ph and organic's

og18

Well-Known Member
Hello RIU i was wndering if im doingthings right im using ffof and happy frog
my nutes are bio bizzz grow,biobizz bloom,ff big bloom,bs mls, my problem is the ph issue when i check the ph before i use the tea it reads 8.0 so do i ph down or just use as is im lost on this one and have been wasting because i dont want to mess things up ne help would be appericated and rep to those who help:roll:
 

Cannabisculture

Active Member
If it is reading that high then i would use a pH down like lime juice. Shoot for 6.8
I have noticed that some organic teas can cause the pH to plummet so always know your feeding recipes pH is correct before applying. I have personally never seen a high pH from a tea.
But i do know how much damage it can do, ruined some seedlings by applying an organic tea that had a pH of 4.0 (dumbass mistake)
Doesn't hurt larger plants as much if you fix it within a week but can kill sensitive or juvenile plants rapidly.
Good luck!
 

Monkeymonk840

Active Member
i use supersoil and my tap ph is around 7.2 i use advanced ph down but if u dont like that use earth juice line. i prefer advanced. bring it down to 6.2 to 6.8 after adding nutes. most teas are acidic. so itll go down when u add. check ur soil ph or runoff water as well. try subcools super soil its all organic i use fox farms soil for the base and add guano kelp bone blood meal composted maure my own compost. all i do is add water that is ph'd and some carbs iuse bud candy, and b vitamins, b 52, and thats it. never had bigger or better before.
 

personified

Active Member
Never have checked my tea for pH the only concern I ever have is how hot I make it. Do not even use my Ph meter there is no need with organics. Microbs adjust pH to convert the materials into nutrition for the plants. Read the leaves and the plant will communicate just fine.
 

OSG

Member
Og18..... When you add grow and/or bloom fertilizers, each will affect the pH in different ways. If you can dail the pH of your feeding solution to a range of 5.5 to 6.5 you'll get the best results.
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Try this, next time before you add any fertilizers to your water. Put your feeding water in a 3 or 5 gallon bucket, and oxygenate it using a cheap aquarium air pump & air stone overnight (or about 8 hours).
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Then turn off the air pump, and check the pH of the water, it will be stable and any additives from the water company, that can off gas, will have.
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Write down that pH reading, then add only one of your fertilizers or add-in. Stir well, and wait at least one minute. Check the pH. Did it go down, go up, or stay the same (rarely) ? Now add the next one, and do the same.
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Doing this, will confirm how the fertilizers & add-ins you use, affect the overall pH.
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Below a pH of 5.5, the amount of nutrients the plant can uptake are greatly reduced. Above a pH of 6.5, the amount of Nitrogen a plant can uptake, starts to fall off.
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I personally target all my feeding solutions at a pH of 6.1 (kind of the sweet spot). The soil I use, is recycled from several grows back. I always have some composting, being amended (with Azomite, etc..), and when it's finished it tends to be at a pH of about 6.4 to 6.6 I like those numbers, because when I feed at pH of 6.1 early in the grow, Nitorgen is very available.
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The pH of the soil will drop a bit over time, but later, as I add High P Guano Teas, or topdress it, (two weeks) prior to flowering, it will drift back upwards slowly, reducing the amount of Nitrogen uptake slightly, whilel increasing the uptake of Phosphorus & Potassium. Which is what you want.
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Adding pH up or down, should only be done, if you don't fall into the range you want, after all fertilziers and add-in, have been added. I like Earth Juice's dry pH up & down, if I have to use either.
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Feeding low, slow and steady.......produces the best buds....
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P.S. - If your tap water has a pH of 7.5 or above, after being bubbled overnight, seriously consider filtering it, or a R/O water system. Water from the tap with a high pH, and dissolved solids count (TDS or EC) can really work against you over the course of a grow. In nature, the water Mary recieves tends to be in a pH range of 5.8 to 6.4, and have a TDS reading of 100 ppm or less.
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Hope that helps.....
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watchhowIdoit

New Member
When growing in soil no matter what you buffer your feeding solutions too, take it to 4.0 if you like or leave it at 8.0, its going to buffer to the mediums pH in about a 1/2 hr or so...a mediums pH cannot be adjusted simply by running pHed water through it....OP I would not adjust your tea, just feed it as is....
 

OSG

Member
WatchhowIdoit..... Running a pH below 5 will damage feeder roots, I would never advise going below a pH of 5.5 for any feeding solution, wheter it be chem ferts, organic ones, like Bio Bizz, BMO, Earth Juice, Guano Teas or Compost Teas. The medium can only self regulate, if you don't kill off the micro-life in it. A range of 5.5 to 6.5 for feeding, is the safe way to go.
 

og18

Well-Known Member
thanks for all the quick replies everyone has got their rep right?
i willl try out what osg says first the come back and let you know what the results are
ifthat dosent work the ill try something else my tap ph is around 7.5 to 8
should i add my great wite before i add my nutes or what ill post some pics of what i have and how i add later on tonight
 

watchhowIdoit

New Member
WatchhowIdoit..... Running a pH below 5 will damage feeder roots, I would never advise going below a pH of 5.5 for any feeding solution, wheter it be chem ferts, organic ones, like Bio Bizz, BMO, Earth Juice, Guano Teas or Compost Teas. The medium can only self regulate, if you don't kill off the micro-life in it. A range of 5.5 to 6.5 for feeding, is the safe way to go.
The pH range your feeding your plants at in a soil grow is the pH of the medium. Low 6's to the high 7's, MJ does pretty well. But 6.2 - 7 is close to prime. The pH of your feeding solutions mean pretty much nothing to the plant or medium. Almost sounds like your trying to treat a soil grow the same as a hydro grow.....
 

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Watch is right on the money. If you have microbes then all this pH balancing is simply leftover habits from hydro days. I has no place in soil grows where the microlife is engaged. Having said that, if you're pouring ferts into a medium, you've likely got a very dysfunctional microbial world and who really knows what's going on. I still can't figure out why guys are so attracted to more and more money spent of bottled ferts. I used to think it was the pretty labels. I wish we had a natural soil forum.
 

og18

Well-Known Member
o ok i always thought that what goes in comes out wit that being said
ph should be between 6.2-7 so if its 9 then what to do... Rrog understand the thread i was asking a ? if what i was doing was right or wrong that what the help's for right
 

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
o ok i always thought that what goes in comes out wit that being said
ph should be between 6.2-7 so if its 9 then what to do... Rrog understand the thread i was asking a ? if what i was doing was right or wrong that what the help's for right
Simply do what gardeners and farmers do. Add dolomite lime to your soil mix and be done with it.

Adding the lime will buffer your soil into the proper range of 6.2-7.0 and it won't matter the pH of whatever liquid you apply. 5.0 will get brought up and 8.0 will get brought down. Dolomite lime has a pH of 7.0, so it won't be over that. The soil usually ends up ~6.6-6.8.

Farmers and gardeners get their soil pH right before the growing season and that is pretty much it. Do you think they would be out there pHing hundreds if not thousands of gallons of irrigation water?

All this pHing of irrigation water and nutrients seems to be a stoner concept found on mj forums and nowhere else. Nothing like complicating the simple. LOL

Wet
 

watchhowIdoit

New Member
I suggest checking the calibration of your pen. With the things you are using I just do not see how you are getting a pH reading of 9, thats really high....
 

Big Bambu

Member
Does anyone have experience with Plagron's Bat Mix? http://www.plagron.nl/Index_uk.htm I transplanted my 9 plants into this soil about 2 weeks before
12/12 lighting. It's low in Nit. so it should be perfect for blooming. It's also fairly hot otherwise with Bat guano and worm compost as some of their main
nutes. I had a lot of problems during veg. with low ph in my soil mix which was peat heavy, and had a nute lockout. That's why i switched soils. Now after about 3 weeks with this soil, the ph has gone up from 6.7 to 7.3 and the only thing i'm adding is water. My tap water is between 7.9 and 8.3 so i'm using
vinegar to bring it down. but obviously not enough. My plants are getting a lot of yellow leaves starting at the bottom and working up to the middle and a few near the top. some have brown dots, but most just yellow starting at the tips and edges. I foliar fed with Nit. twice and once wit epsom salts in the last 2 weeks with not a lot of change.
My setup is 600 watt dual spectrum bulb one extractor fan 187m3/hr or 110 cfm, and 2-6 in. desk fans. Humidity and temps are in good range.
I think that i just need to bring down the ph, but i'm not sure if that's enough or how to do that safely and quickly.
I've heard that in organics ph is not that important, but something is really wrong here. These yellow leaves really freak me out.
I would appreciate any help with this problem. Thanks in advance.

Bambu Here are some pics.
 

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Cooter@666

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have experience with Plagron's Bat Mix? http://www.plagron.nl/Index_uk.htm I transplanted my 9 plants into this soil about 2 weeks before
12/12 lighting. It's low in Nit. so it should be perfect for blooming. It's also fairly hot otherwise with Bat guano and worm compost as some of their main
nutes. I had a lot of problems during veg. with low ph in my soil mix which was peat heavy, and had a nute lockout. That's why i switched soils. Now after about 3 weeks with this soil, the ph has gone up from 6.7 to 7.3 and the only thing i'm adding is water. My tap water is between 7.9 and 8.3 so i'm using
vinegar to bring it down. but obviously not enough. My plants are getting a lot of yellow leaves starting at the bottom and working up to the middle and a few near the top. some have brown dots, but most just yellow starting at the tips and edges. I foliar fed with Nit. twice and once wit epsom salts in the last 2 weeks with not a lot of change.
My setup is 600 watt dual spectrum bulb one extractor fan 187m3/hr or 110 cfm, and 2-6 in. desk fans. Humidity and temps are in good range.
I think that i just need to bring down the ph, but i'm not sure if that's enough or how to do that safely and quickly.
I've heard that in organics ph is not that important, but something is really wrong here. These yellow leaves really freak me out.
I would appreciate any help with this problem. Thanks in advance.

Bambu Here are some pics.
first off adjust your soil with a little dolomite or garden lime, if your soil is amended correctly your plants should green up fairly quick
 

Big Bambu

Member
I have some J Arthur Bowerers Garden Lime that's made for adding lime to outdoor gardens. It's very fine and is kind of a tan or beige color. I ph tested it
and it's 7.7. Would that be safe to use. Should i mix it with water or sprinkle it on top of the soil and water?
Plants are not really due for watering for another day or so.
Thanks for responding Cooter.
 

Cooter@666

Well-Known Member
No Worries Man!...I would scratch it into the first few inches of soil before you water next. You might want to add a little Epsom Salt to the soil too. If you tested the lime with distilled water you'd notice the ph. would be a lot closer to 7, I’m making the assumption that you use regular tap water when you tested it.
 

og18

Well-Known Member
looks like nitrogen but it also look like it needs to be transplanted if you do this before you trans plant
put dolimite lime in the soil then transplant with a low nitrogen nute or florial spray that should help
 
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