Mr. Molecule
- 69
- 18
And that lesson was: Do it every time, bucko.
I've got a history of professional indoor cultivation, but outdoor work still holds a few mysteries for me. I did my biggest outdoor grow ever this year and went with organics. However, when it came to the decision of whether to balance feed solutions and water to 6.3, I relied on that old adage I've heard so often: "Hey, relax... when you're growing in organic soil, don't worry about adjusting the pH—the soil will self-regulate."
Only problem was, this time it didn't. My tap water here is 8.2.-8.4 in the summer, and I was watering with it and using it as the water in all my feedings. Everything went well until about two weeks into flowering, when I started getting yellowing leaves and leaf drop. I believe it was due to K getting locked out by high soil pH.
I quickly realized what was happening (and I'm thankful for that) and immediately started setting all my water and solutions to 6.3. The yellowing and leaf drop stopped, and things are going to be okay, but I'm sure I lost potential yield.
This was a bit confusing because I have done a limited bit of outdoor growing in containers in the past and didn't worry about balancing pH, and this didn't happen those times. Thus lulling me into a state of false security about it this time.
Anyway, this near-disaster convinced me that controlling the pH of all input is needed even in an organic system (for me, anyway... I appreciate that a lot of people don't do it and don't have problems. But I had problems).
I've got a history of professional indoor cultivation, but outdoor work still holds a few mysteries for me. I did my biggest outdoor grow ever this year and went with organics. However, when it came to the decision of whether to balance feed solutions and water to 6.3, I relied on that old adage I've heard so often: "Hey, relax... when you're growing in organic soil, don't worry about adjusting the pH—the soil will self-regulate."
Only problem was, this time it didn't. My tap water here is 8.2.-8.4 in the summer, and I was watering with it and using it as the water in all my feedings. Everything went well until about two weeks into flowering, when I started getting yellowing leaves and leaf drop. I believe it was due to K getting locked out by high soil pH.
I quickly realized what was happening (and I'm thankful for that) and immediately started setting all my water and solutions to 6.3. The yellowing and leaf drop stopped, and things are going to be okay, but I'm sure I lost potential yield.
This was a bit confusing because I have done a limited bit of outdoor growing in containers in the past and didn't worry about balancing pH, and this didn't happen those times. Thus lulling me into a state of false security about it this time.
Anyway, this near-disaster convinced me that controlling the pH of all input is needed even in an organic system (for me, anyway... I appreciate that a lot of people don't do it and don't have problems. But I had problems).
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