Hi all Using coco First question When I'm watering with 5.9 ph water I'm having heaps of trouble getting it to drop down under 6.3 after 70ltrs through 2 plnts.. is there any reason to why ? should i put my ph lower ? Next question is. Does the ph have to be between 5.5 & 6.2 ? Or can you drop it lower than 5.5 when watering or does it HAVE to be in range? Thanks for your help.
That depends on what coco coir you started with... Some coco coir is washed using salt water and if it's not flushed before you start using it, it'll cause issues with your ph. If you water with a ph lower than 5.5 then you'll cause nutrient lock out. The ph will climb a little and that's normal.
What did you mix in with the coco?? Perlite?? Personally if I were faced with a ph spike with every watering, I'd first ph flush the bucket(s), and when I say flush, I mean flush with 3x the bucket size. So if the grow container is 5gal, then I flush with 15gal per container at the ph I'm wanting it to be.... That gives you a clean slate... Then if you still get the spike with each watering you'll know it's the plants changing the ph and not the coco because the plants themselves can and then will change the ph due to several factors. Environmental stress will cause plants to change ph. Bacteria in the grow medium will cause the plants to change the ph. Right down to water temperature and or the temp of the container itself. After a full flush, I'd make sure the plant is not being stressed in anyway and look for signs of nutrient disorders, cannabis will change the ph if they're lacking an element.. Like take magnesium as an example, that element's uptake is at higher ph range (6.3 to 6.5) over a lower ph range (5.6 to 5.8), the plants will change the ph so they can uptake the needed element... Are there any problem with the plants?? Pics???