Ffof did it to me again...

[NanoGadget]

Hey all. Been a bit since I've been on. Anywho, I wasn't planning on growing until after I move in December, but I got bored and my jars are a little light so I decided to run a quick single plant grow in my 2x2.
Didn't want to wait for a new batch of soil to cook so I went back to my old standby for easy mode growing. Ffof and happy frog mixed 3:1 and a bunch of extra perlite. Most always get good results with this mix with very little fuss. Once a few years ago however I got a bag that was giving me problems. N locked out, slow growth with browning leaves from the bottom up. Did a slurry test and the ph was waaaaay off. Like 7.8 if I remember correctly. That was kind of the motivation to start making my own soil.
So here we are, a few years later and I started noticing the same problems. Slurry test. Sure enough, ph was damn near 8.0
I have some ph down on hand and I have some cottonseed meal on the way. Anybody have any non-toxic suggestions for getting soil ph down relatively quickly without frying my plant? It's still fairly small, only a couple weeks of veg. Was thinking about sulfur but that's always taken a long time to work in my experience. Thanks for looking folks.
@jarvild @xtsho @Dr. Who

 

[JoeBlow5823]

Hey all. Been a bit since I've been on. Anywho, I wasn't planning on growing until after I move in December, but I got bored and my jars are a little light so I decided to run a quick single plant grow in my 2x2.
Didn't want to wait for a new batch of soil to cook so I went back to my old standby for easy mode growing. Ffof and happy frog mixed 3:1 and a bunch of extra perlite. Most always get good results with this mix with very little fuss. Once a few years ago however I got a bag that was giving me problems. N locked out, slow growth with browning leaves from the bottom up. Did a slurry test and the ph was waaaaay off. Like 7.8 if I remember correctly. That was kind of the motivation to start making my own soil.
So here we are, a few years later and I started noticing the same problems. Slurry test. Sure enough, ph was damn near 8.0
I have some ph down on hand and I have some cottonseed meal on the way. Anybody have any non-toxic suggestions for getting soil ph down relatively quickly without frying my plant? It's still fairly small, only a couple weeks of veg. Was thinking about sulfur but that's always taken a long time to work in my experience. Thanks for looking folks.
@jarvild @xtsho @Dr. Who

I did a slurry test on my soil (not ffof) and it was coming out at 8. After the plants had been in it for a week or two with water going in at 6.5, runoff was coming out at 6.5. Ive heard others say slurry test isnt a very good judgement. Using my soil ph tester in the pot with the plant just after watering, was getting 6.5. But the same soil in a slurry was 8. Doesnt make sense but after a few re calibrations and checking everything a dozen times and the numbers staying the same my only conclusion was that the slurry isnt a good test.

 

[NanoGadget]

Using my soil ph tester in the pot with the plant just after watering, was getting 6.5. But the same soil in a slurry was 8. Doesnt make sense but after a few re calibrations and checking everything a dozen times and the numbers staying the same my only conclusion was that the slurry isnt a good test.

I have a fairly nice meter that I used to double check the results. They match. Slurry test and the meter both report 7.7-8.0. I appreciate the heads up though!

 

[xtsho]

I'd just use the pH down and pH the water when you water.

 

[NanoGadget]

I'd just use the pH down and pH the water when you water.

Think that'll be enough? Be nice if it was! Just worried about the soil buffering back up to where it is now or close to it. I'm no expert on soil chemistry by any stretch, but I had a really tough time getting it to stay where i wanted it last time this happened. I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. Thanks for the input kind sir.

 

[Renfro]

Medium pH Correction (Soil and Coco)

Checking and adjusting the pH of your root zone in soil or coco is a very important part of growing healthy plants. Often you will notice nutrient deficiencies despite the fact you know you have provided an ample feed at an appropriate pH level. When this happens it’s generally either...

www.rollitup.org

Just worried about the soil buffering back up to where it is now or close to it.

You will have to keep with the adjusted feeds. Test, correct, test, correct, for the whole grow.

 

[jarvild]

Think that'll be enough? Be nice if it was! Just worried about the soil buffering back up to where it is now or close to it. I'm no expert on soil chemistry by any stretch, but I had a really tough time getting it to stay where i wanted it last time this happened. I'll give it a whirl and see what happens. Thanks for the input kind sir.

How big is the plant ? Not that hard to re=pot with a better mix just wash some of the soil from around the roots and re-plant, feed it some microbes and she shouldn't stall very much

 

[NanoGadget]

She isn't all that big yet. Think is on her 4th or 5th internode but she is short and squat. Unfortunately I just transplanted her out of her solo cup 5 days ago so I don't want to uproot her again already. Figure I'll use what I have to try and get it down and if she is still being bitchy in a couple weeks I'll transplant her again into some different soil.

 

[NanoGadget]

Medium pH Correction (Soil and Coco)

Checking and adjusting the pH of your root zone in soil or coco is a very important part of growing healthy plants. Often you will notice nutrient deficiencies despite the fact you know you have provided an ample feed at an appropriate pH level. When this happens it’s generally either...

www.rollitup.org

You will have to keep with the adjusted feeds. Test, correct, test, correct, for the whole grow.

Thanks man. I'll keep on her and if it becomes a losing battle after a couple weeks I will probably think about transplanting her to some different soil. Sucks because I used to get such consistent result with this formula.

 

[Rckola]

I think the FFoF is spotty in degrees of “hotness” I usually get my bags and they test at a flat 7 (plus or minus .5) generally. That being said I have had the odd bag test at an 8 right after opening it.
I really only started testing the dirt straight away after hearing a couple talk about how hot is was and was curious.

Sometimes they just don’t mix a batch enough

 

[Gemtree]

Transplant to coco lol

 

[NanoGadget]

I think the FFoF is spotty in degrees of “hotness” I usually get my bags and they test at a flat 7 (plus or minus .5) generally. That being said I have had the odd bag test at an 8 right after opening it.
I really only started testing the dirt straight away after hearing a couple talk about how hot is was and was curious.

Sometimes they just don’t mix a batch enough

That sounds like a pretty plausible explanation. Years ago when I used it exclusively it seemed more consistent. Also seemed to test lower. I remember my mixture of ffof and happy frog coming out to a comfortable 6.2 to 6.5 pretty much every time.

 

[NanoGadget]

Transplant to coco lol

That's actually not a bad idea. Would allow me more input control. Unfortunately my experience with coco is sooo limited. I've been pretty much exclusively a soil or DWC/rDWC for so long that learning a new medium seems daunting to me.

 

[Dontjudgeme]

This is exactly why I never used FFOF. Heard too many horror stories. I’m strictly promix and amendments, occasionally coco, but still amended. Love the fact that I don’t have to flush before harvest either. Chop and hang. Smoke always smooth and taste great. Never have any issues at all.

 

[icetech]

I have used a few bags of happy frog myself and that stuff is just amazing, i read too much about OF being too hot so i stayed away.. if you get in a pinch grab some happy frog.

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

FFOF used to be great but it no longer is - it's like using topsoil now - plants seem to hate it lately so i discontinued using it and they've never been happier

 

[Federucci]

HF or OF amended with 30% pumice, 20% charcoal, 10% kelp meal and 10% neem seed yields about 6.3pH after watering with 5.8-6.0 RO water for a few weeks according to a PH60S meter. As long as you tune it, you can use pretty much any brand soil with success I've found, but I'm not particularly a greenthumbed girl.