New Grower Any Simple Soils?

[ThaGreenBandit]

Just put in my order for thethe CWA8, so I'm not buggin' out so hard now. Thanks again for the Heads up, Muddy.

 

[faded187]

Shit. Damn, I wish I woulda been checking for responses while I was out shopping earlier! Just walked through the door, smiling from ear to ear, with my freshly bought bag of OF, and your response is the first thing I see, Muddy. I ordered some powdered dolomite lime earlier, so I'm not that bad off, right?

what I definitely do is look real good for bugs,i never bought a bag that didn't come with a bunch of freeloadin pests.what I do is lime my soil than wet it and once its about half dry I close it up n a bully barn for a couple of days with bout 4 brand new no pest strips and BAMM no more bugs and perfect ph soil 2 birds 1 stone

 

[Muddy]

Just put in my order for thethe CWA8, so I'm not buggin' out so hard now. Thanks again for the Heads up, Muddy.

You'll love it and it's going to make you a better grower. I can't express enough the importance of proper soil pH and it's the best tool to have for that purpose. While you're waiting for it, put some of the OF in a container and wet it with some 6.5 pH water. Keep it moist and when the Accurate 8 arrives it will be ready to test. If you got a bag of low pH you'll need the lime to bring it up.

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Thanks for the tip, Faded. That's not the first time I been told to look out for freeloaders, so I will start looking into that tomorrow.

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Muddy, if the PH of the water is hi or lo, do I adjust it first? I know it's most likely a common sense answer, but I'm gonna ride my newbie status as long as I need to and ask even the dumb questions! Also, I recently received both my ppm meter and my PH meter. Do both have to be calibrated, and if so, do they need different calibration solutions? Once again, thanks for all and any input. I'm sure I'll be needing a lot of it these next few months

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[az2000]

Muddy, if the PH of the water is hi or lo, do I adjust it first?

I'm not him, but the answer is to adjust your ph after adding nutrients. You'll add the strongest ph nutrients first. If your nutrients don't indicate one should be added first, don't worry about it. (Example: GH Flora series requires the "micro" nutrient to be added first. If/when you use a silica product, you'll want to add it first because it's extremely high ph. Or, reserve 2 cups of water, add the silica to that, and add that into your nutrients last.). People often add their nutrients, aerate for 12-48 hours, add anything else (like Liquid Karma, molasses) and then ph that final mix.

Also, I recently received both my ppm meter and my PH meter. Do both have to be calibrated, and if so, do they need different calibration solutions?

You'll use a 6.9 or 7.0 calibration solution for the ph meter. You'll also want some potassium chloride (KCl) storage solution to keep the probe in good condition. (Eventually you'll want probe cleaner too.).

Someone else may have to answer your question about TDS calibration solution. I've heard there are different standards and it may depend on what your meter requires. You're going to be dealing in the 500-1200 range. So, a 1000ppm calibration solution should be ok. But, I've never understood the different scales or standards.

I've never calibrated my TDS meter. I check it against RO water (about 5 to 20 ppm) and my tap water which is about 700ppm. That helps me know it's roughly correct. If I grew hydro I might care more about accuracy.

 

[Muddy]

Muddy, if the PH of the water is hi or lo, do I adjust it first? I know it's most likely a common sense answer, but I'm gonna ride my newbie status as long as I need to and ask even the dumb questions! Also, I recently received both my ppm meter and my PH meter. Do both have to be calibrated, and if so, do they need different calibration solutions? Once again, thanks for all and any input. I'm sure I'll be needing a lot of it these next few months

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Unless you're using AN pH Perfect nutes, no adjustment to the base water is needed. When the nutrients are added the pH will drop so adjustments are made after they are added. If you're using pH Perfect, then the base ppm of the water needs to be adjusted first before adding the rest of the nutes.

Yes, both of your meters should be calibrated before use and then again every month or two depending on how much they are used. The calibration solutions for pH and ppm are different so you will need both. Also some cleaning and storage solution. With repeated use a film can build up on the glass bulbs and throw the readings off, so always use the cleaning solution before calibration. The storage solution keeps the bulbs moist during storage. If they dry out it can cause them to go bad and a replacement bulb may be required. I keep a small brush at the sink and always clean and rinse mine well after each use.

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Once again, AZ & Muddy, thanks for taking the time to school me. I appreciate this info you're providing that is going to help make my first grow a successful one. I have a few more things to do (ie: make final moderations to armoire, soil test, germinate seed...) before I really get things started, but once I do, I am gonna try to keep a detailed journal going. Hopefully the two of you will feel free to drop through anytime with some more do's and dont's

 

[Wienerwoods]

I'm using BioBizz LightMix and I'm simply loving it. BioBizz claim there's no need for pH adjustments. I'm currently entering week 3 with two plants and both have only been fed some molasses on Friday. There's probably enough juice in the soil for about 3 weeks.

You might wanna give it a shot next time

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

I just might have to do that, wiener. No adjustments out of the bag, no mixing, just pour and grow is more my speed right now. At least until my thumb has a slight shade of green to it! Then again, I may just soldier on through this bag of OF, and force myself to lean now what I am going to eventually have to learn later. Depends on how smoothly this first grow goes

 

[Muddy]

BioBizz claim there's no need for pH adjustments.

I would take that with a grain of salt. Some claim growing 100% organic abates the need to check pH. Not so.