Ok so I made an organic soil mix and I’m getting some mixed reviews about ppm’s. All the old heads that grow around here tell me “ppm? I don’t measure ppm. Never have. Doesn’t matter.” But all my research tells me otherwise. My current ppms in my mix (without any plants in it) is sitting at 990. It’s mostly peat moss (40%) perlite/vermiculite/ inoculated Biochar (30%) and EWC/ humus (20%) and Bio-Live (5-4-2) roots organic uprising grow, OSF, dolomite, and granular Humic acid (10%) Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
ok, you are are growing organic. so just what exactly do you want to measure the PPM's of? and for what purpose? and I agree with with all the other old heads. it don't matter. seriously, the soil is feeding the plants. all you need to do is water the soil. what are you going to do, change the PPM's of the water coming out of your tap? i water my plants 2-3 times a week. straight water from the tap. haven't touched my PPM / PH meters since I switched from hydro to organic. don't know nor care what the PPM's going in are and since I don't water enough to get any real run-off I care even less what any runoff PPM's are. listen to the old heads
Unless you are conducting a soil test that would require a PPM check, there is no need for it in organic soil, I certainly never have and TBH I never heard of anyone who does. Even if you did figure out the amount of dissolved solids in the soil, what are you going to do with that information? Measuring PPM might be needed using organic liquid fertilizer in hydroponic systems, but not in soil.
I wonder why organic growers would be so adamantly opposed to the practice of regularly measuring the quality of their fertilizers by an objective, quantitative standard...
how are you going to do that? i know what your thinking process is here since I grew in the hydro world before switching to organics. i also know it's a very hard thing to change how you think about growing because of that. it's an entirely different process and way to think about growing your plants. you are use to thinking about, and i can tell you are STILL thinking about fertilizing/feeding your plants. you think you need to control all the inputs to make sure the plant has everything it needs, and it has to have perfect PH for correct uptakes and it's inconceivable that growers wouldn't worry about such things. doesn't make sense does it? i understand, i've been there! you really need to COMPLETELY try to forget almost everything you know are are used to doing in hydro and or coco (coco is only hydro anyway). you are NOT feeding the plants. you do not have to worry about fixing ph for correct plant nutrient uptake, and you are not giving the plant "fertilizers" or "feedings". in fact, in reality, you are not doing anything to or for the plant, you are actually nurturing and building the SOIL and soil-web. The soil will take care of the plant. quality organic matter/humus in the mix will buffer your ph, you don't have to worry about it. still unconvinced? think about rain - I've measured the PH of rainwater here at over 8.5ph, worst than my tapwater. does the earth adjust the ph of the rainwater before it absorbs it? no, it buffers the ph in the soil so the plants can use it. most of us in organics mix our own soils and for us "fertilizers" are actually soil amendments such as topdressings of kelp or EWC's, or alfalfa, or Malted Barely Powder, etc. these amendments do not affect the plants when we apply them, they are to keep building the soil and are for the future. almost nothing works immediately in organics. if you need a "quick-fix" you can do a foliar spray or a tea but generally everything you apply is for future needs of the soil, not immediate. working like this, how would you effectively measure the quality or quantity of any 'fertilizer"? you can add amendments to the soil knowing it will help and work but the only real way of testing to any standard as you want to do would be to test the soil, apply amendments, give its time to cook and process in the soil, than retest a few months later. organics is actually a lot easier than your brain is letting you accept literally, build a good soil, easily done just following any of many good soil recipes here in GC, add water...... really doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. i know.. still hard to accept huh?! like I said, been there, understand what your going through! sorry, just medicated so if this reply bounced around a bit sorry
I don't think anyone is opposed, it's actually encouraged and beneficial to keep tabs on what state your soil is. But a PPM reading won't tell you much. If you want to know what's in your soil you need to do a full soil test.
well gee, sure, if you want to be all efficient and stuff and just consolidate everything I said into 3 simple sentences...... LOL LOL LOL i do tend to run on a bit don't I....??? especially after medicating.
It will tell you more than you can know with the Mk.1 Eyeball. And let's be real here. How many organic growers do full range soil tests?
Pretty much anyone who grows commercially, and occasionally the hobbyist grower will in order to fix an issue if one arises. I'm not telling anyone not to measure their PPM if that's what they want to do, I'm just not sure what use the resulting information will be on its own.
All the commercial growers I know of don't use organic. And PPM will show you the same thing it always does: how much material is in solution. In this case, nutrients.
i may be wrong but ppm only tells us the collective total of measurable 'something' in the liquid. a standard ppm reading doesn't differentiate what that something is. 'it' could be anything. plus, no one has mentioned the requirement to establish the baseline. ie, what is the ppm reading out of the tap or other water source. in short, a ppm reading is only useful to someone who; know where they started, knows where they want to go, and knows where they are currently at. otherwise a ppm > 0, simply indicates 'something' is in the liquid.
exactly! that was always a confusing issue for me when I was still doing hydro. lets say you have a solution of 500ppm just to use any random ppm number. 500 ppm's of what. tells you nothing. just levels of salt is all it's telling you. a day later you check it and the ppm's went down so you add more to bring PPM's back up.... but you have no clue what nutrients the plant is actually up taking. it could be all of only one, or equal across the board, you have no idea. you add more nutrients to the solution to bring PPM's back up and now your balanced is completely screwed - you replenished hopefully enough of when the plant actually used but also added a bunch more of other stuff the plant probably didn't need and use or not much off. every time you top off your ppm's you just add to the unbalance until you change out the solution and start fresh and clean again. or if you are in sometime like coco you need to flush everything clean so you have a decent clean base medium to work with again instead of the salt-infused mess it can get to. hey, it's possible to grow great plants that way but it's sure a lot of work! LOL it's why i switched. let the soil do the work for me
Cos they don’t use them lol. It’s all in the soil mate. Those that use bottled nutes in soil would have to check it but that just defeats the whole purpose of growing in soil anyway so rather a pointless adventure.
Clackamas COOT DID have his Living Soil Mix Kit tested several times to see what was going on in his soil. Hes been growing since 1968. Soil Health Analysis Packages Details of the testing procedures for the individual soil analyses can be found in the Soil Health Assessment section of the Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health – The Cornell Framework Manual. Basic Soil Health Analysis Package Cost: $60 per sample Required sample size: 3 cups Recommended applications: field crops, dairy, lawns Includes these tests: Soil pH, Organic Matter, Modified Morgan Extractable P, K, and micronutrients Wet Aggregate Stability Soil Respiration Surface, sub-surface hardness interpretation (Optional: You provide the penetrometer readings.) Standard Soil Health Analysis Package Cost: $110 per sample Required sample size: 4 cups Recommended applications: organic production, vegetable crops, problem diagnosis, home gardens Includes these tests: Soil pH, Organic Matter, Modified Morgan Extractable P, K, micronutrients Soil Texture Active Carbon Wet Aggregate Stability Soil Respiration Autoclave-Citrate Extractable (ACE) Protein Test Predicted Available Water Capacity (new for 2019) Surface, sub-surface hardness interpretation (Optional: You provide the penetrometer readings.) Extended Soil Health Analysis Package Cost: $170 per sample Required sample size: 6 cups Recommended applications: urban/ suburban gardens, problem diagnosis, soil health initializing, home gardens, landscaped areas Includes Standard Soil Health Analysis Package plus: Add-on Soluble Salts Add-on Heavy Metal Screening Add-on Root Health Bio-Assay Read more about add-on tests. NOTE: Due to United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulations the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory cannot perform the Bean Root Bio-Assay on restricted or quarantined soil. Please follow this link for a list of states and counties that fall under this category. NOTE: Submission forms must be included with the soil samples when shipped. Failure to include submission forms may result in delays and/or denial of requested soil analyses. Special handling for all packages: Keep samples away from sunlight and heat, refrigerate and submit promptly using rapid shipping. (See Sample storage and shipment guidelines.) FAQ’s: When can I expect my results? Please expect an email with your results in 4-6 weeks. Can you rush results? No, in order to ensure our results go out in our 4-6 week window, samples are processed in the order that they are received. Is there a discount for Cornell, researchers or large sample volumes? Due to our not-for-profit status we are unable to offer discounts. How do I pay? You will be contacted just before or after receiving results with a link to a secure pay-portal. This will enable you to pay by credit card if you did not enclose a check with your sample submission. Checks can be made out to Cornell University. How do I know that my samples arrived safely? Please track your package or include a note with the samples requesting to be notified when the samples are received.
The thing you were missing mate is that the ppm is supposed to drop in a res lol. If it stays balanced it means iether the plants not feeding or your some sort of god