Ph water ? Or adding lime

Mine have gotten 8.5 PH hose water for over a decade in the same ground. Eventually enough out of range water will push the soil out of range but it took a while..
BNW

 

5.8 pH is fine for soil when using water with a 6.5 pH, you're in the proper range. Why do you feel the need to add fish with your waterings? Or potassium silicate? I water only and have less problems. I build a growing medium that will support the plants needs with minimal additions.

 

I wouldn't bother adding any physical soil pH amendments to the soil during this grow. Only pH your water for the rest of the crops cycle. After you harvest if you are reusing the soil, should you add pH adjusters. They take a while to breakdown and start altering pH so if you add this grow and rely on that, you will face foreseen circumstances.

No...Phosphoric acid is a pH down and you say pH up is humic acid so the pH up should not contain phosphoric acid. Most likely it is a mixture of water-soluble leonardite and possibly Potassium Silicate (as pH up)

 

PH down is not organic .
Phosphoric acid - Wikipedia
How to Adjust pH When Growing Organic Cannabis
Question: What’s the Best Way to Adjust pH If I’m Growing in Organic Soil?

How do I manage the pH of my soil when growing organically?

More info: I’ve heard that many pH control kits can kill beneficial bacteria in the soil.

I was watering my cannabis plants tonight, and I mixed in a half strength dose of bloom nutes. So I test the PH and it is right in range, about 6.5. When I tested the runoff, it was really acidic at around 5.5.

What am I doing wrong, and how do I correct pH in my organic soil without hurting the micro-organisms the help the roots?

Answer

1.) Usually You Don’t Need to Worry About pH When Growing Cannabis With Organic Soil

As long as you’re starting with a good water source, usually you don’t have to think too much about pH during your grow.



However, when growing cannabis in organic soil, some of the most important things happen before you even germinate your plants. The more effort you put into starting with great organic super soil, the less you’ll have to worry about during the actual grow itself. If you’ve set things up properly, pH won’t be a problem for you!

When growing marijuana organically in a super soil environment, there are tiny organisms in the soil that break down nutrients and “feed” them directly to your roots. When you enlist the microorganisms to do the work of making nutrients available to the roots, pH management stops being something you have to do!

When growing organically, you also depend on your soil and the various components to automatically buffer the pH. Starting with the right soil will make things a lot easier for you!

Learn how to make organic super soil (custom-formulated soil for cannabis plants – for those who want to do organic growing the “real” way and just water their plants, without having to worry about pH or giving nutrients)

Unless you are noticing actual symptoms of nutrient lockout (nutrient deficiencies) than pH adjustment is probably not necessary.

Don’t let your nutrients run out!

If you’re starting with regular (non-composted) organic soil, than your plants will quickly use up all the nutrients in the soil and you will either have to transplant to new, fresh soil every 3-4 weeks or supplement with a proven organic nutrient line like the GO box. It’s especially important to make sure your plant doesn’t run out of nutrients in the flowering stage or it will dramatically lower your yields! Once of the cool things about composted soil is the nutrients break down slowly over the course of your grow, giving your plants the right amount of nutrients at the right time.

But if you are using liquid nutrients, it becomes important again to make sure you’re testing the pH of the water going in and out. Even organic liquid nutrients are only readily available to your plants if the pH is in the right range. But since you don’t want to disturb the microorganisms in the soil, try to only actually adjust the pH if you notice pH nutrient problems in your plants.

In general with organic growing, it’s recommended you do not adjust or try to manage pH until you know something is wrong. In organic growing “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”



2.)
Learn how to check the pH of your soil

If your pH is outside the 6-7 range, you may need to adjust the pH to avoid further nutrient lockout on your cannabis plants. But since you’re growing in organis soil, if you do want to adjust pH, you should use an organic source.

Luckily, there are natural sources of PH Up and PH Down, many of which you can actually find around the house!

Organic “pH Down”

• lemon
• vinegar
• Earth Juice Natural pH Down

Organic “pH Up”

• baking soda
• Earth Juice Natural pH Up

Note: Dolomite Lime acts as a natural pH buffer and will help keep the pH constant when added to your soil during the compost process. It can also help correct acidic soil up to a certain point. If you have just realized your soil pH is too low, try to find powdered dolomite lime, as the larger chunks take longer to break down, though be careful that you don’t add more than instructed, lime is “hot” (has relatively high levels of nutrients) and can burn your plant in too-high doses. The larger chunks should be okay if you’re just looking for a pH buffer.

Using an inorganic pH adjuster (like the pH Up and Down that come with most pH adjustment kits, for example the General Hydroponics pH kit) may actually damage your microherd (beneficial bacteria) and can set your marijuana plants back as far as nutrient breakdown / absorption is concerned.

 

I only use the fish hydrolysate outdoors in my potted plants when they need it. I'm happy you found my tutorial useful. The best organic forms of silica are derived from horsetail (Equisetum arvense) or rice hulls for living organic medium.

 

Allot of the time I just Google the question, like in this case, and copy and paste or post links.
That is the best way to keep from having miscommunication. Also its from a reputable source helps allot.

Good luck .

 

I was under the impression it was food grade Diatomaceous which 70 to 80% silica..

Diatomaceous earth is a type of powder made from the sediment of fossilized algae found in bodies of water. Because the cells of these algae were high in a compound called silica, the dried sediment produced from these fossils are also very high in silica. These deposits are found all over the world. The ancient Greeks used diatomaceous earth to make building materials, like bricks and blocks. Later on it became popular in Europe for various industrial uses.

When taken by mouth, diatomaceous earth is used as a source of silica, for treating high cholesterol levels, for treating constipation, and for improving the health of skin, nails, teeth, bones, and hair.

When applied to the skin or teeth, diatomaceous earth is used to brush teeth or remove unwanted dead skin cells.

Diatomaceous earth is also used in industry. It is used to remove unwanted material from drinking water. It is also used as a filler or to prevent formation of lumps in foods, medicine, paints and plastics, and pet litter. It is used to clean up spills or for insulation in industry, as well as to scrub things. Diatomaceous earth is used as part of various chemical tests. It is also used as an insecticide.

Diatomaceous earth is a powder containing about 80%-90% silica. Diatomaceous earth is thought to kill insects by dehydrating them or drying them out. Also, the powder allows liquids to flow through while capturing unwanted material.

 

I personally would not use it. But, we all grow differently.

 

I'd suggest reading the following books for anyone that wants science based information on growing in living organic mediums and soil. This series will give you a base of which you can further study soil biology. It also has links to extend your knowledge into the different areas within each subject. I have read them all myself. Some of them more than once.

Teaming with Mircobes
Teaming with Bacteria
Teaming with Nutrients
Teaming with Fungi

 

DE diatomaceous earth is almost pure silica. fights bugs. its like razor blades and cuts there feet and dries/dehydrates them out. make the cannabis fibers stronger and where the plant is more resistant to bugs and Powdery mildew.

Why do you prefer not to use it ?

 

It’s a broad-spectrum pesticide, meaning, it does not discriminate between pests and beneficial insects. We do not have this issue with rice hull or horsetail (Equisetum arvense).

 

In addition to what TimJ mentioned. It gets clumpy and crusty in a soil mix. I feel it doesnt physically perform well, inhibiting good aeration and drainage.
Silica needs to be in the form of monosilisic (spelling?) acid to be utilized by plants. When its broken down by microbes from horsetail or ricehulls its in that form.
Cheers
Os

 

Thanks for jumping in and schooling us Os. I tried to remember the word "Monosilicic" from the last time we were discussing this in another post.

 

Im still not sure how to spell it.
Thats the only drawback of learning via listening vs reading.
Cheers
Os

 

You spelled it correctly Os.

In nature microbial activity decomposes organic matter to form humic substances and causes reactions with Silicon to form monosilicic Acid which can be translocated to the plant and absorbed by the roots.

 

-

 

Thought I would post this .
How to Use Silica In The Cannabis Garden | Dude Grows Show
For Silicon to be used as an available additive for your plants, it needs to be kept separate from the basic feed. You could even think of it as your third part to go alongside your usual two-part feed. Plants can only absorb Silicon in the form of monosilicic acids, these occur naturally as mineral Silicon is broken down and dissolved into water.

 

Thanks for the paper waktoo. I'll need to read over it a few times to let it absorb.