Soil PH vs. Water PH Confusion

dr.feelgood69

dr.feelgood69

Active Member
I am a little confused. I bout the milwaukee pen and the accecories in order to measure the PH of my water before I feed my plants which are in soil. I am assuming I did the right thing but now I can't find anywhere where it talks about PH in soil. Everything talks about hydro. Should I or should I not feed the plants a specifically measured PH water at what level?
 
toquer

toquer

Active Member
it really depends on your nutrients. but you really want to measure the runoff and adjust what is going in based on what comes out. when you feed your plant there is a chemical reaction taking place in the soil system at the same time that you are pouring the nutrient solution in there. nutrients turn acidic over time thus the lime in the soil to balance that out. when you water between feedings you again initiate a chemical reaction, if you're using tap water then it can be a really bad reaction. although my outdoor plants directly in the ground outside not in pots get hose water and outperform the potted plants. none the less...for me specifically...i use Humboldt Nutrients Master A/B line-up. They state the pH doesn't need to be adjusted and after testing, they're basically right. The nutrient solution once mixed up and allowed to brew will clime to a pH of 7.5-8. This is not what typcially happens to most nutrient solutions. Now when i feed, my runoff is between 6.5-5.6. Rarely does it get lower. I know this is a huge shift but prior to believing that i don't need to adjust the pH i always got it at 6.5 prior to feeding. Adding pH down wasn't a good idea. It reacted even more and brought the soils pH way down causing lockout. So...to sum it up...

measure your runoff and adjust from there if you're using only a salt based nutrient.
 
GodSlave

GodSlave

Active Member
1-Add nutrients.
2-Check PH (also check PH in the plain water you use in between feeding).
3-Adjust to correct PH level, around 6.5.
4-Water plants.
5-Catch runoff during watering.
6-Check PH.

NOW, you have a true PH read of what is going on in the soil.

7-Correct PH in nutes and plain water based on runoff readings.

You can also use the capsule type PH tester for your soil to verify your runoff readings.

GS:leaf:
 
dr.feelgood69

dr.feelgood69

Active Member
toquer said:
it really depends on your nutrients. but you really want to measure the runoff and adjust what is going in based on what comes out. when you feed your plant there is a chemical reaction taking place in the soil system at the same time that you are pouring the nutrient solution in there. nutrients turn acidic over time thus the lime in the soil to balance that out. when you water between feedings you again initiate a chemical reaction, if you're using tap water then it can be a really bad reaction. although my outdoor plants directly in the ground outside not in pots get hose water and outperform the potted plants. none the less...for me specifically...i use Humboldt Nutrients Master A/B line-up. They state the pH doesn't need to be adjusted and after testing, they're basically right. The nutrient solution once mixed up and allowed to brew will clime to a pH of 7.5-8. This is not what typcially happens to most nutrient solutions. Now when i feed, my runoff is between 6.5-5.6. Rarely does it get lower. I know this is a huge shift but prior to believing that i don't need to adjust the pH i always got it at 6.5 prior to feeding. Adding pH down wasn't a good idea. It reacted even more and brought the soils pH way down causing lockout. So...to sum it up...

measure your runoff and adjust from there if you're using only a salt based nutrient.
Click to expand...
Can you recommend a good PH Adjuster, both for up and down. I am assuming you add it to the water before watering the plants? Hey thanks for the post, that is exactly what I needed and couldn't seem to find anywhere and I do appreciate the time it took you to do the write-up.
 
Diggz

Diggz

Active Member
GodSlave said:
1-Add nutrients.
2-Check PH (also check PH in the plain water you use in between feeding).
3-Adjust to correct PH level, around 6.5.
4-Water plants.
5-Catch runoff during watering.
6-Check PH.

NOW, you have a true PH read of what is going on in the soil.

7-Correct PH in nutes and plain water based on runoff readings.

You can also use the capsule type PH tester for your soil to verify your runoff readings.

GS:leaf:
Click to expand...
What do you do when your plant is in the ground??

A little confused
 
GodSlave

GodSlave

Active Member
dr.feelgood69 said:
Can you recommend a good PH Adjuster, both for up and down. I am assuming you add it to the water before watering the plants? Hey thanks for the post, that is exactly what I needed and couldn't seem to find anywhere and I do appreciate the time it took you to do the write-up.
Click to expand...
I know you didn't ask me, but I use General Hydroponics Up and Down. Just like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/GENERAL-HYDROPONICS-8-oz-pH-UP-DOWN-CONTROL-TEST-KIT-/160491619762?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255e0bc5b2
Yes, added to the water first.
 
Spanishfly

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
youngg692 said:
so you only check ph in water and soil ? you dont check ph in water mixed with nutes ?
Click to expand...
I don´t ever check pH at all. Like most plants MJ is very pH tolerant - I just bung in some lime, about an ounce to a gallon, and that is it.
FAR too much of an obsession is made by some growers over something that is of relatively little importance.
 
GodSlave

GodSlave

Active Member
youngg692 said:
so you only check ph in water and soil ? you dont check ph in water mixed with nutes ?
Click to expand...
1-Add nutrients.
2-Check PH (also check PH in the plain water you use in between feeding).
3-Adjust to correct PH level, around 6.5.
4-Water plants.
5-Catch runoff during watering.
6-Check PH.

NOW, you have a true PH read of what is going on in the soil.

7-Correct PH in nutes and plain water based on runoff readings.

You can also use the capsule type PH tester for your soil to verify your runoff readings.

GS:leaf:
 
GodSlave

GodSlave

Active Member
Spanishfly said:
I don´t ever check pH at all. Like most plants MJ is very pH tolerant - I just bung in some lime and that is it.
FAR too much of an obsession is made by some growers over something that is of relatively little importance.
Click to expand...
Maybe not such of a concern in ground soil, agreed, but can be a definite and profound problem in container growing.

GS:leaf:
 
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