Ph of my run off....

It's too bad that you're using that god awful crap.

You don't need to and I wouldn't even attempt to change the pH in your soil. Soil isn't like growing in other mediums. It retains and holds on to what you put into it.

Your best bet is to ride it out. A pH of six is just fine for soil - even though it's probably the worst soil you could ever try and grow anything in.

Take a look at the people that own Miracle Grow -

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/929840-gravity-monsanto-heads-up-sticky.html

Jerry

 

Try this -

2/3 Sphagnum Peat
1/3 Earthworm castings and compost mix

To this add 2 cups per cubic foot (approximately 7 gallons) of Epsoma or Dr. Earth (or similar) dry organic fertilizer mix. This could be Epsoma Tomato Tone, Plant Tone. Garden Tone, etc. organic fertilizers. It doesnt really matter which one you select - they are all close in thier ingredients.

On top of this add a half to one cup of kelp meal. This is easily sourced at most farm and feed stores. You dont need to set foot into a hydro store for any of these items - most farm/animal feed stores are half the price of hydro stores.

Wet this thoroughly and set it aside to nutrient cycle for 3 to 4 weeks prior to use. This allows the microbes to breed and establish, and the dry ferts you added become "usable".

Once this mix sits for 3 to 4 weeks (its "hot" and can and will burn if you dont wait!) its totally ready for use. With a mix like this you can simply keep your soil moist with water during the entire grow - no flushing, no checking pH, no checking PPM and no buying liquid bottled fertilizeers at the hydro store - just water during both vegetative and flowering cycles!

As you get into this a little bit more you can make yourself some Botanical Teas with kelp meal and alfalfa meals, which, again, can be used during both veg & flower. Simply take a quarter cup of either and soak it in a gallon of water for several days to several weeks, shaking it every other day. These teas work fantastic, and in an organic grow like this, blow away any of the expensive bottled hydro store nutrients.

This would be the best way to go if you wanted to do the little bit of work required. If you dont, take a look here - some of the organic gardeners have put together a thread on ready to grow bagged soils -

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/988488-ready-grow-bagged-soil.html

I say try my first suggestion, tho. Its inexpensive and will give you fantastic results. Remember, tho - dont add chemical nutrients whatever you do. A garden using this method counts on the living soil microbes to help feed the plant and keep it healthy, happy and disease free.

jerry.

 

If your plants look healthy and their are no signs of deficiencies you most likely need not worry about ph in an organic grow. Runoff ph is not that accurate and would opt for checking the ph at the soil level with a cheap rapitester you can get at Ace.

Don't know when your plants will finish but, are probably close to finishing. Sounds like that bone meal worked well for you....Might try a guano tea high in P to feed the microbes and fatten her up....Kelp, and EWC used occasionally as a tea through the grow work very well to keep the herd fed happy....

No need to flush unless their is a toxic condition or, just before the harvest and with organics should be no need to flush at harvest at all, unless you choose that option....

Posting some pics will help determine what will actually help....

 

You need to add some Azomite, rock phosphate,or green sand for microbial activity. Very important stuff in organics....
Green sand takes longer to break down...Your choice...

 

That basic recipe, with some simple botanical teas used during your grow will pleasantly surprise you with how well it will work for you and how ridiculously easy it is to take care of your plants.

THE most important thing in an organic soil is soil life. This is present in the form of bacteria and other microbes that feed off of organic matter and breed and live in your earthworm castings and compost. This said, using QUALITY compost and EWC's is important. Try and avoid using the "Wiggle Worm" brand castings that come from most hydro stores - if possible.

You can also help to ensure proper soil microbe amounts by making and using an ACT (aerated compost tea) This is not a nutritional tea - it is used for soil microbe innoculation only. There are assorted recipes for this but a quick, simple one is to simply add around 2 cups of earthworm cIastings and 2-3 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses to a 5 gallon pail of room temp water and aerate the hell out of it for approximately 36 hours.

What you have done here is created "ideal conditions" by adding the food (molasses) for the microbes to live on during the brew cycle and by having the high levels of dissolved oxygen from the aeration the microbes start breeding like crazy. It is said that in a properly made aerated compost tea, a teaspoon full of the finished brew can contain 2 billion soil microbes. By adding this brew to your soil (drench) and also foliar feeding with it, I have watched plants simply explode with lush new growth - its pretty crazy and very cool what organics can do.

Jerry

 

I'm just trying to keep the first recipe simple to help him get started. I do use minerals, Azomite & glacial rock dust myself, but for a first soil recipe I was trying to keep it simple.

Good call, though.