PH and what it means for your plants

It's a link to download a very good MJ horti book.
It WILL make you feel like an idiot, and that's a good thing!
I recommend you find a way to download it, because ignorance is the biggest show-buster in the world.

 

Good morning here 6:30 AM,

I can't down load. Wish I could. I (dail-up)
I have made mey own

Made my own mulch yesteday, and I am going to roll my own clay ball. today sometime. Let you know how my plante will.

Have a good say,

 

booooring im sure it is informative though but i cannot read that much stuff about cations

 

I am about to start my first real grow and have been reading a lot on the forums. Obviously pH can really effect your yield and I am looking for a decent digital pH meter that is user friendly, will test water/soil/nuits around $50-$60. I have read reviews and mostly what people mention as a benefit to higher cost meter is faster read outs. This is not all that important to me. I care more about accuracy and ease of use. Would someone give me a brand and/or model around $50-$60, maybe a little more if there really is benefit. Thanks

 

Hey man,

I can recommend a brand - HM Digital. Hannah are cheaper but also good. I don't think there are meters that work in soil AND in water. In fact, I was planning on getting myself a soil pH-TDS meter awhile ago but decided to stick to water testing, 'cause a good soil meter would be VERY expensive.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I will go one or the other depending on what I find in reviews.

 

Well said!

 

Joe,

This article was exactly what I needed to read. Thanks a ton for going through all the trouble to post it.

Now I have to figure out a way to transfer 3 seedlings out of straight MG potting soil which I've been watering with my very hard well water, and into some Sunshine #4 without shocking them to death. They're already on the verge of dying so I guess I have nothing to lose.

This it for soil for me though. After these plants are done growing - or done dying whichever comes first, my next grow is going to be one of the hydro methods and I'm leaning toward DWC.

Thanks again for this great article Joe.

 

Jupiter;

I transferred my struggling ~8" plants from dirt mix to COCO. Good move and haven't looked back. Not sure if you have Sunshine#4 yet, but I would give coco a chance. I basically carefully shook the dirt loose, rinsed in ph adjusted water, then put in coco. My plants looked better within a day or two. I was having salt build-up issue do to using a sodium based ph_up.

 

Biff11 - So your problem was the sodium, not the soil. Sodium is a big no-no in horticulture, from what I understand. Though bad soil could also have been an issue. But I used the method you've suggested successfully once, when I was moving plants out of bad soil - shaking the dirt loose (haven't thought about rinsing the roots, good idea!). Takes them longer to get their bearings, naturally, but works well.

 

And guess what - I'll be doing it tomorrow night.... just discovered that the vermiculite I've been adding to my soil regularly has been raising pH to ~7.5 and keeping it there. Uflushable.... Madre de Dios, and all that...

 

thank you so much i learned more than i could from school right there.

 

Great sticky, informative read, good condensed version for new growers, this should be mandatory to read lol. Although I moved from AN sensi range to Dutch Master Gold a few years back, I just find due to it's chelates that My ec can be pushed to crazy levels, currently 2.4 in end of wk1 flower, heading to peak at about 4!! Only products i miss are carbo-load and voodoo juice! also you say AN didn't produce coco specifics? I thought Monkey Juice was for coco (or is it not directly AN?)

Which reminds me, did AN ever rise to DM's yield challenge?

Enjoyed this refresher! Thanks

 

Is there any ph up/down solutions that should be avoided when using them for hydroponics? My PH is constantly shooting up and I think it has to do with the aquarium ph down solution I am using.

 

If your in veg the plants absorbs more nitrogen etc which naturally sways ph up (goes down in flower), what is the chemical components of ur ph down? Should be safe enough I'd imagine. Have u tried setting the ph at 5.5-5.6 so it has a buffer zone to travel through before needing adjusted again!?

 

Was at 5.5 on friday when I left for Florida got back on Monday and it was 8+. Change is to rapid to be anything natural in my opinion. I think the PH down is sodium bicarbonate I looked it up last week, but forgot. Also the plants are now suffering from nut lock due to the high ph

 

Dam man i only read a few paragraphs but i feel even higher now just from reading that. + rep. Although my rep wont do shit.... ah FUCK IT ILL DO IT ANYWAY!

 

Oh boy lol ill read next half tomarra

 

can i use a soil pH meter for my hydro setup? i cant find an electronic ph tester for hydro in my city ive looked and gone everywhere. thansk

 

i hear ya!! lol but shes a good read thats for sure!!