Ffof soil ph 5.2! Help

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
Just got back from vacation and some of my plants looked like they had severe cal/mag def. I flushed and measured the run-off and it's 5.2 on 10 of my plants. Will adding some fast acting dolomite save them ? Never had this happen before so any help is appreciated! Thanks


Plants are 3 weeks into flowering and I have been feeding with humboldt nutrients organic line. They vegged for a month and a half also
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
it should work for ph. for deficiency you can even try adding more cal n mag too. molasses n tap water have plenty of it. my girls seem to like the local tap water more than ro water. its weird.but it works.
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
I hate to have wasted the money on the r/o filter.. I just lightly foiliar fed them with some equilibrium (cal/mag) so hopefully that will help untill I can the soil back up to the right ph
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
I have been feeding and supplementing with cal/mag since 4 weeks of vegging..so i can't imagine i wasn't giving them enough I think they are locked out
 
I have been feeding and supplementing with cal/mag since 4 weeks of vegging..so i can't imagine i wasn't giving them enough I think they are locked out
Pure soluble potash 0-0-2+ or Clearex solution this actually leeches the grow medium more completely than pure water alone. potash will strip the salts away. Upon completion use a supplement containing yucca extract, kelp, bamboo, these organic surfactants will reduce surface tension of the nute solution and thus allow for immediate nutrient uptake, due to their scrubbing effect. Some examples are Botanicare Liquid Karma, and Aurora's Trinity, along with some Wett Betty. Blaze1
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
Pure soluble potash 0-0-2+ or Clearex solution this actually leeches the grow medium more completely than pure water alone. potash will strip the salts away. Upon completion use a supplement containing yucca extract, kelp, bamboo, these organic surfactants will reduce surface tension of the nute solution and thus allow for immediate nutrient uptake, due to their scrubbing effect. Some examples are Botanicare Liquid Karma, and Aurora's Trinity, along with some Wett Betty. Blaze1
So should I not throw some dolomite lime in there? or will flushing alone bring my soil ph back up
 

Nullis

Moderator
A liquid cal/mag isn't likely to help matters (or pH) in the long run nor will flushing. Get some micronized dolomitic limestone, mix a tablespoon or two into the top couple inches of the soil and then water that in thoroughly. Can't say that I would 'flush' (which seems like a knee-jerk reaction around here), but it will take a fair amount of water before the run-off shows any significant change. You don't have to get it perfect the first time around. Just do the first application, wait a few days and if it is still much below 7 you have the option of repeating.
 

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
So should I not throw some dolomite lime in there? or will flushing alone bring my soil ph back up
Get the lime, pronto. Just watch it with the *fast acting* on the label, many times that is hydrated or 'quick' lime NEITHER of which is what you want.

As Nullis said, micronized, or powdered, or ground is what you want. Different labels have different descriptions for the same thing. My very fine 'powdered' lime says ground on the label.

2tbl/gallon of mix, or 1cup/cf of mix. You can top dress with it and then water it in, but in the future add it to your mix before use. Prevents a boatload of problems.

Wet
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
Get the lime, pronto. Just watch it with the *fast acting* on the label, many times that is hydrated or 'quick' lime NEITHER of which is what you want.

As Nullis said, micronized, or powdered, or ground is what you want. Different labels have different descriptions for the same thing. My very fine 'powdered' lime says ground on the label.

2tbl/gallon of mix, or 1cup/cf of mix. You can top dress with it and then water it in, but in the future add it to your mix before use. Prevents a boatload of problems.

Wet
The only thing i was able to find today was organic garden lime but it seems like its in small pellet form...Should I mash it up more so it works faster? Tomorrow I can get some ground/powder lime but the place was closed alrdy today. Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it...Also from now on i'll definitely be mixing it in before planting
 

ClamDigger

Active Member
The only thing i was able to find today was organic garden lime but it seems like its in small pellet form...Should I mash it up more so it works faster? Tomorrow I can get some ground/powder lime but the place was closed alrdy today. Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it...Also from now on i'll definitely be mixing it in before planting
pellets are good because they last longer, if you have plants in FFOF with no Lime i would crush a tablespoon per plant and rake it into the surface. the kinds of lime you DO NOT want are "Hydrated", "Burnt", "Slaked" or "Quick" lime.
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
Im using a 60/40 mix of ffof to ff light warrior....I have never added any lime, so I figure i will use the pellets when mixing new soil and i'll grab the powder tomorrow for the ones that need it right away... I just wished I had checked the run-off earlier...Would have saved me a headache!
 

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
The only thing i was able to find today was organic garden lime but it seems like its in small pellet form...Should I mash it up more so it works faster? Tomorrow I can get some ground/powder lime but the place was closed alrdy today. Thanks for the help guys I really appreciate it...Also from now on i'll definitely be mixing it in before planting
Was it Espoma by any chance? Good stuff!

Even if not, just about all pellets are just powdered lime, formed into pellets with a binder, that dissolves easily.

Put a bit in a cup of water and see if they melt, they should. I put some of the pelletized from Lowes in a cup of water and they *melted*. That is, I had some brown water (from the binder), and a layer of powdered dolomite on the bottom.

I just did this. I put the pellets in a 1/4 party cup of water 2 evenings ago, due to another thread and I wanted to check it out. Fell asleep and didn't check it out. Forgot about it the next day (senior moment), and just checked on it now. LOL, I'm sure it was quicker, but the binder was completely dissolved in 48 hours. Mon evening to Wed evening.

The pellets are much easier to handle. LOL, I have 40lb bags of both, or what's left of them anyway. I mainly use the pellets in the garden, but also in my mix.

You could grind some up if you feel like it and top dress with the rest of it. It should dissolve pretty quick with regular waterings.

I'm thinking, the pellets of today aren't the pellets of a few years ago when it was said to avoid them. Better, quicker dissolving, binders? Or, was/is there a coarser grind available? IDK, after dissolving these pellets and finding powderd, I haven't seen a coarser grind. LOL, I thought the pellets WERE the coarse grind.

Wet
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
Was it Espoma by any chance? Good stuff!

Even if not, just about all pellets are just powdered lime, formed into pellets with a binder, that dissolves easily.

Put a bit in a cup of water and see if they melt, they should. I put some of the pelletized from Lowes in a cup of water and they *melted*. That is, I had some brown water (from the binder), and a layer of powdered dolomite on the bottom.

I just did this. I put the pellets in a 1/4 party cup of water 2 evenings ago, due to another thread and I wanted to check it out. Fell asleep and didn't check it out. Forgot about it the next day (senior moment), and just checked on it now. LOL, I'm sure it was quicker, but the binder was completely dissolved in 48 hours. Mon evening to Wed evening.

The pellets are much easier to handle. LOL, I have 40lb bags of both, or what's left of them anyway. I mainly use the pellets in the garden, but also in my mix.

You could grind some up if you feel like it and top dress with the rest of it. It should dissolve pretty quick with regular waterings.

I'm thinking, the pellets of today aren't the pellets of a few years ago when it was said to avoid them. Better, quicker dissolving, binders? Or, was/is there a coarser grind available? IDK, after dissolving these pellets and finding powderd, I haven't seen a coarser grind. LOL, I thought the pellets WERE the coarse grind.

Wet
Yes the stuff I got today is epsoma... So that one will work fast enough you think?
 

SMOKEnCHOKE

Active Member
awesome thanks again man! i'll let u know how it turns out... Kinda bugs me that some of them look like crap but luckily the rest of the room looks amazing
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
dont use cal/mag it has lots of edta in it. calplex is better and organic and made by botanicare too. molasses has way mor cal and mag in it than either of those.
 
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