A question about my pH

[Haunts]

I grow in Plant Magic Soil and I don't usually test my pH, maybe once every grow and i only ever measure whats going in which is always about 6.5 and i never test the runoff but last night when i fed my girls i had a bit too much runoff so i thought i would measure it just to see what it was and the reading was 5. I'm guessing this could be a problem? And could this be the reason why every grow i get yellowing of the bottom leaves because looking at charts N doesn't get absorbed below 5.5?
I always read conflicting opinions about pH and soil a lot of the time its that you don't need test it and its a natural buffer etc. Am i testing the runoff correctly just by taking a measurement from what comes out the bottom of my pots?
Sorry for all the questions.

 

[namvet25]

What type of nutes are you using?

 

[Haunts]

Plant Magic's Old Timer Organic Grow and Bloom. I've fed them just over half the recommended dosage.

 

[Haunts]

Should i try flushing them or top dressing the soil with some dolomite lime? Or should i get a pH probe to double check the soil?

 

[Fantasy Island]

I grow in Plant Magic Soil and I don't usually test my pH, maybe once every grow and i only ever measure whats going in which is always about 6.5 and i never test the runoff but last night when i fed my girls i had a bit too much runoff so i thought i would measure it just to see what it was and the reading was 5. I'm guessing this could be a problem? And could this be the reason why every grow i get yellowing of the bottom leaves because looking at charts N doesn't get absorbed below 5.5?
I always read conflicting opinions about pH and soil a lot of the time its that you don't need test it and its a natural buffer etc. Am i testing the runoff correctly just by taking a measurement from what comes out the bottom of my pots?
Sorry for all the questions.

No that is not how you check runoff so before you do anything check this out HERE. I would invest in a A8 probe meter it helps You can find it HERE.

 

[namvet25]

It's not nessesary to ph at all when your usng organic nutes.

 

[Haunts]

Can you still get nute lockout though with organic nutes?

 

[Trapper]

Haunts, Yes....the nutrients have a pH absorption range and if the soil is out of that
range, there will be uptake issues. At least that's the way I understand it. I think organic is less
prone due to it not negatively effecting a healthy soil pH...but I think there are other ways to
mess up your soil pH...like a water source that's heavily alkaline or acidic, or if one of your
amendments is wrong.

 

[Waira]

Haunts, run-off testing is notoriously inaccurate IMO, prone to several sources of measurement error,...check out the sticky article in this section, just below the defc. symptoms pic depot; it has a decent methodology for doing this,... that said, synthetic nutes and organic tend to make acidic solutions,... your soil (if amended with some sort of lime) and water (if tap, meaning it has buffering mineral CaCO3) can only do so much, so often, folks do need to adjust their nutrient solution pH,... less so with organic, but it can happen; it did with me-- using GO Box nutes, I had a pot go very acidic, and needed serious effort to correct,.. each pot is it's own micro-ecosystem, and if things go off balance, even with organics, you can have pH issues,... that said, N is very difficult to lock out-- check out this chart:

--- even at 5.5, it's still pretty robust for availability,... soil pH is always something to watch out for,.. only exception is true, stable TLO soils, and even then, occasional checks are warranted! Otherwise, soil pH is prone to drifting if not watched and tinkered with,..keeping your inputs at proper pH ranges goes a long way to prevention! That accurate 8 unit is taking direct measurement, which is always best,.... as for the yellowing at the bottom, that's a pretty generic symptom, though usually, it is a N defc. issue,.. only with pics can we be sure,... your nutes NPK #'s (ratios) and the dilutions, if any, factor in as well,...

 

[The Elvis]

Id would also add some garden lime to stabilize the soil.. soon!! It takes a week or so.. to stabilize..