WHAT IS THE BEST PH LEVEL FOR WATERING MY PLANTS IN SOIL?

eugene b said:

I invested in a digital PH reader this week, turns out my water is 7.6 out of the tap!!...I have run into nutrient problems in the flower stage of my grow, im putting this down to a high ph. I grow in soil and would like to know what is the right ph level to water with using soil?

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I've got the same pH as you from my well water. A lot of ppl say you don't need to adjust the pH in soil because it buffers it or w.e but I feel like it makes a difference to put it in at 6.5 and my plants looked much better when I was adjusting it to 6.5 than when my pen broke and I hadn't adjusted it for several waterings...not sure if it's coincidence or placebo or what but that's what I've observed...

I agree 100%. I am sure that some people don't need to PH based on their personal water supply, but it bugs me when that gets projected to all. I can say with 100% certainty with my soil grow that when I get lazy with PH, I see the impact quickly.

6.8 is the ideal ph for soil grows.

GrowinDad said:

I agree 100%. I am sure that some people don't need to PH based on their personal water supply, but it bugs me when that gets projected to all. I can say with 100% certainty with my soil grow that when I get lazy with PH, I see the impact quickly.

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Thx for your input man my grow has been impacted for sure by using water at ph 7.6...I have the meter now and ph up and down and am watering at ph 6.3,this im hoping will improve things for me...peace man...

RM3 said:

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That's a helpful chart RM3 thx...it seems 6.3 to 6.5 is good so ill keep it in that range from now on...

6.3-6.8 in veg
6.0-6.3 in flower.

It is very important in soil grows using bottled or synthetic nutrients.


Not so much in true organic soil where buffers and used in building the soil to regulate a constant ph.

green_machine_two9er said:

6.3-6.8 in veg
6.0-6.3 in flower.

It is very important in soil grows using bottled or synthetic nutrients.


Not so much in true organic soil where buffers and used in building the soil to regulate a constant ph.

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ive swapped from normal b and q soil nutrients enough for 6 weeks to miracle grow soil with nutrients enough for 6 mts or so the packet says..so you think 6.0-6.3 in flower?

Simple, tried and true.......pH all ingoing fluids to 6.5....

Your using MG nuted soil,,,,,,sigh,,,,,,not the best choice! Be SURE not to overwater! Let your soil dry out pretty well before waterings. Over watering and keeping the soil on the "wet" side will release more of the "nutrients" in the soil..
Use some Ca/Mg now and then.
USE a liquid "zyme" product to keep the living things in the soil at good levels. Canna, Hesi, AN, and others make this......
Avoid Kelp products and Humic Acid supplements as they will increase nutrient uptake......You don't want that with MG soil!
Silica can be helpful with MG soils as it helps temper or regulate the "P" that is high in MG soil.....
DO NOT add any form of "bloom boosters" to MG soil runs.

Good Luck.

Percentage of peat moss in the soil mix, will help with pH problem. Had problem with that myself.on my outdoor grow,tried the sulfur, etc, but not much movement on pH but on my indoor grow potted with sum african violet soil added to the mix. been good ever since. Just keep the CO2 coming, Lil more light, and much care. I know now, think ahead with soil, cause cant change it once its done. Good growin Brother. Ur on the rite track

I try not to hit the same PH mark everytime I water or feed. Today I was at 6.3 so next time I'll let that PH drift up a bit.

Dr. Who said:

Simple, tried and true.......pH all ingoing fluids to 6.5....

Your using MG nuted soil,,,,,,sigh,,,,,,not the best choice! Be SURE not to overwater! Let your soil dry out pretty well before waterings. Over watering and keeping the soil on the "wet" side will release more of the "nutrients" in the soil..
Use some Ca/Mg now and then.
USE a liquid "zyme" product to keep the living things in the soil at good levels. Canna, Hesi, AN, and others make this......
Avoid Kelp products and Humic Acid supplements as they will increase nutrient uptake......You don't want that with MG soil!
Silica can be helpful with MG soils as it helps temper or regulate the "P" that is high in MG soil.....
DO NOT add any form of "bloom boosters" to MG soil runs.

Good Luck.

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a lot of growers on this site are not a fan of mg soil, to be honest I thought it would simplify my grow probably not need to use nutrients till flower, which is what ive done..to date no problems using this soil and as it has nutrients enough for 6 months im thinking I could use it for two runs what do you think?...would you class tomato feed a bloom buster as that is the nutrient im using..thanks for you input..

Dr Sticky said:

Percentage of peat moss in the soil mix, will help with pH problem. Had problem with that myself.on my outdoor grow,tried the sulfur, etc, but not much movement on pH but on my indoor grow potted with sum african violet soil added to the mix. been good ever since. Just keep the CO2 coming, Lil more light, and much care. I know now, think ahead with soil, cause cant change it once its done. Good growin Brother. Ur on the rite track

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Thx for the encouragement man I spend up to an hour and half in the evenings keeping my plants happy and healthy hopefully...I really enjoy it to be honest and with a little tweeking this week with the ph getting sorted things will be back on track...im planning on doing an out door grow this year autos and regular plants any suggestions on whats good?

How long will the total grow time be?
I don't think I would add anything but what I listed.....
I would pitch it after the first grow and get some good soil!

eugene b said:

I invested in a digital PH reader this week,

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Invest in a Control Wizard Accurate 8 soil probe ($60). This will tell you your soil ph at all stages of dry and wet. If you're a little high or low, you can decrease or increase what you pour in to counteract that. (Can also make adjustments to your soil ph before potting by adding tiny amounts of hydrated lime to raise ph, or aluminum sulfate to raise it.).

That meter will also confirm runoff ph readings. Normally these aren't very accurate. But, if you measure the runoff ph over the grow, you may see a trend toward acidification. That's handy to see the trend before the plant exhibits lockout. Normally you'd flush to fix that. But, my point is, taking probe readings can confirm the trend.

After you have a soil/nutrient worked out you don't need to waste your time monitoring these things. But, probing and runoff ph (along with runoff ppm) is really helpful when working out soil/nutrient issues.

If actual soil where microbes are in charge, then water pH is meaningless. The microbes / plant will shift pH where it wants. This assumes you start with balanced soil.

If you're adding liquid nutes, then you're not supporting the microbes and then of course the pH will shift.

Well dont know bout not wantin peat moss, tryin lil organic, course the 1/4 Iowa black topsoil seems to help My Northern was 12inches at Christmas, now at 22 inches. Im not advocating planting in full peat moss, jus bout 25% african violet mix. Jus keep up the good work at caring for those babies