Soil pH adjustments in mid flower

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
Ladies are 3 weeks into flower with an expected finish date of 55 days. 7 gal containers, sunshine mix containing peat and some elements to help with pH. The mix was very close to 7 out of the bag. I feed nuts at 6.4 during flower (thinking about going higher to 6.7), and alternate between feeding nuts and plain water feedings. The top 4 - 6 inches of my soil reads 6.5-6.7, but down about a inch or two from the drain holes pH reads like 5.0-5.5. What can I do to try to bring everything back up to mid 6's? What can I do to help avoid this situation in the future?
 

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
After a 2 stage sediment filter my tap pH is like 7.3. Will flushing with like 5 gals of that water and waiting a few days be enough to expect the soils pH to go back between 6.5 and 7?
 

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
Wouldn't worry too much about the pH of the Promix. The measurement isn't going to be accurate for several reasons so it doesn't mean anything. What matters with peat is what you're putting in it. As long as your water/nute mix is pH 6.5 or so-ish you're all good.
 

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
Peat usually has a low pH.
add some lime, Eggs shells, couple tablets of TUMS. You can run at pH 7.0 is better than pH 5.5

[h=3]Types of Lime for Organic Garden Plants[/h]Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) makes up more than 4% of the earth's crust. Sometimes called agricultural lime, this is the lime that is also used as an antacid. The calcium in this type of lime is slow release, so not good for immediate results. This lime is usually added to soil to raise the pH of acid soil.
Calcium-Magnesium Carbonate (CaCO3-MgCO3) or dolomitic lime also adds magnesium to the soil, and also works slowly.
Calcium Oxide, also called burned or quick lime (CaO) acts very quickly, but must be used with caution, as it can damage plants if you use too much.
Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) is made by adding water to Calcium Oxide. It is also known by homemakers as pickling lime, and is used to crisp vegetables and fruit rinds for preserving. It isn't usually used in agriculture.

[h=3]Calcium for Alkaline Organic Garden Soils[/h]All of the limes will raise the pH of the soil. So what do you do if you already have alkaline soil?
Calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4·2H2O.[3]), or Gypsum, can be used to lower the pH of alkaline soil and add calcium. If you are growing an acid loving crop, such as tomatoes or it's cousins, eggplants and peppers, and your soil is alkaline, this is what you should use.
Always follow label directions when using lime, because over-liming can be more detrimental to the plants than calcium deficiency. Before planting, it's always best to get a soil test done to determine exactly what you need to add to the soil to get the best pH. The proper pH can make nutrients like calcium more available to your garden plants, and help you have a healthier organic garden before you even start.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
just measure the water ph. your all set .unless they look sick. your all good
Agreed .. I've never checked run off pH in my life..
If you're not having any issues, I always suggest leave well enough alone .. no need to make things harder than they need be ime..
 

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
SH thank you. After reading up for a day through some of UB's posts I am not concerned with my soil pH. If things are done correctly then the soil will regulate it's self. That being said, I am experiencing leaf drop 3 weeks into flower. Not real bad, but still makes me sad. Dismissing pH I've concluded I have a uptake problem because of salts. Now I have flushed each 7 gal pot with 4 gals of water a day ago.... PH is 7.3 out the tap and that's how I left it. How do I control this salt build up? How do I know when I've flushed enough to call it flushed? I see others never have to flush. What should my just water run off look like? Mine looks like piss, dark piss, like after smoking. UB thank you and I'm eager to learn. Anything else you got I'll happily listen
 

Gquebed

Well-Known Member
7.3 is a little high. That might be your problem. There's a chart online somewhere that shows what pH range that each nutrient likes best. 6.5 is the level that "most" of the nutrients "agree" on. As for your run-off, that colour is normal. To avoid salt build up just make sure there's a good amount of run-off after each time you water or water/feed. Doesn't hurt to flush after every month or so, but I've found that unnecessary as long as you're get a good amount of run off each time. Right now, I'd say just make sure the pH is 6.5 every time to water/feed and see what happens...
 

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
Thank you. Im going to post a new thread with this topic and follow up with results and how it all worked out
 

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't throw PH out the window yet. Buy a real soil test kit ($25 on Amazon) and measure the actual PH of the soil. 7, which is neutral, really doesn't work well for pot. They like slightly acidic soil, around 6.5 to 6.3 PH for optimum intake of nutes. Good luck
 

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
I'm not throwing pH out the window... Just realizing that pH in soil is hard to mess up if you feed and water properly. My surface pH being 6.7. And the pH at the bottom of the pot being lower shows a build up of salts. My leaf drop is not necessarily due directly to pH, more due to over feeding and not enough run off, in turn causing salts to build, messing up pH levels, and slowing hopefully not stopping uptake. Trying to fix ph and not knowing the the source of the issue id surly be in this boat again soon. Make sense?
 

Oldman13

Member
Ladies are 3 weeks into flower with an expected finish date of 55 days. 7 gal containers, sunshine mix containing peat and some elements to help with pH. The mix was very close to 7 out of the bag. I feed nuts at 6.4 during flower (thinking about going higher to 6.7), and alternate between feeding nuts and plain water feedings. The top 4 - 6 inches of my soil reads 6.5-6.7, but down about a inch or two from the drain holes pH reads like 5.0-5.5. What can I do to try to bring everything back up to mid 6's? What can I do to help avoid this situation in the future?
Were you actually really asking for help here?
I mean I thought you were at first! So I read everybody's comment, and didn't really see any of them actually answer your question!?
That is if your question was really valid?
At first I thought you were asking for help on how to raise your pH in your entire 3 gallon container from 5.5 up to around 6.5 or so during flowering cycle which is usually around 8 weeks but could vary around 6 to 12 weeks sometimes.
I seen every answer imaginable from don't fuk with it basically because it doesn't look like there's something wrong with it why try to fix it?
In other words if it isn't broken why fix it?
Then I actually saw one person that actually fixed the plants heartburn or indigestion, LOL and yes of course 7.0 is definitely better than a 5.5 or a 5.0 when it comes to soil but not Hydroponics!
Do your plants really seem to be gasping out like they have heartburn if they are definitely give those young ladies some Tums..
if it Tums don't work maybe you well have to go to your Pharmacy and pick up some prescription grade bicarbonate!
You well need your doctor 2 right you out a prescription, in order to get prescription grade unless you are good friends with or you have something on the pharmacist and you have a back door program already in progress LOL and actually I think I saw one guy describe to you what the Earth was made of and a half-mile long list of possible or suggested remedies but not really implicating any of them?
I mean it was like he/ she who knows? Or even cares but they were just saying you could do this or you could do that oh, and this will probably work but it will like take forever! So it's no good for what you need! But if you use this particular product it will work much faster, but also it will most likely hurt or destroy your ladies!
But try if you want, I'm not going to really give you an positive answer!
I might know one but I'm not going to give it to you . So it's up to you, you go ahead and do any of these things I somewhat suggested oh, but you do,, make sure you do it at your own risk!!! like wow LOL but in the end all you wanted to do was fix-1 inch on the bottom of you're 3 gallon grow pot that is reading 5.5! Aren't all bottom portions of potted plants most likely going to have a much more acidic texture do to run off ? I mean it's kind of like everything settles there so unless you take precautions for it not to happen... but most people or not worried about last inch of their soil unless their entire planter is a total of three to four inches deep then you may have a problem LOL
but it's a good thing you weren't really looking for help or a popper answer! Because from the looks of things you certainly would not have received it from anybody that attempted or didn't attempt or whatever they did to help you! LOL LOL right on dude good luck you could of tried a small amount concentrated hydrated lime in your catch pan since it's only the bottom one inch, it is fast acting but not too much you would not want to give those ladies a hot foot anyway good luck, enjoy what you can and forget about the rest
 

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Were you actually really asking for help here?
I mean I thought you were at first! So I read everybody's comment, and didn't really see any of them actually answer your question!?
That is if your question was really valid?
At first I thought you were asking for help on how to raise your pH in your entire 3 gallon container from 5.5 up to around 6.5 or so during flowering cycle which is usually around 8 weeks but could vary around 6 to 12 weeks sometimes.
I seen every answer imaginable from don't fuk with it basically because it doesn't look like there's something wrong with it why try to fix it?
In other words if it isn't broken why fix it?
Then I actually saw one person that actually fixed the plants heartburn or indigestion, LOL and yes of course 7.0 is definitely better than a 5.5 or a 5.0 when it comes to soil but not Hydroponics!
Do your plants really seem to be gasping out like they have heartburn if they are definitely give those young ladies some Tums..
if it Tums don't work maybe you well have to go to your Pharmacy and pick up some prescription grade bicarbonate!
You well need your doctor 2 right you out a prescription, in order to get prescription grade unless you are good friends with or you have something on the pharmacist and you have a back door program already in progress LOL and actually I think I saw one guy describe to you what the Earth was made of and a half-mile long list of possible or suggested remedies but not really implicating any of them?
I mean it was like he/ she who knows? Or even cares but they were just saying you could do this or you could do that oh, and this will probably work but it will like take forever! So it's no good for what you need! But if you use this particular product it will work much faster, but also it will most likely hurt or destroy your ladies!
But try if you want, I'm not going to really give you an positive answer!
I might know one but I'm not going to give it to you . So it's up to you, you go ahead and do any of these things I somewhat suggested oh, but you do,, make sure you do it at your own risk!!! like wow LOL but in the end all you wanted to do was fix-1 inch on the bottom of you're 3 gallon grow pot that is reading 5.5! Aren't all bottom portions of potted plants most likely going to have a much more acidic texture do to run off ? I mean it's kind of like everything settles there so unless you take precautions for it not to happen... but most people or not worried about last inch of their soil unless their entire planter is a total of three to four inches deep then you may have a problem LOL
but it's a good thing you weren't really looking for help or a popper answer! Because from the looks of things you certainly would not have received it from anybody that attempted or didn't attempt or whatever they did to help you! LOL LOL right on dude good luck you could of tried a small amount concentrated hydrated lime in your catch pan since it's only the bottom one inch, it is fast acting but not too much you would not want to give those ladies a hot foot anyway good luck, enjoy what you can and forget about the rest
I was going to note the date of the thread and make some smarmy comment, but you seem to be having fun, so good day to you Sir!
 

Oldman13

Member
I was going to note the date of the thread and make some smarmy comment, but you seem to be having fun, so good day to you Sir!
LOL yeah I wasn't trying to insult anybody and by the way baking soda it's safer to use then hydrated lime! Mixing 1 tbsp the one gallon of water the check your pH the next day it won't last as long but if you're in the budding stage won't matter and you only need 8 weeks anyway or something like that.... again I apologize if I insulted or made anybody angry! I didn't mean to! I'm sure that you paid more attention to what everybody said and dove a little more into it, everybody would find the solutions you need from the information they gave:-)
 

Oldman13

Member
And yes 2013 my lucky number! Well 13 is not 20
but I'm curious on why they leave these things up so long? 2010 was the year I was slated to actually leave This world as we know it!
At times like that is when you realize you don't really have family or friends...
The warden tried her best to get all these so-called friends and family members to help but of course they were all worried they would not get paid back!
My medicines were like $5,000 a month I was a roofer local 36 my insurance covered 80% the only problem you had to come up with a hundred percent in order for them to cover the 80%! :-( the warden almost tour call of her hair out getting that money every month for over an entire year!
2012 they told me that if I didn't get out of California away from that life I most likely would not make it to the next year the medicines I had to take not only were expensive!
But also they were very strong basically killing every single thing in your body and if you were to take it long enough it also kills the body entirely !
So afterwards my liver was severely damaged and 2012 was the year I left that godforsaken place! 13 has always been my lucky number! So as I moved into 2013 I guess it paid off in the long run and I'm still kicking I must give all the credit to the warden though because if it wasn't for her 2013 may not have been my lucky year... and get this recently we just invested in our final resting places and guess what they cost $13,000 LOL don't know if that's considered lucky but it the number 13 seems to keep on chug chug chugging along... By the way what's the 13th letter in the alphabet?:-) :-) :-)
 

Oldman13

Member
Please excuse the typos I'm sure there are some! I better go check on that guy I change typo up in the dungeon a long time ago! But he must have gotten free once again! damn that typo! I will use titanium change this time.....
 

Oldman13

Member
Please excuse the typos I'm sure there are some! I better go check on that guy I change typo up in the dungeon a long time ago! But he must have gotten free once again! damn that typo! I will use titanium change this time.....
Change is supposed to be chained / chains... Yeah he must have escaped once again don't worry I'll get him.
 
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