AndyBotwin
Weed Whisperer
For soil grows there's really no need for a ppm/ec meter. I have one that I never use. A cheap pH pen will usually be fine, but make sure you get some calibration fluid and check it often. The lower end ones tend to drift pretty quick and they don't last as long as the pricier models.
I test runoff by pHing my solution to something middle of the road like 6.5. Then I water until I get drops coming out of the drainage holes, and I collect that fluid and test it. I think the first drops are most accurate as they show you exactly what affect the soil has on the water, but the more that comes out you're going to naturally see it drift towards the same pH as the water coming in. I use a small pitcher and I know roughly how much each pot takes before it starts draining, so it's pretty easy to do all this. If I watered with 6.5 and my runoff was 6.3, I'd figure that my soil pH is somewhere around 6.1. So the next time if I want to bring that up I may water with 6.7 until my runoff comes up to exactly where I want it. For soil you need to keep it in the 6.4-6.6 range. It'll move around some depending on the plant and what stage of growth it's in, but you can keep it within range fairly easily with some practice. None of this is an exact science, and over time you'll get a feel for it without sweating every tenth of a point.
This chart shows you why it's important to stay in range, especially with synthetic nutes like the
trio. Some nutrients lock out if you go too high, and others lock out if you go too low:
I test runoff by pHing my solution to something middle of the road like 6.5. Then I water until I get drops coming out of the drainage holes, and I collect that fluid and test it. I think the first drops are most accurate as they show you exactly what affect the soil has on the water, but the more that comes out you're going to naturally see it drift towards the same pH as the water coming in. I use a small pitcher and I know roughly how much each pot takes before it starts draining, so it's pretty easy to do all this. If I watered with 6.5 and my runoff was 6.3, I'd figure that my soil pH is somewhere around 6.1. So the next time if I want to bring that up I may water with 6.7 until my runoff comes up to exactly where I want it. For soil you need to keep it in the 6.4-6.6 range. It'll move around some depending on the plant and what stage of growth it's in, but you can keep it within range fairly easily with some practice. None of this is an exact science, and over time you'll get a feel for it without sweating every tenth of a point.
This chart shows you why it's important to stay in range, especially with synthetic nutes like the
trio. Some nutrients lock out if you go too high, and others lock out if you go too low:
