Correcting ph without the best tool for the job?

Hi, I posted this a few days ago
https://www.rollitup.org/t/yellowing-falling-leaves-please-help-me-identify-and-fix-this.971955/
I thought I'd make another thread because I think I figured something out.

so I'm having a really rapid loss of leaves and if this keeps up,
it will be the second plant I lose to a potassium deficiency...
As this is my second grow ever, you can understand my frustration
I had to watch the last one die over the course of a month while trying everything
I could to put it back on its feet... not fun
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• As I did some feeding yesterday, I tested both the nutrient solution I fed her AND the runoff water.

Right away they both seemed to be right around 7 to 6.8 which is good as far as I know.
But I let it sit overnight and the runoff water sky-rocketed to around 7.6 to 8.2 while the nutrient solution is still at around 7. So here's my problem I guess?

I feel like I should mention there was some soil left in the runoff water.
I don't know if them sitting around in the water all night could have made it so
the ph raised or if it's normal for it to take a while before fully reacting.

• So here's the question for a million:

Do someone happen to have either the time and kindness to explain me how to fix this mess or a link to a website that does? I'm still searching but without success for now...

There are still plenty of leaves when you compare it to a lollypopped plant but that won't be the case for much longer if this keeps up and I'm sure it's slowing down the bud production as well.

So you, yeah YOU! are my only hope for a nice harvest of sticky buds that I won't have to pick up from the shady guy next door.

What can I use to lower it from a solid 8 to a weak 7 ?
I don't have anything proper for the job atm and if I order online, my plant will have like 3 leaf sets left before it arrives
in fact, it's already on the way but I need a quick&dirty fix to help limit the damages so my plant can get back to business and frost up.

I heard about vinegar but I really don't know how much to add?

Should I give more nutes than usual to kind of compensate?

what ph should I aim for for my nutrient solution?
As my current situation makes it go from 6.8 to 7.8 do I need to make it 5.8 and flush with a shit ton of it?
or flush with a shit ton of 6.5phed water?

Well well, that's a lot of questions...
As long as I can get my dear plant healthy again I'm happy
thanks to each and everyone willing to help me!

I stumbled upon this

Which tells me potassium shouldn't be a problem in high ph
I don't get it

I know they can be a pain, but you should check out the soil PH test kits. Lowes or most places like it will have it, and it comes with little capsules to put the dirt in, and the chemicals to mix in, then whatever color the reaction creates, you match to a color on the corresponding chart to determine PH...it is really hard to get numbers that are 100% accurate to a degree of high certianty from runoff. But can definitely give you a good neighborhood number. Also, in soil, microbes will help the PH of your roots themselves...often times people forget how important they are! And I notice that Mag is locked out at high PH and can produce symptoms of yellowing, mottling leaves that eventually get sucked dry and fall off...in any event, if you are confident your soil ph is way high, you can find products to adjust it, but I'm not that familiar with these as I'm in hydro for awhile now...

Also, if you want to provide your plant a very quick boost of nutes to try and help it along until the problem is sorted out, depending on how far it is in flower, you could try foilar feeding with a light-strength nute solution? Will absorb directly into the plant's system, without being locked out by PH.

Well the buds are starting to frost up so I guess it's been flowering for around one month.
It's an auto so I can't say for sure when it switched.

I guess I could apply the nutrient solution with a paintbrush to avoid getting some on the flowers.
And from what you say it could be a solution to avoid all my fucking leaves falling off so I'm glad you can feed them that way!
I figure it's better to do it at night to avoid burning? Also, how much lighter? half of what I usually do?

About the microbes, do you talk about something that is already there so that I don't need to worry about the runoff being 7.8?
Or is there a way to bring more of them in my soil so that they fix the issue for me?

And good bet for the magnesium!
I thought npk would be the only things I need.... Guess I'm wrong...
I'll get some asap
from the look of the leaves, it could totally be a magnesium deficiency so good observation on that!
Even though the yellowing progressing from outside-in and with rusty red undertones and crispy tips looks a lot like potassium deficiency, it's still really similar.
here are more pics of the leaves so you can get a better idea.


I will look into the soil ph test kit. I hope the foliar thing works out alright to stop the leaves from yellowing and falling off.
I REALLY need to buy some time to investigate and fix this issue before my lovely little bush turns into an ugly stump with fried budlets on top
just like last time (yielded around 3 grams of popcorn btw )

Well it's not that I'm 100% sure my ph is too high.
But the same nute solution apparently went from 6.8 to 7.8 only by briefly going through the soil in that pot so that's my best bet for now.

The limit of my knowledge is a bit of a problem as I'm predominantly hydroponics, but I know the basics in soil so I'll help as much as I can. Well, adding microbes from something like Great White, blackstrap molasses, and other things both natural and man-made products will help your root zone become more stable once you do have your PH in check. For the runoff to be that much higher, I'm thinking definitely high PH, any one nutrient becoming locked out will almost always result in another being locked out, causing another, which causes another, etc etc. While NPK is your most important three nutes, there are an array of other 'micro' and 'macro' nutrients that our plants need. But any good all-round base fertilizer will likely have these in it. I've still got to do some research to find out the best way for you to lower your soil's PH quickly, lol I don't want to give advice that isn't sound! But I do know that having good microbes in your soil plays a critical role in mainting PH in soil! You should be able to find loads of information on roll it up in regards to what and where to get these microbes and how to apply them, there are plenty of natural things like blackstrap honey that can be of use!
This link should provide most of the info you'll need to do a foilar feed, but by all means ask if it misses something!
http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/how-to-foliar-feed-your-marijuana-plants/

Ooh, a good and easy source of good microbes/fungi is Kelp meal and/or humic acid...you should be able to find kelp meal at nearly any store that carries potting soil and gardening products.

Soil ph is what really matters because it will very quickly buffer the nutrient solution and bring it to the soil ph. Most add a little lime or oyster shell to their soil at mix up to stabilize the soil ph.

Ya back when I was helping out with a soil grow, if we did not put a little lime in the mix, mid-late flower became a nightmare with an array of deficiency symptoms..

So am I totally screwed or could I still fix it with the ph down I just ordered? It only needs about 3 more weeks to go before harvest.

I didn't find any way to make it stop yet, but I stopped picking leaves out so it takes a bit longer before the plant starts cannibalizing new ones. I read about adding lime juice but apparently the sugar in it can become food for bacteria rather quickly :/

Also, how much lime should I add for next grows?

Unless source water is very alkaline there is no need to add acid (ph down) as the lime or oyster shell in the potting soil buffers the ph automatically.

I have relatively soft well water. My plants got way healthier after I stopped phing my water and nute solution.

Adding acid without high alkalinity will just eventually acidify the whole medium.

With 3 weeks left there probably isn't going to be enough time to totally correct the problem, I'd just try to ride it out and chalk it up to a learning experience. Then it will be one less problem you have to be concerned about during your next grow. Don't fret, I'm sure you'll still get to harvest some fire from this one!

I think lime is a good thing I've never used it & my soil pH is always 5.8 to 6.2 but I think it's a good thing to add, but I don't think it's an absolute.

Logan Burke said:

With 3 weeks left there probably isn't going to be enough time to totally correct the problem, I'd just try to ride it out and chalk it up to a learning experience. Then it will be one less problem you have to be concerned about during your next grow. Don't fret, I'm sure you'll still get to harvest some fire from this one!

Click to expand...

I hope you're right!
It doesn't look so good right now. I used some lime juice and the runoff ph is 6.5 now but I took way too long to do it. I was stupid. Anyway I ordered the "best tool for the job" and it arrived today so even though this problem did hurt my plant a whole lot, I guess I have the things to fix it now.
I ordered one soil ph test kit, a ph meter, some ph down and some sensi calmag.