Hey guys, I have a PH tester and some PH down (as the Hydro guy assured me I wouldnt need PH up). I put my water in a jug and take the PH level, its high (8.5+), so I add PH down and mix it well (with a little whisk). I do another reading and the level is at 6.5. I leave the jug of water out in the open to let the chlorine(?) evaperate and take another test the next day. It reads 4.0 WTF Could someone PLEASE tell me what I'm doing wrong? The plants will need water in the next few days Which leads me onto my next question: When I water next I have to take a PH reading of the runoff right? How do I know how much the PH should be of my next watering? Say the PH of the runoff this time is 8.0 do I then put in water with a PH of 4 to make it 6.5? Sorry if I seem really dumb here, I haven't had a decent sleep in days, and I'm roasted As always ANY advice/comments appreciated
to begin with, your hydro store guy is wrong. you "do" need ph up. what happens if you adjust too low? at least you know the guy isn't trying to oversell you. before you do anything to tap water, let it sit with the cap off for a day or more. you don't really need to do run-off ph checks if you ensure every drop of water/feed you put in is properly ph adjusted. keep checking though and when you get tired of doing it then you'll see what i mean. don't try and compensate for a run-off ph that isn't what you think it should be. only water/feed with a properly adjusted ph and it'll be fine. if there's a ph problem, your plants will let you know. good growing!
I haven´t taken a pH reading in 3 years. This year, 2006, I got 72.9 ounces of dried bud off of 4 plants. Now how the fuck did I manage that??? Stop worrying about pH - it just isn´t that important.
Hi growbot, cheers for the response. The plants were already watered before I got my PH testing kit (doh!) and the water is normally 8.5! I see what you mean, if I leave the water overnight, then do the test just before watering and adjust accordingly. Thanks man Spanish fly, hello again. You have said this to me before, dont you remember? you'r water isn't the same PH (I doubt) as the water over here, so you prob didn't need a PH meter anyway? All I know is that I DO need to adjust my PH levels to growb a healthy plany. And I know you got 72.9 ounces from your last grow of 4 plants. But if you cant help me out with any advice, then why are you here?
rofl If ur growing in soil - which u obviously are - u shouldn't need to ph ur water at all regardless of where u live. Assuming ur water is fit for human consumption it will be fine. Sure, if u feel the need, u can ph ur pre-mixed feeds & add them to ur soil, knowing they are not going to harm the plants. But if ur going to do that u might as well get urself a ec meter too & grow hydro. Too many people on here panic about ph & nute deficiencies & lockout etc - most of it is pure b/s. Mj will grow on it's own if u leave it alone. If u constantly fk about with it & bladder it with unnecessary chemical additives u can expect fk ups. just fyi i've grown plenty of healthy plants with ph at anywhere between 9.5 & 3.2 - absolutely no sign of death, decay, disease, nute lockout............. I've fed them diluted battery acid without harming them, doused them in petrol to kill spidermites - all the shit u are told not to do - I do & I get good results. The values u have been given are ideals - not absolutes.
thanks for stopping by num! dunno what to do yet, but i'll consider your advise if someone can back you up on it. as stated, i wanna grow them all, male or female, to learn (ie learn to LST, FIM, topping) so dont expect this to be your NORMAL grow journal as I'm a very experimentive (is that a word?) person as always ANY comments/advice appreciated
mister2, really, forget it! In hydro it's important, I guess, but in soil it rarely is. Unless you concocted some poorly thought-out growing media to your own wacky design, it will be just fine. Make some compost tea or something, feed the soil, you know. pH up and pH down can be used in exteme circumstances (like soil pH3!) but avoid chemicals; try lime (up), or coffee grounds (down), and similar soil-friendly things. Good soil is alive, remember that. Above all... relax! When you stress out around your plants, THEY stress out. What did you expect? Send them some good vibes instead, sit back and just let nature do its thing. -mu
I am here to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow growers and to spread some bonhomie, as well as a little venom when needed. Sorry if you feel I should be here solely to give you assistance.
Absolutely mu. I talk to my girls every day and on a balmy summer´s evening it is good to play them music. They like The Planets. And, of course, Puff the Magic Dragon.
Hell yeas!! I think it's a seriously overlooked aspect of growing. Experienced growers are confident around their girls, they give them encouraging words and thoughts, whereas n00bs go "fuck! fuck! fuck! whatsgoinon!?" S-T-R-E-S-S. Bad vibes. They did some research into this stuff back in the seventies. In one experiment, the main carer would tend to the plants lovingly, while his assistant came in at random, shouted at the plants and chopped bits off them. All the while the plants were hooked up to some electromagnetic reading equipment. After a short while, the plants would start to freak out whenever the assistant came in the room, even before he started shouting and chopping, so basically, plants know. I like to sing to mine, they love it! Mozart (the gentler stuff) and Chopin, too! -mu ps.. haven't tried puff the magic dragon, I see if I can remember the words!
Really, no, nothing weird talking to your ladies and playing them music. Prince Charles talks to his trees, and he believes they do well, as do I. Anyway, whatever, there can be no harm in it.
I could go on. -mu ps.. you might want to check out "Music for Plants" ... http://www.discogs.com/release/490854 particularly the last track!