Growing in soil without an electronical ph meter?

[Razz]

Hello, I'm about to start my first grow ever and I wonder how to control my ph. From what I've read here, cheaper electronic ph-testers are shit and I'm not sure if I am able to spend 100$ for another piece of equipment. Do you think that I can grow successfully using only say ph drops, like the ones from GHE?

I won't be growing organically, I plan on using the Lucas Formula with FloraNova and tapwater.

Thank you.

 

[Nada]

i have done this although you may run into some problems.

if you are doing all organics and have alot of real food and healthy soil it should act as a buffer.

otherwise, there are cheap electronic ph testers available that are under 40$, or you could obtain some test strips

it is important to atleast test and record your ph and keep it written down so you do not have to keep testing and just know what you are doing right away

 

[BullnAChinaShop]

I do it with ph drops. I just ordered a cheapo meter off amazon though for like $10. I know everyone says you need to spend lots of $$$ on a meter but this one had great reviews and I figure between that and the drops I should be good. I have been using the drops for over a year now though without much issue.

http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Digital-PH-009-Multimeter-Tester/dp/B005DWGR20/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349795144&sr=8-3&keywords=ph+meter

 

[Floridian]

IMO every soil grower should have the General Hydroponics test kit.It consistes of ph up,down and indicator.You shouldnt be needing a meter or pen growing in soil.I use a teaspoon lime per gallon soil,adjust nutrient PH to 6.5 or so(very light lime green)and you wont have ph troubles

 

[medmaker420]

Just get the cheap meter that has the decimal reading as well among the cheapos and it holds its value pretty well. I have used mine for over 3+ years without a problem and bought it for under $20 on eBay or amazon.

The one I have is a light brown/tan with a brown cap to cover the diode and works great. The only downfall I see with these pen ph meters is they don't have a "data hold" button where you can see what the last ph reading was but other than that it is great.

I do think ph is important to deal with but with organics not really unless you are trying to do some organics and some chemicals THEN you will have ph issues that need fixing.

Also if you are using tap water, you need to let your water bubble or air out for a good 24+ hours

 

[OldSSSCGuy]

Unless you anticipate your tap water changing its pH all the time then an electric tester might be overkill. Just get a liquid reagent test kit and test it once a month or so. Your plants will adapt to some out-of-norm pH levels - as long as they are consistent and not changing with every feeding.

I use the Hanna pH pens but only need them a couple/few times a year to see what the tap water is doing.

 

[GMT]

go to a pet shop, tell them you just bought an aquarium and forgot to get a ph test kit for the water. They will sell you a simple one and some ph down drops very cheaply. Once you know the ph of your tap water, and the effect that the nutes has on it, from there you will know what you are doing without needing to test the ph each time.

 

[Snow1]

GMT^^^^ that is awesome LOL

Razz I would say it depends man for sure if you are going to stick with soil the drops would work perfect but if you plan on trying to move to coco or hydro then I would try a pen. I went cheap first for a pen and bought a milwakee and it broke in about 3 months also I had drops which was cool now I have a nice hanna pen. But its really all about your game plan. if you stick with soil sounds like GMT gave a great idea.

 

[Reg Dixon]

go to a pet shop, tell them you just bought an aquarium and forgot to get a ph test kit for the water. They will sell you a simple one and some ph down drops very cheaply. Once you know the ph of your tap water, and the effect that the nutes has on it, from there you will know what you are doing without needing to test the ph each time.

^^ This. The only trouble with using ph drops in a test tube is that the whole process is a bit fiddley and the range is limited from 6-7.6 or so.
Also if you are colour blind you are shit out of luck with ph drops!

 

[señorsloth]

ive never owned a meter...i only use general hydro's drops and ph up and down...i water at 7 for new soil and 6 for recycled soil, in theory, if your soil is pretty neutral to begin with and you always water with neutral water...there really isn't any force that should be raising or lowering it unexpectedly...

if you are using drops however and ph gets out of wack, it's a bit of a pain to get a reading...i do it similar to making coffee...by filling a filter with soil from the center of a pot, and pouring neutral water (7) into the dirt, so that it slowly seeps through the filter into a cup below... then test the water...it wont give you an accurate reading...but if the water is basically still 6-7 then your soil is fine, if it's closer to 5 or 8 you know what direction it's off...so for instance if your soil tested at 8 it wouldn't mean the soil is necessarily at 8, just that its much too basic and needs to be lower, in that case you would start feeding them at 5.5 or so so that the soil can average out to a more usable level, and the same goes for the other direction...

with this method ive found drops and ph up and down are all you need...sure drops aren't exact, and making dirt coffee is a pain in the ass...as is figuring out how much ph up or down to add for the first time...if you have a small grow and don't want to invest as much upfront i would recommend it as a good way to start...however the monitors are exact and pretty much as easy as it gets...so if you have the money to spare you will likely find that it would save you hours of cumulative time over a year vs shaking a little vial of drops and water over and over and over again...it is one of the few improvements i have left to make to my grow system...i saved it for last because of all the ways to save money in a grow, this is one of the few that wont hurt quality or yeild, just increase the effort needed to achieve similar results.

 

[grow_right]

as a soil medium grower, i "never" check or worry about pH.

 

[cyat]

if theres lime in your soil it will stay around 7... no need to ph

 

[Razzurrection]

who the fuck is this razz guy?

 

[AgentPothead]

who the fuck is this razz guy?

Don't say yer mom, don't say yer mom, don't say yer mom.


Yer dad?