PH questions

[krazeesukur]

Hi there, this is my first grow and i have done plenty of reading in the last couple months and I pretty much have a good grasp on things except for the ph. Ok here's my stuff, i have a seed that was given to me from a friend, i have a 3 gallon smart pot, jungle grow soil with perilite. I just planted a few days ago and have a pretty little tiny plant now and i just want to know what i am supposed to do to measure the ph.

Thanks

 

[pinecone]

You may or may not need to worry about pH depending on how you are planning to feed your plants/soil. With salt based fertilizers pH will be important. With organic fertilizers pH is regulated by symbiotic relationships between the plant and soil microbes.

If you are going to check your pH the best way is with a quality pH meter.

Pine

 

[krazeesukur]

Ok thanks, yea i was leaning towards some organic ferts as it was, but now im def gonna go with them, any recommendations on organic fertilizer?

 

[pinecone]

Ok thanks, yea i was leaning towards some organic ferts as it was, but now im def gonna go with them, any recommendations on organic fertilizer?

I'd recommend staying away from the expensive bottled stuff as you can do much better whilst spending a lot less money.

If you want to use a bottle of something Neptune's Harvest is great and can be purchased at many fine garden centers. Fish Hydrolysate (not emulsions) is also good and cheap. You should also have a bottle of unsulfured molasses.

For dry fertilizers (my favorite) I would suggest high N (Mexican) bat guano, high P (Indonesian or Jamaican) bat guano, seabird guano, kelp meal (K and micros), and alfalfa meal (N and micros). You don't need all of the above. Also, if you are serious about organics you need some worm castings or quality compost.

Liberate yourself from bottled nutrients (some interesting discussion) - https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=213064

Pine

 

[stihgnobevoli]

i recommend checking your pH in organics too. that fish fertilizer will drop your pH waaaay low. made that mistake once...

you water your plants and when the water drips out of the bottom of the pot collect some and pH it. this is where you will be basing your measurements. doesnt mean shit to pH the water going in to 7 when its coming out at 9 or 5.

 

[pinecone]

i recommend checking your pH in organics too. that fish fertilizer will drop your pH waaaay low. made that mistake once...

Something needs to happen to that fish before the plants can use it as food. Before the plants can use the fish it has to be processed by bacteria which are intern eaten by protozoa. The bacteria produce slime which raises the pH where they are active above 7, thus neutralizing the pH of any acidic or basic organic matter (the fish) that was added.

you water your plants and when the water drips out of the bottom of the pot collect some and pH it. this is where you will be basing your measurements.

The pH of run-off might be very different from the pH in the micro-environment around the roots. The plants actually have a role in regulating the environment around the roots as they produce root exudates which increase the bacterial population around the roots and thus the pH.

Pine

 

[Sensibowl]

Ok thanks, yea i was leaning towards some organic ferts as it was, but now im def gonna go with them, any recommendations on organic fertilizer?

This is a great lineup of organics from Advanced Nutrients. I don't use them. I've used some of them, but not the whole deal.

Bud Factor X
Bud Ignitor
Grandma Enggy's F-1
Grandma Enggy's H-2
Iguana Juice
Mother Earth Super Tea
Nirvana
Organic B Vitamin Booster
Sensizym
Wet Betty
Bud Candy

Should help you out.

 

[pinecone]

This is a great lineup of organics from Advanced Nutrients. I don't use them. I've used some of them, but not the whole deal.

Snake oil - and very expensive snake oil at that. They have had a bunch of their products banned for sale in Oregon due to mislabeling and false claims (http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/PEST/stopsales.shtml).

Pine

 

[FreezerBoy]

Is indoor organic the "same" as growing in dirt outside? Cause, if it is, that was the easiest growing I ever had. The dirt did all the work. Didn't care what kind of water it got.

 

[blue_lighter]

what are the most common difficulties you will find with ph levels and how do you counter act it when they do go to high?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Poor pH levels lead to lockout which lead to deficiencies. Plants may appear yellow, spotted, rusty... depends on the strain and what it wants.

In Hydro, dump the tank and replace with fresh, adjusted nutes. Hydro's troubles disappear almost as fast as they show up if you get on them fast enough. For soil, flush with plain pH adjusted water, let it dry out and then use a properly adjusted water/nute regimen.

 

[bobman]

In soil a new grower is much more likely to have trouble learning how to give the plant a good wet dry cycle than have any ph problems. I check out the infirmary every few months and I am always talking a new grower through what he believes is a ph problem but its really a watering problem. Best advice is for a new grower do not put a small plant into a big container and to not saturate the soil of a small plant. There are a lot of variables to this question but if you use tap water and and most regular nutes you should not have to worry about ph.

 

[Snook]

Snake oil - and very expensive snake oil at that. They have had a bunch of their products banned for sale in Oregon due to mislabeling and false claims (http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/PEST/stopsales.shtml).

Pine

Good words pinecone<true. I've found that if one keeps PPMs at a level that maintains PH at the desired levels, little Ph adjustment will be required. AN, as well as all other manufaturers, market their nutes to be run at high levels, 1000>1200ppms. This level of nutrient will produce very low Ph levels that will require Ph up adjustments : unless one uses tap water with very high starting PPM to begin with and tap will create a whole different set of problems. Additionally, lower PPM formulas will create fewer lockout problems.