G
Guest
i have gotten a bottle of 'ph test indicator' and it shows readings from 6.2-7.4 ph is this a broad enough spectrum?
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G
Guest
nobody can help?
V
vonforne
No. Soil PH should be 5.5-7.0 Have you added lime to your mixture? Do you see problems. Are you testing your soil PH or the water? I will be back later. You can give some more information and be specific. What is you soil mix. Do a search and find a few and compare to yours. Suby,Burn1 have some of the best mixes for Organic growers I have found. Post back after that and I will be back later if you still need any help.
Basically, the true Organic growers will tell you to throw that PH meter away and rely on your soil mixture to balance your PH. Talk to you later.
Von
Basically, the true Organic growers will tell you to throw that PH meter away and rely on your soil mixture to balance your PH. Talk to you later.
Von
G
Guest
what i have is a sort of test plant that was planted before i had most of my supplies. its in a soilless mix of 5 parts spaghnum peat (similair to promix) 3 parts perlite and 1 part EWC. in the soil i have 2tbs/gallon of dolomite lime and thats about it. the PH indicator i bought you pour a small sample of your water into the container and put a few drops of the indicator in and whatever color it changes you match it on the chart and the lowest it shows is 6.2 and the highest is 7.4 .
i was lead to believe that because my plant was so yellow and had some brown spots on it that the nutrients in my tea (blood meal, high p guano, EWC, humic acid, fulvic acid and liquid seaweed) were being locked out due to the ph.
the past few waterings i have been watering with just pure bottled water and i think its helping the plant absorb some of the locked out nutrients in the mix because things are greening up. the plant looks 10x better than it did a week or so ago.
i was lead to believe that because my plant was so yellow and had some brown spots on it that the nutrients in my tea (blood meal, high p guano, EWC, humic acid, fulvic acid and liquid seaweed) were being locked out due to the ph.
the past few waterings i have been watering with just pure bottled water and i think its helping the plant absorb some of the locked out nutrients in the mix because things are greening up. the plant looks 10x better than it did a week or so ago.
V
vonforne
A question
A question
check your tap water. Mine was coming out at 8.2. I adjust now to 5.5, let it sit for 24 hours and it goes back to 7.0. I adjust again to 6.0 and it stablizes there. Get some distilled water, pour through your container and catch the first run off. test that and that will give you your soil PH. You might cut your Dolomite to 1- 1/4 Tbls per gallon. but check your tap water. you could also catch rain water since it is acidic. Just not off the roof. It will have spores and bugs (maybe) better safe than sorry. These guys here are tired of answering the PH question. I just went through the same thing awhile back. And I did just what I described and everything is great now. You could also buy a water filter but you will still have to adjust the ph...once out of the tap and then in 24 hours. Have you let your soil cook before you transplanted? Once you have adjusted the water Ph your soil Ph will drift to it. But just let the soil do its thing. It will buffer the Ph.
You could also use Liquid Karma or some type of Humic acid. I use LK at every watering along with Blackstrap molasses. Results are great. The type of guano I use is FoxFarm Peace of mind. It also has Humic acid in it. It breaks down more slowly along with the guano. Hope this helps.
A question
check your tap water. Mine was coming out at 8.2. I adjust now to 5.5, let it sit for 24 hours and it goes back to 7.0. I adjust again to 6.0 and it stablizes there. Get some distilled water, pour through your container and catch the first run off. test that and that will give you your soil PH. You might cut your Dolomite to 1- 1/4 Tbls per gallon. but check your tap water. you could also catch rain water since it is acidic. Just not off the roof. It will have spores and bugs (maybe) better safe than sorry. These guys here are tired of answering the PH question. I just went through the same thing awhile back. And I did just what I described and everything is great now. You could also buy a water filter but you will still have to adjust the ph...once out of the tap and then in 24 hours. Have you let your soil cook before you transplanted? Once you have adjusted the water Ph your soil Ph will drift to it. But just let the soil do its thing. It will buffer the Ph.
You could also use Liquid Karma or some type of Humic acid. I use LK at every watering along with Blackstrap molasses. Results are great. The type of guano I use is FoxFarm Peace of mind. It also has Humic acid in it. It breaks down more slowly along with the guano. Hope this helps.
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G
Guest
i was using the water from the hose outside in my tea's. is that a no-no?
my ph indicator only shows readings from 6.2 to 7.4 ph. should i adjust it to the lowest (6.2) before i water my plants? what are the negative effects of using too much lime? you said to use about 1 tbs to 1 1/4 tbs.
should i be using distilled water instead of hose water when i make my tea? where can i buy distilled water from? the grocery store?
my ph indicator only shows readings from 6.2 to 7.4 ph. should i adjust it to the lowest (6.2) before i water my plants? what are the negative effects of using too much lime? you said to use about 1 tbs to 1 1/4 tbs.
should i be using distilled water instead of hose water when i make my tea? where can i buy distilled water from? the grocery store?
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vonforne
Yes, you can buy distilled water from the store.But use it only to check the PH run off like I suggested to test the PH. It would get expensive to water all the time with it. It's about .75 cents a gallon. The hose water is ok If you let the chlorine burn off. Get a plastic container from wallyworld. It cost about 10.00.The big square ones.They are usually near the laundry soap section. Should be about 20 gallons or so.I have 2 30 gallon ones. Buy an fish tank air pump about 7.00 and an airstone(about 3.00). Fill the tank,put in the airstone and let it stand for 24 to 48 hours. Adjust the ph as low as you can get it(6.2) for you,which is good. I go to 5.5 because mine will rise again but after 24 hours check the PH again and adjust to 6.2 if thats all the lower you can go. I go to 6.0 so you are close enough.The dolomite lime will be alright at 2 tbls, it provides alot of Mg and Calcium which our plants use alot of. I just use a little less but I progressive transplant to larger containers as I go and add it every time so you are right in there with the amount you are using. Thats why I use a little less. Do you have a Hydro store near by? If not go to the pet store and get one (a different PH test kit) or Home depot pool department. They have a pretty good one there. If you are using a public water source, it is hard water then and will contain calcium and Mg also but come out of the tap at about 8.0 or higher. Mine comes out at 8.2 but hey what can we do on a budget ...right. I have read that you have had soil help from Suby and Burn1. Those guys really know their shit for sure. So, you have recieved some great help there. They are really against the PH thing. They let their soil do its thing. Thats what I have started doing but I still adjust my water Ph just to be sure I have no problems again. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions just post it up. Remember, the only stupid question is the one that isn't ask. Good luck and good growing.
Von
Von
G
Guest
ok, i will try and get a gallon of distilled water the next time im at the grocery store. i will then check my soil's ph.
if i am calibrating my plain hose waters ph to about 6.0 ish, when i add all my ammendments to the sea such as the liquid seaweed, humic acid and fulvic acid along with my solid nutrients in my tea bag is it prone to swing up or down? should i check it again after my tea has been bubbling for a few days and adjust as needed?
if i am calibrating my plain hose waters ph to about 6.0 ish, when i add all my ammendments to the sea such as the liquid seaweed, humic acid and fulvic acid along with my solid nutrients in my tea bag is it prone to swing up or down? should i check it again after my tea has been bubbling for a few days and adjust as needed?
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vonforne
Your tea will be acidic. Check the PH after it has brewed. That is your finished product that you will give to your plants. You are using Peat? It has Humic acid in it which breaks down to fulvic acid for the roots to uptake. I do not add Humic acid in the liquid form. I use Fox farm Peace of Mind guano which contains Humic acid. And I use peat which contains it also. Just use the Distilled water to test. BUT make sure you let the chlorine burn off from your water or the chlorine will kill your microherd that you are trying to create in your soil. I only let my tea brew no longer than 48 hours. Then I take the left over material from the sock and add it to my next soil mix that is cooking. If you fix the water PH you should be alright. It takes about a week or two for the plants to recover. Using store bought water was a good idea on your part. you saved you plants life there and eased their stress.
3BM
Member
First off, 6.2 is a fine pH to work with. I aim for 7.0 in the soil, and 6.0 in solubles. Get a better pH test kit, one that reads a wider range of pH. If your soluble mix is 5.0 and the test can only read 6.2 then you may be adding acidic solubles to the soil thereby locking out Mg. Yellowing and spotting on the lower leaves is Mg deficiency, also the leaf blade edges will curl upward slightly. However, another possibility is that you have hard water. Hard water usually contains high concentrations of Ca. Dolimitic lime also contains Ca in fairly high concentration. Ca toxicity can also lock out Mg. Get an analysis of your tap water from the utility company, they will happily provide a concerned customer with that info, to make sure. Watering with bottled water would ensure no soluble Ca entered the mix and might account for why the plants regreened. Mg deficiency can be tricky, but once you figure out the source of the issue it will literally 180 overnight.
G
Guest
it was powdered im sure, it looks like small grains of sand.
G
Guest
i got a question... my plant is thirsty right now and i dont have access to distilled water at the moment, so is it okay to use bottled water to test my soil's ph? if so whats the procedure? do i test the bottled water for ph first, then pour it through and test it again and thats my soil's ph?
3BM
Member
Yes testing the water first, and then testing the runoff from the pots is a fine way to determine soil pH. However, watering the container until runoff requires complete saturation of the medium. Oversaturation is a form of stress you may want to avoid. Unless the plants are showing some deficiences you believe are related to pH, dont bother with this test. If they are showing deficiencies, then identifying the symptoms can effectively indicate the conditions resulting in the deficiency. That way you can correct the situation through foliar feeding or solubles, without the added stress of oversaturation. Hope that helps.
3BM
3BM
Hey CurtisD, fuck man I have to admire your dedication to this you are one focused newb grower.
I'm glad the plain bottled water is making things better, I'm not sure testing soil ph by testing runoff is going to solve any problems with an organic regime but hey that's just my take.
I still say your at home water source is shit and caused you some problems, combine that with the tea you said was 3weeks old and the fact you didn't compost your original soil then yes PH could be a factor with those added conditions.
Your new batch you told me you had composting will do much better for you I'm sure
C indulge my curiosity and measure the starting ph of your water, I still think your "hose water" is the problem, I'm hoping once all the kinks are ironed out you can make your home source of water work for you.
Suby
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G
Guest
should i be using water from inside the house suby or use the outside water but correct the ph first? are there any things in the outside water that is bad? i remember someone saying that some water has alot of calcium and magnesium + the calcium and magnesium from the dolomite can be too much?
Water "hardness" is a measure of dissolved solids in the water, it is someties referred to as PPM, parts per million, this is a measure of water content.
Even very hard water ccan't create a micro toxicity when combined with dolomite lime.
Hard water makes dissolving vertain elements into ionic form difficult, you'll notice it's hard to adjust the ph because much like the lime it is being slightly buffered.
Soft water or purified water has a very low ppm count, ph is easily corrected and ferts are easily dissolved.
As for using the inside or outside water i dunno, rainwater is very good if it is fresh, if your using a hose then the water is probably the same as that inside.
With organics hard water is not a problem because microbes chew the soil elements and make them availble as opposed to hydroponics where inorganic ferts are held in suspension in the water in a readily availble form.
Even very hard water ccan't create a micro toxicity when combined with dolomite lime.
Hard water makes dissolving vertain elements into ionic form difficult, you'll notice it's hard to adjust the ph because much like the lime it is being slightly buffered.
Soft water or purified water has a very low ppm count, ph is easily corrected and ferts are easily dissolved.
As for using the inside or outside water i dunno, rainwater is very good if it is fresh, if your using a hose then the water is probably the same as that inside.
With organics hard water is not a problem because microbes chew the soil elements and make them availble as opposed to hydroponics where inorganic ferts are held in suspension in the water in a readily availble form.
G
Guest
should i go check the ph of my hose water and report back? or should i just use it and brew the tea, then check it?
