My pH Levels wont change. Need Help Quick!

S

Smolenja10

Well-Known Member
Alright, well, its been a tough grow. My last grow (AK48 in sig), came out fantastic, but I'm worried about this Swiss Cheese girl.
She veg'd out for a little over 4 weeks, and is currently almost 5 weeks into flowering.
She's burned and battered, and I need help. Shes having all different sorts of deficiencies, the main culprit? Nutrient lock-out..
My soil pH is low, very, very, very low. in the 4.5 to 5.5 range with no way to change it. Ive added crushed/pulverized lime to the soil as well as watered with it, tried foliar feeding to stop burn and calcium deficiency, and I dont want to add any more nutes in fear of making things worse. Ive tried flushing around 3 times with multiple gallons of water each time. I need to raise my pH and quickly, otherwise my heading is for stormy waters.

Also, she's developing slowly and buds are remaining small for this reason, I think. At least that's what it looks like.

HOW CAN I RAISE MY PH VERY QUICKLY, IN SOIL, WITH A MATURING PLANT ALREADY PLANTED IN IT?
I fear if this doesn't happen fast, she'll die before her time....

OTHER DETAILS:
FFOF soil
-Botannicare Pure Blend Pro Grow, Bloom, And Cal-Mag
-150w HPS
-Once again, pH between 4.5-5.5
- The pH of my water/nutrient mixtures is ALWAYS between 6.5-7.0
-3 gal nursery pot
-Topped once
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Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
What type\brand of soil or soil-less mix are you using exactly?

Most likely it is sphagnum-based, sphagnum peat is acidic and typically has a pH around 4.5 and might need to be limed a bit more frequently. I would recommend making sure you have some humus\compost\earthworm castings in your soil next time. Most importantly, right now you need micronized dolomitic limestone. Micronized means it has been ground up to a very fine powder so it will begin to influence media pH rather quickly. The larger the particles of lime, the longer it will take to work.

You can apply a tablespoon or two of micronized lime (per gallon of mix) to the surface of the soil, scratch it in and water thoroughly. You could also mix a couple tablespoons or more to a gallon of water and agitate the hell out of it while you apply it.

Also, are you using liquid pH Up to adjust the pH of your fertigation solutions? Adequate amounts of lime should prevent any pH issues without having to use drops.
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
Nullis said:
What type\brand of soil or soil-less mix are you using exactly?

Most likely it is sphagnum-based, sphagnum peat is acidic and typically has a pH around 4.5 and might need to be limed a bit more frequently. I would recommend making sure you have some humus\compost\earthworm castings in your soil next time. Most importantly, right now you need micronized dolomitic limestone. Micronized means it has been ground up to a very fine powder so it will begin to influence media pH rather quickly. The larger the particles of lime, the longer it will take to work.

You can apply a tablespoon or two of micronized lime (per gallon of mix) to the surface of the soil, scratch it in and water thoroughly. You could also mix a couple tablespoons or more to a gallon of water and agitate the hell out of it while you apply it.

Also, are you using liquid pH Up to adjust the pH of your fertigation solutions? Adequate amounts of lime should prevent any pH issues without having to use drops.
Click to expand...
i had the same problem and what Nullis is saying is what i done, it fixed it after a couple watering 4 weeks into flowering my lime was ground half powder half small pebbles!!
 
S

Smolenja10

Well-Known Member
Nullis said:
What type\brand of soil or soil-less mix are you using exactly?

Most likely it is sphagnum-based, sphagnum peat is acidic and typically has a pH around 4.5 and might need to be limed a bit more frequently. I would recommend making sure you have some humus\compost\earthworm castings in your soil next time. Most importantly, right now you need micronized dolomitic limestone. Micronized means it has been ground up to a very fine powder so it will begin to influence media pH rather quickly. The larger the particles of lime, the longer it will take to work.

You can apply a tablespoon or two of micronized lime (per gallon of mix) to the surface of the soil, scratch it in and water thoroughly. You could also mix a couple tablespoons or more to a gallon of water and agitate the hell out of it while you apply it.

Also, are you using liquid pH Up to adjust the pH of your fertigation solutions? Adequate amounts of lime should prevent any pH issues without having to use drops.
Click to expand...
I dont mean to be rude here or anything, but your the perfect example of the kid in school who never read directions. Please refer to my original post and it will answer all your questions.
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
Smolenja10 said:
I dont mean to be rude here or anything, but your the perfect example of the kid in school who never read directions. Please refer to my original post and it will answer all your questions.
Click to expand...
really it never worked with the lime? what kind did you use and how much? i also used around 6 table spoons of ground up egg shells first then i had to use say 4 table spoons the first time raised it slightly then used 4 more table spoons of lime to revert her back up to 6.1ish... my leaves looked the same as yours i fed it molasses every watering which is acidic but good for your soil maybe that helped check out my grow she rebounded really well slowly but surely i still have alot of bad leaves mostly bigger fan leaves!!
i may have to use another little bit later after my next watering and i test it again
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
heres my pics:
My Early Symptoms:


Later Symtoms



This was the plant at first Before i started trying to fix the problem at say week 2 of 12/12 :


This is After:


sorry its abit blurry but you can see my still bad leaves at the bottom pic taken yesterday week 6 flowering!!
 
S

Smolenja10

Well-Known Member
greennewfie said:
really it never worked with the lime? what kind did you use and how much? i also used around 6 table spoons of ground up egg shells first then i had to use say 4 table spoons the first time raised it slightly then used 4 more table spoons of lime to revert her back up to 6.1ish... my leaves looked the same as yours i fed it molasses every watering which is acidic but good for your soil maybe that helped check out my grow she rebounded really well slowly but surely i still have alot of bad leaves mostly bigger fan leaves!!
i may have to use another little bit later after my next watering and i test it again
Click to expand...
How did you incorporate the lime? Crushed sprinkled it on your soil then watered? or crushed then agitated and dissolved in water?
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
i added 2 tablespoons in the water the first time but never really dissolved so i sprinkled 2 more tablespoons all over the top soil and watered it in, and 2nd time i took 4 more table spoons sprinkled in over the top and watered it in again and a half hour later my run off was 6.1ish
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
also i added molasses every time too with no nutes, the bad leaves still died off but slowly 1 every couple days not a couple everyday like it was doing and also some of the upper leave still have gotten small symptoms but never spread as fast, but buds still growin good after.. to fast of a ph change can be worst then the problem you already have from what i have heard!!
 
S

Smolenja10

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the help. Ill be sure to try it next watering as i watered today with some lime, no exact measurement, but i would say enough to cover my palm, maybe a little less than half a handful. ill probably have to water them in 3-5, so well see again then.
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
Smolenja10 said:
I dont mean to be rude here or anything, but your the perfect example of the kid in school who never read directions. Please refer to my original post and it will answer all your questions.
Click to expand...
How so?

Did you miss the part where I told you that crushed/pulverized lime is likely to take much longer to work than MICRONIZED lime? You would not be having such a low pH right now if you had watered in enough MICRONIZED dolomite.
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
Nullis said:
How so?

Did you miss the part where I told you that crushed/pulverized lime is likely to take much longer to work than MICRONIZED lime? You would not be having such a low pH right now if you had watered in enough MICRONIZED dolomite.
Click to expand...
Hey Nullis, i did the same i was told that you shouldnt raise your ph any more then .5 a day could be worst off then he already is so what he already done should help him just gotta use it a couple times let it slowly work in and change through out the next week or so.. correct me if im wrong!! i understand what your saying there to micronized into like a flour powder for instant ph change, kinda like hydrated lime does!!:joint:
 
Jack Harer

Jack Harer

Well-Known Member
This aint rocket science (although a lot of people try to over engineer this) It's simply Biology and Botany.

I got someone to think..........my work here is done! LOL Thanx greennewfie!! I like it when folks are interested in learning.
 
greennewfie

greennewfie

Active Member
no problem thanks man, really interesting stuff i love to learn new things and this is alot of detail gonna be studying this for awhile to completely understand it all lol!!
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
greennewfie said:
Hey Nullis, i did the same i was told that you shouldnt raise your ph any more then .5 a day could be worst off then he already is so what he already done should help him just gotta use it a couple times let it slowly work in and change through out the next week or so.. correct me if im wrong!! i understand what your saying there to micronized into like a flour powder for instant ph change, kinda like hydrated lime does!!:joint:
Click to expand...
It's fine to raise your soil pH up to a point at a time. When it is that low (below 5) and issues are apparent the problem needs to be fixed ASAP. Even once the pH returns to an acceptable range, it is still going to take a week or more before you see the plant really begin to recover.

Also not sure what molasses has to do with this. That isn't going to help with a pH problem. Healthy properly amended living soil will largely take care of itself in terms of pH.
 
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