Questions about organic growing

MattMA

Active Member
So I didn't even really plan on growing all organic but I kinda ended up doing it anyway. So I stumbled across a few threads online doing some research on my soil and ph and whatnot and came across a few threads saying not to check ph when using organic soil and nutes???? So I'm wondering if this would apply to my situation . I'm currently running an a and b ph perfect w roots organic 707 soil. I'm wondering if I'm having problems bc I've been adjusting my ph when when watering just h20
 
So I didn't even really plan on growing all organic but I kinda ended up doing it anyway. So I stumbled across a few threads online doing some research on my soil and ph and whatnot and came across a few threads saying not to check ph when using organic soil and nutes???? So I'm wondering if this would apply to my situation . I'm currently running an a and b ph perfect w roots organic 707 soil. I'm wondering if I'm having problems bc I've been adjusting my ph when when watering just h20


I believe they are referring to organic as organic amendments such as work castings and bat guano etc.. I think you may be using the advanced nutrients line of Ph Perfect. Is that correct? Yes, it may be organic, but it's not exactly what organic gardeners are referring to in reference to not needing to PH.

Roots Organic is Coco based. I always run into issues using Roots although I think it's a really good product.. I just haven't figured out the right method yet. Without pics and more info I think that you are likely running into Cal/Mag issues. It will look similar to a PH issue. You will have yellowing leaves etc..

I'm going on the assumption that you may be using tap water. Some people have good tap water. Others dont..
My suggestion might be to begin using RO or Distilled Water. If you use tap water it does have Cal/Mag, but it's not easily accessible to your plant. Your water is coming out of the tap with already high TDS which just messes up everything.. Get good water and begin supplementing with Cal/Mag. It comes in a bottle just like your nutes..

Coco also requires flushing from what I have read. When you get the RO water do a nice flush of your soil. Run a couple gallons through there to clear out all the accumulated crap.

Do your leaves look like this in the pic below? See all of the yellow? Half of my plant was yellow and dying. To correct this I began buying bottled RO water. It cleared up within a few weeks. I'll never use my tap water again.

As for PHing your nutes? Your nutes are supposedly PH buffered etc, but how can we know it's not just a marketing gimmick? I would say to start with good PH neutral water then add nutes and skip the PH'ing if you like. I have watched videos on the PH perfect Line and I am going to give Advanced Nutrients the benefit of the doubt and say it probably works.. I'd still start with good water though..

In short, I think you have a water issue which is giving you a cal mag issue not a ph issue.. Even if you add Cal.Mag to high TDS tap water it will not help. Get the good water and some Cal/Mag.. It will likely solve your problems.. You have good soil and good nutes.
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Awesome and informative reply!!! It's super cool that you mentioned the mg prob I am currently fight w/o me even mentioning it hahaha tripping me out kinda. But ya I was just looking at my plants a few mins ago and I def started supplementing cal mag already but I was wondering if maybe I had some how locked it out due to a ph issue ... Need to go get a buffering solution tomorrow my meter is all up and Down like crazy deom 8-5 and back again takes like 7 mins to zero in on a number and it's still not even realy stopped I just get fired of holding it there for that long. It def needs a calibration. I will pick up some RO water tomorrow , didn't even know they sold it bottled.
 
I mean it's not super bad like the pick but I lost my bottom set of leaves last week and I got a few doing the twist. Also a few spots of nute burn which is weird bc I'm feeding a and b at 1ml per lt of h20 and my ppm is at 400 in my solution I feel like my 4.5 week old ak plants that are almost a foot tall after being topped last week at 5th node should be able to handle more. And that's half recommended strength
 
Ya I can def see why flushing would recommended w this soil as its drainage is terrible imo wish I had added perlite to it but now I know for next time
 
I have tap water that has a pH of 5. I use roots 707. I am mend my soil and let it cook for 30 days atleast. After that the only thing I do is water when dry all the way to harvest with no problems. They start yellowing around 7 weeks in which is normal and they turn purple or red or whatever natural color the plant has. I don't do anything but use tap water that is way off from a normal ph.
 
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