How does root ball size affect ph

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Panhead59

Panhead59

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So if you are dealing with established plants, let's say in flower stage, how does root ball size affect ph ? I know soil like ffhf balances out ph levels on it's own. But in the case of a mature plant, where a lot, or most of the soil is gone (replaced by roots) , how is the ph then adjusted ? Should you then start adjusting ph before watering/feeding ?
 
BirdLaw86

BirdLaw86

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So if you are dealing with established plants, let's say in flower stage, how does root ball size affect ph ? I know soil like ffhf balances out ph levels on it's own. But in the case of a mature plant, where a lot, or most of the soil is gone (replaced by roots) , how is the ph then adjusted ? Should you then start adjusting ph before watering/feeding ?
Do you have carnivourous cannibus plants or something? Are they tired of being so cramped their kickin the soil out of the pot? Lol bro i dont think the soils removed due to root growth 😂...watering will remove a tiny bit of silt and push some lighter smaller shit downwards into the pot but the root growth wont remove or replace the soil. To amswer your question, just test some run off, water with distilled until theres some runoff and test it with the ph pen or the dry chemicals, that and a slurry test from 3inches down into the soil, remove a bit, mix into distilled and allow it to settle and then test its PH level and compare to your run off to guage where youre at PH wise
 
Panhead59

Panhead59

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Can u tell me why at the end of a grow, there are mostly only roots ? Very little soil. 3 gal. Fabric pots by the way.
 
BirdLaw86

BirdLaw86

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Possibly bc the organic matter is breaking down throughout the growing cycle? Tbh i cant say i know why but i couldnt imagine how theres no soil left. Honestly it confuses me that youre seriously saying theres no dirt left bc im doing organic and if that is some kinda issue ive never heard of then Id like to be informed. Im in a 7gal fab pot atm
 
GrowHobo

GrowHobo

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Can u tell me why at the end of a grow, there are mostly only roots ? Very little soil. 3 gal. Fabric pots by the way.
Your right. I’ve always ph’d everything just because it’s easy and I don’t trust amendments because as your are saying, they def break down over time. I’ve never grown in a true living soil though I’m sure thats different but doesn’t apply here anyway
 
Panhead59

Panhead59

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I never said there is no soil . Most or alot of the soil seems to be replaced by roots. So if the soil is depleted, my ? Is what then would "adjust" ph ? Sometimes it's easy to be confused.
 
OutdoorGrowGuy

OutdoorGrowGuy

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So if you are dealing with established plants, let's say in flower stage, how does root ball size affect ph ? I know soil like ffhf balances out ph levels on it's own. But in the case of a mature plant, where a lot, or most of the soil is gone (replaced by roots) , how is the ph then adjusted ? Should you then start adjusting ph before watering/feeding ?
Up to you in my own opinion. Gets difficult to keep it consistent when they outgrow their pots. Lots of fluctuation, pH, water, nutrient etc.
I don't see any harm in treating it in a similar fashion to DTW in this scenario.
Can u tell me why at the end of a grow, there are mostly only roots ? Very little soil. 3 gal. Fabric pots by the way.
The soil particles break down / dissolve. Watering has a compacting effect too. Smaller particles + dissolved solids move and sift further down the soil. There's dissolved solids in your runoff each time you water as well.
Also a small % of the soil's carbon would go directly towards new organic life. (plant matter microbes etc)
 
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BirdLaw86

BirdLaw86

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To me that says your roots are going ape shit and your on point so just up potsize to allow roots to grow properly. Idk as far as PH'ing tho.
 
Anthem

Anthem

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To me that says your roots are going ape shit and your on point so just up potsize to allow roots to grow properly. Idk as far as PH'ing tho.
Seriously dude I think you have been on this site a couple weeks and I know from your posts you have not even completed a grow. This is a good question and you on on this thread kind of making yourself look stupid.
 
Anthem

Anthem

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I never said there is no soil . Most or alot of the soil seems to be replaced by roots. So if the soil is depleted, my ? Is what then would "adjust" ph ? Sometimes it's easy to be confused.
I cannot really comment on how the root matter affects the PH of the soil because I have never tested the PH coming out of the soil. I no longer grow in soil but hydroton. What I can saw to your question is that as the plant continues to go thru its life cycle you will find that the PH does not fluctuate as much. Now before someone gets on here and starts calling out BS, there is a couple caveat's to this. #1 I am assuming the plants remain healthy for their full life cycle and there is not real mistakes made by the grower. I use a 2 gallon bucket system and by the end of the run, the roots will be so thick, they grow thru one bucket into a second with a fitting at the bottom for ebb and flow that you have to take a putty knife and cut the roots off of the top bucket to get the root ball out of the top bucket. Soil grows were much the same so the organic mater is depleted and replaced by roots. I have also used FFOF and it does seem that towards the end of a run there is not much actual organic matter in the pot but mostly roots, sand and fillers
 
Anthem

Anthem

4,155
263
So if you are dealing with established plants, let's say in flower stage, how does root ball size affect ph ? I know soil like ffhf balances out ph levels on it's own. But in the case of a mature plant, where a lot, or most of the soil is gone (replaced by roots) , how is the ph then adjusted ? Should you then start adjusting ph before watering/feeding ?
You should always try to PH the inputs going into the pot in my opinion. Soil is typically PH's to 6.5.
 
Anthem

Anthem

4,155
263
So if you are dealing with established plants, let's say in flower stage, how does root ball size affect ph ? I know soil like ffhf balances out ph levels on it's own. But in the case of a mature plant, where a lot, or most of the soil is gone (replaced by roots) , how is the ph then adjusted ? Should you then start adjusting ph before watering/feeding ?
Also if you buy crappy soil like Kelloggs or the likes from HD you are going to find that there is just a shit ton of crap even after a run, that stuff is not really soil but more like so sand and coarsely ground up wood pieces. Trying to compare that kind of stuff to quality soil, there is no real comparison. No way will that stuff be digested by microbes in like a 12-15 week life cycle. The material is just too dense for that kind of an affect.
 
Anthem

Anthem

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Ffhf soil.
That one is a little different. It does not have nearly as much amended organic material in it.. My understanding is that it is good for about 3 weeks and the plant has depleted the food in the soil, this is not a seedling but a transplant time frame. If you plan on staying with Soil try the FFOF or some of the other products with more organic material available for the plant to uptake after the microbes have helped out. Also if you want to do your own super soil, there was a guy called sub cool. He pasted in recent years but he had a pretty good super soil I has read about, but never tried. Soil is kind of boring after about 4 or 5 grows but very stable and things happen slowly in reference to how long it takes for problems to develop. Once you start using things like Coco Coir or hydro or rockwool cubes things can good from good to bad in under 24 hours
 

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