should i worry about water PH or does soil PH adjuster compensate?

[Guest]

pedro if a soil that have nothing in it just straight up soil with some perlite can i use synthetic nutes at ph 5.5 and it will work? Does FFOF turn into soil with nothing in it after i use up all the stuff in it?

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking.

FFOF needs more lime whther or not you grow organically or with chemical fertilizers. Those major cations get used up no matter what ferts you use...and as a consequence they must be replaced. You can grow without dolomite lime, people do it all the time. Hydro and coco coir growers do it. BUT...they still have to provide a source(s) of Ca, Mg, and K and the water soluble cations. CalMag and Epsom Salts being two such sources.

The pH needs to be adjusted for the particular grow medium. I honestly couldn't tell you if pH 5.5 for your situation is right or not.

pedro

 

[vindiesel]

You talking about water only or nute mixture? If water, why not correct it? And if nutes, what nute arew you using that makes a alkaline mix? Why would you put 8.1 anything into your grow? Why not pH it down to 6.0-7.0 with something like a lilbit of EJ Grow?

ph correction is only needed if whatever you are applying is over 7.0. If it is below 7.0 (acidic) you don't need to correct it unless it is below maybe 4.0...and again the question is if what you're putting on is below 4.0 WHAT is it?

Personally, I don't like using phosphoric acid or nitric acid for pH down correction.

Pedro

i'm talking 8.0-8.1 of straight water from RODI unit. after water goes through plants and runoff, ph of runoff is 6.1. obviously the lime and whatever else is in soil for ph adjustment, is working. why should i f w/ the water and lower it, if soil is lowering it. plants look green, healthy and full at only 13 days veg...i think i'm just gonna keep doing what i'm doing, maybe start 1/2 dose of cal~mag supp today, and maybe nutes in another week at 1/2 dose.

if i was to add ph down to water, i would be sending in lower ph to plants, possibly stressing them from what they are used to. the run off then may be even lower....

 

[Guest]

I had a response up here but I deleted it. I don't know why you want to do the thiings you do. Maybe it's because I'm more of an organic grower at heart....although the leaching action of water on Ca, Mg, and K is essentially the same in both types of grows.

I make good soils and then I look at the plant to tell me what it needs....not its runoff water.

I know there are good, knowledgable growers out there who give a lot of importance to runoff pH numbers...I'm just not one of them. I'd prefer to argue that case in another forum. That's why I pulled my response. It gets way off topic.

pedro

 

[breeder]

good stuff here Pedro, thx bro..

 

[vindiesel]

right on dude...

 

[TGT]

Personally I think when using Promix it causes more trouble to fool with the PH than it does to just leave it be. If you have acidic water use some dolomite lime in the Promix at 2 table spoons per gallon mixed in with the soil and you should be good to go. If your tap water is around 7 you should be fine just the way it is. I have been using Promix for years and never once fooled with the PH. I think it is also important to mention that you should be using a good brand of fertilizer that is specific for canabis. This will also help with keeping the PH in check. It is a really hardy plant and can do well in a fairly wide range of PH. Hydro is a totally different story. Just my 2 cents from my past experiences with using Promix. I am sure some will disagree, but it`s been good for me for years now.

TGT

 

[sirgrassalot]

I will Not disagree with that TGT my brother you're are correct.