Run Off pH Is Ridiculous...

pH in general is so over rated, soil/soiless and hydro. Yes in hydro the range is a bit narrower, yet still pretty forgiving. And in container growing you have got to be kidding me! Talk about broadband. I have been a part of a few threads since joining the forum. Lime, peat, 18/6 vs 24/0 yada, yada come to mind. Heres what my garden looks like. No pH, EC or PPM meters. Drops and an occasional home water test are about it, along with some Epsoma products. Stay tuned and 'Watch how I do It' start to finish...

Ph matters, my tap water ph is 8.6. Are you saying that watering my plants with that water won't give me nute lock?

You may think that it is over rated, but it is the little things that make the difference between good bud and great bud and if you grow long enough you'll eventually have a problem that could have been avoided with a little more TLC.

pH definitely matters... I don't pH any of my water nor check ppm/EC and have great results but I start out with good water. If I had something like 8.6 coming out of the tap like bamfrivet I defiantly would have to change what I'm doing or it would make a big difference.

Thank the lord for the large leniency with soil. But go too far in either direction and things don't do as well.

bamfrivet said:

Ph matters, my tap water ph is 8.6. Are you saying that watering my plants with that water won't give me nute lock?

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Probaly not as long as its not just a high calcium/carbonate pushing your pH that far above neutral. Add a few nutes and I bet that taps pH drops a bit.

Gastanker said:

pH definitely matters... I don't pH any of my water nor check ppm/EC and have great results but I start out with good water. If I had something like 8.6 coming out of the tap like bamfrivet I defiantly would have to change what I'm doing or it would make a big difference.

Thank the lord for the large leniency with soil. But go too far in either direction and things don't do as well.

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My well water leaves the tap at around 8.5 but the total alkilinty is relatively low. Like you said, just need to know what your starting with.....that chart is as overated too....on both from 6-8 the lines are pretty fat....

PH is real important! and not hard to keep in check, saying its overated is bad info

hellraizer30 said:

PH is real important! and not hard to keep in check, saying its overated is bad info

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Read the title.......chasing that will make it difficult to keep your medium in check....

Robert Paulson said:

You may think that it is over rated, but it is the little things that make the difference between good bud and great bud and if you grow long enough you'll eventually have a problem that could have been avoided with a little more TLC.

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Been growing long enough and have seen my share of problems with many different types of plants.

watchhowIdoit said:

Probaly not as long as its not just a high calcium/carbonate pushing your pH that far above neutral. Add a few nutes and I bet that taps pH drops a bit.

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When I add nutes it drops the PH to around 7.8, which still gives me nute lock. lol. Ph does matter.

bamfrivet said:

When I add nutes it drops the PH to around 7.8, which still gives me nute lock. lol. Ph does matter.

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LOL, 7.8 is the pH of your drench as I take it. What does your medium consist of? Got any buffeing agents? Lime, worm castings? Title folks... You do have to balance things...and what is your definition of 'nute lock'?

Has it ever occured to any of you that your endless quests to keep the perfect pH may just be the root of much of your evil? Container gardening is pretty easy. And thats all I am doing....

hes right to a point, you noobs... if youre fertilizing (especially over 1000 ppm) youre forcing nutrients down the plants throat, so to speak. that table that shows nutrient uptake is cool, if youre only giving them a small amount of nutrients (not fertilizing), but id say that most of us fertilize, and most of us fertilize way too much.

what IS important is to maintain a steady pH. if you wanna go for 7.8, fine... but stay with 7.8. dont come back next week and hit it with some 5.6.

I see you get it Nubbs, just keep it in range, no big changes or swings. Once you start chasing pH most often your like a dog chasing his/her own tail......

And keep the votes coming folks. I am very pleased with the 100% yes! WoooHooo, just sit back and 'Watch how a dickhead does It'. I have time to be a dickhead because I am not wasting my time chasing pH..............

watchhowIdoit said:

And keep the votes coming folks. I am very pleased with the 100% yes! WoooHooo, just sit back and 'Watch how a dickhead does It'. I have time to be a dickhead because I am not wasting my time chasing pH..............

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LOL, ok, not chasing my pH gives me more time to drink beer. Being a dickhead just requires too much effort and cuts into my beer drinking time.

It's funny watching you tweak the noobs and *instant internet experts*, especially when they really don't read the posts close enough to see what you're actually saying.

Does the name Honey Badger ring any bells? LOL, I'll bet it does.

Thanks, this thread just reminded me to disconnect the battery in my meter and make sure the sponge is still wet with storage solution. The last time I used it was before Christmas, brewing up some AEM.

Wet

You can fuk with noobs all you want. But that doesnt mean anything. I ve been growing outdoors and in greenhouse for over 20 years with pretty good results and i can tell you ph does matter, Maybe not getting it exactly perfect isnt that important, but acheiving the proper balance from the beginning by adjusting the ph is important.
Ive been doing this for over 20 years, and still dont consider myself an expert. Every year i run into some new problem which has to be corrected. Most happen to be related to to high ph in the bulk garden soils i use and certain deficiencies. If not for the internet and sites like this, i would still be using trial and error to fix problems.
I dont think you are being a dickhead, just maybe a little proud that you developed a good system that appears to work for you. Why change anything when you have it down?
New growers do need to understand though how ph will affect your plants, and you shouldnt beat them down for trying to learn.
Chem.

if i didn't adjust my ph in my two rez's everyday my plants would be dead, its as simple as that. hydro is infinately less forgiveing than soil, an improper ph can fuck a grow up in a hurry. I can estimate what the ph is just by looking at what my plants are doing anymore. slightly high or slightly low and they will tell you...if you are looking that is.

yah i agree bashing new growers isnt cool!

If me being blunt is bashing then I guess am bashing. I thought I was just being straight forward in my opinion. And the vets need to read more closely also. 'narrower window in hydro', 'you do have to balance things', 'keep in range without big swings' are a couple of snipets that come to mind.....