Still not understanding the pH in my soil

[Christopher Bennett]

Still having problems with the pH in my soil no matter what type of soil do I use. I ph my water going in I check the pH of the water going out and the next day I use my cheap three-way prong meter and check the pH and it's always in the eighth no matter what I do not understanding this

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Worthless to check runnoff pH, means nothing

If your concerned do a slurry test

And those pronged pH testers are worthless anyways, get a pH pen

 

[Emilya Green]

Hi Christopher, and welcome to the forum!
that should tell you that your cheap three way prong meter does not work. You can not measure soil pH with one of those, you have to have a real pH meter and conduct a slurry test.
Who has you worried about the soil pH anyway? Just water at the correct pH and the soil will do what it was designed to do in most cases.

 

[Carcass]

Welcome to 420,Chris !
Those cheap meters are good for aerating the soil,but that's about all...
Most people don't worry about soil pH-just make sure the water going in is at the right level,and you should be golden...

 

[Christopher Bennett]

I thank you all I think from now on I'm just going to pH the water going in and let it ride

 

[SmokingWings]

What the others have said so far. Do not worry about it.

I checked soil pH for a week or so about 2 and 1/2 years ago. Never did bother checking the water that came out of the bottom. Then I just stopped checking. It did not seem to mean anything.

More importantly, if the plants are healthy, have good color, and are growing I figure that there are no immediate problems. On the occasional days when I let the plant's soil go a bit dry and the leaves started wilting I would water and the plant would respond within an hour or maybe less.

Just about any half way decent soil will adjust for fluctuations in its pH and adjust itself as needed. The next day it will readjust if for no other reason than it is another day.

Checking and adjusting pH is more important in artificial soils and hydroponics where there is no natural soil to do the adjusting needed.

 

[Christopher Bennett]

Thank you make sense

 

[bobrown14]

Still having problems with the pH in my soil no matter what type of soil do I use. I ph my water going in I check the pH of the water going out and the next day I use my cheap three-way prong meter and check the pH and it's always in the eighth no matter what I do not understanding this

OK good advice given.

Are you asking because your plants look unhealthy or are they growing fine and you're thinking about why??

Best thing to do for pH is to let your water sit out over night can even throw and air stone in there. The pH will change without you doing anything other than letting the water sit out. unless your water pH is like under 5pH or over 8.5pH your SOIL will be ok. If you're using nutrients then just pH that mix per instructions on the label.