First time organics and have ph questions

Chrdymcdenis

Chrdymcdenis

Member
I'm starting my first organic grow, im using roots organics 707 for my medium and will eventually be bottle feeding with biobizz and roots organics nutes but they are pretty acidic. I've been doing my research on how to maintain the ph but am at a loss with all the info I've been reading. I've seen countless posts where people say you don't really need to worry about the ph of the nutrient solution when running organics because microorganisms and the soil will buffer it,, and I found just as many post saying the opposite and that you need to keep a close eye on the ph range of your nutrient solution. So to summarize, my questions would be, how much do I need to worry about my nutrient solution ph? What is an acceptable ph range for my nutrient solution in soil? And how would I adjust it without using ph up or down products?
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Whats wrong with ph up/ down products? I water at 6.5 every time.

I recommend using nutrients like this for organic soil grows. You top dress the pot as needed. Slow release lasts for a couple weeks or more.

IMG_1014.JPG
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
You can always go the natural way with lemon juice and baking soda. Ive heard that it is needed more often than PH up/down.

Lemon juice=Lower PH
Baking soda=raise pH
 
Wattzzup

Wattzzup

Well-Known Member
Chrdymcdenis said:
Every source I've read/heard from says the salts in oh up and down products kill the microorganisms in the soil
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This is what I’ve also read most people on here don’t agree though. So I’m in the same spot as u. I’m ph down to 6.5. My soil run off is still really high so who knows what’s going on.
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
Wattzzup said:
This is what I’ve also read most people on here don’t agree though. So I’m in the same spot as u. I’m ph down to 6.5. My soil run off is still really high so who knows what’s going on.
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Means your micros are thriving, eating and shitting and eating and shitting out all the good nutrients the plants crave. They bring the soil ph up. If you were to water at say 8., in addition to the ph raising they do, they wouldnt like their environment and start to die off.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Chrdymcdenis said:
I'm starting my first organic grow, im using roots organics 707 for my medium and will eventually be bottle feeding with biobizz and roots organics nutes but they are pretty acidic. I've been doing my research on how to maintain the ph but am at a loss with all the info I've been reading. I've seen countless posts where people say you don't really need to worry about the ph of the nutrient solution when running organics because microorganisms and the soil will buffer it,, and I found just as many post saying the opposite and that you need to keep a close eye on the ph range of your nutrient solution. So to summarize, my questions would be, how much do I need to worry about my nutrient solution ph? What is an acceptable ph range for my nutrient solution in soil? And how would I adjust it without using ph up or down products?
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A lot of organic bottled nutes are supposed to be bubbled first to bring the pH up a bit. I used Earth Juice, and even after bubbling it, it was still pretty acidic. I've also used it without bubbling too, just in small amounts. I do think it could lower the soil pH over time if you use a lot of it. But your soil should be able to buffer it pretty well. I add oyster shell flour to keep my pH from falling too low. So if you have enough buffering agents in your soil, it should be fine.

And ya don't use the chemical stuff in organics. Use citric acid for pH down and something like potassium bicarbonate for up if you want. But I prefer just to let the soil buffer the pH for me. I do try to use between 6.0-7.8 pH solutions mainly to not upset the worms.

But I agree with Joe. Top dressing is easier.
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior said:
A lot of organic bottled nutes are supposed to be bubbled first to bring the pH up a bit. I used Earth Juice, and even after bubbling it, it was still pretty acidic. I've also used it without bubbling too, just in small amounts. I do think it could lower the soil pH over time if you use a lot of it. But your soil should be able to buffer it pretty well. I add oyster shell flour to keep my pH from falling too low. So if you have enough buffering agents in your soil, it should be fine.

And ya don't use the chemical stuff in organics. Use citric acid for pH down and something like potassium bicarbonate for up if you want. But I prefer just to let the soil buffer the pH for me. I do try to use between 6.0-7.8 pH solutions mainly to not upset the worms.

But I agree with Joe. Top dressing is easier.
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Top dressing is hard to fuck up too. The slow release nature of it makes it hard to way over or under do it.

My water ph is 8.5 ish so i would be really worried about watering with that lol. I figure some citric acid to get a good ph is better than giving them uninhabitable ph.
 
Chrdymcdenis

Chrdymcdenis

Member
My issue is with the acidity of these products my nutrient solution can drop to the 5 range. If I use roots organics trinity (food for the microbes, mollases, ect.) It can drop to the 4 range. If I were to feed under 6 would the soil be able to buffer it?
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
JoeBlow5823 said:
My ph comes out the tap 8.5 so ph up is never a concern for me lol.
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Same here. Mine is between 7.2-7.5. Silica like Pro-Tekt works for pH up.

These are kinda interesting pages.

Soil Quality: Indicators: Soil pH

Soil Quality - improving how your soil works is a web site devoted to soil quality concepts, indicators, assessment, management, and practices.
soilquality.org soilquality.org

 
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