lets us ( pray ) I mean let us talk about pH

[JackTheGrower]

let us talk about pH..

Now let us start out basic and grow from there.


pH I understand is Percent Hydrogen? Does that make an opening post?


Feel free to add but keep it basic and in theme of being easy to comprehend,

 

[High Country]

I have never checked PH, only EC, but have very good quality mountain water. However on my next run I plan to check it. Interested to know what everyone's thoughts are on PH levels at different stages of the grow.

 

[good drown]

i grow in soil, so that may be different for others. but...
im curious, why not check ph if you checked ec? i would have thought ph was more important if you had to choose 1. i do not check my ec, but really want to buy a meter, just cant really afford one.
its very important to check/adjust ph if you have hard water. mine is 8.2 so ph was a must. i did a run without, and i had a few problems, mostly cal/mag since it was not being absorbed during most feedings. another reason it is important, the nutrients you feed your plants can change ph drastically. i use fox farm nutes, and the cha ching and beasties will drop the ph from 8.2 to mid 6's for me. most of my nutes lower ph, so the only time i was really wacking them, was when i fed just water.
once i started checking ph, my next runs all looked much much better, and smoked better too.
i've grown in paces with much better water, and i did not have to ph.

 

[High Country]

I really don't have a very good reason why I don't check PH. I think I am just lucky having very good quality water. The supplier says it's 5.8 PH. Now I'm going to check and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Viable compost, viable EWC, viable humus - who f*cking cares about PH?

Just a thought as usual.

CC

 

[good drown]

I really don't have a very good reason why I don't check PH. I think I am just lucky having very good quality water. The supplier says it's 5.8 PH. Now I'm going to check and see if it makes a difference.

dude thats awesome, very very good thing to have. that water sounds perfect. its in the north east?
a good ph meter is like $60. i use the oakton ecotester. awesome and has a 1 year warranty, that the stores honor.

 

[NUG-JUG]

I don't know anything about PH besides 1 is acidic, and 14 is alkaline.. I guess it goes to the heart of why I grow in living soil. I don't like thinking of growing in chemical terms all the time..People grew plants fine before batteries,plastic, and PH pens. Maybe I'd care more if my tap water wasn't 7.0.? I've checked soil PH and it's always 7.

 

[blwd67]

pretty awesome how this thread appears just as my heart drops at the thought of potential pH problems.
If my water is above 7.0 how shall I proceed? If I use Dolemite or substitute shall I suceed?
gentlemen (and ladies), dont let me get in your way I want to know what you know.

 

[buddin_904]

you could start by reading the wikipedia entry on pH....however most of it will be way over a beginners head. a beginner shouldnt worry about what exactly pH is or means.....as you need to be quite knowledgable in chemistry to REALLY understand whats going on in that chemical universe inside your rez or jug. pH is probably the most important thing you could possibly check! lol reasoning......having an improper pH means specific elements wont or will barely get absorbed by your plants! of course now you need to ask what is the RIGHT pH!? well that depends on your grow op.....are you hydro, or soil??? or any of the millions inbetween.....lets keep it simple as the original post asked....well hydro set ups like the pH lower than soil......5.5-6 is the proper range by which all nutes would be properly absorbed in a hydro set up.....in soil it needs to be higher.....6-6.7ish??....also a tip from the pros(no not me) is to let your pH DRIFT! never ever ever use the exact same pH value throughout your whole grow! drifting, as its called is mixing a solution, pHing it to a value....then as time goes by and the nutes sit there the pH will usually rise....sometimes fall depending on your temp and the nutes in your solution. depending on your personal situation regarding temps, nutes, rez size....you see how it drifts over a couple day period....then next time you mix you can mix a little low or a little high...let it drift up or down, whatever happens with you......the whole point to this is that a mild drift in pH will allow complete availibility of all macro/micro nutrients to your plant, SINCE, different pH values coordinate to different availibilties of different elements. WOW I HOPE YOUR STILL WITH ME ON THAT ONE!

i hope that wet your appetite

 

[Clackamas Coot]

pretty awesome how this thread appears just as my heart drops at the thought of potential pH problems.
If my water is above 7.0 how shall I proceed? If I use Dolemite or substitute shall I suceed?
gentlemen (and ladies), dont let me get in your way I want to know what you know.

blwd67

Chasing the perfect 'PH' is a fool's errand in an organic soil paradigm.

Having said that, I'm in the minority in the lexicon of growing cannabis. The so-called 'PH' deal is a hold-over from the goober hydroponic processes. A process completely lacking in understanding on how organic macro and micro nutrients are assimilated via the soil foodweb.

Some stupidity refuses to die regardless of any real science but again, my observations are in the minority by those who live and die by the perfect 'PH' deal.

YMMV - and trust me. It will.

CC

 

[buddin_904]

pretty awesome how this thread appears just as my heart drops at the thought of potential pH problems.
If my water is above 7.0 how shall I proceed? If I use Dolemite or substitute shall I suceed?
gentlemen (and ladies), dont let me get in your way I want to know what you know.

you need to lower your pH by adding an acidic substance.....2 common household acids that i gaurentee you have at least 1 in the house are....vinegar...or lemon/lime juice......these will work for your case.....but for a more long term stable acid....use a hydroponic pH down!

 

[NUG-JUG]

i hope that wet your appetite

To check PH? After reading that I'm so glad I don't F with it...It is like talking about the Clap..no fun..

 

[buddin_904]

oh shit this is orgo soil thread! LOL i saw this thread on the side left bar, give me a break please.....yes most people using orgo soil dont give a flying fuck about checking their pH and i would probably agree with them....i persoanlly dont use orgo soil lol OOOOOPS!

 

[buddin_904]

To check PH? After reading that I'm so glad I don't F with it...It is like talking about the Clap..no fun..

LOL i guess you havto be into chemistry to really care about it aside from horticulture.....i was into the chem shit before i was into horticult....so it def worked out for me

 

[Tom Hill]

We are growing on chemical terms whether we are paying attention or not. Many relationships in living bioactive soils are heavily controlled by chemical reactions. pH, oxidization rates etc. Soil microbes -fungi, yeasts, bacteria etc- all happen to thrive in different pH ranges, by not paying attention many will screw their soil up. To continue tossing humates on the problem is like throwing band aids at what will eventually end up a festering gang green long term imo. Don't be afraid to actually find out what's going on down there, there's nothing wrong with increasing your knowledge. -T

 

[Clackamas Coot]

TomHill

Humates do NOT = humic acid. As in REAL humic acid and NOT leonardite which is pure crap from any level of study.

Denigrating 'humates' in general doesn't add to the collective knowledge database from my perspective.

YMMV

CC

 

[blwd67]

buddin- haha thanks I do know something about chem, although its been a little while since highschool AP.... Taken in the context of an organic grow, can you now see where I am coming from? Like... it doesnt matter at all.. except when it does? haha

CC- thanks for the clarification; what you are saying is pH is the business of those other guys who use all those new fangled tubes and buckets and valves and pumps 8)

I am going to be a huge pain in all of your asses, asking questions and such. Just fair warning.

 

[Tom Hill]

Who said they did Coot? Humates = humic salts, what you get by combining humic acids with humic bases in water in the soil to yield ionized elements used by plants. With a correct pH, one can actually do this much more efficiently and in balance. Whether or not you personally understand this is irrelevant to me. When you start dribbling crap off like "who cares" I will be here to let others know that their soil -and subsequently- their plants, fucking care. -T

 

[blwd67]

could we get some examples of common humates for those of us without any sort of knowledge base?

 

[NUG-JUG]

We are growing on chemical terms whether we are paying attention or not. Many relationships in living bioactive soils are heavily controlled by chemical reactions. pH, oxidization rates etc. Soil microbes -fungi, yeasts, bacteria etc- all happen to thrive in different pH ranges, by not paying attention many will screw their soil up.

Isn't this the soil's job? I mean I'm not god. All I can do is mix it right the first time, let it bake a sufficient time , water it with non-chlorine water, compost teas on occasion..