I’m not sure why I’m just now seeing this, but I test my water after I add nutrients. I don’t have an accurate means of measuring what comes out, as I tend to add just enough water to create a drip but never really accumulates into a puddle.
My tester stays in the soil permanently. I check it every few hours. In all honesty, I’m not completely reliant on the meters readings, but they do encourage me. I have fingers that sense moisture and a nose for excessive moisture. I know that my active and passive air flow is working. Primarily, the plant looks good and I try to just let it do it’s thing.
I will say this: my first two grows were in 100%
Fox farm happy frog with no mix, no perlite, no crushed dolomitic limestone, nothing. That may have been why the meter read what it did.
On my most recent attempt, I am copy-catting the idea of mixing 40%
happy frog, 40% ocean forest and 20% perlite. I’m also going full blown
Fox farm nutrient schedule.
I always pH check my soil prior to watering. Basically, I flip the switch to pH, wiggle the meter and begin getting water ready. By the time I’ve got my water ready, I know the relative oH of the soil. Usually high, just around 7. I collect rainwater, and I add the Fox farms full nutrient schedule as recommended to the T, then pH balanced the water using no more than 2 drops of pH down and no more than 25 drops of pH up after that to a pH balance which always falls right around 5.9 - 6.3. I use a BlueLabs pH meter that i calibrate monthly.
I then put that water into my sprayer and administer the water. When I’m done, ill
Switch the meter back to moisture, wiggle it, and check in 19 minutes. Its usually above 6, which is good. It will eventually create a drip, but won’t create a puddle if I’ve done it correctly. Then I switch the meter back to pH, and check it later. I’ll admit, I’m less diligent in checking the pH after 10 minutes, but even after an hour, the meter is on a solid 6, so whatever I’m doing seems to working. I’m always trying to improve.