question about ph

[Roperdope]

I have been doing tons of research about soil ph and how to lower it and raise it and check it but im still stomped on it. What do i use to raise and lower the ph in soil and how much do i use? I will be using FFOF.

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

Keep the solutions you pour over the soil around 6.3. I use 6.3ish.

Use a good myco and read up on making basic EWC tea.

If you keep the soils microbial life healthy....they will adjust ph.

You should always water until you get a little runoff...gather it in a bucket and test the ph of the runoff. This will tell you the ph of your soil. You can adjust the ph of your nute mix to compensate up/down as you may need to. With healthy microlife...it should never be an issue. I've never actually checked my soil because a healthy food web is one of my MAIN goals and that has paid off with no lock outs or ph issues.

I would suggest cutting whatever bagsoil you get 30%ish with perlite. You will have to water more...but thats better than having poor drainage. If you DO need to flush, it wont take a week for the pot to dry out.

I know you didn't ask, but IMHO, 707 is a better choice that FF. Its not as hot so it allows a little more room for error if you get too happy with the nutes. Not to beat a dead horse, but FF has had quality control issues in the recent past.

 

[headiemeddie420]

well for organics for ph down u can use food grade citric acid crystals (even other organic acids like acectic acid but this is not as recomended). For ph up u can use dolomite lime, calcium carbonate, as well as some organically derived hydroxides. For a store bought product the best example i can think of is roots organic ph down crystals and the ph up crystals.

 

[nouvellechef]

Dont concern yourself with PH when running full organics. Ammend the medium with 1cup of fine grade dolomite lime per cubic ft of medium. When done correctly their is no need to check run off for PH or PPM. I really suggest using a really rather plain soil like pro-mix(black bag only) and ammending it. Cheaper per cubic foot than about any other medium and works as a perfect base to ammend, and then recycle it after use. I am currently about to recycle the medium for the 9th time. I was running 45, 3gal airpots and it would cost me about $49 to ammend the batch. That includes innoculant and sucrose for the cycle. GL

 

[Roperdope]

Well im using ffof and all of the fox farm nute like bushdoctor, the trio, and the trio of open se, and ect. what should i do then?

 

[sin808]

I take it you're using new soil? if so Buddys' advice is pretty sufficent. Definitely add 20-33% perlite, you will have to water more often, but it will drain better to prevent root-rot and allow you to make adjustments much more quickly. As long as your watering/feeding is running in the low 6's and have a solid microlife base(which is easy to create) you should be just fine. And soil testing is so swingy as to make it almost useless, run-off is much more accurate but shouldn't be a concern. Good luck!

 

[Roperdope]

Yeah im using new soil, my mixture is 50 cups ffof 12.5 cups perlite and 12.5 cups of vermeculite. I dont have any lime and to ad to the soil and i already have everything planted and growing great. So i just keep my water that i feed them with at 6.3ph or around thats then? and will that keep it good the whole grow i just dont wanna have to fight the ph the whole time. and ph for soil is new to me i have never done soil only hydro my whole life lol.

 

[click80]

Yeah im using new soil, my mixture is 50 cups ffof 12.5 cups perlite and 12.5 cups of vermeculite. I dont have any lime and to ad to the soil and i already have everything planted and growing great. So i just keep my water that i feed them with at 6.3ph or around thats then? and will that keep it good the whole grow i just dont wanna have to fight the ph the whole time. and ph for soil is new to me i have never done soil only hydro my whole life lol.

...if you are not having trouble and you used new soil (the ffof) you should not have any trouble...if it would ease your mind (even though I agree with others that if your organic and have a good microbes kicking you don't need to worry about it ) but if it eases your mind, check your ph and post back....I check mine occasionally for the hell of it...I water to runoff and grab some of the first runoff and check it, then water about a gallon or so more and check that...

I have moms that have been in the same soil for over 8 months, I add a layer of new soil on top (well soilless, I prefer Roots Organic cause it has enough perlite already in it) whenever I feel it needs a little bulk up, and I use a compost tea bi-weekly, alfalfa tea, bennies about every two months um....oh and about every 5 months I will throw some of the slow release dolomite lime on it...

I think with new FFOF, which is pretty good if perlite is added, you should not have any issues if you are just vegging and flowering.

 

[sin808]

I didn't realize you were using vermiculite. I would probably drop the vermiculite on your next run and maybe increase your perlite, the reason being vermiculite ph levels vary quite a bit and its not inert so it's ph can go up( I don't believe it goes down, but not sure) quite a bit from start to finish. Just something to consider. If you do a run-off test early and you're fine you should be cool for 4-6 weeks, but I'd test again by mid-bloom. If it's good then you're home free. If not you to make an adjustment(like a soil additive, or just dropping your water/feeding ph pretty low) and keep an eye on it weekly for the rest of the cycle. And don't forget to do some more research, I'm pretty confident I'm giving you solid advice, but I might have missed something.

 

[chess]

no vermica,more perlite plus dolomite lime for sure for 2 reasons calcium and ph

 

[chalky white]

I have been doing tons of research about soil ph and how to lower it and raise it and check it but im still stomped on it. What do i use to raise and lower the ph in soil and how much do i use? I will be using FFOF.

you can use baking soda to raise it and ph down to lower it but keep it in the 5.5 to 6.2 range

 

[liri]

i use white vinegar and it works soooo good