I too noted improvment with a PH of 5.8 so my goal is 5.7-5.9
Grow Mediums Am I insane or a lot of people are using the WRONG pH !!!
- Thread starter Groff
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I too noted improvment with a PH of 5.8 so my goal is 5.7-5.9
Obviously, for whatever reason, soil/soil less is a very different kettle of fish. There must be some sort of interaction with the medium thats not present in DWC/RDWC as all hydro reccomendations I"ve seen say lower PH than for other mediums.
Exactly. Plus the nature of the chemicals in themselves also play a huge factor in how the plant absorbs them. The micro herd of soil actively works to making everything available to the plant as they need then. In hydro there isnt much that, its straight spoon feeding the roots.
If you can swing the pH, please do! No harm done as long as you anchor the mean pH to your desired target.
Taking into account variation in calibration/metering, you're in the safe zone. But, if you want to take things a little further and get the extra ooompf in yield, then this should really be taken into account.
Not all charts are created equal, but the best and most accurate I've found suggest the K is available up to 5.5, then not really much available until 6.0 - 6.1, then completely locks out until 6.3 - 6.4, and then freely available again.In hydro! not soil. Soil is a quite different.
So if you're at 5.8, not much K available, only some, add pK boost and buds react. Why then? Well, its not locked out, only little available. Increase dosage, increase the amount available. But in essence, most will not be used. As an alternative, no harm whatsoever in dropping to 5.6 or 5.5. Everything is available to the plant at that pH.
Except micronutrients
If you start pH low, it is "normal" to have typical cal mag etc deficiencies right? People usually assume LEDs, but that truley never sunk with me. Now go check the charts again! A-ha! No wonder... its the usual suspects in the pH lockout zone below 5.8 (cal mag mang molyb). Again, another case to start high and finish low.
If you start above pH 6, you dont really need much PK, but lots of N and micros. As the plant grows and matures, she has reserves, and by that time you should really should start to think about flushing, so it seem to play out perfectly.
That being said, the biggest best fattest girls I ever saw here were done from low to high. Given the supplements, it makes sense. I think the main difference will be faster finishing times and less nutes used.
If you can swing the pH, please do! No harm done as long as you anchor the mean pH to your desired target.
Taking into account variation in calibration/metering, you're in the safe zone. But, if you want to take things a little further and get the extra ooompf in yield, then this should really be taken into account.
Not all charts are created equal, but the best and most accurate I've found suggest the K is available up to 5.5, then not really much available until 6.0 - 6.1, then completely locks out until 6.3 - 6.4, and then freely available again.In hydro! not soil. Soil is a quite different.
So if you're at 5.8, not much K available, only some, add pK boost and buds react. Why then? Well, its not locked out, only little available. Increase dosage, increase the amount available. But in essence, most will not be used. As an alternative, no harm whatsoever in dropping to 5.6 or 5.5. Everything is available to the plant at that pH.
Except micronutrients
If you start pH low, it is "normal" to have typical cal mag etc deficiencies right? People usually assume LEDs, but that truley never sunk with me. Now go check the charts again! A-ha! No wonder... its the usual suspects in the pH lockout zone below 5.8 (cal mag mang molyb). Again, another case to start high and finish low.If you start above pH 6, you dont really need much PK, but lots of N and micros. As the plant grows and matures, she has reserves, and by that time you should really should start to think about flushing, so it seem to play out perfectly.
That being said, the biggest best fattest girls I ever saw here were done from low to high. Given the supplements, it makes sense. I think the main difference will be faster finishing times and less nutes used.
My nute solution starts out as low as 5.0 when added to the tank (NFT system) and rises over the course of around 3 or 4 days to about 6.4 when it's time to drain the remainder and refill. I've found far better growth than when I was trying to keep it around 5.8. I read that each micronutrient has an optimal uptake at different pH levels so I assume letting the levels vary from acid to less acid maximises uptake of each nute?
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