Proper ph of soil runoff?

I tried an amended soil mix, a lighter version of super soil, and wasn't very happy with the results of the grow. When I measured the ph level of the runoff it was at 5.6 and this seemed pretty low. When I checked it again it was 5.8. What should the ph be reading for runoff? Would it change over the course of the grow? When I put some straight Fox Farm in a cup and ran bottled water through it had a 6.8 reading. I have some soil left over and was wondering if I added lime to it if it would increase the ph enough. I can't believe I continue to find ways to fuck up dirt grows.

don't worry about runoff ph just make sure what your putting in is right I don't ph anything and have never had any problems

agree, if your soil have the prober PH to start out with (6-7) you shouldn't worry to much about run off, cant count on that

Exactly what they said.. Forget the run off PH, waste of time for most grows..
I have grown in FOX Farms for 4 str8 grows, 2 indoor 2 outdoor and NEVER ONCE checked my PH... I do though feed them with nutes. Now I am not saying you should follow my lead, but the point I am making is that if you use a good soil, and your case seems you arent..... then the PH # is less a concern than say if you were in Coco or some other hydroponic medium.

Using Lime or Epsom Salt can help soils that are deficient.

Thanks for the responses, I am glad to hear that not checking ph works well for some. It didn't work out so well for me this time.

stillfungi said:

Thanks for the responses, I am glad to hear that not checking ph works well for some. It didn't work out so well for me this time.

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what makes you think you have a ph problem?? got some pics?

Several issues make me think ph could be an issue. On an earlier grow I used a ph meter that wasn't calibrated. When I got the 7.0 solution at the end of the grow(!) I found that what I thought was 6.5 was actually 5.2. The state of this grow looks a lot like that grow, close to the real thing but not delivering the genetic qualities that the dna should have offered. The smell is not close to where it should be; my last (and only good) grow had an overwhelming odor. Two scrubbers and an exhaust fan couldn't hide it. The roots developed fine, the two that I checked filled the 5 gal smart pot, but the aggressive growth never really got going with this grow. That's why I was curious about ideal runoff numbers.
I'm not so good with uploading pictures and am somewhat embarrassed by the current appearance of the girls - nobody looks good at that age. I would guesstimate that they will deliver about 75-90g each under 1000W (total 800g), last time the average was 110g per for a total of 950. I hope that I'm being pessimistic but it walks and talks like a duck and the genetics are solid (RP/Dinafem/G13) so it must be the operator. Thanks for taking the time man, much appreciated. I gotta get better at this.

stillfungi said:

Thanks for the responses, I am glad to hear that not checking ph works well for some. It didn't work out so well for me this time.

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I always check my feed water and adjust as necessary. I don't test run off as it will give you a reading basically of the feed water. For accurate measurement of the soil I use a test kit, which will also give me the NPK reading. That's just the way I do it. Next time mix lime with the soil, it will stabilize the ph of the soil to around 6.5 - 7. Good luck

Mend with dlime all organic soil and ingredients plus r o water no need to ph anything,first time checked run off years ago was like 5,worried a min but things turned out