My Soil Mix is PH 6.2 Perfect... But no Calcium yet...

[gubblebum]

Hey! So I made up a soil mix to start my seedlings.

It's approximately...

40% Coco Coir
20 % Peat Moss
20 Percent Worm Castings
20 Percent Perlite

I added in Seaweed Extract, a little Rock dust, and Trichoderma.

The PH is now a perfect 6.2... so I'm wondering, should I perhaps add a little more peat moss and worm castings and try to get it down to 6 before adding some calcium to raise it back up? Or would you skip adding the calcium, leave it as it is, and top dress calcium acetate now and then while they're vegging? The final soil when i pot up will be closer to coots mix with everything inside.

 

[DanKiller]

I wouldn't add anything.
If you use tap water don't add cal mag unless needed, also ewc has a ph range of 7 no matter what you ph your medium or water when it's doing it's magic...
You can't have both, either you do organics and let the soil live and do its thing, or you do it for it.
So this mix you've done is more than enough to carry the plant for at least a month maybe more depending on pot size.
Later on you can topdress ewc or add liquid/organics nutes as needed such as the calcium.

 

[Week4@inCharge]

Hey! So I made up a soil mix to start my seedlings.

It's approximately...

40% Coco Coir
20 % Peat Moss
20 Percent Worm Castings
20 Percent Perlite

I added in Seaweed Extract, a little Rock dust, and Trichoderma.

The PH is now a perfect 6.2... so I'm wondering, should I perhaps add a little more peat moss and worm castings and try to get it down to 6 before adding some calcium to raise it back up? Or would you skip adding the calcium, leave it as it is, and top dress calcium acetate now and then while they're vegging? The final soil when i pot up will be closer to coots mix with everything inside.

Anything between 6-7 pH is perfect.

 

[weedstoner420]

I think you might be treating this too much like a hydroponic or drain-to-waste grow. Unless your water is super alkaline or acidic, or you're adding some really unconventional inputs, you shouldn't need to worry about the pH of a freshly mixed soil.

Also, the pH is going to self-regulate in the rhizosphere (the area immediately surrounding the roots) due to microbial activity and root exudates. So even if it's pH "x" in the scoop of dirt you used for a slurry test, it can change in the rhizosphere to meet the plant's needs.

 

[gubblebum]

Thanks guys, i did end up adjusting a bit because surprisingly the PH dropped hours later, i guess from the organic processes. I waited 24 hours, added a bit of calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate, finishing up with 6.5 ph... just want a nice start and my tap water tends to run about 7, so prefer to keep it on the lower end!

 

[weedstoner420]

Thanks guys, i did end up adjusting a bit because surprisingly the PH dropped hours later, i guess from the organic processes. I waited 24 hours, added a bit of calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate, finishing up with 6.5 ph... just want a nice start and my tap water tends to run about 7, so prefer to keep it on the lower end!

Tap water pH 7 is perfect, you're lucky there!

Did you run hydroponics or coco prior to organics? I know some organic growers will pH their tap water, which most of the time seems like an unnecessary extra step. I can't remember any growers on here mentioning the pH of their soil... especially if you're using a tried and true mix like Coots, I wouldn't even give it a thought.

If you haven't already, you might want to check out Jeff Lowenfels' book "Teaming with Microbes." It's a really good intro to the workings of organic soil and the soil food web. You seem like a pretty dedicated gardener and willing to put in the work to get things just right, I think you'll have a much easier (and more successful) time focusing on cultivating a healthy soil food web, rather than trying to get the perfect soil pH by adding more inputs. Good luck!

 

[DanKiller]

I ph organics and coco, just seems that everything works better if you start with a good value, later on it will reach it's target with ease.
Think about it this way, if you use tap water that has a ph of 9, what would make your medium more consistent in terms of getting to a valid range of absorption ? No matter organics or not..
If you keep using that 9 ph water in my logic i think your medium will have a harder time overall as the change from 9 to finally 6.5-7 (ewc range) is causing imbalances.
Just my thinking anyway, people in organics don't seem to ph aswell, I love to keep it consistent haha

 

[gubblebum]

I've grown coco with salts and living soil, i'm using soil for this for cost as much as anything since I'm doing a pheno hunt, high numbers of plants in a small space; I know it's not ideal growing slightly different to how i will likely grow the keepers, i.e coco and salts but good enough for an amateur like me.

I'll checkout the stuff you said thanks! My basic idea for this grow is just give a decent base soil, and i'll implement korean natural farming inputs as well, via foliar and soil, don't think i'll bother with jadam deep water fermentation as my pots are going to be kinda small this grow.

Tap water pH 7 is perfect, you're lucky there!

Did you run hydroponics or coco prior to organics? I know some organic growers will pH their tap water, which most of the time seems like an unnecessary extra step. I can't remember any growers on here mentioning the pH of their soil... especially if you're using a tried and true mix like Coots, I wouldn't even give it a thought.

If you haven't already, you might want to check out Jeff Lowenfels' book "Teaming with Microbes." It's a really good intro to the workings of organic soil and the soil food web. You seem like a pretty dedicated gardener and willing to put in the work to get things just right, I think you'll have a much easier (and more successful) time focusing on cultivating a healthy soil food web, rather than trying to get the perfect soil pH by adding more inputs. Good luck!