Balancing PH level in my soil Please help!!

[808Pakalolo]

I just tested my soil because my plants weren't soing well. I've finally got a testing meter and my soil read @ 7.89. So now I'm trying to find a solution. I've heard of Vinegar and or Lemon juice to lower. Any recommendations are welcomed.
Aloha and Mahalo for any input

 

[Jimster]

How big are your plants? It might be a lot easier and better to just re-plant them in a more forgiving soil, since changing the Ph of a soil isn't an easy task. If you can't re-plant, your plants are going to continue to suffer to some degree. Top dressing with a Ph lowering compound, or using a Ph adjusted liquid will usually not lower the Ph much overall, and the fluctuating Ph ranges from the Ph down, the current alkalinity of your soil, and everything in between, makes it hard for the plants to grow without a lot of stress and nutrient uptake issues. The problem of changing a bunch of soil's Ph pretty much relies on top dressing and hoping the Ph down compounds work their way into the soil, although this doesn't usually happen as planned. There will be pockets of high Ph where the compound didn't reach or was inactivated by the time it got to the zone, or you will have areas of low Ph where water forms small channels that allow water to drain easier than adjacent areas. The ideal solution would probaby be to prep the soil before planting, eliminating weeks of trying to adjust your Ph just right, and the stunting of your plant's growth while you try to fix the soil's Ph. Vinegar and lemon juice can be used to lower Ph, as can citric acid, hydrochloric acid, and a bunch of others. The trick is to use just the right amount without overshooting the desired Ph range... and keeping it there.

 

[808Pakalolo]

They're all in 3gal & less size buckets. Definitely room for repotting. They're in my grow tent(24×48×60) Temp level @75-80° humidity @ 50%. Gonna try using Fox Farms Soil since I'm using their nutrients anyway. Mahalo(Thank you) in Hawaiian. Also I'm a newbie so any recommendations will be useful. Aloha&Mahalo

 

[Jimster]

Some strains have difficulties with Fox Farms soils as they are sometimes too hot for them. I would add some perlote just to keep drainage good, but also cut back on the nutes as Fox Farms already has a ton of nutrients in their soils... adding more before they are needed could cause toxicity or lockouts. I preach using less nutrients than many growers... probably 15% of what most new growers pour into their plants and I still have great results. Whatever works well for you is the key to success... what works for me might not work well for you and vice versa... as long as the plants are happy, you should be fine.

 

[808Pakalolo]

Some strains have difficulties with Fox Farms soils as they are sometimes too hot for them. I would add some perlote just to keep drainage good, but also cut back on the nutes as Fox Farms already has a ton of nutrients in their soils... adding more before they are needed could cause toxicity or lockouts. I preach using less nutrients than many growers... probably 15% of what most new growers pour into their plants and I still have great results. Whatever works well for you is the key to success... what works for me might not work well for you and vice versa... as long as the plants are happy, you should be fine.

I really appreciate the comments and will make notes on all. Yeah these ladies are finicky, gotta roll with the moods.
MAHALO AGAIN

 

[b8kd]

They're all in 3gal & less size buckets. Definitely room for repotting. They're in my grow tent(24×48×60) Temp level @75-80° humidity @ 50%. Gonna try using Fox Farms Soil since I'm using their nutrients anyway. Mahalo(Thank you) in Hawaiian. Also I'm a newbie so any recommendations will be useful. Aloha&Mahalo

Howdy - I'm also a newbie. Currently using the Fox Farm Ocean Forest in 10 gallon pots, outdoors, and my plants seem to love it. I potted clones into the 10 gallon pots and went about 3-4 weeks before starting to feed additional nutrients. At least that's what I did for my first four plants. Two weeks after my first transplant I decided to transplant four more clones, also in FFOM, and they pretty much started the nutrients at the same time as the first plants which would have been about 10 days after transplant for these new gals, I think, and they seem to be doing really well. If you transplant into the FFOF your plants will probably be good for at least 3 weeks without needing to add additional nutrients (at least that was my experience but this is my first grow). I seem to also be having good luck with starting the feeding a little earlier with a new set of clones. Either way nothing but good things to say about the FFOM based on this first grow and my experience thus far. Plants seem to be very healthy. Feel free to check out my grow journal for more info and pics. B8KD

 

[One drop]

I just tested my soil because my plants weren't soing well. I've finally got a testing meter and my soil read @ 7.89. So now I'm trying to find a solution. I've heard of Vinegar and or Lemon juice to lower. Any recommendations are welcomed.
Aloha and Mahalo for any input

Iron will lower ph in soil lime will raise it . Regards OD.

 

[808Pakalolo]

Howdy - I'm also a newbie. Currently using the Fox Farm Ocean Forest in 10 gallon pots, outdoors, and my plants seem to love it. I potted clones into the 10 gallon pots and went about 3-4 weeks before starting to feed additional nutrients. At least that's what I did for my first four plants. Two weeks after my first transplant I decided to transplant four more clones, also in FFOM, and they pretty much started the nutrients at the same time as the first plants which would have been about 10 days after transplant for these new gals, I think, and they seem to be doing really well. If you transplant into the FFOF your plants will probably be good for at least 3 weeks without needing to add additional nutrients (at least that was my experience but this is my first grow). I seem to also be having good luck with starting the feeding a little earlier with a new set of clones. Either way nothing but good things to say about the FFOM based on this first grow and my experience thus far. Plants seem to be very healthy. Feel free to check out my grow journal for more info and pics. B8KD

My (Electric Duck Butter) a Hawaiian Strain I'm gonna flush them with Fox Farm Sledge Hammer tomorrow along with my other Hawaiian strain(HIx5) due to some irregular ph levels and soil being to high @7.8 . I have some Fox Farm Ocean Forest coming in the mail on the 7th July. And had a good brother tell me the exact same about the soil. Both girls are still in Veg stage and after potting up I'll put them in a 5gal pot with FFOF and feed them strictly H20 for 1st 2 wks. Side question? Have you ever heard or used a product URB Natural? An organic nutrient.
Mahalo (Thank you) for the advice brahdah!! Aloha

 

[Shanewatson]

They're all in 3gal & less size buckets. Definitely room for repotting. They're in my grow tent(24×48×60) Temp level @75-80° humidity @ 50%. Gonna try using Fox Farms Soil since I'm using their nutrients anyway. Mahalo(Thank you) in Hawaiian. Also I'm a newbie so any recommendations will be useful. Aloha&Mahalo

Fox farms ocean blend works great! The natural stuff in there will run slightly acidic so it should lower the ph. Hell you could probably just add the fox farms on top of the soil. (Anyone have any tricks or helpful hints on when to harvest my current?)

 

[Dr.B]

Is it just me?... Or do most of the posts relating to nutrient overdose and/or lock out issues seem to involve fox farm soil/nutrients?

 

[Foutwenty71]

How big are your plants? It might be a lot easier and better to just re-plant them in a more forgiving soil, since changing the Ph of a soil isn't an easy task. If you can't re-plant, your plants are going to continue to suffer to some degree. Top dressing with a Ph lowering compound, or using a Ph adjusted liquid will usually not lower the Ph much overall, and the fluctuating Ph ranges from the Ph down, the current alkalinity of your soil, and everything in between, makes it hard for the plants to grow without a lot of stress and nutrient uptake issues. The problem of changing a bunch of soil's Ph pretty much relies on top dressing and hoping the Ph down compounds work their way into the soil, although this doesn't usually happen as planned. There will be pockets of high Ph where the compound didn't reach or was inactivated by the time it got to the zone, or you will have areas of low Ph where water forms small channels that allow water to drain easier than adjacent areas. The ideal solution would probaby be to prep the soil before planting, eliminating weeks of trying to adjust your Ph just right, and the stunting of your plant's growth while you try to fix the soil's Ph. Vinegar and lemon juice can be used to lower Ph, as can citric acid, hydrochloric acid, and a bunch of others. The trick is to use just the right amount without overshooting the desired Ph range... and keeping it there.

@Jimster. Do you know anything about this product.. it's something I bought I'm keeping my garage just in case but I've yet to use it

 

[b8kd]

Side question? Have you ever heard or used a product URB Natural? An organic nutrient.
Mahalo (Thank you) for the advice brahdah!! Aloha

I have not heard of that product. I'm currently using quite a few of the Earth Juice products for a recipe that follows pretty close to their "Giant" primary vegetative plant tea recipe. I'll use a lot of the same products when I switch to their "bloom" recipe just in different proportions. I'm slowly introducing my plants to it and adding a couple more nutrients each time but they seem to be thriving on everything they've been given so far. Here's what the most recent recipe looks like. I brew/aerate it for about 48hrs before feeding them. This gives it all time to gel and the pH to come back to an acceptable range of around 6.0.

THE EJ “GIANT” GROW TEA-TP
Vegetative formula

EJ Grow: 2Tbsp
Big Bloomin': 1tsp
Xatalyst: 1tsp
MicroBlast: 1tsp
Hi-Brix MFP: 2tsp (currently using a different brand but will switch to EJ's when finished)
Meta-K: 1/4 tsp
OilyCan: 1 tsp (currently using another brands cal mag but will switch to the OilyCan when finished)
Assist: 1/2tsp
Bio-Righteous: 1/2tsp

DEM ROOT's is also being added separately via a one off tap water feeding during the week. I forget the exact ratio but it's in my grow journal.

This next feeding they'll each get will be about 2.5 gallons but they now seem to be drying out every two days so I'm watering them with 6.0 ph'd tap water in between each feeding. They are super hungry but growing like crazy. Nothing but good stuff to say about the Earth Juice line either. I'm as happy with it as I've been with the Fox Farm Ocean Forest. Now that I've figured out "how" to use it. The learning curve was a little steep but I probably over thought it. The plants seem to just LOVE it. They are growing like crazy. b8kd

 

[b8kd]

Is it just me?... Or do most of the posts relating to nutrient overdose and/or lock out issues seem to involve fox farm soil/nutrients?

I have nothing but praise for the Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. Also, I don't believe any issues on this thread were, or have been, related to FFOM. I have seven different strains running in that soil as we speak and every one of them is killing it. They all started as clones and four of the plants are about five weeks since transplant and four of the plants are about seven weeks since transplant. I’ve even started giving them additional nutrients on top of what’s already in there. I am also testing the heck out of the soil using a blue lab soil ph meter and EC Pen. If you’d like to see my slurry results from a few weeks ago to see where FFOM actually tests out at they are posted on my grow journal. B8KD

 

[Beachwalker]

They're all in 3gal & less size buckets. Definitely room for repotting. They're in my grow tent(24×48×60) Temp level @75-80° humidity @ 50%. Gonna try using Fox Farms Soil since I'm using their nutrients anyway. Mahalo(Thank you) in Hawaiian. Also I'm a newbie so any recommendations will be useful. Aloha&Mahalo

The wood chips could be what's raising your pH, take the wood chips off don't use them not good for cannabis, mahalo!

 

[Beachwalker]

I have nothing but praise for the Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. Also, I don't believe any issues on this thread were, or have been, related to FFOM. I have seven different strains running in that soil as we speak and every one of them is killing it. They all started as clones and four of the plants are about five weeks since transplant and four of the plants are about seven weeks since transplant. I’ve even started giving them additional nutrients on top of what’s already in there. I am also testing the heck out of the soil using a blue lab soil ph meter and EC Pen. If you’d like to see my slurry results from a few weeks ago to see where FFOM actually tests out at they are posted on my grow journal. B8KD

View attachment 993135

I love that cannabis choo-choo train!

 

[One drop]

The wood chips could be what's raising your pH, take the wood chips off don't use them not good for cannabis, mahalo!

Also causes Nitrogen draw down . OD .

 

[Dr.B]

I have nothing but praise for the Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. Also, I don't believe any issues on this thread were, or have been, related to FFOM. I have seven different strains running in that soil as we speak and every one of them is killing it. They all started as clones and four of the plants are about five weeks since transplant and four of the plants are about seven weeks since transplant. I’ve even started giving them additional nutrients on top of what’s already in there. I am also testing the heck out of the soil using a blue lab soil ph meter and EC Pen. If you’d like to see my slurry results from a few weeks ago to see where FFOM actually tests out at they are posted on my grow journal. B8KD

View attachment 993135

It was an honest question.... Plants look great...

 

[Aqua Man]

Is it just me?... Or do most of the posts relating to nutrient overdose and/or lock out issues seem to involve fox farm soil/nutrients?

Seen a lot of ph related issues lately with it... Mostly high. Maybe quality control thing? Cause not all lots seem to have this issue but definitely have seen a few high ph related issue with them here.

 

[Dr.B]

Seen a lot of ph related issues lately with it... Mostly high. Maybe quality control thing? Cause not all lots seem to have this issue but definitely have seen a few high ph related issue with them here.

Pro mix has been having similar issues. Low pH though... I asked because its almost every post. Lockout? Fox farm!

 

[Aqua Man]

Pro mix has been having similar issues. Low pH though... I asked because its almost every post. Lockout? Fox farm!

I slurry tested my sunshine 4 was about 6.0 if I remember right. Added some vermiculite and I think I finished at at about 6.1-6.2. been working well for me so far.

IMHO it doesn't matter which soil you use but a slurry test should be done with every soil. Just because the soil has the same name on the bag doesn't mean it's exactly the same each time