Water PH

[TitanCannabisArchives]

Hello,
I have read many many many threads in here and around the internet and even talk to several different local hydro stores in my area and i have yet to get a decisive answer on this. I made a rendition of subs supersoil according to a janky soil pH meter my soil sits around 7.5 pH and my plants are all doing fine. On many threads people say dont pH your water but if i am adding nutes Fox Farm big bloom and grow big to be specific wouldnt i want to pH my water to 6.5 to make sure that the nutes and readily available for my plant? Also why is it not ok to use GH ph up or down in ur water to balance pH? According to what im being told it is ok to use it to pH ur water that plants wont be effected, can i get definitive answer on this? So far my plants are growing everyday and are healthy with no deficiencies but ive only used the pH down twice and only a few drops my water sits at about 7.7 ph out of the chlorine filter. Thank you for anyone who answers im trying to learn horiculture so i want to make sure im not doing something that will leave me with damage

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

I can include pictures of my plants if someone needs to see them

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

No one can answer this for me?

 

[Boatguy]

I grow in soil and dont check ph. Most soil ph meters and slurry tests are pretty unreliable.

 

[JavaCo]

If you are using Bottled organic fertilizers then yeah you will have to PH up that stuff as it is usually pretty acidic. A good soil mix will buffer the PH on it's own but not if using bottles of basicly acid, so thats is why you would want to PH bottled nutes before adding to a soil.
That Ph meter you have is pretty much useless unless you can calibrate it. Cheapest soil PH meter that I know of that will give a accurate measurement. https://www.getbluelab.com/shop/By+Category/Pens/Bluelab+Soil+pH+Pen.html

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

Thank you java for your response. My planta are healthy and doing fine so im mot to worried about the pH. Ill only worry when there is actually a problem but ill keep pHing my water when i add nutes.

 

[ChrispyCritter]

My question is why are you adding Grow Big if you are in supersoil? It's also not organic I'm pretty sure so it's killing the microlife in your soil. Big Bloom is ok but not necessary if you have worm ! castings and kelp meal in your mix. Most ph adjusters kill the living part of your soil just like inorganic fertilizers.Living soil is constantly adjusting its own ph like @JavaCo said. More stuff doesn't equal better. (I may have used inorganic wrong in place of synthetic fertilizers. Sorry if I did).

 

[Prospecter49]

Was reading this interesting post and the comment made by JavaCo that you don't have to ph your water if in a good soil mix because it will buffer itself . so what if you ph it before you water in good soil mix ??

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

My question is why are you adding Grow Big if you are in supersoil? It's also not organic I'm pretty sure so it's killing the microlife in your soil. Big Bloom is ok but not necessary if you have worm ! castings and kelp meal in your mix. Most ph adjusters kill the living part of your soil just like inorganic fertilizers.Living soil is constantly adjusting its own ph like @JavaCo said. More stuff doesn't equal better. (I may have used inorganic wrong in place of synthetic fertilizers. Sorry if I did).

I was under the impression that they are both organic and tiger bloom is one to not use. I was see if by using these along with my super soil if i noticed a difference in bud growth or decrease in veg time by a most explosive growth by giving the plant a variety in natural ferts and amendments (this is just a science experiment in one of my tents) and from my understanding the GH Ph up or down will not hurt the plants or microlife because of the regeneration rate of microlife. I had a conversation with a college soil professor from UC Davis and he told me that only the first few inchs would be effected but the microlife regeneration rate is so rapid that they would be replaced in a day but were my roots are would mostly be unnoticeabe to the point where the plant should be uneffected. Im adding a very small amount to my water and only phing when im adding nutes which is twice a week. These plants are from seed and about 3 weeks in from when i germinated them. So far they are doing really well and growing fast.

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

Was reading this interesting post and the comment made by JavaCo that you don't have to ph your water if in a good soil mix because it will buffer itself . so what if you ph it before you water in good soil mix ??

All i do is pH my water when i add nutes before i use it to water my soil and so far im not having a single problem, granted im not soil scientist which is why im here trying to get the knowledge from people who been doing this a whole lot longer then me and know what their talking about. I see topics like this discussed often but usually it has the two varying opinions "ph water" "dont ph water" and im looking for a a definitive scientific answer to way u shouldnt pH ur water.

 

[Prospecter49]

Your so right TitanCannabisArchi . my question probably wasn't very clear but that I was asking for scientific answer.
to why you shouldn't PH ur water if using super soil . I know it has a buffer but isn"t it better safe than sorry good??

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

Your so right TitanCannabisArchi . my question probably wasn't very clear but that I was asking for scientific answer.
to why you shouldn't PH ur water if using super soil . I know it has a buffer but isn"t it better safe than sorry good??

Well good organic soil ranges in pH the mircolife tend to change it as they see fit thats why u have to carefully measure ur ingredients to ur super soil to create the "perfect balance". I dont know how true this is hence the question but from what i have seen others say is that by using pH adjusters ur adding salts which are the equivalent to salt on snails to ur microlife and it causes excess salt build ups in ur soil but From what i was told microlife regenerate incredibly fast and that ur not adding enough pH adjuster into ur water for it to do any noticable damage to ur microlife, although it should go without saying to never pour it straight into ur soil cause ull for sure kill ur plants lol i want to make that clear im talking about a couple drops in ur water to pH ur water before u water ur plants with it. My argument is if i put nutes into my water and it drops to 4.5 pH why wouldnt i pH that to 6.5 and make it bioavailable to my roots right away. Wouldnt i do more damage watering with acidic water at a pH that the nutes are already locked out at? Like i said so far i havent seen a single issue and the pictures i posted were from today with me pHing every time i add nutes. I just wanted to know what the horiculture reason was and how factual what ive been told is.

 

[swedsteven]

The nute will slow down the organic to the point where you will need all those fertelizer

Water only .untill you see a need then use your fertelizer. let the microbe work for u.

For the ph make the test feed ph water and just tap check ur runnof always same soil buffer it unless to much salt then it get acide ...

 

[DaFreak]

I would probably start in smaller pots and transplant up

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

I would probably start in smaller pots and transplant up

Yeah next time ill do that. Also i might do 6-9 plants in 5 gallons instead of 4 in 10

 

[Tkm953]

Split em in two,give ph water to two,non ph the other ones.According to you this is an experiment anyway.Whatever happens,between them will give you the answer you seek.Their are so many variables in soil,hydro,deep water,etc,That the answer for one,may not be for the other.

 

[MidwestGorilla219]

My well water has a ph of 8. I use fish hydroslate to bring it down to about 6.5 - 7.0 with good results.

 

[TitanCannabisArchives]

My well water has a ph of 8. I use fish hydroslate to bring it down to about 6.5 - 7.0 with good results.

Thats a great idea! I never tried that, how does that effect the plant during flower with all the added nitrogen though?

 

[MidwestGorilla219]

Thats a great idea! I never tried that, how does that effect the plant during flower with all the added nitrogen though?

The recommended amount for a feed is 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water. I'm adding about a teaspoon with no issues, they need a bit of nitrogen during bloom anyways. Fungi love it and I have no foxtailing or any other issues.