Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil and Ph?

Ok so here is my situation, I recently switched from promix to foxfarm ocean forest soil and I planted 2 clones in the soil I decided to run some water that was ph'd to 6.8 thru it to see what my run off ph was and it was like 5.8... Now I know that 5.8 is way to low for soil and wondering why and the hell its so low? Has anyone else that has used ocean forest experienced this? Now I have 2 more questions, How do I get the soil to the optimum ph and how do I prevent this low ph in the future? Thanks in advanced.....

Just like ProMix, OF is a peat based mix and the root cause of the low pH.

Simple solution for ANY peat based mix is Dolomite Lime. The powdered works fastest (couple weeks), pellets if you have more time (couple months), but NEVER hydrated. That works too fast and can burn your plants.

Powdered/Ground Dolomite Lime cost ~$5 for a 40LB bag at Lowes. Can't get a much cheaper fix AND supplies Cal/Mag to boot. What more can you ask?

With a few cheap amendments, you can make ProMix better than OF, at a much lower cost.

Wet

Awsome, I just went out and bought a 50lb bag.... Now the question is how much should I mix in with my soil for my next clones when i repot them and is there a way I can get it into my ladies that are in their permanent pots....Also since I am using RO water should I supplement with calmag also or will the lime do the job?








And could this problem I had with promix be caused by no added lime? This is how it starts out and the fan leaves end up completely dying

I use FFOF and happyfrog...add nothing and get amazing results... Also runoff is kindampointless to check IMO, u wanna know ur soil pH get a test rod...I'm sure addin the lime won't really hurt to much..but it isn't nessecary

what wet said. damn you wet. every time i see a thread like this and try to be the smartypants you always beat me to it. the lime industry should pay you royalties lol. also to the op, oceanforest is notoriously acidic. they can stick those oyster shells where the sun don't shine because they don't buffer the soil like lime. the dolomite will supply both cal and mag but you will likely need to still supplement with calmag if using ro. for your already planted plants, you can use liquid dolomite lime and it will get to work fast. aggrene makes a good liquid lime and it is derived from dolomite. a tablespoon/gallon should do you fine for a quick correction.

Sounds like alot more people should do some reading on lime lol, GODSEND??? Well I'm not hugely worried about my ladies that are about half way thru bloom but I would like to take preventative measures next time. So I havent had any luck with promix and I'm thinking that not adding lime could be the reason... I got 2 more questions for you guys, How much lime should I add to a full 3.5cf bag of promix and how much should I add to a full bag of Ocean forest? Thanks guys I feel a weight slowly lifting off my shoulders.... I have lost ALOT of plants do to this problem.

max316420 said:

Sounds like alot more people should do some reading on lime lol, GODSEND??? Well I'm not hugely worried about my ladies that are about half way thru bloom but I would like to take preventative measures next time. So I havent had any luck with promix and I'm thinking that not adding lime could be the reason... I got 2 more questions for you guys, How much lime should I add to a full 3.5cf bag of promix and how much should I add to a full bag of Ocean forest? Thanks guys I feel a weight slowly lifting off my shoulders.... I have lost ALOT of plants do to this problem.

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For you real quick:

2tbl/gallon of mix, top dressed for plants in their final 'homes'. Water in well. 10tbl for a 5gal pot, 6tbl for a 3gal and so on.

1 cup/CuFt of mix. BUT !!!!! A bale of Promix expands out to ~7CuFT, so right at 7 cups for a whole bale. 1 1/2 cups for that bag of FF. 1 1/2CuFt bag, yes?

Wet

Total Head said:

what wet said. damn you wet. every time i see a thread like this and try to be the smartypants you always beat me to it. the lime industry should pay you royalties lol. also to the op, oceanforest is notoriously acidic. they can stick those oyster shells where the sun don't shine because they don't buffer the soil like lime. the dolomite will supply both cal and mag but you will likely need to still supplement with calmag if using ro. for your already planted plants, you can use liquid dolomite lime and it will get to work fast. aggrene makes a good liquid lime and it is derived from dolomite. a tablespoon/gallon should do you fine for a quick correction.

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LOL I'll get offline and let you answer. Hee Hee But it's good to have backup on this. So many dismiss lime , I think because it's so cheap and simple. Not enough $$$ involved for it to *actually work*, right?

Good call on the liquid dolomite. I've never used it because, now, lime is the second ingredient in my mix, right after the peat moss. Good call on the cal.mag with RO. I'm really against RO in soil and even more so in organics, but some still insist. LOL

Bro

Wet

First..Thereis already lime in ffof, along with the oyster shells... I guess that's it, but i guess if puttin in a couple scoops of EXTRA lime helps you sleep at night then.....

Bublonichronic said:

I use FFOF and happyfrog...add nothing and get amazing results... Also runoff is kindampointless to check IMO, u wanna know ur soil pH get a test rod...I'm sure addin the lime won't really hurt to much..but it isn't nessecary

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Bublonichronic said:

First..Thereis already lime in ffof, along with the oyster shells... I guess that's it, but i guess if puttin in a couple scoops of EXTRA lime helps you sleep at night then.....

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keep trollin, trollin, trollin, trollin. there is no lime listed on the ingredients of my bag of oceanforest, nor is it listed as an ingredient on their website. here is the list of ingredients as it appears on the bag: Composted forest humus, sphagnum, peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, worm castings, sandy loam, perlite, fossilized bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp meal, oyster shell (for pH adjustment). are you claiming that ff secretly puts lime in that mix and doesn't tell us? all so you could make that non-contribution to the thread? troll on, sir. troll on.

Total Head said:

keep trollin, trollin, trollin, trollin. there is no lime listed on the ingredients of my bag of oceanforest, nor is it listed as an ingredient on their website. here is the list of ingredients as it appears on the bag: Composted forest humus, sphagnum, peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, worm castings, sandy loam, perlite, fossilized bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp meal, oyster shell (for pH adjustment). are you claiming that ff secretly puts lime in that mix and doesn't tell us? all so you could make that non-contribution to the thread? troll on, sir. troll on.

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lol, im a troll? keep addin unnesecary shit into your soil, if it was needed then how come my plants prolly blow yours outa the watter? anyway, no point in arguing with you, you obviously think that your smarter that the people who make the soil(even tho you buy it?!)...and the liime in there, use to be listed on the bag, i dont know if they stopd cause they find the oysters better or juyst arnt listing it ont he bag, write them if youd like...
EDIT: i bet you think you need superthrive too huh? LOL
EDIT: also, i wanna add i think its boarderline pathetic you think your gonna make the soil so much better with what 50 cents of lime? maybe you should work for FoxFarm, i bet you can make a million dollars with you genies ideas of addin lime from home depot...AHhhha

so just to recap there is NO lime in ocean forest soil. i see you failed to mention that after your 2 edits of a post that STILL fails to contribute anything useful. and lol @ your pissing match you're trying to start. well let me just save you the trouble. you grow the bestest most awsomest plants out of anyone on riu and 200+ years of horticultural science is for fags. how's that?

yea i double edited....big whoop...but all that time for that....not impressed, and i dont think im the best grower, i just KNOW im BETTER THAN YOU...and like i said write FoxFarm and ask why they took it out kid...i dont really care enough to write them cause the soil works great for me...and just on another side note the FoxFarmHappyFrog uses dolomite lime for ph ajustment...so tell me why they use the lime in the starter soil and the oysters in their "premium mix" ?people like you remind me why RIU is full of sick plants...im just trying to help the innocentfrom the pathetic

Bublonichronic said:

I use FFOF and happyfrog...add nothing and get amazing results... Also runoff is kindampointless to check IMO, u wanna know ur soil pH get a test rod...I'm sure addin the lime won't really hurt to much..but it isn't nessecary

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im with bublon, so many growers read too much into it, not to sound rude but its just a weed if u really break it down and, it will grow almost in spite of u, IMO micromanaging any grow is what will give u microproblems that turn into majorproblems, major fast..... at first i used only distilled water, but that got real old after the second time i bought water jugs of distilled water just to feed the plants... then i just started using tap water with my FFOF and never checked the PH more than once, i bought a test rod for 10 bux and it was like 6.8ish and thats good enuff for me... u dont have to worry about the run off dude... and if u think im blowing hot air w/ no proof...heres the latest 3 plant 400 watt grow i got, seems fine to me..

mazand1982 said:

im with bublon, so many growers read too much into it, not to sound rude but its just a weed if u really break it down and, it will grow almost in spite of u, IMO micromanaging any grow is what will give u microproblems that turn into majorproblems, major fast..... at first i used only distilled water, but that got real old after the second time i bought water jugs of distilled water just to feed the plants... then i just started using tap water with my FFOF and never checked the PH more than once, i bought a test rod for 10 bux and it was like 6.8ish and thats good enuff for me... u dont have to worry about the run off dude... and if u think im blowing hot air w/ no proof...heres the latest 3 plant 400 watt grow i got, seems fine to me..View attachment 1569838View attachment 1569839View attachment 1569840

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"phew"that was a relief to read i have to admitt, i thought another one was commin to gang up on me! beautiful plants BTW man

Bublonichronic said:

yea i double edited....big whoop...but all that time for that....not impressed, and i dont think im the best grower, i just KNOW im BETTER THAN YOU...and like i said write FoxFarm and ask why they took it out kid...i dont really care enough to write them cause the soil works great for me...and just on another side note the FoxFarmHappyFrog uses dolomite lime for ph ajustment...so tell me why they use the lime in the starter soil and the oysters in their "premium mix" ?people like you remind me why RIU is full of sick plants...im just trying to help the innocentfrom the pathetic

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name calling only adds to your classy charm. carry on.

Bublonichronic said:

"phew"that was a relief to read i have to admitt, i thought another one was commin to gang up on me! beautiful plants BTW man

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no problem bublon, im not one to argue with whos better or whos worse, theres millions of different nutes, millions of different methods,lights,mediums,lumens,distances,temps,humidity, etc etc that people are particular with, IMO, just do what u think is best, and for me...whats best is keeping it simple..FFOF, tap water, flora nova grow then bloom with kool bloom added late in flowering, a couple of exhaust fans and bada bing badaboom, "trichome mafia clique movin' up another notch..."

good luck on your grows team RIU...the tall one is a blue venom i just let run rampant, not topped or nuthin...front is a 2x topped and semi LST diablo og kush, back left is a semi LST skywalker og kush, they reek so bad its beautiful...

Total Head said:

name calling only adds to your classy charm. carry on.

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i really...really...hate to even say this cause i feel like a fuckin moron...but you started the name callin with the "troill"comment, and got me fired up wanting to smash your self esteem,...and i can see as youir posts get shorted....i did

Bublonichronic said:

i really...really...hate to even say this cause i feel like a fuckin moron...but you started the name callin with the "troill"comment, and got me fired up wanting to smash your self esteem,...and i can see as youir posts get shorted....i did

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ooh, smash that self esteem. i'm melting...melting... like i said, troll on.

by the way, the op asked, "what is the best way to stabilize ph?" people answered him. then you come in with all your "i grow better pot than you and your way is stupid" crapola. did you even answer the guy's question or did you just want to start a flame war and smash self esteem? so how's the view up there?

Total Head said:

ooh, smash that self esteem. i'm melting...melting... like i said, troll on.

by the way, the op asked, "what is the best way to stabilize ph?" people answered him. then you come in with all your "i grow better pot than you and your way is stupid" crapola. did you even answer the guy's question or did you just want to start a flame war and smash self esteem? so how's the view up there?

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dood... go back and reread the thread, i simply stated that it wasten the soil causing any problems...then somone made a condescending remark about my post, then i kinda got more agressive about the FACT im stating...then well, im drunk and if we were face to face, i would have prolly kicked the shit outa you, but i had to settle....