Day 17 of PCP and so far things are looking good. As mentioned in my last post I'm still wondering whether it's an acceptable practice to raise A1's soil level/height when I transplant her in a few weeks to assist in her future stability.
Both gals are clearly happy about their first low strength Big Bloom feeding on Day 14. I could see them getting bigger every time I peaked in on them several times a day, and my pants kept getting tighter too. I usually air dry my pants so they don't shrink, but I was so excited to see my baby girls that I threw them into the drier to dry them faster. Now my ball hurts. Wilson!
Truth be told, I let my pet bug eat one of A2's first baby leaves a few days after soil-break. Now I know that was a bad thing because my bug got sick and died when I squashed it with tweezers. A2 is now finally getting her groove back with her new leaves and the Big Bloom. No more gravy robbers.
Just how I like my women: ignorant to the fact that it's all my fault. So aside from A1's helmet lesson and A2's poisonous-to-bug's-health-leaf lesson, things are going pretty well. The 4"x10" carbon filter should be here soonish, and just in time for A1's first happy Think Different stink.
I read that Muddy and some others use two PH meters: 1 digital liquid tester for solution/runoff etc. and 1 digital soil tester for the actual checking of moist soil's PH. So I just ordered my second tester specifically for soil checking and should be here next week but I'm still mulling over the headache-full info of soil PH management.
Like so many other grow newbs whose threads show up in my world wide web searches, I wish I could just say, "Help me with understanding soil PH better" with flailing arms. But I won't, so here's the inconclusiveness I've learned in my interwebs homework both here and elsewhere, littered with others' own preferences and many variations of personal theory. Some seem to have great success not messing with their soil's PH at all because of their mix and others seem to take a lot of continuous proactive control - what works for some doesn't for others. I'm sure much of the knack for it has to do with the greenness of your thumb.
My PH run-off lately has been consistently highish at ~7.0 for the last 2 of the 4 total waterings. I'm not too worried yet because my plants look happy in color and growth, but would like to prolong my first imminent nute lock as long as possible. My first 2 waterings were distilled water that went in at an untampered 6.5 with runoff readings of 6.5 and 6.2, respectively. So the 3rd dH20 feeding had then swung towards alkaline, I'm assuming because the developing root system is now actually taking in the goodies? The 4th was the 1/4 nuted feeding that went in as 6.0 and also came out at 7.0. The AFN PH threads/stickies have certainly been more helpful but it seems some individuals have good luck using methods others wouldn't recommend and one of these is the use of hydroponics PH up/down for control of feeding solution. It also seems to be discouraged by some to add an even more acidic feed (<5.5) to your soil to bring down the runoff PH because while the soil buffers the PH a bit and maybe drops the soil's perceived PH, the root system is still coming into direct contact with an acidity that may be detrimental. I'm also seeing some who like 24hr+boiled tap water versus dH20 because it has some hints of minerals that add an extra free nutrient taste that roots can utilize as well. So I'm thinking of feeding the next time with a flush of 24hr+boiled tap, but what of its PH and that of the runoff? Lemon juice sounds like a popular organic for lowering soil PH, but opinions seem split on amending it directly to the soil mix during transplants or amending the feeding solution (or not even using it at all, but instead another of many amendment choices). This topic just frustrates me the more I read on it, with the broad spectrum of methods, preferences and opinions.
I need sleeeeep.
