I been getting sign of high ph so,i checked the run off with a ph test kit and the reading was at 7. so i bought a couple gallons of ro water and checked the ph of it and it reads around 6.00 could this be right?So i watered it again and then checked the and it reads 6.5 with the ph test kit oh,the soil I use is fox farm ocean forest soil
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ph issue questions
- Thread starter bluntt
- Start date
E
EvilTwin
Blundtt,
The calcium in tap water raises ph. My tap ph was almost 8 (and high TDS-350ppm) and so I bought an RO filter. That dropped my water ph to close to 6. It's excellent to use ph 6 water. I almost never need ph down.
Sounds like you'd be better off using RO or using ph down on your water to around 6...if I'm reading your situation correctly.
ET
The calcium in tap water raises ph. My tap ph was almost 8 (and high TDS-350ppm) and so I bought an RO filter. That dropped my water ph to close to 6. It's excellent to use ph 6 water. I almost never need ph down.
Sounds like you'd be better off using RO or using ph down on your water to around 6...if I'm reading your situation correctly.
ET
thanks for the response i found out my ph meter was faulty so,right now i cant afford to buy another one so i went with the ph test kit what I was wondering if my ro water really reads 6.0 does the ph kit reads accurately enough to believe in
E
EvilTwin
b,
I've never used the liquid but I'd think if it's good enough for an aquarium, it would be good enough for plants. I use a narrow range litmus paper which is also inexpensive.
My feeling is that the drops and strips are actually better. I just don't see them going wildly out of range...whereas the electronic meters can and will do that.
I'd believe the drops but forget about the 6.0 part...and just think of it as 6. You won't get accuracy to tenths.
ET
I've never used the liquid but I'd think if it's good enough for an aquarium, it would be good enough for plants. I use a narrow range litmus paper which is also inexpensive.
My feeling is that the drops and strips are actually better. I just don't see them going wildly out of range...whereas the electronic meters can and will do that.
I'd believe the drops but forget about the 6.0 part...and just think of it as 6. You won't get accuracy to tenths.
ET
E
EvilTwin
I haven't checked it in awhile...but that's correct. I don't know what's in it that keeps it there, but as long as my RO unit is properly back-flushed, that's what the output water reads. Without ph down.
ET
never!so,what type of water you use tap or ro water
M
milehighmedical
I've been using the "never PH" theory in FFOF right now and there's about half doing really well and half showing some sort of deficiency. My PH meter's broken (sunleaves = pos) so I figured I'd wing it. Can't say I recommend it entirely. There's definitely a good chance of getting through well, but if you can afford to test and adjust, it could be of great benefit. I'm definitely regretting my choice to let it go. The deficiencies I'm seeing now will most certainly have already effected the future yield.
What B.C. said is true a lot of the time, but when you get in the high 7's and above PH wise and depending on your nutrients, sometimes it's just not enough and the girls don't like it.
What B.C. said is true a lot of the time, but when you get in the high 7's and above PH wise and depending on your nutrients, sometimes it's just not enough and the girls don't like it.
dont believe the hype lots of folks are saying that they dont worry about the ph'ing with this type of soil but they didnt say what type of water they used either.I was using tap water at first without ph'ing it thats where i went wrong at plus my meter was faulty now, i bought ph test kit from the hydro store and show nuf ph run off was at 7 so i bought couple of gallals of ro water which the ph is at 6 watered with that and my run off come out at 6.5 so,will see what happens from there
M
milehighmedical
Yeah, that's going to be my next step too. Give them all a good flush of RO water from the store. (Don't have my own unit, maybe for christmas!) I was thinking about getting some PH strips today too, they were out last time I checked.
Hope yours works out.
Hope yours works out.
I know what you mean,i just bought four gals at the grocery store until i can afford that unit,ill buy it until i can afford the r/o unit.i payed 69 cent a gallon which isnt to bad
milehighmedica,things seems to be fine now,ive notice new growth and leaves getting larger thanks for the help and everyone else thanks alot
Hype?!? hehehe nah man, no hype. I'm too old fer that shit. This "type" of soil has plenty of humus in it. Do a search and see what affects humus/humic acid has on the way a plant feeds. Yul see it allows a plant to feed on more and bigger cations of ions and even coumpounds of ions that the plant could not uptake otherwise, allowing the plant feed on a much wider range of food. Yul also see it will do it regardless of the soils PH. This is the reason you don't have to worry about PH when growing organic.
Over the years I have grown in this town and three other towns close to this one, all using FFOF and city water right outta the tap. I know that the PH in 2 of those towns were at 7-7.2, not sure about the others. Bottom line, it made no difference, the plants grew fine..... lol I'm actually growing in another town all together right now, using their city water as well. The plants look fantastic as usual! hehehe Btw, how many people do you see PHing the water they use on their outdoor veggie gardens? Many of those plants like the same PH as bud, yet they grow like crazy with water right outta the hose. Don't take my word on any of this though, do some research yerself and see what they say about humus/humic acid.
A couple other things I'd like to point out too. The longer you grow a plant in a container, the more the PH is going to drop. Whether it's from salts building from chems, or jus the plant and microherd doing it's thing. The PH will drop. This is why some folks won't grow without liming their soil, they wanna keep it around 7. If there's enough humus the plants will feed anyway though.
Also, I think yul find most nutes will not take yer PH too high. In fact, most organic/organic based nutes are PHed low so they will stay stable sitting on the store shelf.
Anyhoo, that's my
on PH. Take care... BC
psycho pirate
Member
Hype?!? hehehe nah man, no hype. I'm too old fer that shit. This "type" of soil has plenty of humus in it. Do a search and see what affects humus/humic acid has on the way a plant feeds. Yul see it allows a plant to feed on more and bigger cations of ions and even coumpounds of ions that the plant could not uptake otherwise, allowing the plant feed on a much wider range of food. Yul also see it will do it regardless of the soils PH. This is the reason you don't have to worry about PH when growing organic.
Over the years I have grown in this town and three other towns close to this one, all using FFOF and city water right outta the tap. I know that the PH in 2 of those towns were at 7-7.2, not sure about the others. Bottom line, it made no difference, the plants grew fine..... lol I'm actually growing in another town all together right now, using their city water as well. The plants look fantastic as usual! hehehe Btw, how many people do you see PHing the water they use on their outdoor veggie gardens? Many of those plants like the same PH as bud, yet they grow like crazy with water right outta the hose. Don't take my word on any of this though, do some research yerself and see what they say about humus/humic acid.
A couple other things I'd like to point out too. The longer you grow a plant in a container, the more the PH is going to drop. Whether it's from salts building from chems, or jus the plant and microherd doing it's thing. The PH will drop. This is why some folks won't grow without liming their soil, they wanna keep it around 7. If there's enough humus the plants will feed anyway though.
Also, I think yul find most nutes will not take yer PH too high. In fact, most organic/organic based nutes are PHed low so they will stay stable sitting on the store shelf.
Anyhoo, that's my
I use organic ferts with fulvic and humic acids... been using FFOF for a while and you dont need to ph... oh and also use beneficial bacteria such as myco
B.C.,So, you think I could have gotten the ph probs before I transplanted i was using mg organic soil then and maybe thats why my plants looking nice healthy because im noticing my small plant are having the same problem so I transplanted them yesterday.humic acid how ironic a friend of mines gave me a liter that stuff i didnt know what to do with it,Im planning on researching the solution
beneficial bacteria such as myco,whats that?
I use organic ferts with fulvic and humic acids... been using FFOF for a while and you dont need to ph... oh and also use beneficial bacteria such as myco
High-ya Bluntt, it could uh been the MG's PH, but if they grew in it very long at all, chances are they were jus running outta food in the soil. If the PH was off and there's no humus to buffer it, the plants would have told you right away. Hope that makes sense to ya?
Myco is mycorhyzea ( I prolly didn't spell that right lol ), a type of fungus. You should do a search on the "soil food web". Interesting stuff on how it all works. There's A LOT of great info right here on IC about soil PH and beneficials as well. The "organics for beginners" thread would be a good place to start, esp the beginning of it. Read what ol' brother Burn1 has to say about PH. Good stuff! You might jus decide to make yer own soil mix after reading some of that. If there's anything else I can help ya with jus hollar, I don't know it all, but I'm happy to pass on what I do.
Knowledge is power my friend! Take care... BC
Myco is mycorhyzea ( I prolly didn't spell that right lol ), a type of fungus. You should do a search on the "soil food web". Interesting stuff on how it all works. There's A LOT of great info right here on IC about soil PH and beneficials as well. The "organics for beginners" thread would be a good place to start, esp the beginning of it. Read what ol' brother Burn1 has to say about PH. Good stuff! You might jus decide to make yer own soil mix after reading some of that. If there's anything else I can help ya with jus hollar, I don't know it all, but I'm happy to pass on what I do.
Knowledge is power my friend! Take care... BC
