just got a ppm meter, now what do i do with it?

i'm not new to growing but i have never worried about ppm before. i'm growing in dirt so i thought that i didn't need to worry about it. i've had a recurring problem the last year since i switched nutes and i'm getting very desperate in fixing the problem.
so would i monitor the ppm on the runoff to see if it's higher than what i put in or what? thanks

ok it probably came with a little packet of solution that you're supposed to calibrate it with. It should have all of this in the instructions. Did you read the instructions? You didn't,.........did you........

no, i know how to use it i just don't know how to utilize it for growing. in other words why am i monitoring the nute strength in ppm? what do i need to watch out for, etc.

also which ppm do i look at the one at ec x 500 or the ec x 700? the directions don't say anything about this. what is the difference between the two?

so nobody here keeps track of their ppm? ok here is how i think i should use it and maybe then someone can pipe in. of course use it to make sure that the nute solution is not above say 900ppm or something right? but can it be used to tell if it's time to flush the plant by checking to see if the runoff is at a higher ppm than what i put in? should the runoff always be lower or the same as what's being put in, and if it's not then it's time to flush? also use it when flushing to tell when enough salts have been flushed out by getting the same reading as the flush water. right? remember that i am not hydoponic for anyone helping me out on this one. thanks

i honestly thought that ppm meters where more for hydro setups and not really for soil.. but i guess they could be used for either... what a ppm meter will tell you is how much nutes are in your solution.. i am not sure about the one you have as i have never used one... but i think that you mix your nutes according to directions, then test the ppm of them... usually, seedlings and the like start off with a much small ppm, and as the plants grow, you increase you ppm... i think like seedlings start of at like 50-150ppm... and like i said, as they get bigger you increase the ppm to like 1500, strain dependent of course.. and as flowering stage progresses, you will want to start to drop the ppm back down again and eventually end up just using straight water to flush the plants with..
i am sure that there are plenty of websites that will tell you what ppm to use and when to increase/ decrease it...
in soil, i would think that you should keep an eye more on ph that ppm... if you don't already have one, get yourself a nice digital ph meter, some up and down and check your water after you add your nutes and adjust the ph to about 6.5/6.8... if your ph gets to far off, it can cause nutrient lockout and the nutes will not be able to be processed by the plant.. i hope that this helps you out some..

thanks racerboy, i've always monitored the ph so i got that covered. kind of thought that i would get a better response than one person but that's ok, all i can do now is trial and error and or experiment!

If you were having problems with nutes, why not just reduce the amount of fert you give the plants. Thats alot cheaper than spending money on a PPM. Its really not necessary for growing in soil.

PPM = parts per million,
a ppm meter tells you how much is in your reservoir water in Hydro growing.

I've never heard of or seen anyone use a ppm meter with a soil grow........but there is a lot I have not seen or heard of before.