How to raise the ph of my soil quickly.

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
"Herb, you check those 200 this week. Alan, you check the rest. By the time you finish it'll be time to start doing it again."

You check medium pH using the slurry method. If you're actually serious about it. Not frigging runoff.
 

IKilledIt

Member
Im sorry, its foxfarm happy frog, and idk why, im assuming hmy bf thought we needed to? Lol we are newer growers im sorry
Im sorry, its foxfarm happy frog, and idk why, im assuming hmy bf thought we needed to? Lol we are newer growers im sorry
Got this here off the forum under I will never use fox farm again. But I did the same test the other day and my bags of FF HF came in at a PH 5.30. The FFOF came in at a PH 6.20. I did the same method. 1/2 soil 1/2 tap water. Let stand a bit and tested. So FF HF is acidic out of the bag. Here’s the original post.

Know this is old, but why start a new thread. I have been using Fox Farms Happy Frog recently and was told by the clerk that it is PH balanced. This I found on their website..
All of our soils are pH adjusted between the ranges of 6.3-6.8. This ensures an optimal growing environment.
I also found this nugget of info that has proved invaluable to me..
Helpful Hint: testing for pH in soil is very different than when you test in water. Testing the runoff from a container is not always accurate as the water just drains out nutrients. If you want to use your current pH instrument instead of one calibrated for soil, you must test your pH with a slurry test. Take ½ cup of soil and mix with 1 cup of water. Let it sit for 30 minutes and test away. We recommend that everyone test their pH as it is a top cause for many plant problems, but spend the extra money on a better meter and keep the tip clean.
Click to expand...
Also their site says this about HF...
Our Happy Frog Potting Soil has the added benefit of soil-dwelling microbes and fungi that help break down organic matter and feed the plant roots. Happy Frog has the same earthworm castings, bat guano, and composted forest humus that make up all our fine soil blends.
So Happy frog seems to lack ...
Pacific Northwest sea-going fish and crab meal.
Not sure of the benefits of the fish/crab meal but gonna find out

So being the perfectionist I am I tested Happy Frog right out of the bag using the slurry method. Drum roll please.......... PH of 5.6 :finger:

WTF, but never fear... dolomite lime is here. I added the equivalent of a little over 2 TBSP per gallon of soil mixed well watered and let sit about an hour. I then took another slurry test of the limed soil.... let sit 30 min....... Drum roll Please... PH of 6.6 :clap:

Lesson I learned, test your soil BEFORE planting. I only had one bag seed plant in HF without the lime and its showing some deficiency's but when I transplanted I added the lime and new growth looks really good, nice and dark green and lush. I am going to test Ocean Forrest on my next run, but HF seems to be a solid soil but its gonna need some lime.
 

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
You do know Firefox is a Web Browser right? Not really a growing medium.

And if you mean Fox Farms Ocean Forest, it doesn't have any dolomite in it. Oyster shell flour, lol.

Ingredients: Composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, sandy loam, perlite, bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp, and oyster shell (for pH adjustment).
Oops, typo there. I know that you are just itching to prove me wrong, but she said she's using Happy Frog, which does have dolomite lime in it. Slow your roll and you might learn something.

20190911_071324.jpg
 

lusidghost

Well-Known Member
How many of us grew for years without ever checking frigging pH? If you've always checked you haven't been growing long. Seriously. You think giant commercial grows in containers are checking runoff pH? Lol. Lol.
I think this is the first time I've ever seen a double "lol" pulled off. It made me lol.
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
Runoff pH. The new "cal mag" and "bout a pound" new standard answer.
either one of these terms used as a reason is so suspect . i normally dont interat with the threads

i do not ever find a problem with a PH pen or a PPM meter. those are data set points they show trends not problems.




It's all good man. I haven't checked my pH in a long ass time actually. I was just trying to help out the anxious punk rock chick, lol.

I've honestly got mad respect for you living in AK like you do. Still would love to see pics.
never chase PH run off, alwsay use it to show trends

love all these measure and repeat growers growing by numbers

you see monday was a 7, a 56, and 98 so obviously i am a gardener

round 2

def reading this though, im not as familiar with soil amendments as i am others but i have some experience

have you tried adding gypsum with your dolomite to raise PH.... we used gypsum at the greenhouse in soils but thats the limit of what i know probably not helpful
 

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Is this guy still alive?
LOL I honestly don't know. He was an old Hell's Angel and his grow "room" was a 50s bomb shelter, it was pretty sweet. I should have also said he used to taste all his nutrients going in too, maybe that makes more sense. I never got it, but I don't get those sommelier people who can taste all sorts of things in wine either. He was like a shit sommelier.
 

IKilledIt

Member
The guy who originally showed me how to grow used to dip his finger in the runoff and lick it, he swore he could tell all sorts of info from it. Let me know if you try it!
Never gave it the finger taste test. But may of times used the finger smell test.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
either one of these terms used as a reason is so suspect . i normally dont interat with the threads

i do not ever find a problem with a PH pen or a PPM meter. those are data set points they show trends not problems.





never chase PH run off, alwsay use it to show trends

love all these measure and repeat growers growing by numbers

you see monday was a 7, a 56, and 98 so obviously i am a gardener

round 2

def reading this though, im not as familiar with soil amendments as i am others but i have some experience

have you tried adding gypsum with your dolomite to raise PH.... we used gypsum at the greenhouse in soils but thats the limit of what i know probably not helpful
I know runoff isn't a good way to check pH. I have a BlueLab pH pH probe.

I don't use dolomite. I haven't been adding anything for pH.
 
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