter works better with softened water than straight up well water.

 

[NOOOBIENOT]

the more perlite you add to the soil the more it become a hydro type of grow , now ph and ppm become a factor , you don't need perlite in a good organic soil just a good wet/dry cycle , feed the soil with a good blend of beneficial bacteria , mycorrhiza , and some molasses , a good compost tea , worm castings , alfalfa meal etc.i cover the tops of my pots with a ground up straw to keep the tops moist and just keep adding trimmings etc to the tops of the pots (mulch ), organic soil requires larger pots , i find , gives the microbes time to do their thing and balance the ph out better .

 

[NOOOBIENOT]

i start my soil 2 months before i intend on putting a plant in to it , i fill it with all kinds of stuff and just let it cook away , keep it moist and room temperature , when i lift the straw i can see white fuzzy shit (bacteria ,i assume ) i know its getting close to ready it has a strong earthy smell , i can only grow 3 plants in my 4x4x8 tent , as i use 20 gallon cloth pots , i am on my 3rd gow on the same pots , i don't even take the old roots out , fuck it too lazy -lol i use r.o. water and just pour it in , i use the gia green products now but wanna try the mega crop stuff for a grow next time , but it is very expensive for me to get - shipping .

 

[NOOOBIENOT]

my soil tent is the only tent that i have a bug problem in , my other tent witch is a 60/40 % coco /perlite tent is usually bug free to the most part , soil seems to attract more bugs i find but it could just be my luck .

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

If you use RO/rain, I suggest adding Ca/Mg. If you have hard alkali water, dilute it to about 175ppm TDS, use it, and you won't need to add Ca/Mg most likely.

 

[suckitansee]

i start my soil 2 months before i intend on putting a plant in to it , i fill it with all kinds of stuff and just let it cook away , keep it moist and room temperature , when i lift the straw i can see white fuzzy shit (bacteria ,i assume ) i know its getting close to ready it has a strong earthy smell , i can only grow 3 plants in my 4x4x8 tent , as i use 20 gallon cloth pots , i am on my 3rd gow on the same pots , i don't even take the old roots out , fuck it too lazy -lol i use r.o. water and just pour it in , i use the gia green products now but wanna try the mega crop stuff for a grow next time , but it is very expensive for me to get - shipping .

I've saved 4 bags of trimed leaves and other bits thinking bout compost but I'm stuck for where to make a heap full of obvious leaf. Just leaving it in soil bags in a warm room out the way, any good? Or attract problems. Or shred it as is an mix in?

 

[bobrown14]

I've saved 4 bags of trimed leaves and other bits thinking bout compost but I'm stuck for where to make a heap full of obvious leaf. Just leaving it in soil bags in a warm room out the way, any good? Or attract problems. Or shred it as is an mix in?

Get bin put those leaves outside. You're likely growing mold in there. The spores will get in your grow and trust me, you do not want that. Get them out of the house ASAP.

 

[cr8grow]

the more perlite you add to the soil the more it become a hydro type of grow , now ph and ppm become a factor , you don't need perlite in a good organic soil just a good wet/dry cycle ,

A local grow shop, now closed, sold me on Roots Organic 707 for my first indoor grow...its what they had in stock. Looking it up later 707 retains extra moisture and is meant for out door grows...why I added extra perlite. I have enough 707 soil for about 3 more grows. I think my biggest issue was overwatering. Once I waited for the pots to dry out it would be 6 days between watering in a 3 gallon pot filled to only 2 gallons with soil. Before that I was watering every 2-3 days.

 

[SteveJasmine]

I make sure my pH in Coco perlite mix is 5.8-5.9 it ensures I don't end up locked out. I'm running a 24 pot Autopot system with a 225L reservoir. It gives the plants consistency with the pH level.

 

[Edzzed]

I have two pH meters and two TDS meters just cause. On my 1st grow I learned how important pH is about 1/3 of the way in. made a course correction as I was using Nestle pure life water and it has a pH of 7.3 so I went to tap water which is 7.0 Now what I do is fill 16 liters of water into a 5 gallon reservoir which is aerated. When I water I add nutes just prior to it. I know now it takes 4 ml's of pH up to get it to 6.35 I also use FFOF soil and to kill anything in there, I have a bag sitting in my deep freezer. I will leave it there til November 1st when I fire up the lights for grow number 3. Meters might be identical in looks but thats where it ends..... FYI

 

[NOOOBIENOT]

Hello the different numbers could be the battery strength and the meters may need cleaning and i calibrate my meters in the same glass of calibration solution at the same time , i had the same problem with 2 of the same hanna meters i had , i have been using vinegar to clean the tips and always replace the batteries in my meters when i 1st get them , you never know how long they have been sitting on a shelf some where and i change the storage solution in them daily , i use them every day as i am a coco grower . this seems to have gotten the numbers very close on both meters now but not exactly the same , i believe the manufactures say they have a 1% tolerance either way , witch to me is a large difference , i also have a blue lab meter and it seems to be the most consistent in numbers but it is also 3 times the price .

 

[bobrown14]

soak the meters in calibration solution for several days.