db003
Well-Known Member
nice update bro keeping a eye out for the Incredible Bulk I want to try some dr. kirppling seeds I was going to try some of there autos
3rd Grow - Time For The Light Show
- Thread starter Kriaze
- Start date
Shoot, what are you nuts Kraize? Following your own instincts is the only way to go!
UncleCannabis
New Member
When gardening, the journey should always bring just as much fun and enjoyment as reaching the destination.
Just have fun and enjoy the experience bro.
Just have fun and enjoy the experience bro.
UncleCannabis
New Member
Now it's just a case of time. I'll be waiting an hour for the soil to mix properly before filtering it and testing. One question strikes me though, if I filter through a medium will it affect the PH reading or is that what the +/- .2 difference is for?
I'm pretty sure my kitchen roll is bleached, so it's just a question that occurred to me, I'm not going to worry about it too much for now though. I'll be back later with an update (Have to love having a nice lazy Sunday where I can get things done as and when I want). I hope you're all having a great weekend everyone. All the best
Coffee filters work best. I really doubt if the filter medium would effect the final ph since the contact time is very short.
There may be others with more experience and knowledge that could chime in about this.
The +/- .2 is to compensate for the tug of war that goes on between the liquid solution and your soil base. Think 6.2 soil ph pulling against a 7.0 liquid solution and the liquid wanting to pull back to keep itself at 7.0. Something has to give so the ph level of the combined solution will reach a point of equilibrium once both opposing forces stop tugging against each other.
Now that the tug of war has stopped the end ph reading of the combined solution will not be the true ph of the soil base because the more alkaline liquid will continue to resist the more acidic pull of the soil base.
Pardon the shaky explanation and I hope this didn't confuse you as much as writing it confused me. LOL!
My headlights are shining bright red at the moment. I'll give a better explanation later once the buzz wears off a bit.
- Thread starter
- #125
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Haha I know that feeling UncleCannabis. Had a slight change of plan here and ended up going for a pub lunch with the wife and son. A few bevvies in and a nice smoke and everything is like a dreamy blur, I still have to mix nutes yet. Going to roll one fat one and then steady up for mixing nutes. It's all a matter of balance 
Update incoming shortly. Luckily the pictures should be fine, I'm used to taking photographs in this state lol. All the best and thanks guys, it's good to be sharing a grow with you all. Plenty of love and good karma to you
Update incoming shortly. Luckily the pictures should be fine, I'm used to taking photographs in this state lol. All the best and thanks guys, it's good to be sharing a grow with you all. Plenty of love and good karma to you
UncleCannabis
New Member
Family time and fat one's. Life is good!
- Thread starter
- #127
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Life is indeed feeling good today UncleCannabis
Ok here are the results of the soil PH. This is kind of new ground to me but I get the gist of it (I hope). Basically if the soil is slightly acidic I could use nutes at a slightly alkaline level to balance it out. I had this pointed out to me in my last grow, I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. At least I hope that's what this means anyway, I don't think I can go too far wrong now that I think about it:
The tap water measured in at 7.5 PH which is higher than the usual 7.3 but not too far out to make me want to go and recalibrate my pen again. Trust has to start somewhere, I'm giving a bit to the pen here as it performed pretty perfect until the hiccup today. I'll test it again soon but it was right the 3rd and 4th time last time so I'm good with it.
The soil mixture was strained through a kitchen towel into a different glass and I measured the run through:
6.1 PH is a fair old difference from the original 7.5 of the tap water so that soil must be as acidic as you said earlier, all that from a picture on the internet UC. I doff my cap to you sir
So now I know what I'm playing with I'm guessing that I will water and feed to a slightly higher alkaline mixture to balance the soil? This is a question too, I'm working through things as I put it together here lol. So along these lines of thought I mixed a minute amount of Canna Tera to the water for a slight feed, the reading was a fair old drop from 7.5 too but not so much that I'm thinking of using any form of PH up yet. Maybe I should but hopefully with you guys help I can find out the recommended way:
So here's the water mixed with Canna Tera. I thought with a PH of 6.7 and slightly alkaline it would help to counteract the acidity in the soil. I think at the moment that 6.9 PH balanced v 6.1 PH of the soil would adjust to around 6.5 PH which would be perfect for the plants. I don't want to start adding Potassium right now if I can help it though as I'm thinking soil might not be that easy to balance and will take time anyway. So maybe I should just pull it back gradually without throwing too many unwanted extras into the mix. Come to think of it if I've been watering that soil with 7.5 PH water and it's still at 6.1 PH now that must have been some seriously acidic soil to start with. I did pull the soil from the LSD pot so I knew that I was testing the correct medium.
This is the Canna Vega recommendations of strength. 50ml per 10 litres of water. I used 1ml in 1 litre of water, just enough to keep things alive and not too much to kill everything hopefully
Canna Vega, a new feed to me but I'm game for trying it:
50ml per 10 litres:
Hopefully all this wall of text above will have pulled itself together. It kind of has in my mind, I would love to grow organic eventually but as you can all probably see there is a long way to go. Have hope though, I do
To finish off I'd like to share my straightener upper with you all. I'm still smoking as I type but it's that Plushberry again, it makes my mind work with clarity (from my perspective lol) and my fingers dance. It's an absolutely wonderful smoke and even after many pints it's done exactly what I hoped it would, brought me down to Earth and deep into the Earth with it. Enclosed me in a womb of warmth, comfort and a feeling of peace, almost Euphoric. I really wish I could pass you all some of this. Puff puff pass in thought. Peace to you all and one kind. Humankind, no race about it one for all.
Ok here are the results of the soil PH. This is kind of new ground to me but I get the gist of it (I hope). Basically if the soil is slightly acidic I could use nutes at a slightly alkaline level to balance it out. I had this pointed out to me in my last grow, I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. At least I hope that's what this means anyway, I don't think I can go too far wrong now that I think about it:
The tap water measured in at 7.5 PH which is higher than the usual 7.3 but not too far out to make me want to go and recalibrate my pen again. Trust has to start somewhere, I'm giving a bit to the pen here as it performed pretty perfect until the hiccup today. I'll test it again soon but it was right the 3rd and 4th time last time so I'm good with it.
The soil mixture was strained through a kitchen towel into a different glass and I measured the run through:
6.1 PH is a fair old difference from the original 7.5 of the tap water so that soil must be as acidic as you said earlier, all that from a picture on the internet UC. I doff my cap to you sir
So now I know what I'm playing with I'm guessing that I will water and feed to a slightly higher alkaline mixture to balance the soil? This is a question too, I'm working through things as I put it together here lol. So along these lines of thought I mixed a minute amount of Canna Tera to the water for a slight feed, the reading was a fair old drop from 7.5 too but not so much that I'm thinking of using any form of PH up yet. Maybe I should but hopefully with you guys help I can find out the recommended way:
So here's the water mixed with Canna Tera. I thought with a PH of 6.7 and slightly alkaline it would help to counteract the acidity in the soil. I think at the moment that 6.9 PH balanced v 6.1 PH of the soil would adjust to around 6.5 PH which would be perfect for the plants. I don't want to start adding Potassium right now if I can help it though as I'm thinking soil might not be that easy to balance and will take time anyway. So maybe I should just pull it back gradually without throwing too many unwanted extras into the mix. Come to think of it if I've been watering that soil with 7.5 PH water and it's still at 6.1 PH now that must have been some seriously acidic soil to start with. I did pull the soil from the LSD pot so I knew that I was testing the correct medium.
This is the Canna Vega recommendations of strength. 50ml per 10 litres of water. I used 1ml in 1 litre of water, just enough to keep things alive and not too much to kill everything hopefully
Canna Vega, a new feed to me but I'm game for trying it:
50ml per 10 litres:
Hopefully all this wall of text above will have pulled itself together. It kind of has in my mind, I would love to grow organic eventually but as you can all probably see there is a long way to go. Have hope though, I do
To finish off I'd like to share my straightener upper with you all. I'm still smoking as I type but it's that Plushberry again, it makes my mind work with clarity (from my perspective lol) and my fingers dance. It's an absolutely wonderful smoke and even after many pints it's done exactly what I hoped it would, brought me down to Earth and deep into the Earth with it. Enclosed me in a womb of warmth, comfort and a feeling of peace, almost Euphoric. I really wish I could pass you all some of this. Puff puff pass in thought. Peace to you all and one kind. Humankind, no race about it one for all.
Hey Kraize!!!! Just found your journal!!! Love how you are using the reflectors as side lighting, great idea! Can't wait to see how it helps with the lower buds
Also very interesting on the soil PH testing... I may have to try this too just to see where my soil is at That is, if I can get my PH meter to calibrate, I haven't used it in a couple years and last time I tried to calibrate it, it was all over the place Definitely subbed for your grow and cheering ya on !!!
Also very interesting on the soil PH testing... I may have to try this too just to see where my soil is at
That is, if I can get my PH meter to calibrate, I haven't used it in a couple years and last time I tried to calibrate it, it was all over the place Definitely subbed for your grow and cheering ya on !!!- Thread starter
- #129
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Hey Icemud great to see you here mate Everytime I think about soil I always want to go organic, there are just too many things I lack...first and foremost being knowledge lol. One day though I'm thinking. Is this the way most MJ growers tend to go? Hydro I can't try because I want some natural, even if it's at the expense of time.
Everytime I think about soil I always want to go organic, there are just too many things I lack...first and foremost being knowledge lol. One day though I'm thinking. Is this the way most MJ growers tend to go? Hydro I can't try because I want some natural, even if it's at the expense of time.
UncleCannabis
New Member
Good work there Kriaze. Looks like you've identified a potential problem there bro.
Based on your ph pen reading of 6.1 I would assume that your soil ph would be about 5.9ish or so. This would be too low and would certainly cause lockout of critical nutrients and minerals.
It may not be a bad idea to round up a pool test kit as GB explained earlier and compare the results to confirm.
A quick band aid type of fix for a ph problem such as this would be to apply a full spectrum foliar application at 1/4 dose that would include macro as well as micronutrients. This would allow your girls to get a sip of whatever it is that they may be lacking which would keep them healthy while you're getting your soil ph levels adjusted.
You would likely need to get your nute/water mix to a ph range of 8.0 or higher and allow your soil to become saturated for some period of time to effect the ph or your soil. This along with the fact that some ph up solutions contain high levels of P which can burn up your girls I would recommend an alternate method to make adjustments.
Now before going any further I want to caution you to not do anything extreme in an attempt to get your ph corrected quickly. The ph adjustment cures that would likely work best for your particular situation will take a little time but the world will not end and your plants will be just fine.
Since the ph appears to be very low I would assume that there was never any dolomite lime added to the soil mixture. If dolomite were added in anything other than trace amounts the ph would be higher.
Based on this assumption I would suggest that the best way forward would be to add some dolomite lime as a top dressing, work it into the top 1" or so of your soil then lightly water it in.
This will not only help to correct the ph of your soil but will also add both calcium and magnesium.
Note that the calcium and magnesium that comes along with the dolomite lime will mean little or no cal/mag with your regular waterings.
Within about 5 to 10 days you should notice your soil ph begin to rise and your girls will be showing you lots of love in return.
There are other ways to raise your soil ph but this would be my suggestion.
Note that if you use wood ashes be very careful regarding the wood that was used (no treated wood) as well as the potential for wood ashes to drive ph way too high too qucikly. Wood ashes can have a ph as high as 10 or so.
Anyways, best of luck mate. Wishing you all the best.
Based on your ph pen reading of 6.1 I would assume that your soil ph would be about 5.9ish or so. This would be too low and would certainly cause lockout of critical nutrients and minerals.
It may not be a bad idea to round up a pool test kit as GB explained earlier and compare the results to confirm.
A quick band aid type of fix for a ph problem such as this would be to apply a full spectrum foliar application at 1/4 dose that would include macro as well as micronutrients. This would allow your girls to get a sip of whatever it is that they may be lacking which would keep them healthy while you're getting your soil ph levels adjusted.
You would likely need to get your nute/water mix to a ph range of 8.0 or higher and allow your soil to become saturated for some period of time to effect the ph or your soil. This along with the fact that some ph up solutions contain high levels of P which can burn up your girls I would recommend an alternate method to make adjustments.
Now before going any further I want to caution you to not do anything extreme in an attempt to get your ph corrected quickly. The ph adjustment cures that would likely work best for your particular situation will take a little time but the world will not end and your plants will be just fine.
Since the ph appears to be very low I would assume that there was never any dolomite lime added to the soil mixture. If dolomite were added in anything other than trace amounts the ph would be higher.
Based on this assumption I would suggest that the best way forward would be to add some dolomite lime as a top dressing, work it into the top 1" or so of your soil then lightly water it in.
This will not only help to correct the ph of your soil but will also add both calcium and magnesium.
Note that the calcium and magnesium that comes along with the dolomite lime will mean little or no cal/mag with your regular waterings.
Within about 5 to 10 days you should notice your soil ph begin to rise and your girls will be showing you lots of love in return.
There are other ways to raise your soil ph but this would be my suggestion.
Note that if you use wood ashes be very careful regarding the wood that was used (no treated wood) as well as the potential for wood ashes to drive ph way too high too qucikly. Wood ashes can have a ph as high as 10 or so.
Anyways, best of luck mate. Wishing you all the best.
Fwiw Kriaze- those ph pens need to be stored with the tip wet- preferably in storage solution (KCl) or in the calibration solution. Or water. But mainly- don't let the tip dry out. You can get away with it for a while but eventually they start acting squirrelly. Though of course- they eventually always do that anyway. The maker of your pen recommends getting a new pen every "1 to 2 years". Now I am not sure why I would be telling you all this because I have no reason to think you don't know it already - but I figure it can't hurt. I've had lots of bad experiences with those f#%€ing things.
- Thread starter
- #132
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice above fellas, it seems that just buying any old soil isn't preferable and now with a bit of forethought in the future I can avoid any serious soil issues by making it to the correct PH beforehand. In the meantime I'm on the lookout for some Dolomite Lime.
I'm also glad that you mentioned the storage of my pen Weaselcracker as now I realise why it has a nice deep cap. Anything and everything is worth mentioning on these grows as if it can be missed, it probably has
I'm also glad that you mentioned the storage of my pen Weaselcracker as now I realise why it has a nice deep cap. Anything and everything is worth mentioning on these grows as if it can be missed, it probably has
Robert Celt
New Member
Morning Kraize
Just a note, if Pro-Mix is available there, the Pro-Mix BX is a good base soil for either adding nutes like you do or for building organic soils. It has no added nutes, just peat, perlite, lime and mycos and is pH balanced.
Just a note, if Pro-Mix is available there, the Pro-Mix BX is a good base soil for either adding nutes like you do or for building organic soils. It has no added nutes, just peat, perlite, lime and mycos and is pH balanced.
- Thread starter
- #134
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Hey TheCelt that sounds like a great soil to use. I can't seem to find it over here but I'm thinking it may be worth me visiting a hydroponics shop and see if they can help. Appreciate the help and thanks
Robert Celt
New Member
No worries mate. Peat generally has a pH in the mid 5s so needs lime added to bring the pH up for most grows.
UncleCannabis
New Member
I too have found the ph pens to be somewhat hit or miss. I only use mine to periodically test my tap water and runoff. I never use it for soil testing.
After purchasing several soil ph testers over the years I finally found one about 3 or 4 years back that gives consistent and accurate results.
It's the one toward the bottom of the pic that's shaped like a cone. It's made by a Japanese company named Takeshima.
FYI, the ph meter with the 2 long probes is junk. Do not waste your money on something like this.
The ph reading is off by .7 which is A LOT. I do use it sometimes for the soil moisture feature but even that is not very accurate.
After purchasing several soil ph testers over the years I finally found one about 3 or 4 years back that gives consistent and accurate results.
It's the one toward the bottom of the pic that's shaped like a cone. It's made by a Japanese company named Takeshima.
FYI, the ph meter with the 2 long probes is junk. Do not waste your money on something like this.
The ph reading is off by .7 which is A LOT. I do use it sometimes for the soil moisture feature but even that is not very accurate.
UncleCannabis
New Member
I know that we've been throwing a lot at you there bro but there's something that I'd like to mention about soil microbes, watering, soil ph and the correlation between them all.
When soil has been wet for a while it will cause fungi in the soil to multiply which then in turn feed on bacteria which will then result in a drop in ph and an imbalance with the fungi/bacteria ratio in the soil.
By allowing the soil to dry out things go in the opposite direction. When the soil dries out the bacteria colonies explode and in turn feed on the fungi which then causes the ph of the soil to migrate upward and an imbalance between fungi/bacteria ratios in the soil. Except this time the bacteria win.
This wet/dry cycle is actually very healthy for your plant and your soil. This one of the many reasons that it's good to allow your soil to dry a bit before watering. This will also help to prevent hardening off.
PS - Hardening off is not what you're probably thinking. Get your mind out of the gutter bro!!
When soil has been wet for a while it will cause fungi in the soil to multiply which then in turn feed on bacteria which will then result in a drop in ph and an imbalance with the fungi/bacteria ratio in the soil.
By allowing the soil to dry out things go in the opposite direction. When the soil dries out the bacteria colonies explode and in turn feed on the fungi which then causes the ph of the soil to migrate upward and an imbalance between fungi/bacteria ratios in the soil. Except this time the bacteria win.
This wet/dry cycle is actually very healthy for your plant and your soil. This one of the many reasons that it's good to allow your soil to dry a bit before watering. This will also help to prevent hardening off.
PS - Hardening off is not what you're probably thinking. Get your mind out of the gutter bro!!
- Thread starter
- #138
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
Hey UncleCannabis, the two pronged meter was the one that I used on my first grow and part way through my second until I realised how far out mine was. The one I have seems pretty accurate once calibrated, it's just a shame that I didn't store it in fluid, I've put some calibration fluid in the lid for now so hopefully that will keep it moist.
So I decided to take a trip out to the gardening centre today for some Dolomite Lime and came back with this:
While I was there I spotted Chicken manure pellets, Bonemeal, Volcanic rock dust and Fish, blood and bone and decided that as I would have to mess with soil anyway I would buy it along with this tumbling compost bin:
UncleCannabis, my wife would like a word with you
Also after the unfortunate demise of my gnome that was protecting the garden (all in the line of duty) I spotted a couple of yar har har me hearties pirate meerkats. Two of these should ward off any problems
So this is how much lime I added to the soil:
All mixed in with a watering of plain tap water. The garden is complete:
Hopefully the lime will do its stuff and ease the acidity of the soil. Now I need to flick back through and read up on making my own organic soil and see if I've missed anything (I'll be adding egg shells and other household waste along with grass cuttings whenever I mow my lawns), hopefully eventually I will be able to plant and topdress with some compost teas. Quick question though, do I add normal soil into the composter to get it started or give it a base so to speak?
Thanks again everyone for your wonderful input, one day I will have this all down pat and be able to spread the knowledge. All the best everyone
So I decided to take a trip out to the gardening centre today for some Dolomite Lime and came back with this:
While I was there I spotted Chicken manure pellets, Bonemeal, Volcanic rock dust and Fish, blood and bone and decided that as I would have to mess with soil anyway I would buy it along with this tumbling compost bin:
UncleCannabis, my wife would like a word with you
Also after the unfortunate demise of my gnome that was protecting the garden (all in the line of duty) I spotted a couple of yar har har me hearties pirate meerkats. Two of these should ward off any problems
So this is how much lime I added to the soil:
All mixed in with a watering of plain tap water. The garden is complete:
Hopefully the lime will do its stuff and ease the acidity of the soil. Now I need to flick back through and read up on making my own organic soil and see if I've missed anything (I'll be adding egg shells and other household waste along with grass cuttings whenever I mow my lawns), hopefully eventually I will be able to plant and topdress with some compost teas. Quick question though, do I add normal soil into the composter to get it started or give it a base so to speak?
Thanks again everyone for your wonderful input, one day I will have this all down pat and be able to spread the knowledge. All the best everyone
UncleCannabis
New Member
UncleCannabis, my wife would like a word with you
Aww shit!! You went and blamed it on me huh?
Robert Celt
New Member
Hey Kriaze
Good to see you are considering going organic Once on that route, you will only need to water and add teas if you like. I made it through this grow (will be chopping the last 2 girls in the next couple days) with only water and a couple minor deficiencies. I am still learning LOL
A note on your compost, avoid including fats, meats and bones from your kitchen waste in your composter. They take along time to break down and attract all kinds of pests and generally smell foul. Besides, they are not needed in your soil/compost.
Secondly, while you are researching composting and organic soils, read a bit on C-N ratios (carbon-nitrogen)they are a very important part of composting and soils that rarely gets mentioned.
Good to see you are considering going organic
Once on that route, you will only need to water and add teas if you like. I made it through this grow (will be chopping the last 2 girls in the next couple days) with only water and a couple minor deficiencies. I am still learning LOLA note on your compost, avoid including fats, meats and bones from your kitchen waste in your composter. They take along time to break down and attract all kinds of pests and generally smell foul. Besides, they are not needed in your soil/compost.
Secondly, while you are researching composting and organic soils, read a bit on C-N ratios (carbon-nitrogen)they are a very important part of composting and soils that rarely gets mentioned.
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