Fox Farms Happy Frog 8.0ph? WTF?

[ThatRapperWeed]

I tried fox farms happy frog on my current grow. I supplemented with 20% perlite. I switched water sources partway through my grow and botched my ph as I was watering with 7.8ph water for a bit. I've flushed heavily, tried bringing it down and religiously watered with 6.0 since. Runoff is coming out 7.4. I used a cheap stick ph meter (the one that's also a moisture meter) and it says soil is 8.0. I go to test my bag of happy frog and it says 8.0! Is that possible?? I thought it should be 6.5 max. Plants went from super healthy to very droopy as they are clearly getting no nutes. I'm close to restarting as I've had some huge setbacks that will affect yield greatly.

 

[TripsRabbit]

You need to do a slurry test to get an accurate soil ph.

 

[Mr.GreenthumbOG]

the stick meter is trash. Do a slurry, or use bluelab soil pen.

 

[ThatRapperWeed]

the stick meter is trash. Do a slurry, or use bluelab soil pen.

Ok ill give that a try thanks!

 

[Edinburgh]

Happy frog is a hot mix compared to ocean forest.

 

[Eternulwinter]

Happy frog is a hot mix compared to ocean forest.

Which is hotter.I was told ocean forest is hotter

 

[FourPlants]

I'm not the biggest soil guy but I was under the impression that ocean forest is hotter. I have done some mixes of happy frog and Walmart Promix bundles for veggies.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Which is hotter.I was told ocean forest is hotter

I've been told the same by the guy I deal with at the local grow store. He says Happy Frog is good for young plants but when you transplant to larger containers, use the Ocean Forest. The Ocean Forest should get you into flower but eventually will need to be supplemented with additional nutes.

I don't use the Happy Frog at all. I use Ocean Forrest for my whole grow and I do find myself adding nutes to the feedings about the time I switch to flower. I also continue feeding higher nitrogen levels through the stretch before I start tapering nitrogen levels down . This seems to help keep my plants greener longer. From my experience, Ocean Forrest, as good as it is, will deplete itself before my grow is finished.

Edit: My experience with Ocean Forrest is it usually starts out acidic but after a few weeks of watering, settles in around 6.2-6.5 pH. It sounds like your water source has a high alkalinity. What that means is even after using pH down to adjust it to your range, the alkalinity is still buffering the acid in the pH down and if you were to let the water sit for a few days, the pH would rise and need to be adjusted down again prior to being used. If the alkalinity of your water source is high enough, it can significantly raise the soil pH into nutrient lock out range even after multiple rounds of pH down. If this is what you're experiencing, use filtered water.

 

[Eternulwinter]

I've been told the same by the guy I deal with at the local grow store. He says Happy Frog is good for young plants but when you transplant to larger containers, use the Ocean Forest. The Ocean Forest should get you into flower but eventually will need to be supplemented with additional nutes.

I don't use the Happy Frog at all. I use Ocean Forrest for my whole grow and I do find myself adding nutes to the feedings about the time I switch to flower. I also continue feeding higher nitrogen levels through the stretch before I start tapering nitrogen levels down . This seems to help keep my plants greener longer. From my experience, Ocean Forrest, as good as it is, will deplete itself before my grow is finished.

Edit: My experience with Ocean Forrest is it usually starts out acidic but after a few weeks of watering, settles in around 6.2-6.5 pH. It sounds like your water source has a high alkalinity. What that means is even after using pH down to adjust it to your range, the alkalinity is still buffering the acid in the pH down and if you were to let the water sit for a few days, the pH would rise and need to be adjusted down again prior to being used. If the alkalinity of your water source is high enough, it can significantly raise the soil pH into nutrient lock out range even after multiple rounds of pH down. If this is what you're experiencing, use filtered water.

I’m at 40 alk

 

[Eternulwinter]

I’m at 40 alk

For autos?

 

[Aqua Man]

I’m at 40 alk

That's pretty low... I would suggest waiting 2 weeks before you know how the ph will be. It takes time for it to activate the buffers and stabilize. Also the inoculation of microbes will play a role once they are established.

Just my non soil growing $0.02