Can someone enlighten me about pH fluctuations?

Eugenios said:

In soil? And also multiple soil brands?

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yea - coco and soil - coco being even better...i used to use mostly coco/peat mixes such as roots organics original mix (coco/peat), and then i was using vital earth's potting soil (peat), then vital earth's manna mix (coco/peat), and then royal gold tupur which ive been using for about 5 years now

HaroldRocks said:

yea - coco and soil - coco being even better...i used to use mostly coco/peat mixes such as roots organics original mix (coco/peat), and then i was using vital earth's potting soil (peat), then vital earth's manna mix (coco/peat), and then royal gold tupur which ive been using for about 5 years now

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Thanks for your input bro.

if you can find Tupur, try it out - and don't pay attention to those directions on the bag - you don't have to water it that often

HaroldRocks said:

if you can find Tupur, try it out - and don't pay attention to those directions on the bag - you don't have to water it that often

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I've heard good things about Tupur but can only get it from abroad. After this soil grow, I will be trying out coco for sure.

cannabineer said:

Omit the molasses. It is feeding bacteria that change your pH.

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I use about a tsp per gallon of mollasses (soil/7 gal smart pot/1000w HPS. I also add AN Carboloader. Should I stop? Can you overload sugar? What are the negatives of the mollasses?

Partyslayer1 said:

I use about a tsp per gallon of mollasses (soil/7 gal smart pot/1000w HPS. I also add AN Carboloader. Should I stop? Can you overload sugar? What are the negatives of the mollasses?

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I thought the Light Mix is a soilless medium. It lacks the buffering capacity of soil with clays in it.
I once mixed up 5 liters of Gen Hydro 3-part nutrient (veg ratio) and adjusted it to pH 6.5. Then I added a teaspoon of SuperThrive, which contains organics and fed a bacterial bloom. The mix went turbid, and pH crashed to 4.1.
For grins, I left the batch alone. The bacteria died and settled, and the pH recovered over several days to its original value.

Since your mix is low on buffers, adding sugars or other bacteria-feeding organics is liable to whipsaw your pH in the root zone.

If you repot or start another plant, I’d add some sort of clay (ewc are popular, but then you have to correct for their initial nute load) and some finely-powdered dolomite lime to the mix. Disclaimer: I’m not a soil grower, so if someone experienced offers different advice, I’d listen.

HaroldRocks said:

i stopped adjusting ph about 9 years ago and i never had a ph issue again (true story)

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I did that as well and it worked for years in coco, not sure wtf happened but all of a sudden had a bunch of issues show up this spring so checked it and was way out of where it should be. All I can think if is something changing with my tap water. So uhh...its a reasonable approach but if stuff starts not performing as you would expect, ph is a good place to start.

Eugenios said:

I've heard good things about Tupur but can only get it from abroad. After this soil grow, I will be trying out coco for sure.

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oh ok you're not in the U.S.A.?

really i like the 70/30 coco/perlite mixes overall - tupur works for me because it's readily available, inexpensive, and the 2 cu/ft bags work perfectly for my pots (my pots are large enough to fit 2 plants each in flower) i also use it in veg too and it doesn't need to be watered too much

HGCC said:

I did that as well and it worked for years in coco, not sure wtf happened but all of a sudden had a bunch of issues show up this spring so checked it and was way out of where it should be. All I can think if is something changing with my tap water. So uhh...its a reasonable approach but if stuff starts not performing as you would expect, ph is a good place to start.

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well i guess my water stays consistent...

my view is that you should tailor your recipe to be in a good range without dicking around with ph up or down and using a ph pen that goes out of whack and then you gotta try to calibrate it and blah blah

same goes for EC - check it a couple times when you're building your recipe, and then be done with it

and checking run-off EC? that's another one that'll just have you chasing your tail - dont waste your time

HaroldRocks said:

oh ok you're not in the U.S.A.?

really i like the 70/30 coco/perlite mixes overall - tupur works for me because it's readily available, inexpensive, and the 2 cu/ft bags work perfectly for my pots (my pots are large enough to fit 2 plants each in flower) i also use it in veg too and it doesn't need to be watered too much

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I'm in Europe. Yeah I'm definetely going for 70/30 coco perlite. I have 5gal pots though and I will change to 3gal because you don't need huge pots with coco. I will be using Canna Coco and using Canna nutes probably. Super excited!

Eugenios said:

I'm in Europe. Yeah I'm definetely going for 70/30 coco perlite. I have 5gal pots though and I will change to 3gal because you don't need huge pots with coco. I will be using Canna Coco and using Canna nutes probably. Super excited!

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Cool....try both pots and see what you like better - you might like the 5 gallon better than the 3

HaroldRocks said:

Put the ph pen away and just water/feed your plants

and yea i'd cut the molasses also since biobizz already has a ton of beet molasses in it to start

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I would still recommend to pH your water from the tap (if that's what you're using) at least once after you draw it so you know if the water utility has altered it in some way.

I use tap water for my organic grow because it's full of calcium and iron, but our soil is low in magnesium so I add a bit of Epsom salt to avoid nutrient lock. I pH my fresh water draws to make sure nothing has changed. I pull 5 gallons at a time, so I usually only test every few weeks.

Based on everything I have observed, nothing bad would have happened if I never pH'd for this grow. But I keep an eye on potential variables nonetheless.