After everyting is mixed. Or if you just need a little you can adjust a gallon of water up to say 7.5 then mix as much of the high ph water you need to adjust. This is probably better if adjusting anything less than 5 gallons of water.
I have a double stick probe that came pre calibrated @MDBuds, not sure if it is accurate.
I really didn’t think I was over overwatering at first, I’m pretty conservative with the water.
The soil came up dry on the meter too. It so easy to tell regarding the water with the peat pots too.
I will retest the soil with your method and I do have litmus paper too, though I have never used them in soil.
I will then try they the lemon, which I happen to have.
The leaves have turned up on that plant and are a little crispy now.
Also, I just recalibrated my temp gauge, what should my rh be at? I’m not sure what is correct or not at this point, ugh.
I can’t thank you enough.
1 Like
Ok, I have decided that my ph tester is defective. It also has a moisture detection which indicated my soil was dry after watering. Any suggestions on a reliable reader??
I used the lemon juice as you suggested so we should see what happens.
Here is what she looks like today, crispy at the edges now.
1 Like
@munchy if the ph levels out properly it will come back. The only other thing it could be based on all the information you gave me is that it’s adjusting to hitting a hotter soil from the roots coming out of the peat pod. This will correct itself as the plant grows and requires more nitrogen.
1 Like
@MDBuds thanks for all your knowledge, truly. How much longer before I should be transferring to next size?
Next week was on my calendar.
1 Like
@Munchy I personally only transplant to larger containers once the leaves pass the edges of the current container. The roots follow the leaves. So once the leaves reach or pass the outer edge I transplant into a larger pot until I reach my final container size.
These days I just start in the final pot to save time and resources because I’ve learned how to water a small plant in a large pot successfully, but that takes time and experience to figure out. Gotta water your trees like trees and it all works out. Lol
2 Likes
@Munchy a good moisture tester is:
your finger…stick it in the soil…AND
lift the container…you will begin to FEEL the weight of dry and wet soil
2 Likes
@Mrb53004 thanks for that advice. My plants are not water logged, on the contrary, I think they are on the drier side but not dry.
I need a good ph reader, the one I bought is garbage.
I really appreciate your input.
I also have a plant that is missing a leaf, not sure what is up with that?
Otherwise the plant looks healthy.
1 Like
Do not concern yourself about the missing leaf
As far as Ph tester…Unless you spend close to couple hundred (like a BLUE METER), they are all the same. Not good but not bad…luck of the draw
simple ph meter amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GFNJYRX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
only around $10…you have to calibrate…
you could use ph strips and get a soil test kit instead…It can test liquid, soil and nutrients
I use the PRO test kit
use the coupon DONTGO I got 2 day ship for free
3 Likes
I am trying to bring down the Ph in my soil and I see that vinegar or lemon will work, but what are the measurements please? How much white vinegar to add to gallon of water?
2 Likes
@Kris start with 1 tsp at a time and then mix. Check PH after mixing. I use apple cider vinegar usually myself because it has micros in it but white distilled is the most common used. Same is followed with lemon or lime juice. 1 tsp per gallon at a time, mix well, then test. As soon as the water has the desired PH you can use it to water your plants.
3 Likes
@Kris and @Munchy this is a temporary fix for soil though as ph fluctuations are natural in soil and if it has a high ph it’s likely due to either salt build up from nutrients or too much of an alkaline material/nutrient in the soil. It’s most common with lime and calcium used to mix with soils. To adjust “permanently” top dressing with a more acidic ammendment will help balance it out. Things like granular molasses, sulfur supplements or ammendment high in sulfur, blood meal, etc will help balance out soil ph adding more micros and macros as well.
3 Likes
Thank you @Mrb53004 I will use the ph strips from now on for accuracy.
I never used all these gadgets for outside, loll. I just planted them and threw pig and goat fertilizer on them, at the bloom time fish emulsion for the extra boom at the end. Just used litmus paper and I had to check them for these little red worms that would eat the buds from the inside out. I live in Chi town now so I don’t have the same freedom as I did In Wisconsin or the acreage. Plus, I haven’t grown in at least 10 years so I appreciate your patience with me and all of your input and @MDBuds too.
The girls are looking good and I moved them into a 2x4 tent with a 2000 Spider Farmer light. Here are a couple of pics of the girls, GSC feminized.
5 Likes
I prefer the litmus paper or liquid aquarium reagents to the hand held meters w probes.
I like to catch a tad of overwater in a clean bucket placed under the pot. Then I shim up the bucket after removing the plant so the effluent pools on one side. Any sediment falls out if you give it 20 mins to settle. Pipet off a few ml to the test tube and litmus dip or add your liquid reagent.
Tap water can cause ph to rapidly rise too. Test your tap water. This happens in Aquariums ALL the time. Around Seattle the water is soft and low ph so never a problem (rain fed/snow melt city water). If anything low ph issues arise from it. The opposite happened where I grew up in Spokane. The other side of the state. The aquifer pumped water had a ton of minerals in it and a high ph. It was like 8.0 out of the tap. This is very common on deep well aquifers. The water percolating down over decades picks up hard minerals. If your shower door or your coffee pot always get caked up with lime deposits you probably have high PH water at the tap.
5 Likes
I have dry molasses suggested . Not sure how to use it. Do you mix with water or add as top amendment??
2 Likes
What is the top dressing method??