Help with PH levels in soil?

Hey guys I am growing in soil and when I test my water with no nutrients it is 6.8 and when I add my Dutch Nutrients and Cal-Mag it drops to 6.1.... I should be a little higher than 6.1 for soil should I not? What would be my best way to correct this? Thanks!!

Give it only water once ever 2 or 3 days, or use less nutrients each watering.

Dutch Nutrients? *Googles....* Is that DNF? "25 years..." Never even heard of them...

Sativied said:

Give it only water once ever 2 or 3 days, or use less nutrients each watering.

Dutch Nutrients? *Googles....* Is that DNF? "25 years..." Never even heard of them...

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lol ok thanks but with the water being 6.1 are the nutrients even helping? or you saying if I cut back it should raise my PH a bit? Yes I mean DNF as it seems to be the only one my local store sells... I currently use the reccomended amount of 20 ML of A and B plus 16 ML of DNF Green along with 5 ML of Botanicare Cal-Mag.....

Birdman1984 said:

lol ok thanks but with the water being 6.1 are the nutrients even helping? or you saying if I cut back it should raise my PH a bit? Yes I mean DNF as it seems to be the only one my local store sells... I currently use the reccomended amount of 20 ML of A and B plus 16 ML of DNF Green along with 5 ML of Botanicare Cal-Mag.....

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I should add that those measurements are to the gallon

Yes, if your nutes lower it from 6.8 to 6.1 it would likely lower it less if you use less.

The amount recommended on the bottle is nearly always too much. You could give a little less so it drops the ph less, or give water only once every 3 days or so (feed-feed-water, or water-water-feed).

Also, it seems the DNF already contains Ca and Mg. And with 6.8 start ph you're probably using tap water with some ca and mg already right?

Soil should be 6.5. But, that's more about the starting PH. Soil has more buffers than your nutrient mix, so it will pull the nutrient mix towards its ph more than the nutrient ph will pull the soil. There are some caveats to this. If you overfeed (higher PPMs than necessary) the nutrient solution will have more power to pull the soil. Over time it could have an effect. Or, if your nutrient solution is extremely low, that might have a longer-term consequence. But, if you're in the 6.0-7.0 range, and not overfeeding, that should be good.

If you're new to growing it wouldn't hurt to ph to 6.3-6.8 to be cautious. For example, you probably dont' know if you overfeed. That's something you learn if you encounter salt buildup which results in nute lockout in early flower. You want to get to the point you don't get salt accumulation. When you're there, the ph of your nutrient solution will matter less.

Sativied said:

Yes, if your nutes lower it from 6.8 to 6.1 it would likely lower it less if you use less.

The amount recommended on the bottle is nearly always too much. You could give a little less so it drops the ph less, or give water only once every 3 days or so (feed-feed-water, or water-water-feed).

Also, it seems the DNF already contains Ca and Mg. And with 6.8 start ph you're probably using tap water with some ca and mg already right?

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Ok thanks man... Yes I am using tap water and I let it sit for 24-48 hours before using it... I usually water every couple of days then I only give nutrients on the weekend... I'll try cutting back to maybe 15 A and 15 B and cut the Cal-Mag out altogether... Thanks for the advice it's much appreciated!!

Thanks AZ2000.... I won't be flowering these inside I am just trying to get them good enough to take some clones.... I already took one batch and screwed them up really bad... I have a Clone King aeroponic cloner coming in the mail right now.... Anybody have thoughts or opinions on those? I see about 50% of post I check say to use to gel and not to scrape the stem but then the other 50% say the exact opposite of that....

What soil are you using ?

boilingoil said:

What soil are you using ?

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Just a cheap kind from Candian Tire (premier tech) I think is the name with some CIL Pro Mix added in.... I just transplanted 2 from smaller pots into Triple mix and CIL worm
castings so I hope they are happier with that.... At the time in January all I could get was cheap no name type soil... The better stuff just started coming into stock a couple days ago...

If it is peat based, it is considered soilless unless it is amended with organics.