PH for soilless mix?

[Bobby Budds]

I have been reading different things about PH for a soilless mix.

Say using Pro-mix soilless mix what would you want your water's PH to be at?

 

[hoss12781]

7.0 is balanced ph that will allow for maximum nute uptakes. Anything from 6.5 to 7.5 will work as well.

 

[Wetdog]

Add dolomite lime to the ProMix and don't worry about pH.

It's just that simple. Cheap too, $5 for a 40 lb bag.

Wet

 

[DrFever]

hey bobby no matter what when adding hydroponic nutrients into any soil or hydroponic you should no what your ph is meaning most nutrients wil have somekind of buffer in them but what i noticed is when mixing flowering nutes my ph drops so i need to add ph to my solution of food

who gives a crap what the soil from pro-mix is its prob around 6 doesnt really matter what matters is what ph your putting into it so go out by a 100.00 ph meter and you wont have to worry bout nothing hell even if you ever flush your medium you can check ph contant in your soil by your runoff
i highly recomend a ph meter and a ppm meter not only does ppm tell you parts per million but when you have plant problems like burning, yellowing lockout of somekind you can very easily determine with a flush of your medium right those to things is what it takes for a serious good grow from start to finish

 

[prep1801]

of course you are going to get differing opinions... and many of them will work... but I've always made sure my ph was 6.5 for soil/soiless.

 

[Bobby Budds]

Add dolomite lime to the ProMix and don't worry about pH.

It's just that simple. Cheap too, $5 for a 40 lb bag.

Wet

How do you know how much to add?

 

[Bobby Budds]

hey bobby no matter what when adding hydroponic nutrients into any soil or hydroponic you should no what your ph is meaning most nutrients wil have somekind of buffer in them but what i noticed is when mixing flowering nutes my ph drops so i need to add ph to my solution of food

who gives a crap what the soil from pro-mix is its prob around 6 doesnt really matter what matters is what ph your putting into it so go out by a 100.00 ph meter and you wont have to worry bout nothing hell even if you ever flush your medium you can check ph contant in your soil by your runoff
i highly recomend a ph meter and a ppm meter not only does ppm tell you parts per million but when you have plant problems like burning, yellowing lockout of somekind you can very easily determine with a flush of your medium right those to things is what it takes for a serious good grow from start to finish

Thanks for the reply. I will do this.

 

[Lady]

Hello,

We do use promix and balance the PH around 5.8 to 6.0 or use Dolomite lime.

 

[whoatwankie]

Most promix already has dolomite lime in it so I wouldn't advise adding more or you could be looking at too much calcium which can cause some lockout. Just try to keep your nutrient solution in the 6.0 - 6.5 range and you shouldn't have any pH problems, assuming you are feeding and watering correctly.

 

[Wetdog]

How do you know how much to add?

2tbl/gallon of mix, or 1cup/cf of mix. Best if you add it before use, but it can be top dressed.

PM does have SOME added, but no where near enough.

Or, you can play with pHing everything and still have problems. I don't pH anything, the soil takes care of everything.

Your call.

Wet

 

[whoatwankie]

Wetdog, when you mix your dolomite in before planting do you just mix it all up at once or do you mix it in individual plant containers?
IOW, should it be mixed all the way through or just scratched into the top few inches of the plant containers?
Also, do you recommend fine powder like dolomite or the pelletized dolomite?
You are referring to soilless not soil right? or would it be the same either way?

 

[Wetdog]

Wetdog, when you mix your dolomite in before planting do you just mix it all up at once or do you mix it in individual plant containers?
IOW, should it be mixed all the way through or just scratched into the top few inches of the plant containers?
Also, do you recommend fine powder like dolomite or the pelletized dolomite?
You are referring to soilless not soil right? or would it be the same either way?

I mix it all at once, mainly because I make my mix from scratch. It's best mixed all the way through, but doing the top few inches will work also. Just takes a bit longer for the lime to work its way down in the mix.

I use both the powdered and the pellets. The powdered mainly for the mixes. I measure out the peat, then add the powdered lime, mix well and then go on adding all the other ingredients. The pellets are mainly for the soil garden and if any top dressing is needed for long term plants like tomatoes. Much easier than trying to spread powder by hand, especially if there's a breeze.

My garden soil is acidic, but nothing like the peat based mix I use. On the soil, I apply about 1/2 as much, 1/2 as often as the mix.

Wet

 

[whoatwankie]

I mix it all at once, mainly because I make my mix from scratch. It's best mixed all the way through, but doing the top few inches will work also. Just takes a bit longer for the lime to work its way down in the mix.

I use both the powdered and the pellets. The powdered mainly for the mixes. I measure out the peat, then add the powdered lime, mix well and then go on adding all the other ingredients. The pellets are mainly for the soil garden and if any top dressing is needed for long term plants like tomatoes. Much easier than trying to spread powder by hand, especially if there's a breeze.

My garden soil is acidic, but nothing like the peat based mix I use. On the soil, I apply about 1/2 as much, 1/2 as often as the mix.

Wet

Thanks for the info. Also I meant to ask do you only apply the lime once during the prep or do you apply more later as a top dressing?

 

[Wetdog]

Top dress depends on the growth cycle. For mj, one application usually does the trick. I've had to top dress tomatoes that chew the stuff up and are in containers for 4+ months and a long term host plant that is 6+ months in the same dirt/peat mix.

Usually, one application is enough. There's always exceptions though.

Wet

 

[whoatwankie]

Top dress depends on the growth cycle. For mj, one application usually does the trick. I've had to top dress tomatoes that chew the stuff up and are in containers for 4+ months and a long term host plant that is 6+ months in the same dirt/peat mix.

Usually, one application is enough. There's always exceptions though.

Wet

Cool. I only veg for 3 weeks so once is probably plenty.

BTW, what pH level do you have/operate with the soilless peat mix? Mine stays extremely low even with lime mixed in, like in the 5.0-5.5 range. My nutes are always at 6.0-6.5, but this doesn't seem to bring it up at all. Think it would help if I hit them with a 7.5 mix or will that cause a bad reaction of my nutes (like solidifying)?

 

[Izoc666]

Cool. I only veg for 3 weeks so once is probably plenty.

BTW, what pH level do you have/operate with the soilless peat mix? Mine stays extremely low even with lime mixed in, like in the 5.0-5.5 range. My nutes are always at 6.0-6.5, but this doesn't seem to bring it up at all. Think it would help if I hit them with a 7.5 mix or will that cause a bad reaction of my nutes (like solidifying)?

well i dont ph with soilless since i ve added lime on it...i ll run ph on runoff if i have constant problem with defs...i will only grow 3 or 5 months, but listen to Wetdog, he know what hes doing...im really impressed by his knowledge of grow. And please make sure to give him a rep

 

[Wetdog]

Cool. I only veg for 3 weeks so once is probably plenty.

BTW, what pH level do you have/operate with the soilless peat mix? Mine stays extremely low even with lime mixed in, like in the 5.0-5.5 range. My nutes are always at 6.0-6.5, but this doesn't seem to bring it up at all. Think it would help if I hit them with a 7.5 mix or will that cause a bad reaction of my nutes (like solidifying)?

If it stays that low, you don't have enough lime. It's hard to over apply, but you can certainly UNDER apply and the result is what you're getting.

Lime works by being in contact, or at least in close proximity, to the medium. Remember, it's ground up ROCK and doesn't really dissolve and go everywhere like liquid nutes or the like. That's also why it's best to add to the mix before use, to make as much contact as possible.

Wet