hey guys.. i have been giving my 25 gallon pots PH between 6.0 and 6.7 and today i stuck a meter in there and it showed me that my ph in the soil was 5.5 and some plants showed 6.0 and some plants showed 5.0. I was wondering if thats anything to be concerned about? if so how can i fix the solution? i was told to just keep giving it normal PH and it will adjust on its own. Also i just put 2inches of sand on top of my soil to keep the bugs out so would that have maybe adjusted the Ph a little? do i need to maybe raise my PH to 6.8 and see if that balances it out to 6.0? let me know what you guys think i am about to approach my next watering and i would like to hear what you guys think i should do. THANK YOU
It's been my experience that as long as you get the pH of the water or feed solution you give your plants into the correct range (6.3 to 6.7), the rest will be just fine. The soil pH should be 7, which is neutral for soil. But if you're using a good quality grow soil, just pH the water/feed before you give it and go on. As long as the color on your plants is that rich blue/green color they normally are when healthy, your plant is just fine. Some people don't even measure or adjust the pH. I do...simply because I feel it's something that will make it easier for the plant to grow. I do question what type instrument you're using to check the pH on your plants/water? Unless you're using a truly good quality tester, be wary of the numbers you're reading. I've found those super cheap testers that you pick up off Amazon or Ebay under $20 aren't worth the money you pay for them. Another case of super cheapo equipment really living up to it's name with no quality. LOL To get a tester that you can really depend on giving you constant good readings and getting some life out of it, you're gonna have to spend some dollars. I would say at least $60+ to get a good one. I bought a BlueLab is the best I know and I think I paid about $80 for mine. But it's been reliable and never had any problems with it after over a year of use. So you really do get what you pay for as far as equipment goes with this stuff. Not sure about the sand on top of your plants for bugs. Have you had bug problems before or live in an area that is prone to get them? I know one guy who lives in Hawaii and he constantly fights spider mites because they must really like the heat and humidity there. I do know that keeping the pH on the higher end of the range scale will make it easier for your plants to absorb magnesium and calcium which are the two that usually get out of whack first and most often. But as I said above, it's truly worth it to work with a really good quality grow soil because it's full of things specifically beneficial to the plant and it already is the correct consistency and mix to get that super good drainage they require. If you've been watering before the container feels like it is dead dry, you're watering too often too. That's a common mistake new growers make...I sure did. Not only do they hate having their roots sitting in moist soil all the time, letting them really dry up forces the roots to search the entire container for food and water which gets you a larger root ball and stronger plant overall. Best of luck. TWW
True - providing the soil has had a "liming agent" added, such as (well, lime), or anything else that contains high levels of Calcium Carbonate such as oyster shell flour, crustacean meals (shrimp/lobster/crab shell) and even worm castings. Worm castings are coated in a "slime" which is over 90% Calcium Carbonate! OR - The soil is based on either good compost or Vermicompost. Bacteria actually help adjust soil pH as needed as well as the (humid) acids in these items help buffer soil to acceptable pH levels. SO This is true and especially for an organic garden but the killer is when folks mix hydroponic gardening nutrient solutions in with the soil garden and when used often enough can kill off the same bacteria that buffer the soil and at that case & in my opinion the hydro solutions should be balanced. I think you're absolutely correct when organic methods and nutrients are used but this all flies out the window when hydro nutes get introduced and the soil gets treated like an inert medium... That's my take on it anyhow. J Edit: From the US Composting Council: "Chemical Benefits - Modifies and Stabilizes pH The addition of compost to soil may modify the pH of the final mix. Depending on the pH of the compost and of the native soil, compost addition may raise or lower the soil/compost blend’s pH. Therefore, the addition of a neutral to slightly alkaline compost to an acidic soil will increase soil pH if added in appropriate quantities. In specific conditions, compost has been found to affect soil pH even when applied at quantities as low as 10-20 tons per acre. The incorporation of compost also has the ability to buffer or stabilize soil pH, whereby it will more effectively resist pH change." Cite: http://compostingcouncil.org/admin/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Compost-and-Its-Benefits.pdf J
Hey guys appreciate the input ... I have been letting them completely dry before watering now. I have a meter it tells me when it's wet dry or moist. I noticed 1 plant turning yellow ... I gave that plant maybe more water with nutes then the other which could explain the discoloring. Wanted to see what you guys think happened to this plant. Check out the first 2 pictures. The rest of the pictures are what my other plants look like.
not really.. i gave them the same amount of food as the other plants. Today i went in and gave them 2 gallons each one of just water so well see how they react to it.