Help with PH and soil.

[Weffy]

Hey guys!

These are 3x fem Barneys Crital Kush. Theyre +20 days, I started 1/4 nutes at 14 days and just started them on full strength today (5ml into 250ml)
Whats the best way to raise my PH (its at 5.0 I believe)


Quick guestion... what's a good way to raise PH?

 

[ProPheT 216]

i cant tell what the results of that test say. those soil meters r junk, dont think its accurate for a second. do u have a ph pen, a ec or ppm meter?

 

[ProPheT 216]

it would be ideal if you could check soil ph and ppm by mixing 2 oz of your soil and 2 oz of 7.0 water in a cup and sticking your meters in the mix. That being said i would start feeding between 6.8 and 7.0 untill my soil ph began holding in the 6.5 range. if your soil is 5 then when you feed at 7 the feed will progress down the ph scale giving nutrients from all spectrums. soil starts holding around 6.5 6.6 then back of to 6.4. do tests often to see what changes are happening. when you go to flower feed at 6.6 6.8. oh and dont use ph down.. that shit stays in your medium... you dont need to ph adjust regular tap water... and nutrients always drop the ph so it has to be brought back up. i would use a liquid limestone as ph up from now on my man. check out Olympus Up by oregons only organics.

 

[Weffy]

it would be ideal if you could check soil ph and ppm by mixing 2 oz of your soil and 2 oz of 7.0 water in a cup and sticking your meters in the mix. That being said i would start feeding between 6.8 and 7.0 untill my soil ph began holding in the 6.5 range. if your soil is 5 then when you feed at 7 the feed will progress down the ph scale giving nutrients from all spectrums. soil starts holding around 6.5 6.6 then back of to 6.4. do tests often to see what changes are happening. when you go to flower feed at 6.6 6.8.

Yeah, I'm going to the store now to buy test strips for my water. I'll test the runoff too as well as a sample mixed with distilled water... but this should be an indication that its at least somewhat acidic. even if those aren't reliable.

Should I splurge on the soil testing probe?

 

[ProPheT 216]

u just need a 25 dollar ph pen and a 25 dollar hanna ppm meter.. ebay that stuff. get some 7.0 calibration solution too. calibrated once a week, and the calibration solution can be used for storage 2. rinse your meters with spring water. (clean coffee cup, little 7.0 solution,put some plastic rap over it, rubber band it, poke a hole AND now you have a place to store your meter and the solution wont evaporate)

run off isnt a very accurate test for ph, it better at showing if you have salt build ups. do the slurry test.

 

[Magic M]

i have to disagree with the prophet.... you should ALWAYS ph your water even if its right from your tap. different places have different water/ the water out of my tap has a ph of 8.0 but my buddy that lives in the next town over has tap water that is 6.8 steady! i do agree however that the meter that you have is complete garbage! Aquarium stores have cheap, reliable ph test kits if you cant afford a digital meter

 

[NorthofEngland]

I agree with above.
A little money spent on EC and pH pens will pay you back ten fold.

I adjust pH using pH UP and pH DOWN - but I don't grow in soil.
I use clay pebbles and a hydro set up.
Others on here use more 'organic' solutions.
Lemon Juice and what not.

 

[ProPheT 216]

again, dont use down buffers in soil. dont ph tap water with no nutrient charge if growing in soil.

 

[Ou8aCracker2]

First,measure the runoff,don't do a slurry test unless you actually pour the slurry through a coffee filter first.

Second...a bottle of pH up.

 

[Po boy]

use a good peat based potting soil with dolomite and don't worry about ph. i get mine from a local ornamental nursery for nine bucks per 40 lb. bag.

 

[Po boy]

fuck up. double post

 

[Ou8aCracker2]

Peat sucks,very acidic.And even if you lime your soil,it's still best to pH your water and nute solution between 6.0 and 6.5

 

[ProPheT 216]

First,measure the runoff,don't do a slurry test unless you actually pour the slurry through a coffee filter first.

Second...a bottle of pH up.

why do you say filter the water first? no, criticism just always willing to learn, or at least listen to what people have to say and ignore them when they aint lookin

 

[domino7]

I know it's not popular here, but I stopped worrying about ph years ago. I never noticed any difference. I don't even ph my hydro grows lol.

 

[ProPheT 216]

I know it's not popular here, but I stopped worrying about ph years ago. I never noticed any difference. I don't even ph my hydro grows lol.

i agree to an extent. if you know what your doing and start with a good soil, and dont mess up its ph LEVEL, ph should never b a issue. However it most defiantly can b a huge issue

 

[Ou8aCracker2]

why do you say filter the water first? no, criticism just always willing to learn, or at least listen to what people have to say and ignore them when they aint lookin

Because 1) If using a pH pen you don't want sediment on your meters probe.

And 2) If using pH drops test kit any discoloration of the liquid can mess with the results.

Test runoff,slurry is for coco.

When testing runoff it is important to water very very slowly,painfully slow!

The resaon is because you want the water to slowly saturate the soil and mix with all the elements in the rootzone to get an accurate reading.You'll also want to collect only the first little bit of runoff.

 

[Dr. Who]

Peat sucks,very acidic.And even if you lime your soil,it's still best to pH your water and nute solution between 6.0 and 6.5

Peat sucks? Who is this "cracker" anyway?

The only thing that sucks is your attitude.....I've used peat based soils for years and years. I don't have pH problems!!!!!!!!
Build a good peat based organic supersoil and it's "No worries mate"!

Don't slam other peoples choice's!
I don't Coco. I know how, I've done it and done it well. I just don't care for it's problems.
I don't hydro very much ( I know how with all styles). Some DWC for fun in the winter sometimes. I just don't care for the final quality.
I don't synthetic much. But I do run some combo/alternating grows with it. I like to manipulate the plant with it (synthetics) sometimes for fun.
I love organic, and I can manipulate that with individual nutrients (organic) to get the SAME results from synthetics! BUT, the flavor and overall quality is still better then any of the above method/medias in the final product!

No one's method or media "SUCKS" if it works for them!

 

[Dr. Who]

Depending on the soil you buy. You may want to add an extra "hand full" (1/4 cup per 5 gallon pot) of dolomite lime to help control pH swings if you've had problems in the past.