I would like to start to grow organically , but what do you use to up and down the ph level. hit me up fellow blades with some of that stoner knowledge
A lot of us don't bother. With a nice organic soil, the ph issues take care of themselves. However there are a few here who can answer that question and they will be along at some point.
[quote name='"Mrdulin"']I would like to start to grow organically , but what do you use to up and down the ph level. hit me up fellow blades with some of that stoner knowledge [/quote] The whole ph thing is something you really won't have to worry about if you learn how to build soil correctly. Try to forget everything you've learned about growing cannabis with bottled nutes and start reading the stickied threads in this organic forum, to learn about organic growing you have to abandon a lot of that "stoner science."
I hope A tongue-in-cheek response to the reply just above his. Clearex is supposedly some sort of flushing agent? This is just the gist from reading, never used the stuff. Wet
My point exactly...*lol* I suppose if you just happened to have it laying around - leftover from your hydro days... Then again, I havent even thought about ph in the last year. jerry.
I used to check my pH, when growing with chemical nutes and even when I first started to grow with organics, using Earth juice as a bridge. EJ has a pH up and down safe for organic use(I wouldn't use baking soda to raise pH, if it can be used to kill powdery mildew which is a fungus, then it could kill off your beneficial fungi and bacteria in your organic soil). Most beginning growers are thought to always check ph and as a result can't let go of that doctrine when making the transition to organics(like I was) but my last 3 harvests I haven't pH'ed or flushed a damn thing, and my girls haven't complained.
....nevermind what i said earlier if anyone read it. things are formatted differently on my phone, and i read things incorrect..... and of course, wetdog -OSUB
Most balanced soils will range between 6 and 7, so there's no worries. It's not like straight soilless mix that can be thrown out of whack by certain nutrient teas, etc.
Yep, it just a whole lot more practical to eat plenty of green leafys. Seriously, it says laxative, but it should be labeled intestinal explosive device.
A healthy organic ecosystem will maintain a ph of 6.5 unless an external issue or the composition causes a ph issue (including soil amendments). Soil mixes too heavy in peat often have a ph problem towards the end of a grow as the peat gets more acidic. I've measured ph in my organic teas and it is 6.5 every time if you bubble the tea long enough for it the organisms that grow in it to balance the ph. You can amend the soil with lime to make soil more alkaline if you end up with an acidity problem.
If for any reason you need to lower the ph of your water, you can safely use citric acid. You can find citric acid in the grocery store around canning supplies. Once you get it, put a tsp or two in a squirt top water bottle, fill with water. To use just give your water bucket a squirt or two, until you reach the desired ph. I use this at times in the winter when my city water's ph goes up to around 8. If your feeding frequently look at the nutrient's ph that your using, a lot of them lower the ph anyway. The neat thing about citric acid is it is one of the things plants exude anyway, so it kind of mimics a natural process. If you continually have high ph in your soil, it's then time to take a serious look at the lime in your mix. You have to remember once you put it in soil it continues to change the ph for months as it breaks down. So if you test your soil frequently, and continue to adjust the ph, your in for problems down the road. This is another reason for the "cook" time for our mixes. My current mix was 5 something after I mixed it, a couple of months later it was 6.4. It happened all by itself, because I gave it time......MIW