Found worms when treating what seems to be a ph problem

NICK72690

NICK72690

Well-Known Member
Been trying to turn these plants around for some time now noticed very low ph runoff figured salt buildup or whatever so while flushing a plant big time in the tub I discovered worms in my medium are these harmful at all? Or are they just red Canadian? Idk either way let me know if these would ever cause what seems to be ph lockout, are they a “pest”? Also I should add plants are barely drinking
 

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FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
Are you using fresh worm castings? They can have cocoons of worms in them and even live Canadian wrigglers in them sometimes. They would be beneficial to the soil. You shouldn't have any ph issues in organic soil unless you're soil mix is really off or you did something to kill off the soil microbes.
 
NICK72690

NICK72690

Well-Known Member
I actually did what I said I wouldn’t do and used a salt based fert, looking back I probably didn’t even need the feeding I’m going to flush everything heavily and do a final top dress yes I used coast of Maine worm castings ok I will not treat for pests! Thank you lol
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
NICK72690 said:
I actually did what I said I wouldn’t do and used a salt based fert, looking back I probably didn’t even need the feeding I’m going to flush everything heavily and do a final top dress yes I used coast of Maine worm castings ok I will not treat for pests! Thank you lol
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It's okay to use salt based nutes in a pinch if you're seeing a deficiency and you know how to fix it. I use Jack's 321 method during stretch to give my dry nutrients a boost. I'll also use the Calcium Nitrate if I'm seeing pale leaves in veg. Just add some microbes via Recharge, Great White or whichever you prefer a day or so after to rebuild your micros that may have been reduced by the salt nutes. I've never had good luck with flushing organic soil and trying to read the runoff with soil leads to more problems than it fixes in my experience. What do ph is the water you're using?
 
NICK72690

NICK72690

Well-Known Member
It was going in a over 7 almost 8 in fact and runoff was low 5s lol, my tap water does not mix with nutes well at all a half dose bring it down to about 4.2 and phing just becomes a game, a final aggressive flush and a top dress and some recharge after this, my best grows have been water only with quality soil
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I feed mine Dr Earth dry amendments at 2 tbls per gallon of soil and will use 1/4 to 1/2 strength Jack's to supplement if I see an issue. It's a recent change I've made to avoid deficiency issues with some heavy feeding strains.
 
bam0813

bam0813

Well-Known Member
Can i ask why adjusting was a game. What ive done in past is count drops starting with just a few in a single gal then simple math for different volumes of water. They make nute lines designed for hard water. Water alone is fine to use at stated ph imo
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I've heard good things about it but I run Roots Organic because it's cheap when you get it on sale and really drains well. I also never checked the heavy metals on the Coast of Maine stuff. I'll have to check it out and see how it is compared to Roots. If it's lower I might be inclined to pay a little more.
 
NICK72690

NICK72690

Well-Known Member
bam0813 said:
Can i ask why adjusting was a game. What ive done in past is count drops starting with just a few in a single gal then simple math for different volumes of water. They make nute lines designed for hard water. Water alone is fine to use at stated ph imo
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It just drifts back down, I can’t see anything good from adding all this extra ph up one tsp of nutes brings it down to almost 4
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
That's a big swing. Jack's at full strength only moves my ph from 7.3 down to around 6.8 . I'll add a little Citric acid to bring it down to 6.3-6.5 and then it will drift up higher as the citric acid doesn't hold it down as long as ph down drops do. I could use my water as is but just have the habit of ph correcting my mixes so I still do.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I mix it in at starts and transplants. Once I see them lightening up I start the 2 tbls per gallon every two weeks. I use the veg formula until stretch is over and then switch to either 100% Flower Girl or a 50/50 mix of the two with the next feeding being all Flower Girl. This is my first run with using some salt nutes to keep everything greener and it seems like it works pretty well. I know it's not purely organic but it's an easy system to use and cheap. My girls are in week 2 of flower and looking healthy.
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