Soil pH for germinated seeds

[dovetails]

Hi all -

So I'm growing 6 total plants; 3 of which are in Fox Farm's Happy Frog, and 3 are in Ocean Forest. I read that these soils typically hang around 6.0-6.8pH, but noticed that the fox farm was 8.6, while the Ocean Forest is 7.6. Both of which do not have enough acidity. So I need to get these small cups of soil with the germinated seeds to around 6.5 realistically.

What's the fastest method to lower my pH by 1 or 2 pts that you guys have had success with? Or should I immediately dig them up and get a different soil? I just want to start off on the right foot. For what it's worth, I just planted them a couple of hours ago, and they're sitting under a full spectrum UV light. The plan is to transplant them to 3gal pots outside in a few weeks when they're large enough to move.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Hi all -

So I'm growing 6 total plants; 3 of which are in Fox Farm's Happy Frog, and 3 are in Ocean Forest. I read that these soils typically hang around 6.0-6.8pH, but noticed that the fox farm was 8.6, while the Ocean Forest is 7.6. Both of which do not have enough acidity. So I need to get these small cups of soil with the germinated seeds to around 6.5 realistically.

What's the fastest method to lower my pH by 1 or 2 pts that you guys have had success with? Or should I immediately dig them up and get a different soil? I just want to start off on the right foot. For what it's worth, I just planted them a couple of hours ago, and they're sitting under a full spectrum UV light. The plan is to transplant them to 3gal pots outside in a few weeks when they're large enough to move.

Based on your choice of medium, I would highly recommend that you NOT do any pH adjusting of your water unless you have problematic water to begin with. If it's coming out of the tap between 7.2-7.8 then leave it be. The soil is pH balanced off the shelf regardless of what your probe might be telling you. When you water, the soil will automatically adjust. The only pH reading you should worry about is the runoff. Well, you do also want to make sure you don't have problematic water going in.

 

[JIMKSI64]

What that guy says. Do not worry about water until you add stuff to it. Then adjust as needed.

 

[dovetails]

Based on your choice of medium, I would highly recommend that you NOT do any pH adjusting of your water unless you have problematic water to begin with. If it's coming out of the tap between 7.2-7.8 then leave it be. The soil is pH balanced off the shelf regardless of what your probe might be telling you. When you water, the soil will automatically adjust. The only pH reading you should worry about is the runoff. Well, you do also want to make sure you don't have problematic water going in.

Hi Ninja - thanks for the reply.

My tap water is reading 6.9-7.1, which is what I've always watered all plants with.

So you're saying to leave the soil as is for now, and measure the runoff water instead, to give me an accurate pH reading?

 

[JIMKSI64]

Ok I read for content this time

You are putting these outside in a few weeks. The plants will need nothing but water and proper watering techniques until you put them outside. I use both both your bags of soil as a mix and in my inside grow in 5 gallon pots is straight organic.

An outside plant can get big and huge but prolly not in a 3 gallon. Outside grows start at 5 for autos and up from there.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Hi Ninja - thanks for the reply.

My tap water is reading 6.9-7.1, which is what I've always watered all plants with.

So you're saying to leave the soil as is for now, and measure the runoff water instead, to give me an accurate pH reading?

Yes. I haven't specifically gone down the rabbit hole with the chemistry science to be able to explain it scientifically, but there are buffering agents in the soil that react with water and change its pH. And it'll really throw you for a loop when you stick a probe in the dirt and it's showing low 8's and you are dumping 7.2 water in there and somehow you wind up with runoff in the high 5's. It's a head scratcher but an example of the kind of reactions going on in the soil. Gotta watch that low pH pocket at the bottom and that's why you always want to have runoff when you water.

 

[JIMKSI64]

Until he adds nutrition which is not needed all you do by watering organic soil to runoff is rinse out the Humic Acid components that support the conversion to nutrition as well as the poops and meal and other good stuff

 

[dovetails]

Ok I read for content this time

You are putting these outside in a few weeks. The plants will need nothing but water and proper watering techniques until you put them outside. I use both both your bags of soil as a mix and in my inside grow in 5 gallon pots is straight organic.

An outside plant can get big and huge but prolly not in a 3 gallon. Outside grows start at 5 for autos and up from there.

Sorry, I meant to say 5 gallon fabric grow pots.

 

[KolaKing]

Yes. I haven't specifically gone down the rabbit hole with the chemistry science to be able to explain it scientifically, but there are buffering agents in the soil that react with water and change its pH. And it'll really throw you for a loop when you stick a probe in the dirt and it's showing low 8's and you are dumping 7.2 water in there and somehow you wind up with runoff in the high 5's. It's a head scratcher but an example of the kind of reactions going on in the soil. Gotta watch that low pH pocket at the bottom and that's why you always want to have runoff when you water.

Lime. This helps to acidify the soil to the levels the plants like.

I pH more as a practice then out of necessity so @JIMKSI64 and @Ninjadogma are right but there are some nuances you want to keep in mind. In pots, in the beginning, you have enough buffer, lime, in the soil to buffer wherever your pH number is, up or down, to the range your plant likes but after repeated waterings the lime content in your soil will reduce and the soil pH will be less acidic if only water is used.

I'm a synthganic grower meaning I use synthetic ferts in organic soil. Since I pH my ferts the lime in the soil doesn't need to rebalance the soil pH as much and it keeps that component in place in case there is a time that I dump ferts that are out of range into the soil.

 

[RoadKillSkunkHunt]

Based on your choice of medium, I would highly recommend that you NOT do any pH adjusting of your water unless you have problematic water to begin with. If it's coming out of the tap between 7.2-7.8 then leave it be. The soil is pH balanced off the shelf regardless of what your probe might be telling you. When you water, the soil will automatically adjust. The only pH reading you should worry about is the runoff. Well, you do also want to make sure you don't have problematic water going in.

Ocean Forest will stabilize and settle at about 6.5 pH. I always get my pots ready ahead of time. I water them so the soil is moist and then let it sit for a couple of weeks prior to planting anything in it. That's about all a grower has to do to Ocean Forest to get it stable.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Lime. This helps to acidify the soil to the levels the plants like.

I pH more as a practice then out of necessity so @JIMKSI64 and @Ninjadogma are right but there are some nuances you want to keep in mind. In pots, in the beginning, you have enough buffer, lime, in the soil to buffer wherever your pH number is, up or down, to the range your plant likes but after repeated waterings the lime content in your soil will reduce and the soil pH will be less acidic if only water is used.

I'm a synthganic grower meaning I use synthetic ferts in organic soil. Since I pH my ferts the lime in the soil doesn't need to rebalance the soil pH as much and it keeps that component in place in case there is a time that I dump ferts that are out of range into the soil.

I use organic soil with pretty much just dry amends and I was getting salt crud even with that because of bad watering. Watering to runoff is necessary with regular soil, but nowhere close to the amount of runoff you would shoot for with a coco/peat medium with synthetic nutes. I've settled in on somewhere around 8 ounces (a cup) of runoff. And you are right, over time your buffers can get washed out of the soil which is why it's important to water nice and slowly and not create so much water pressure in the soil that it pushes everything good the bottom.

I got back to my house after 10 days on the road and had my wife taking care of the grow while I was gone. I saw the holes in the dirt in each pot and instantly knew she blasted them with full water pressure. Oh well... she didn't kill anything but I don't have the heart to tell her how badly she fucked things up. Perlite all floating on top, and nutrients all washed out the bottom... That's okay, was planning on up-potting to 10 gallon anyway.

 

[RoadKillSkunkHunt]

Lime. This helps to acidify the soil to the levels the plants like.

I pH more as a practice then out of necessity so @JIMKSI64 and @Ninjadogma are right but there are some nuances you want to keep in mind. In pots, in the beginning, you have enough buffer, lime, in the soil to buffer wherever your pH number is, up or down, to the range your plant likes but after repeated waterings the lime content in your soil will reduce and the soil pH will be less acidic if only water is used.

I'm a synthganic grower meaning I use synthetic ferts in organic soil. Since I pH my ferts the lime in the soil doesn't need to rebalance the soil pH as much and it keeps that component in place in case there is a time that I dump ferts that are out of range into the soil.

Lime actually makes the soil more alkaline. There's also more than one type of lime. Generally speaking, the only lime a grower should be interested in for cannabis is Dolomite Lime. Garden lime is likely to send the soil out of range high ... like potentially 8.0 or higher.

The OP was asking about Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. It contains all the buffering it needs. The OP should not add anything to it. Just water as needed. It will adjust on its own. It will settle at about 6.5 +/- a bit if its not tampered with.

 

[dovetails]

Lime actually makes the soil more alkaline. There's also more than one type of lime. Generally speaking, the only lime a grower should be interested in for cannabis is Dolomite Lime. Garden lime is likely to send the soil out of range high ... like potentially 8.0 or higher.

The OP was asking about Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. It contains all the buffering it needs. The OP should not add anything to it. Just water as needed. It will adjust on its own. It will settle at about 6.5 +/- a bit if its not tampered with.

Exactly what I plan to do. Thanks!

 

[KolaKing]

Lime actually makes the soil more alkaline. There's also more than one type of lime. Generally speaking, the only lime a grower should be interested in for cannabis is Dolomite Lime. Garden lime is likely to send the soil out of range high ... like potentially 8.0 or higher.

The OP was asking about Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. It contains all the buffering it needs. The OP should not add anything to it. Just water as needed. It will adjust on its own. It will settle at about 6.5 +/- a bit if its not tampered with.

Correct. Dolomite Lime is what I meant.