Cat Jockey
Member
From the read you should be able to deduce this!
1. Prom-Mix is ph stable and ready to go, lime already applied. Lime not needed.
Agreed
You are not referring to using RO water in your nutrient regiment here, are you? That's the only water I recommend. And nutrient manufacturers recommend it, and use it when they make their nutes.2. If you don't over fertilize the medium or dump a bunch of lousy tap water (high in Bicarbonates) or RO (lacking Bicarbonates) water through the pot; the medium will handle the ph all by itself.
What the medium won't handle, which I am referring to, is the fact there will be no flushing through of the nutrient solution, for to do so will turn the bottom of the pot into a soggy mess. So, if he doesn't overwater, he will experience a build up of salts in the rootzone, affecting both the pH and ionic exchange process.
I don't think pro-mix will 'handle', or take care of, or buffer that that situation at all. In fact, that article you posted says in it things like:
After watering and using fertilizer, the pH of PRO-MIX is fluid and can change.
and
However, any fertilizer will have an influence on the pH of PRO-MIX.
That doesn't sound to me like a medium 'handling the pH all by itself.'
There is more than one, but one of the reasons I recommend RO only, is that fertilizer manufacturers don't make a nute for 'everyone's' tap water. Tap water varies from location to location and day to day. RO water gives you consistency and greater and finer control of what is going on in your rootzone.3. Fertilize with a ph balanced nutrient that specifically recommends a type of water that you use (hard water or RO water blends) and Bicarbonates will be closely matched.
Agreed.4. The added lime (by OP) is going to most likely raise the ph at some point to a unacceptable level.
I don't agree with this advice, at all. In peat/perlite/vermiculite mixes, I believe you get the best performance out of water to 10-15% runoff. Every time. Witht he attached caveat being that one has their plant in the proper sized container for the life stage and root development. And I flush with something like Clearex, followed by RO water, followed by an immediate application of 1/2 strength nutes. I'm trying to flush and clean shit out of the rootzone, not put more in it with whatever crap may be in my tap water.5. Fertilize at low to medium level every watering, or if you must flush, mix tap and RO water 1/2 & 1/2 to a ratio of 50-170 ppm is best.
And what determines the strength of your nutirent regiment in peat/perl/vermic, is your genetics, the stage of life (and health) and your growroom, including both your light size AND the environmental control (CO2, temp, rh, air circulation, etc).
Doing it that way, not watering to runoff and GUESSING what strength to apply, is an easy way to end up in the exact same condition he is heading for now, with a build up of salts in the rootzone.
Peat/perlite/vermiculite is NOT soil. It is a soiless medium, as it contains no clay or sand, which is NOT a minor issue when it comes to the proper pH range of the nutrient solution you use. Add a little more perlite to your mix, to make it a bit more airy, it is nothing more than a hand watered, drain to waste, hydro system. And can be treated such with great results.
I suggest for future watering, when using the correct sized pot, booyah researches all of the people who say 10-15% runoff and study up on the 'lift the pot' method to know when to water.
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