PH question......new guy

[skeeterpeep]

ok...i am using r o water now and PH is at 8.0 and just for shits and giggles i watered one plant without adjusting PH and the run off PH was at 4.5!! what does this mean? when i adjust PH to 6.5 the run off is lower. shouldnt run off be about the same as what you put in? im growing in sunshine 4 in three gal. pots. also, does anyone know if red diesel is a nute sensitive strain?

 

[hazy]

My guess is the pH of your soil is low.

 

[skeeterpeep]

how do i raise the soils PH?

 

[Proteus]

RO water has no resistence to PH influencers, it is inert and will "take" a PH of anything it interacts with.


The soil PH is low, but I suggest repeating the experiment with tap water.

your run off will be much higher PH, as it will "resist" adopting the soil's PH becuase tap water has a ppm of cal/mag/ etc that will not imedatly swing to another PH unless heavily convinced.
RO isn't always needed.

 

[skeeterpeep]

the ppm of my tap water is over 6oo. will that hurt anything? and should i adjust the tap waters PH to 6.5 like i allways do?

 

[Weedhound]

My best advice to you is to dump the 600ppm "sludgewater", and go with RO water and CalMag (generally 5ml/gal works well for me equaling approx 250-300ppm). Ro water may not be the "the only answer" but Id bet 50/1 its your best solution. I like control of what I feed my plants or whatever they are in sitting in and starting with clean pure water is the best way to acciomplish that imo.

good luck

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Skeeterpeep...
You sure your ph measuring apparatus is functioning properly? RO water should be more neutral then that. You could be getting erratic readings.

Far as 600 tap water...that's about twice what the max tds should be for growing. People can grow in 300ppm water but 200 is better. 600 is way high and I'd expect you to have problems growing with that.

The RO water you were referring to was store bought? Sure it wasn't spring water? The ph would make more sense if that were the case.

If you're sure it's RO, I'd then suggest a 50/50 mix of ro and tap. If you're still picking up acids in your soil (low runoff ph) then you'll need to raise the soil ph somehow. I'll let some soil guys give you that advice.
Good luck,
ET

 

[skeeterpeep]

my meter was just calibrated and is reading acurate. however..i found that the store i got the water at says its spring water like you said,evil twin, during the whole grow from clones to veg i have been using spring water with a ppm of 325 and even made it to flower with no problems but now that run off is bad im havin problems. im told sunshine is not a soil. but a soiless mix of peat and stuff. maybe i should go back to soil and mix in my own peat and stuff. whudda ya think? also, where might i find a general list of "how to grow weed" it might help me be a little more informed and help me to avoid these kinda problems. thanks to all of those who have taken the time to help and i will keep ya'll posted as to my progress of what works and what dont. oh yeah....hi back evil twin!

 

[Weedhound]

3 books
Marijuana Hortculture by Jorge Cervantes
The Cannabis Grow Bible by Greg Green
Marjuana Botany by Robert Connell Clarke

 

[EvilTwin]

yo Skeeterpeep,
OK, so you have plants that have made it to flower but now giving you some difficulty. First, like Weedhound suggested, your tap water is worse then questionable. There'll be various opinions on this...but you could mix RO water with your tap to get it around 200. That would be around 2 gallons RO to a gallon of tap. Let the tap sit overnight for chlorine to dissipate.

Or do like Weedhound suggested and start with pure RO and add MG+ and Ca++ in the form of Calmag or calmax up to 200ppm or so. Depends on if you have a hydro store handy and don't mind spending the money for the Calmag.

Use what's usually labeled as "Drinking Water" (read the label too)...that should be RO or refill bottles at an RO dispenser like you might find at a Walmart or grocery store. Cheaper that way...like $.35/gal.

That will be your base water. Now as far as phing it. Since your runoff indicates your medium is too acidic, I wouldn't ph much at all. My guess is your water, once you mix it up, should be slightly over 7 ph. Leave it at that or even a bit higher until you get the soil mix corrected.

Your going to want to use a mild addition of some form of lime as a top dressing. Then as you water...it will get carried into the soil. Be gentle...don't overcorrect. I think you'll want hydrated lime...but please get confirmation on this because I'm just not sure. Any help guys?

You want gently shifts downward. And none of this is perfect, but it's better then what you've been doing and you should see some improvement.

Peace,
ET

 

[skeeterpeep]

YOU SO ROCK EVIL TWIN AND YOU TOO WEEDHOUND! ok,no more shouting! i will get the books as soon as i can ty ty ty! i have a hydro shop about 10 min from here so ill get calmag tomorro, also i think ive seen those ro dispensers yer talkin bout there e t and im on it! i will try to find out more about the lime at the grow shop, he may know. turns out the r o unit i want to buy is more than i was first quoted and im not even sure i can hook it up without my landlords permission.(he's funny that way) but it sounds cheaper than 6.50 for five gal of the spring water ive been buyin! and to think i at one time said "hell, how hard can it be to grow a weed!!??" whoa ima whozzy! thanks fer the help guys and ill keep ya up ta date on my results. i started new clones a couple days ago, can i reuse the sunshine 4 with my clones or not a good idea?

 

[EvilTwin]

SP,
Most people use peat pucks or rockwool cubes for cloning but there's no real reason a soiless mix wouldn't work.

You can buy reasonable priced ro units that have water supply fittings that simply screw onto a faucet...no plumbing required so you surely wouldn't need landlord permission for that.

You had asked about soil-less vs soil. Both work fine but require slightly different approaches. I'd suggest choosing one and sticking with it. It's a common noob mistake to abandon a system of growing when problems arise. You see it all the time. Guys jumping from coco to soil to hydro because of problems. Learn to grow well using one proven system and then you can experiment.

I like your enthusiasm. Keep at it and you'll get there...
Peace,
ET

 

[skeeterpeep]

ET
im using rockwool cubes to start the clones then i want to plant them in the 3 gal pots i am using for the ones i now have in veg. i wont flower anything until i get a good crop in veg, until then i just kill them when they get about three feet tall. man i got so much weed from doin it that way! even though it aint buds its pretty damn good! will it hurt to use the same dirt over or do i need new "dirt"? also, does dolomite lime sound right to you?

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Skeet,
On the clones...sure you could plant the clones (rooted in rockwool) directly into your soil-less mix. But I wouldn't go directly to 3 gal pots. Best to match the plant size to the pot. I'd use at least 3 transplants to get up to 3 gal. Tiny plants in huge pots don't do well. Soil stays wet too long.

Dolomite does sound right...but it absorbs slowly so don't get impatient and add more. Give it time and water/feed with more alkaline nutes in the meantime. That's how I'd do it...or you can wash off the roots and replace your soil. (that's more trauma to the roots and a last ditch effort)

I sometimes re-use soil. Depends on how long it's been used. Add a little new stuff, mix well and test ph (some soil in a small container with an equal amount of water. Mix it up...let it settle and test the water.

Back in the old days we smoked a lot of leaf. Can be a little harsh, but it'll get you high. Once you manage to get some buds though, you won't be too happy with that anymore...
Peace,
ET