farmingfisherman
Well-Known Member
That and Flower girl are my main nutrients.
Runtz try three
- Thread starter rmax
- Start date
Nope_49595933949
Well-Known Member
I disagree, I don't think you need to PH water for organic soil, the microbes should correct that. When you transplant you want to give them a good healthy watering but not so they have run off.
DeadHeadX
Well-Known Member
Even going in at 8? I really don’t know and would trust Nope over me fwiw, though it seemed high.
Nope_49595933949
Well-Known Member
I stopped ph'ing and use water straight from the well, we use dry amendments maybe some fish emulsion for a quick hit. A lot less issues. I feel like chasing ph in organics can be silly. I'm no expert master grower, but that's my observations and what I've read from others.
weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
I would agree on the pH thing, there are tons of home growers out there using municipal or well water at pH 8 who don't have issues. Hard water might cause problems, but pH 8 is probably no big deal.
It matters more in hydroponic grows, where the pH of the nutrient solution is what the plant's roots are actually exposed to, but in soil (especially organic) there are microbes in the immediate vicinity of the roots (the rhizosphere) that modify and/or buffer the pH in the rhizosphere to accommodate nutrient absorption. Jeff Lowenfels can probably explain it much better than me, but my understanding is that the pH immediately next to the roots themselves can differ from the pH of the rest of the medium, hence why people say pH "doesn't matter" in organics. It does, but not nearly as much as hydroponics.
It matters more in hydroponic grows, where the pH of the nutrient solution is what the plant's roots are actually exposed to, but in soil (especially organic) there are microbes in the immediate vicinity of the roots (the rhizosphere) that modify and/or buffer the pH in the rhizosphere to accommodate nutrient absorption. Jeff Lowenfels can probably explain it much better than me, but my understanding is that the pH immediately next to the roots themselves can differ from the pH of the rest of the medium, hence why people say pH "doesn't matter" in organics. It does, but not nearly as much as hydroponics.
I decided to email Fox Farm and sent:
"Dear Fox Farm Ocean Forest staff,
I got involved in a growing competition and will be using straight, 100% Fox Farm Ocean Forest as my secret weapon. Looking up plant specs it seems the plants I will be growing enjoy a PH of 6.0/6.5. I'll be using city tap water that PH's at 8.0.
Do I need to PH test and buffer my water to 6.5/7.0 when using this soil or does it auto-buffer?
Thanks!"
"Dear Fox Farm Ocean Forest staff,
I got involved in a growing competition and will be using straight, 100% Fox Farm Ocean Forest as my secret weapon. Looking up plant specs it seems the plants I will be growing enjoy a PH of 6.0/6.5. I'll be using city tap water that PH's at 8.0.
Do I need to PH test and buffer my water to 6.5/7.0 when using this soil or does it auto-buffer?
Thanks!"
Nope_49595933949
Well-Known Member
Just remember, most people don't follow their feeding schedule... So not sure how good their advice is. You also reallllly need to "cook" organic soil before using it.
Nice. This is my third batch so far this year. Tossed the first two batches and am trying to nurse these back to success with the ROI team.
Let's see what they come back with. I can also send back more questions if the answer is unclear.
At this point all problems look to be addressed.
Humidity and temp is in zone. Brand new soil in brand new pots. 28,000 lux. These plants are better looking than the last batch at this point. An email is in to Fox Farm requesting PH clarifications, PH acknowledged and will be addressed.
Did I miss anything? If things don't look great by Monday "that's my sign."
Dixonsideproject
Member
If not you can someone tell me why you put the seeds in the fridge?
The seeds were never "IN". The seeds were "ON". ON the 'fridge for heat cycling from the compressor of the 'fridge.
Dixonsideproject
Member
Lol - I was baffled for a bitThe seeds were never "IN". The seeds were "ON". ON the 'fridge for heat cycling from the compressor of the 'fridge.
Team Fox Farm replied with:
"Thank you for contacting FoxFarm! I would be happy to help.
Yes, we always recommend that your feeding and watering solutions fall into a range of 5.6-6.8 before adding to the soil."
Seems clear that I'll need to PH going forward. Anyone got follow-up questions for them?
ALPHA.GanjaGuy
Well-Known Member
I would expect them to say that as they sell ph up and down
I have use their soil and stopped checking ph
Kumarollitup
Active Member
I have always grown in soil and never thought ph was something I needed keep track of. I started having issues in my old veggies and in flower. Assumed it was everything but ph and wasted time and money trying to fix the problem. I finally decided to buy a ph meter and found my ph was 8ish. I started using ph down, my ph is down to 6.5-7. my plants look perfect now, no issues. I always use fox farm soil and gh ph down as well. Who knew? LoL
My plants look very raggedy and I haven't been checking PH.
ALPHA.GanjaGuy
Well-Known Member
I think the bigger concern is many people will end up with worse looking gardens trying to chase PH but of course it is up to each grower to choose what works for them.
This crop has until Monday to perk. If it's not perked I'll toss it all start with dropping fresh seeds.
I don't know why I'm so bad at growing. I feel like a caricature posting on this website.