What the pH is the deal…?!?

s4cruiser

s4cruiser

Well-Known Member
This may be a silly and most definitely repetitive topic but my head is spinning b/c of pH readings and subsequent questions.

I’m on my second grow and am hyper observant / analytical and I want to learn / understand vs just ‘know’. Growing in Coast of Maine soil with added perlite plus a solo sized plug in the pot center for seedling. 5g fabric pots. Currently 33 days from sprout. Amended soil with Coast of Maine dry ferts (5-2-4) a week ago and watered once with recharge and epsom salts.

I have an Apera ph20 pen as well as an Apera GroStar GS2 pH soil pen tester.

Both just calibrated and read test solution as they should. Both testers indicate my tap water is 7.4 - 7.5 pH.

I have been giving the plants this grow non pH adjusted tap water aside from what is noted above.

I tested my soil with the GS2 this evening and all plants read 6.0 - 6.1. One plant shows a decent magnesium deficiency OR pH issue. Two plants show just a tinge of the same and the 4th plant currently shows now issues.

So is a soil pH reading of 6.0 a cause for concern and if yes, how would watering with 7.5 pH water allow the soil to drift so low?!? Soil drying back too hard b/w watering?

bongsmilie
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
s4cruiser said:
This may be a silly and most definitely repetitive topic but my head is spinning b/c of pH readings and subsequent questions.

I’m on my second grow and am hyper observant / analytical and I want to learn / understand vs just ‘know’. Growing in Coast of Maine soil with added perlite plus a solo sized plug in the pot center for seedling. 5g fabric pots. Currently 33 days from sprout. Amended soil with Coast of Maine dry ferts (5-2-4) a week ago and watered once with recharge and epsom salts.

I have an Apera ph20 pen as well as an Apera GroStar GS2 pH soil pen tester.

Both just calibrated and read test solution as they should. Both testers indicate my tap water is 7.4 - 7.5 pH.

I have been giving the plants this grow non pH adjusted tap water aside from what is noted above.

I tested my soil with the GS2 this evening and all plants read 6.0 - 6.1. One plant shows a decent magnesium deficiency OR pH issue. Two plants show just a tinge of the same and the 4th plant currently shows now issues.

So is a soil pH reading of 6.0 a cause for concern and if yes, how would watering with 7.5 pH water allow the soil to drift so low?!? Soil drying back too hard b/w watering?

bongsmilie
Click to expand...
What's the ec or ppm of the tap water and what's in it? Excessive dry back can cause spikes in ec and I believe can cause ph issues but I water daily so I don't have that issue.
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what's high for sodium as far as numbers go. You want that as low as possible though. If you're using organic dry amendments you want to keep the soil consistently moist with no dry back. The microbiology of the soil needs moisture to thrive. I found 10-15% of pot volume to be a good target depending on the size of the plant and it's growth stage. A tiny bit of run off is fine with organic dry amendments but you don't want a ton as it will leach the fertilizer out of the soil. Check out the Gaia Green thread and the Dr Earth thread for some good reading when you get time.
 
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