Advice on soil mix

[Luckydux]

I’m having to veer from a tried and true method and hoping to get some reassurance. It may be a long shot but I’m open to any opinions.
I recently planted in 5gal basic poly pots with a peat based mix that came with a light precharge from worm castings (black/gold). I added an additional 2gal of worm poo and about 6 gal of perlite to each bag of this peat mix. I would usually add a handful of hydrated lime and some gypsum to this type of mix but I didn’t have it the day of planting.
I’m wondering if I could too dress it now or if dolomite lime pellets may be better in this scenario? Or maybe just use oyster shell?

One more question :) In case someone might have attempted or actually uses this product in a similar mix.
Would it be okay to also top dress with a product like bio live from Down to Earth and if so how much per pot? I’m thinking a couple tbsp??

 

[Luckydux]

I’m concerned that my ph will get too low and at a critical point during the cycle. I’ve always used hydrated lime in it peat mixes. Is my concern warranted?

 

[Luckydux]

I’m not organic btw. My usual bottled nutes are mainly age old bloom, liquid karma, cal/mag, and some humid acid. I use them on the very light side. And rainwater is my source.

 

[Grapefruitroop]

I always lime peat separately before mixing to anything...one cup x cubic foot is the rule of thumb.
In your case i would reather monitor strictly the ph of your nutrient solution and runoff according to the media your using. And control the ph in that way.
Top dressing could work but also not, there are many grades of Dolomite and the absorbtion of it depend from many factors like how fine it is and how active is your soil biology...
Keep in mindi that good EWC is always slightly alcaline....over 7...so you MAY not need any adjust....
Humic acid is slightly alcaline too and can be used as organic ph up......
good luck!

 

[Luckydux]

Hmmm. Maybe I could get away with just topdressing an inch or more of castings or vermicompost ?? I like to put a few handfuls on after a couple weeks of flower anyways. Not sure it does much but it sure doesn’t hurt

 

[JWM2]

Grab a bottle of Olympus Up by nectar for the gods at your local hydro store or amazon.

 

[Luckydux]

I actually have a bottle. I have a test grow currently using their products exclusively.
Although I feel its a good product I’m hoping to prevent and limit the amount of things needed for this grow. Not a water only scenario but minimal effort. (It’s for a friend)
My usual products used at a certain strength will give an acceptable ph without any buffers. With exception to catalyst by earth juice which I use to lower ph if needed

 

[Luckydux]

I ended up top dressing with about 2 tbsp of bio live and on top of that I put Malibu compost and worm castings. About 4/1 and around an inch depth. I’ll be adding gypsum and oyster shell tmrw and plan to flip to flower this weekend.
I feel good about things but I’m really out of my comfort zone so this will be an adventure! Any other advice is welcome!

 

[Jimster]

Promix is peat based but adds calcium carbonate or something similar to help offset the natural acidic Ph of the peat. Without something to buffer the makeup of your medium, I think it is going to grow increasingly acidic as the medium matures. Top dressing is like a bandaid, as it is trying to mitigate a problem instead of fixing the actual problem. I would keep a sharp eye out for Ph swings and possible nute lockout. Check your outflow Ph... as long as it is in the comfort zone, things should be OK. I don't know what to say since you are almost in flowering.

 

[Luckydux]

If things do start to acidify what are my options?