Chasing pH runoff dragons - Soil

The last couple of waterings I have noticed my pH runoff starting to rise.

I was initially watering pH 7 and when I started to see it creep up above 7.3 runoff I left my pH of the water going in to around 6.1-6.3 which is about what my tap water goes down to after adding cal mag or nutes when watering.

My last watering was 6.1 going in and 7.5 coming out.

The soil is FFOF. It was amended with perlite, dolomite lime and earthworm castings. This plant was transplanted into the soil on 7/31

Strain is AK-47

Using the Fox Farms trio nutes (big bloom and grow big currently)
Also cal-mag every watering.

The growth of the plant has been fine. I am just trying to prevent any lockouts, etc.

Any tips or advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Soil runoff tells you nothing. You need a decent quality soil probe to check ph in soil at the root zone. If it is properly limed I doubt you have any ph issues. Almost 2 months in that mix and no lockout; ph is in range.

Richard Drysift said:

Soil runoff tells you nothing. You need a decent quality soil probe to check ph in soil at the root zone. If it is properly limed I doubt you have any ph issues. Almost 2 months in that mix and no lockout; ph is in range.

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this, ph of run off tells one nothing but the ph of their run off, meaning, it's a useless number, and tends to cause more issues than it's ever fixed..

So keep it at 7 going in? I figured it would lead me down a rabbit hole as I've seen it mentioned. I was concerned seeing that number keep rising on me.

My notes were erased recently but I believe I added 3 or 6 tsp of dolomite lime to the 3 gallons of soil. Will that do the job?

The ph is regulated by the soil itself as a whole. Water your plants. That's it. Nutrients contain ph buffers that affect the ph of the water you add it to but since the soil itself is what keeps ph in range that has no effect on the actual ph at the root zone. That's why only way to know what the soil ph is is with a probe. Runoff tells you nothing useful. Stop chasing the dragon

Richard Drysift said:

The ph is regulated by the soil itself as a whole. Water your plants. That's it. Nutrients contain ph buffers that affect the ph of the water you add it to but since the soil itself is what keeps ph in range that has no effect on the actual ph at the root zone. That's why only way to know what the soil ph is is with a probe. Runoff tells you nothing useful. Stop chasing the dragon

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BINGO, and for the most part. True with synthetic use too.
With the synthetic line I've been playing with lately. It makes for low pH values, too low, as in time you begin to see pH issues develop (Botanicare KIND and RO water).

The rule of thumb for pHing in-going in soil. Has been best for me, at 6.5 and I'll raise that to 6.7 in bloom.

I never have pH problems in any of my organic runs (the bulk of my runs).

I dislike any FF soil.

Got a bag of FFHF that has set on the floor for over 2 years. Tired of working around it. It's going into a soil mix for synthetic use at the final up-potting for blooming. It was given to me.

Richard Drysift said:

The ph is regulated by the soil itself as a whole. Water your plants. That's it. Nutrients contain ph buffers that affect the ph of the water you add it to but since the soil itself is what keeps ph in range that has no effect on the actual ph at the root zone. That's why only way to know what the soil ph is is with a probe. Runoff tells you nothing useful. Stop chasing the dragon

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Thank you for clarifying this for me.

Dr. Who said:

The rule of thumb for pHing in-going in soil. Has been best for me, at 6.5 and I'll raise that to 6.7 in bloom.

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So minimum I should at least be glancing at the in-going pH correct? I guess it just feels weird to dump nutes and cal mag and not at least check it before it goes in.

I will stop chasing the pH runoff dragon and just invest in a nice soil probe down the line.

Ares2389 said:

Thank you for clarifying this for me.

So minimum I should at least be glancing at the in-going pH correct? I guess it just feels weird to dump nutes and cal mag and not at least check it before it goes in.

I will stop chasing the pH runoff dragon and just invest in a nice soil probe down the line.

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Best Soil meter on the market! COSTLY but worth every penny if that's what you really feel you need. I have them for the farm.
http://hannainst.com/hi99121-ph-meter-for-direct-soil-measurement.html

In reality, I don't meter my soils. Not even for synthetic use. I simply fix my solution pH. Far easier and you get a quick feel for what your doing and what your plants are doing this way.

I should say that for the most part (organic runs) I build my own soils, and I don't adjust the plain waters pH going in. I have been doing some Potters Gold for the synthetic runs....tic low on Mg in some strains but, good stuff.

FF soils run short on Ca and Mg in time - period. Keep that in mind. Amending FF soils with Dolomite lime works to fix that. 3/4 cup (I like to say a good handful, or a heaping half cup but, 3/4 is more accurate). That is a pretty basic amount for a cft of FF soils, to amend the Ca and Mg problem away.

The use of a quality Ca/Mg product, will also not allow that problem to develop. If the water is RO or distilled (I don't suggest the use of distilled at all). I suggest a Calcium Carbonate based Ca source in the Ca/Mg product. Still available to the plant but works as a buffer better then Ca Nitrate or other forms of Ca. FF soils, need the buffer more.

Good luck!

I don't have a soil probe either and don't plan on buying one. If you grow in soil it's not really needed. Nutrients always mess with ph; most contain ph buffers and the ph meter you already have can measure that. I don't use nutes anymore so I never even think about ph.
You really don't need one unless you plan to build your own soil mix or recycle a ton of it. Decent quality probes are not cheap so if you do get one get a good one; cheap probes are useless junk. You can usually tell it's junk if it does more than check ph. If it says it's a moisture meter too do not buy it. Those are not accurate worth a fuck. I know because I wasted money on one of those and it always reads 7 no matter where I stick it in. Lol