Hey all. I have searched everywhere and can find no diffinitive answer to my question.
There is a mountain load of informatoin on the internet about pH, but wow does it vary (as usual internet) and nothing really as specific as I need to know. I'm not sure if what I'm asking is a stupid question, but this is my first time doing soilless medium and I have never had to worry about pH before (I have only grown outdoors).
Basically my question is:
If you test the run off, after watering with a solution of 5 pH, and the pH is too high (7.3).
Does that mean I must run even lower pH water? ie. 3.5 gets it to 6.9 run off, which is still too high.
My story / thoughts:
I am testing this using a styrofoam cup with promix and leca (clay) balls at the bottom.
I think there could be something wrong with how I am conducting the experiment, since it surely cannot be possible if i water with a pH of 3.5 to only get 6.9 runoff.
I did not dry the medium out between tests. So when i watered at 5 and the ph was 7.3, i continued to test new waters at lower pH untill arriving at 3.5 water --> runoff: 6.9. Is this result inaccurate, because there was water of varying pH present in the medium? [I collected the run-off in clean containers].
I feel like watering your plant with 3.5ph would be crazy, and am too scared to do it to my 2 seeds that are germinating now [in styrofoam cups]. They both just poped out the promix, forming their first 2 circular leaves and I need to know what pH to water my plants and ideally what the pH run-off can / should be.
I have gathered some information and these are the "ideas" have I have come to:
1). I have read that when people have too high / low pH in SOIL then they just keep watering at a lower / higher ph (but not as drastic as 3.5). They would for example continue to water with a pH of 5.5 (if their runoff was 7) so that their pH slowly drops in the long run.
2) Some people mention stabilising the pH of your medium before using it, some do this for promix as well, but some say it is nonsense. I don't particularly see the value in soaking your medium in water to get it to a lower pH. I feel the loss in nutritional value would be worse than the slight benefit of having an immediately "perfect" pH. I feel like the slow correction (mentioned in 1) is the right way to go. But am so indecisive becuase of the hoards of information that I have read. (PS. I am OCD as fuuuk - not the best characteristic for a grower
)
3) Some say run-off itself is innacurate, but I do consistently get similar results (then again from NOT drying out the medium before re-testing, therefore contaminating the result (i think).
Thanks for any assistance that you guys can provide me. I am a first time grower and value all the criticism / help that can be provided.
Peace!
Mr. GER
There is a mountain load of informatoin on the internet about pH, but wow does it vary (as usual internet) and nothing really as specific as I need to know. I'm not sure if what I'm asking is a stupid question, but this is my first time doing soilless medium and I have never had to worry about pH before (I have only grown outdoors).
Basically my question is:
If you test the run off, after watering with a solution of 5 pH, and the pH is too high (7.3).
Does that mean I must run even lower pH water? ie. 3.5 gets it to 6.9 run off, which is still too high.
My story / thoughts:
I am testing this using a styrofoam cup with promix and leca (clay) balls at the bottom.
I think there could be something wrong with how I am conducting the experiment, since it surely cannot be possible if i water with a pH of 3.5 to only get 6.9 runoff.
I did not dry the medium out between tests. So when i watered at 5 and the ph was 7.3, i continued to test new waters at lower pH untill arriving at 3.5 water --> runoff: 6.9. Is this result inaccurate, because there was water of varying pH present in the medium? [I collected the run-off in clean containers].
I feel like watering your plant with 3.5ph would be crazy, and am too scared to do it to my 2 seeds that are germinating now [in styrofoam cups]. They both just poped out the promix, forming their first 2 circular leaves and I need to know what pH to water my plants and ideally what the pH run-off can / should be.
I have gathered some information and these are the "ideas" have I have come to:
1). I have read that when people have too high / low pH in SOIL then they just keep watering at a lower / higher ph (but not as drastic as 3.5). They would for example continue to water with a pH of 5.5 (if their runoff was 7) so that their pH slowly drops in the long run.
2) Some people mention stabilising the pH of your medium before using it, some do this for promix as well, but some say it is nonsense. I don't particularly see the value in soaking your medium in water to get it to a lower pH. I feel the loss in nutritional value would be worse than the slight benefit of having an immediately "perfect" pH. I feel like the slow correction (mentioned in 1) is the right way to go. But am so indecisive becuase of the hoards of information that I have read. (PS. I am OCD as fuuuk - not the best characteristic for a grower
)3) Some say run-off itself is innacurate, but I do consistently get similar results (then again from NOT drying out the medium before re-testing, therefore contaminating the result (i think).
Thanks for any assistance that you guys can provide me. I am a first time grower and value all the criticism / help that can be provided.
Peace!
Mr. GER
