Question for soilless mix growers (sphagnum peat moss and ph)

cary schellie

cary schellie

Active Member
I switched to sphagnum peat moss and perlite as a medium due to the low cost. I have no experience with checking ph. I realized now that sphagnum is ph 3-5 to start and over time gets even more acidic. From now on I'm gonna mix dolimite lime into my soilless mix. My question is, the plants I already have potted, can I mix lime with water and add it to stabilize, and if so what would the mix be and how often? Also when I mix my next soil how much lime do I add?
 
cary schellie

cary schellie

Active Member
i ask if strippers suck it at work and get 10 million answers but actually ask a question bout growing and nothing
 
GoblinFarmer

GoblinFarmer

Member
just wondering you that 420 rapbattle dude from weedmaps??? You in SD>>? he he... just wondering.
yeah peatmoss is gonna give you a little headace if you dont read up on it some more. Thats why many go coco...you can get cheap coco from pretty much anywhere...even the big chunky stuff that comes in a block and asks to add water.many options to ph up and down if you want to play the balancing game. good luck.
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
Same deal with the lime top dressed or added to the mix. 2tbl/gallon of mix (ex:6tbl for a 3 gal container), or 1cup/cf of mix.

Don't bother mixing it with water. It's ground up rock, doesn't really dissolve and will just end up on the bottom of your watering can. If you can scratch it into the surface some, that helps.

When adding to a mix before use, you need to moisten it to get it started working.

I've been making my own peat based mix for well over 30 years. Lime is the second ingredient after I measure out the peat moss. Trying to grow in peat without using lime is like pissing into the wind, but more frustrating. LOL This goes for chemicals or organics. I used Jack's Classic (still do), and have started with organics about 3 years ago.

HTH

Wet
 
Undercover Cop

Undercover Cop

Active Member
Ive gone rockwool for this past grow... its ok. Ive never doon sphagum before but I never had any problems using equal parts lava rock pebbles ($3 for a 40lb bag at home depot) Perlite (same) and Vermiculite (a little more $ but still cheap as hell for a big bag) 1/3 ea lava/perlite/vermiculite. Will give lots of aeration and tiny channels for the roots to grow through but excellent water retention and drainage. Vermiculite is like a little rock sponge. Ive been considering going back to that mix
 
cary schellie

cary schellie

Active Member
Wetdog said:
Same deal with the lime top dressed or added to the mix. 2tbl/gallon of mix (ex:6tbl for a 3 gal container), or 1cup/cf of mix.

Don't bother mixing it with water. It's ground up rock, doesn't really dissolve and will just end up on the bottom of your watering can. If you can scratch it into the surface some, that helps.

When adding to a mix before use, you need to moisten it to get it started working.

I've been making my own peat based mix for well over 30 years. Lime is the second ingredient after I measure out the peat moss. Trying to grow in peat without using lime is like pissing into the wind, but more frustrating. LOL This goes for chemicals or organics. I used Jack's Classic (still do), and have started with organics about 3 years ago.

HTH

Wet
Click to expand...
man thanks so much, when u say lime u mean dolimite not hydrated right, where can I get more info about growing in peat?
 
cary schellie

cary schellie

Active Member
Wetdog said:
Same deal with the lime top dressed or added to the mix. 2tbl/gallon of mix (ex:6tbl for a 3 gal container), or 1cup/cf of mix.

Don't bother mixing it with water. It's ground up rock, doesn't really dissolve and will just end up on the bottom of your watering can. If you can scratch it into the surface some, that helps.

When adding to a mix before use, you need to moisten it to get it started working.

I've been making my own peat based mix for well over 30 years. Lime is the second ingredient after I measure out the peat moss. Trying to grow in peat without using lime is like pissing into the wind, but more frustrating. LOL This goes for chemicals or organics. I used Jack's Classic (still do), and have started with organics about 3 years ago.

HTH

Wet
Click to expand...
I also mix perlite and vermiculate is that a good mix?
 
cary schellie

cary schellie

Active Member
Im still kinda confused about how and how often to check ph, basically just test the run off when ever I feed or water?
 
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