PH Levels

Ok, so today I measured the ph of my water and it was around 8-8.2 - OUCH! Then I measured my soil and it's ph was around 7.1-7.2. So I got a couple questions. Are my soil readings ok for starting a grow? I think I've read that 6.5-7 is ideal for soil grows. If my soil does read 7.1-7.2, is it going to change when I add water(just water/no nutes)? I'm assuming not since when I did the soil ph test, with my tap water, it read 7.1-7.2.

Thanks guys

Just curious ... what are you using for your soil mix?

Vi

9 parts peat moss and 1 part perlite. I think I need to add some dolomite lime in there? I was going to use your suggested mix, but I can't find any Vermiculite. I've got more seeds germinating right now. Those will be the ones that get your mix.

Thanks for all your help Vi.

well your right the pH should be 6 bc marijuana like the soil neutral to a little bit acidic. I noticed what you said your soil mix was and I can't stress how important worm castings are in your soil also bat guano. I like to use fox farms ocean forest soil bc it has an awesome organic mix but I always add more worm castings.

u dont HAVE to have worm casting, ia int i jus have, 10/5/2/1 of peatless soil., perlite clay pebbels, vermiculite

worm castings are good but not essencial dont sweat it

Ok, thanks guys. I am just trying out all the different possibilities of soil mixes to see what works best for me. I definitely need to find some time to head to the damn hydro store. I get paid tomorrow, so I'll be picking up quite a few things. Another question, how do you guys feel about leaving my seeds that are in the soil, in complete darkness? What about giving them a little light as well? I can't seem to find a straight up answer on that yet. Also, watering...should I just water them down once, really well and leave them alone after that?

Thanks

OK guys, good news. I had two sprouts this morning when I woke up! They are looking a lot healthier then the first time I had semi attempted this. I think what the problem was is that I had them planted to far down into my soil?

Last night I had begun to worry about them so I scraped away some of the soil(newb thing I guess)to see what was going on down there and I had seen that they where trying to make their way outa the soil. Well they made it out! I'll get pics today - if I can. And I'd like to post some of my setup as well. Maybe add to this for my grow journal? I dunno, but either way I'm happy. Thanks guys for answering any questions that I may have asked up to this point. I'm sure I'll have more though.....

Temp/humidity this morning is:

78/46

Good readings?


Duece

worm castings are not essential and i did not say they were dont put words in my mouth grim but explain why I received a 1/4 pound more bud when I had 6 different soil mixtures my soil with the casting were elite worm castings are the shit that is why I say they are important not essential. GrnMan you should try different soil mixes and you will know what works for you no matter what you use they will grow thats what I did when I started with soil. And yes good readings.

6.2 for plants smaller than a 8 inches 6.8 for taller plants is the very best ph levels you could achieve. Lime will correct the soil to around 6.5 if you do it correctly, too much lime will surly burn your babies so be carfull with it 1 TBS per gallon of soil is perfect. It is always best to add lime to the mix before planting. But this is for soil and now that I just read "soilless" my info is off a bit you should be using more of a hydro ph scale instead of soil. 5.8 or so.

Lime will correct the soil to around 6.5 if you do it correctly, too much lime will surly burn your babies so be carfull with it 1 TBS per gallon of soil is perfect.

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Yea, someone had suggested adding some dolomite lime. I'm going to try that on a few of my other seedlings.

But this is for soil and now that I just read "soilless" my info is off a bit you should be using more of a hydro ph scale instead of soil. 5.8 or so.

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BTW, I'm using soil for this grow.