Ganjaface said:

Hey does anyone have a recommendation for a good quality SOIL pH meter?
I have one of the cheap $12 ones that does pH/wetness/ light .

I like how far the probes can go into the pot, but I do not trust it is very accurate as the needle slowly moves the longer I leave it in the soil, so it's hard to get a fixed reading.

I am a fan of Hanna and I see their growline series of soil meters. However it looks like that "pen" style can only go like 2 inches into the soil, and I want to be able to check the pH deep down in my pot.

What do you use/ recommend?

Thanks

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PH Meter with Automatic Calibration - 7Pros High Accuracy Pen Type face mask Water Quality Tester with built-in ATC, 6 pH Calibration Packets, Best Tool to test PH of Hydroponics, Kombucha, Wine, Drinking Water​

DismalDude said:

Instead of testing run off I do a soil slurry test. Dig a small hole about 2-3 inches down in between the stalk and edge of container. take 1-2 ounces of soil place in small glass container. Add 1-2 ounces of the same water you use for feeding. Mix it up,let it sit for a few minutes. Use tester for PH and PPM. I like Apera for ph meters. Mid range cost and better than some of the most expensive. Learned of soil slurries from NFTG as a way to get very accurate readings of what's going on in your primary feeding layer of soil.

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PipeCarver said:

I had this discussion in the past "Instead of testing run off I do a soil slurry test" with others and I disagree with that method for testing soil ph while plants are growing in the soil.

When you do the slurry test you should be getting a core sample of soil and in doing so you damage roots along the way. I don't argue it is a more accurate test but what are we looking for when doing a ph test?

I want a number to identify where the soil ph stands. If that number from a slurry test is 5.00 I would expect a run off test to be close to that number --- 5.1 --4.9 ----or close. Both tell you the same thing that your p h is too low. One test you got simply by a run off the other by digging holes.

I will want to do ph tests all along through my grow and run off testing is accurate enough to use that number and determine my actions

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PipeCarver said:

I had this discussion in the past "Instead of testing run off I do a soil slurry test" with others and I disagree with that method for testing soil ph while plants are growing in the soil.

When you do the slurry test you should be getting a core sample of soil and in doing so you damage roots along the way. I don't argue it is a more accurate test but what are we looking for when doing a ph test?

I want a number to identify where the soil ph stands. If that number from a slurry test is 5.00 I would expect a run off test to be close to that number --- 5.1 --4.9 ----or close. Both tell you the same thing that your p h is too low. One test you got simply by a run off the other by digging holes.

I will want to do ph tests all along through my grow and run off testing is accurate enough to use that number and determine my actions

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mysticepipedon said:

Testing runoff is fine, provided the water had enough time to react with the soil.

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MIMedGrower said:

Checking ph/ppm by runoff is meant to help us detect trends not immediate exact info. We can write down the results at each watering and over time see if the ph or ppm tend to rise or fall or stay in range and make small adjustments over time.

I always test the runoff ph of each new soil mix before using. Then unless I see problems usually never check ph again. Only ppm (ec).

Almost always if I see acidic soil lowering out of the 6.0-7.0 range it is because of too much fertilizer buildup. And the ec meter will show a high ec.

when the ec raises past 1.6 (800ppm) or so I tend to leach the pot out some with fresh tap water. No ph adjustments to the water is needed as water can not change the ec of buffered soil. The lime or oyster shell will bring the ph back up naturally.

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PipeCarver said:

You learned that through experience ( not checking every time ) but until you under stand how the nutes/ water / up / down effect the ppm & ph Doing a check each water / feed is a good idea.imho Once and done maybe good for you but all of a sudden seeing a 5.00 ph and taking action is a little late in the game. I'd rather notice the drop below 6.00 than at 5.00.

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