Organic PH questions guys and gals??? HELP!!!

i would give it a good flush...if youre in soil, you will probably want to get your water down to about 6.7-6.8...the peats going to bring your pH down anyways....how much peat per vol in your 5 gallon bucket? and I would also probably treat with a tbsp of epsoms just to assist with the calcium uptake after the flush...

 

go to the hydro shop and buy cal mag. it's 2-0-0 nutrient solution with calcium and magnesium. With tap water, idk if you filter it, it doesn't have the calcium and magnesium it needs. if the PH of your soil is too high i'd reccomend getting dolomite lime. You should really filter your water if you don't tho, and then add calmag and other nutrients and they'll be fine

 

I wouldnt filter the water...keep using your tap...pH may be high but you can drop it...you can still use the little bit of calcium provided in your tap...you just need to figure out how to unlock your soil so your plant can uptake it...

 

Virgin, if I may toss a change up pitch. Let me throw some things out and see what sticks. Sick plant diagnosis is difficult to say the least and often we diagnose “deficiency” without regard to “toxicity” and as already indicated the problem is pH causing a lockout condition for certain elements.

But first, let's talk about what changed last. The pics of the leaves indicate a certain level of maturity. Based on your pics the necrosis is manifesting on the older leaves. Is this correct and/or are you seeing necrosis on the younger leaves as well? Was everything growing well and then all of a sudden, Bam! You noticed the necrosis starting? If so, what was happening immediately preceding noticing the necrosis?

I suggest you quit adding lime to your container and your water immediately. Lime is strange stuff, and causes a chemical property change to your cations and aions balance thus impeding the soil's natural ability to buffer potential hydrogen (pH). There are two components to soil pH; the actual pH of the soil (which is the hydrogen solubility) and the pH buffering capacity of the soil (which is the exchangeable acidity of the soil). “Lime” is going to impact both and should be used with great care because the chemical change it causes in the soil can be ‘permanent' within the confines of a 90 – 120 day grow cycle. Caveat emptor with “lime”. (I'm going to estimate that you've added enough lime). Too much lime can cause a iron or zinc deficiency by locking these two elements out.

Are you infusing chlorine in your well water? If so, are you bubbling this water or letting it stand for at least a few hours before using it? If not, excess chlorine could be part of the problem. As a general statement, most well water is alkaline and unless you've had your well water tested and know for sure that it's acid I suggest that the water is alkaline (above 7.0 pH).

What is your method for watering? Do you keep the soil wet or moist? If the former then you might consider cutting back on watering so the soil remains moist but not saturated wet. Do your containers have good drainage? If so, are you watering to run off and how much run off are you experiencing? Anything over a cup full is too much! An excess of leachate (run off) might be washing your nutrients down the drain. Strive for zero run off, (which is hard to do and still have a saturated soil), by applying your water slowly and over time and in different applications; i.e. for a 5 gal bucket start with 2 cups, water slowly, let it percolate, water again. As soon as you see water coming out of the bottom of the container STOP!

What is the temperature of your soil? If the soil is too cold this can cause a “lock out” due to the immobility of certain elements in a cold soil.

I've read that vermiculite has a tendency to be acid. I don't know this for sure but I have read it recently here in The City. If you are using StayGreen or Miracle Grow for your perlite and vermiculite read the label closely and you'll find that it has trace amounts of synthetic N-P-K (yikes!).

I'm going to guess that you have one of either or all of; a chlorine issue, an iron issue, and/or a zinc issue.

Let's discuss and determine what is going on with your grow. Your picture 2 and 3 are are very telling and I think that we can all learn something from your dilemma. I'm guessing the issue you are having is not a classic case of 'deficiency' per se and over fertilizing at this stage isn't going to improve the plant's condition.

Cheers!

 

Here is something else to ponder.

Testing the water run off for pH is not a good way to measure pH of the soil. There are several things that can produce inaccuracy using this method not the least of which is the water solubility of the nutrients that would end up in the water. For example, blood meal is acidic. If the water soluble portion of the blood meal ends up in your run off, using a standard pH test of the run off would very likely indicate acidity but it doesn't tell you anything about the soil pH. Make sense? The process flows like this.

Using a clean container take a core sample of your soil. You want a ratio of 1 part distilled water to 2 parts of soil. Mix together to form a slurry and allow it to stand for 30 mins. Run your pH test. I assume you have a pH meter and are not trying to measure pH using one of the color charts.

To take the soil sample you will need to get to the soil around the root mass. You will damage some of the root structure doing this but it's not something you are going to be doing every week (one time should be sufficient for a 90 - 120 day grow). Ensure the soil is moist and using a piece of aluminum or copper pipe (1/2”) push it into your soil, remove, and collect the soil by knocking it out of the pipe. Measure, add your water, and volia! This will result in a much more accurate test of soil pH.

 

A couple of things I noticed re reading your posts.

Your mix&lime. You showed 2, 3.8cf bales of peat. These expand out to ~7cf each. "I" use 1cup of lime/cf of mix. Your initial mix seems to be very light on lime, but that's for next time.

Epsoma Garden Lime "Fine Pelletized"..... Powdered lime can take 2 weeks to start having an effect. Pelletized can take 2 months, so don't look for any quick fix there. I use it, but give it 3 months or so to work in my garden.

The only 'quick' fix I could suggest is something I usually advise AGAINST and that would be hydrated lime. It's very quick, but also very hot and VERY easy to screw your plants up with. I can't even advise on application rates as I won't keep it around at all.

Can you source powdered lime or oyster shell or something of that nature?

Wet

 

I was at HomeDepot yesterday and walked through the garden area.

They sell a product called 'Soil Sweet' which is dolomite lime. They also sell a product called 'Super Sweet' which is limestone (Calcium Carbonate).

If that helps.

LD