hugaddiction
Active Member
I am experiencing some plant difficulties due to ph and am having a difficult time finding accurate information on how to address and remedy the problem. I recently bought a PH meter for my food/water and one for the soil. My soil ph from the 3 plants I sampled is, 4.8, 5.3, 6.5. All are fed the same water and food, i am curious why the range between the three.
specs:
soil, Fox Farm Ocean Forrest
feeding 3x per/week: GH 3 part + cal mag+bloom+ripen( all as prescribed)
PPM 900 flowering
I will be using ph up and ph down, so please no advice on how I need to buy lime, or that I need to switch mediums.
The basics first, what is my ideal soil ph? What is my ideal ph for food, and for water when I am not feeding? Should they be the same? When soil PH begins to get too far from one end of the desired spectrum how do we get it back, in what method and how quickly should it be done for optimal results?
From "The Cannabis Grow Bible", Greg Green 2010, he states that ideal soil ph is 7 and that it can cause problems when it is less than 5.5, or above 8. What I was confused about in his discussion on this topic was his method for balancing non optimal soil phs back to 7. He state, p.172, a 5.6 soil PH should he moved up to a stable 7, by adding 1.4 ph by using ph up. the precise method he advocates is for a 3 gal pot with the 5.6 ph, one should add 3 gallons of water at a ph of 8.4 to neutralize it and produce the desired 7 value of ph.
The people I discussed this with somewhat at length at the grow store suggested that I be feeding my plants in a ph range of 5.5-6.8, optimally being around 6.2, and suggest that my soil should be 7. When I told them of my problem , low soil ph, they suggested that I ease the plants back up to a higher ph slowly starting with feeding them around 6.3 for a while and increase to 6.8. slowly, so as not to "shock" them.
These two suggestions differ dramatically and Im inclined to believe the grow store operators, but I dont understand how they ever get their soil ph to 7 if they are always feeding and watering at a low ph around 6.2. Does the plant waste in the pot produce a PH up effect? I was under the impression, though Im not sure why that plants increased soil acidity with their own waste.
That said, onto my specific problem. Now that I have the meters and have been able to see what I have been feeding them for the last 4 weeks into flower, I can tell you that my food has a ph of about 6.3 and my water that I water with, while Im not feeding, is 7.5-8. This has resulted in the soil ph values I listed above of, 4.8, 5.3, 6.5. What do I do, force balance the soil PH like Greg Green suggested or ease them back to a higher soil ph level as the grow store suggested, using small steps like a feeding of 6.3 followed by a watering of 6.5, followed by a feeding of 6.8 over the course of several days?
If I am able to fix this with your help, I want to know what may have caused the severity in damage that my plants have undergone. Could it be from feeding nutes that are 6.3 ph, and watering with the tap water at a level of 7.5-8? Do these extremes hurt the plant, are they what is making my soil acidic and killing my plant?
This is the first time I have had ph issues with soil, any help is appreciated, its not just for me, its for the poor suffering plants! thanks!
Finally is there an easier way to manage soil PH? whats the deal with ProMix instead of soil, and Advanced Nutrients claiming to have PH buffered nutes? Can humic acid make ph balancing soil more difficult? What other products should one avoid that may cause issues with ph in soil.
Thanks!
specs:
soil, Fox Farm Ocean Forrest
feeding 3x per/week: GH 3 part + cal mag+bloom+ripen( all as prescribed)
PPM 900 flowering
I will be using ph up and ph down, so please no advice on how I need to buy lime, or that I need to switch mediums.
The basics first, what is my ideal soil ph? What is my ideal ph for food, and for water when I am not feeding? Should they be the same? When soil PH begins to get too far from one end of the desired spectrum how do we get it back, in what method and how quickly should it be done for optimal results?
From "The Cannabis Grow Bible", Greg Green 2010, he states that ideal soil ph is 7 and that it can cause problems when it is less than 5.5, or above 8. What I was confused about in his discussion on this topic was his method for balancing non optimal soil phs back to 7. He state, p.172, a 5.6 soil PH should he moved up to a stable 7, by adding 1.4 ph by using ph up. the precise method he advocates is for a 3 gal pot with the 5.6 ph, one should add 3 gallons of water at a ph of 8.4 to neutralize it and produce the desired 7 value of ph.
The people I discussed this with somewhat at length at the grow store suggested that I be feeding my plants in a ph range of 5.5-6.8, optimally being around 6.2, and suggest that my soil should be 7. When I told them of my problem , low soil ph, they suggested that I ease the plants back up to a higher ph slowly starting with feeding them around 6.3 for a while and increase to 6.8. slowly, so as not to "shock" them.
These two suggestions differ dramatically and Im inclined to believe the grow store operators, but I dont understand how they ever get their soil ph to 7 if they are always feeding and watering at a low ph around 6.2. Does the plant waste in the pot produce a PH up effect? I was under the impression, though Im not sure why that plants increased soil acidity with their own waste.
That said, onto my specific problem. Now that I have the meters and have been able to see what I have been feeding them for the last 4 weeks into flower, I can tell you that my food has a ph of about 6.3 and my water that I water with, while Im not feeding, is 7.5-8. This has resulted in the soil ph values I listed above of, 4.8, 5.3, 6.5. What do I do, force balance the soil PH like Greg Green suggested or ease them back to a higher soil ph level as the grow store suggested, using small steps like a feeding of 6.3 followed by a watering of 6.5, followed by a feeding of 6.8 over the course of several days?
If I am able to fix this with your help, I want to know what may have caused the severity in damage that my plants have undergone. Could it be from feeding nutes that are 6.3 ph, and watering with the tap water at a level of 7.5-8? Do these extremes hurt the plant, are they what is making my soil acidic and killing my plant?
This is the first time I have had ph issues with soil, any help is appreciated, its not just for me, its for the poor suffering plants! thanks!
Finally is there an easier way to manage soil PH? whats the deal with ProMix instead of soil, and Advanced Nutrients claiming to have PH buffered nutes? Can humic acid make ph balancing soil more difficult? What other products should one avoid that may cause issues with ph in soil.
Thanks!
If the ppms were really over the 2000 ppm mark your plants would go into nutrient shock with a lockout that immediately starts the claw droop of death! Even at 1600 ppms will burn the shit out'em try it. I'm in the 5th week flowering my last feeding was the maximum I go up to this is 1400 ppms if your dirt was really 2,500 ppms your plants would look like Extra Crispy Fried Chicken. Are you sure you have a ppm meter and not ppt meter? The two meters I've had only went up to 1990 ppms.
