hey there smokers and jokers, i m new to growing and wanted to check my pH of my water runoff but the thing is i dont get runoff really. my plant is in a 5 gallon container and when i water it i soak the soil. it is still moist for at least 3 days and i dont get runoff. should i just water the shit out of it and test the runoff???
yes you should always water untill you get run off! so if your nor getting any it means your not watering right.
First off, if there isn't any runoff at all when you water then you either didn't wet the substrate all the way through or the soil has poor drainage characteristics. Ideally, soil should hold just the right amount of liquid and allow any excess to drain out. When it doesn't drain well enough and holds too much water, less oxygen gets to the roots and increases the risk of drowning the plant. Rocky substances like Perlite or Pumice improve drainage. Sometimes it's a good idea to gently pull a plant from its container after watering to see if the soil was moistened all the way through. Only pull plants in dim lighting because roots don't like bright light. When testing runoff pH, you actually don't want much runoff when you water. Too much runoff flushes the soil and washes away some of the acidity or alkalinity that you'd be testing for. Also, the liquid that runs out the bottom when you're watering hasn't had time for its pH to equalize with that of the soil. Start by getting some pure water & verifying that its pH is 7. Water the plant completely and let sit for at least an hour. Once there has been enough time for the liquid to take on the pH of the substrate, squeeze some of it out for testing. This can usually be accomplished by simply pressing on the soil surface & collecting the runoff at the bottom.