As the title says. I see a lot of people wondering and hoping for an easy and accurate way to test soil ph. This is a real problem. Any instant soil meter is worthless. so much that Milwaukee doesn't recommend using one. They have resorted to having specific soil size samples dissolved in specif amounts of perfectly balanced water. Give me a break! next option is runoff testing. I'm sorry, I don't want to do this. It's a pain, and the water doesn't have enough time to really react and soak in. Additionally, what if don't want to water that much? What if my soil is wet already and I need to test ph. It's just illogical, difficult, and full of problems. get over it. the answer is simple. drip indicator solution through a small sample of soil (not from the top 2 inches) that is placed on a tilted white surface. When it runs down the plate you can see the color easily and find out ph levels +- .2 if you're good. The sample below is from a plant that has a few leaves curling. as you can see, the ph is about 5.5-5.8. Notice the yellow color with an orange tint. welcome to the easy life. sorry I couldn't get better color clarity. It's a camera phone picture.
my soil pH meter works fine. It read a pH problem, I fixed the problem, the plants perked up, it no longer reads a pH problem.
except it's an electrical conductivity meter that will fluctuate by up to an entire point for the best ones in the market. You add salts to your soil, which makes the conductivity higher, but wait.... doesn't ph also do this.... Yes it does. That's why these suck. sorry, I'm glad it works for you, but in the real world, they are not used due to consistent inaccuracy. a lot of things can make your soil more conductive. if you water your soil, it increased conductivity, if you fertilize (even when balanced) you increase conductivity. If you stick the meter in to far, you increase surface area to the electrode and increase conductivity. they are junk. Call Milwaukee for yourself if you don't believe me. This isn't my information it's there's. nutrient levels and moisture content will change your results every time.
These liquid test kits are garbage for anything except plain water. They are made for testing colorless water. The second you introduce something that introduces any color other than whats in the indicator solution, they're useless. Especially when the soil runoff is a yellowish color itself. Testing your runoff with a digital meter is the most accurate way of testing, period.
Try it and see or yourself. I don't expect you to believe me, but go ahead and waste your time. they aren't garbage, and in fact light colored solutions will be stained by the color of the indicator solution. If you can't read the subtle differences in the liquid, that's not my problem. at the concentrations of indicator solution used, there is no chance for discoloration, and there is enough concentration of material in the sample to ensure a accurate color change. your point is invalid. try it before you go running your mouth.
this would only be good to get an idea of what your soil PH is without waiting till the next watering / feeding. the indicator solution is horribly inaccurate and i don't trust it. a good balanced soil, an accurate feeding regimen, and a GOOD ph/tds/ec meter is the key. good advice for a new grower that doesnt have the couple hundred to spend on a meter.
futhermore, I use foxfarm tiger bloom. it tints my water green. I put in a few drops of indicator liquid into some samples and they go from bright neon pink to orange, yellow, pale green, green/blue, and blue. so no, this doesn't have much of an effect at all. In fact you could say its a negligible effect. I win!
ok indicator soulution is not horribly inaccurate. You have to be good at using it. which is really easy. Get some ph up and down. play with some water and indicator solution. once you know the solution it is the best, but if you're not caaaaapable of reading the suuuubtleties then yeah, stick with your run off method. i win
what did you win if you dont mind me asking? i didnt disagree with you, idiot. im just not lazy, i like my PH readings to actually be accurate. the lazy stoner way will grow you some good weed, but it wont grow you the best weed. cant argue with that.
I won because I proved what you were saying was negligible I'm am not an idiot. I have an IQ of 142 And I can argue with what you said. you can't do run off testing effectively in a bag because the water runs down the sides and only briefly is in contact with the soil It most certainly will grow the best nugs, a my nugs are legend to those privileged enough to smoke them. so stop assuming things about me and get off my thread.
142 huh? wouldn't you actually put your response in paragraph form with an IQ that high?? I'm also sure you wouldn't start sentences with and, and so. tell me me, can your indicator solution tell you the PH in hundredths? I absolutely think NOT.
Idk if its just me or not but you really need to smoke and calm down....i feel that the old adage "to each his own" is applicable....im no expert i just started my first grow but i know that being self-righteous is the fastest way to make enemies.... Post Script: just my opinion
my iQ is 142, but i set my posts up so people can read them easily. My work outside of this forum are far more better You have no clue who you're dealing with. Just get off my thread. I don't need you casuing problems in my posts. I'm getting the moderator involved so just stay away got it. stay off my thread troll
no, nobody wins this way. it need to stop now. get off my thread. Ps 142 i my real IQ number. deal with. sorry i'm just barely a genius. even if I don't capitalize the beginnings of my sentences and i make typos and don't really care does not mean you have the right to question what I have written as fact. I don't lie about myself on forums. You unethical people who fabricate on forums..... go away. you ruin it for all of us.
far more better huh... did you mean to put that 1 before the 42? im probably dealing with a pissed off 17 year old boy who cant take a good opinion. not one of our comments was actually mean or degrading towards you at all. the moderator will see that your over reacting.