New Grower First Grow, on the cheap....

[Nugget]

So today was the first time using my new ph pen and actually adjusting the water going into the ladies. Now i have some questions due to my inability to grasp exactly how to calculate the soil ph based off the run off. I watered at 6.4 in and got a 5.9 from runoff. So the question is.....what does this tell me!? What is my soil ph and better yet whats the calculation i need to know to figure that out so i don't have to bother you guys every time i need to know. Also how does this determine what i should be Ph'ing the water to before hand to achieve as close to 6.5 as possible in the soil? The medium I have them in is just happy frog and perlite at a 70/30 ratio. Any info you ladies and gents could throw my way would be ( as always ) GREATLY appreciated

 

[Nugget]

Well after about three minutes of reading down the new post lists after i threw this question up I came across goauto's guide explaining exactly what i had just asked to another new grower and i think ive got it now. Im assuming that you just need to adjust the ingoing ph to accommodate the outcome of your last watering results to help get the soil ph to where i want it. So if im 6.4 in and 5.9 out my soil ph is 5.4. to get the soil ph up to 6.5 i should be watering at 7.5 ingoing. Is this correct? or is there another way i should be addressing it in order to get the soil PH up? ( on future grows I plan on prepping the soil before hand and getting a soil ph meter to ensure its a 6.5 before i even put seed to soil but for these two im obviously past that point.)

 

[Taviddude]

I'm not a big soil grower, but I'll take a stab at it.
There is probably better advice out there from the soil guys.
Personally, I'd ask Joe Dirt.

If your water going in is 6.4 and the water coming out is 5.9 then that means your soil is actually lower than 5.9 which is BAD for soil.
You want to raise the PH of your watering until your runoff ph is within the right range.
You could try watering at 7.0-7.3 and see what your runoff is then.
It will take a while for your soils PH to come up.
Just keep checking runoff, and adjust the PH of what you're putting in to keep it in range.

This is why I LOVE hydro.
Bad soil is a bitch to fix, takes a while, and some soil growers will tell you never to PH.
Soooooo.... Running a plant at 5.5 in soil would be better?
Idk....

That's what I got.

Peace.
Tav

 

[Nugget]

I went with soil because ive seen to many horror stories of new growers jumping into hydro and just getting horrible results from lack of experience and funky setups. Im not experiencing any lockout issues as of yet and just want to stay ahead of that curve as well as i can by being as pro active as possible. I know my soil is at 5.4 right now which is a full point off of where i want to be, Im just unsure as to the best way to remedy the issue in the long run ( aside from getting the soil correct before the grow which will be done next set of ladies :smoke If consistent higher ph'd watering is the answer than fine by me that's easy! If there are any other tricks of the trade out there to more adequately remedy the issue I am allllllll ears! :beast:

Thanks for chiming in taviddude any and all input is always welcome here :bone:

 

[GoAuto6]

Well after about three minutes of reading down the new post lists after i threw this question up I came across goauto's guide explaining exactly what i had just asked to another new grower and i think ive got it now. Im assuming that you just need to adjust the ingoing ph to accommodate the outcome of your last watering results to help get the soil ph to where i want it. So if im 6.4 in and 5.9 out my soil ph is 5.4. to get the soil ph up to 6.5 i should be watering at 7.5 ingoing. Is this correct? or is there another way i should be addressing it in order to get the soil PH up? ( on future grows I plan on prepping the soil before hand and getting a soil ph meter to ensure its a 6.5 before i even put seed to soil but for these two im obviously past that point.)

:clap::clap::clap::clap:
:clap::clap::clap::clap:
that should do, but I'd just flush 2 times pot size and test the run off of the last 10% to come out ...If you still need to go up wait till she drys out again and redo the proccess, the other thing after you flush be sure to do a light feeding 1/8 to 1/4 strength..........and keep us posted.

 

[Nugget]

Im assuming yo u mean to do that " light feeding" on the next watering after the flush?

 

[GoAuto6]

Im assuming yo u mean to do that " light feeding" on the next watering after the flush?

no rite after the flush , because the flush will wash out your nutes, just give it a cup or two of you feeding solution.

 

[Nugget]

Ahh im glad you responded because i totally would have waited the 3-4 days. Thanks Goauto6 you are the man :thumbs:

 

[GoAuto6]

One other thing sorry if you said already but, when you feed do you check the ph after you mix in your nutes.....the reason i ask is nutrient's will ph your water down ....so if you ph then mix your nutes your ph will be way low..............

 

[Taviddude]

I think top dressing with Lime would be something to look into.