Hey Shed - nice thread!
I’ll have to read the summary etc again - because much of it was familiar. Reading was like revisiting some of the material I read while researching what Doc had created with his kit and about High Brix farming in general. I didn’t get deep enough into it to understand all of what the person you dealt with is talking about (mostly I learnt enough to see that it was worth it for me to get the DBHBB kit and haven’t read terribly much more since)
So one aspect has to do with negative and positive charges of different compounds in the soil. I’m still working on my understanding of that side of things
And... This particular thing in the quote you shared really stood out to me (my emphasis);
’potential’ they have to interact with the plant root system and influence the pH of the growing medium up or down
- I’m pretty sure this points to the ‘exudates’ (excretions) the plant puts out and the way those exudates interact with the particular chemical balance of whatever nutrient mix one is putting in there. This is what affects the soil PH, not only what is put in, but the result of these interactions. Different ‘nutes’ will trigger the plant to respond in different ways and put out different exudates - this is why it’s ‘potential’. The plant is not an inert or merely receptive component in the maintenance of the soil PH. It’s one of the things foliars do - and can be manipulated to do in different ways - they induce the plants to release different things into the soil.
But wouldnt controlling the ph of our water and nutrients help control the ph of the soil? I thought it was known science that certain nutrients have preferred ph ranges for easy transport?
Yes this too - but perhaps not nearly as much as people think. It seems to depend more on the balance of things. Organic soil has a way better self buffering capacity - possibly because it aims to work with the plant to support soil life. I think it’s in part because of this self buffering of organic soil that us diy organic growers get away with some wildly non ideal balances in our soil at times. PH drifts, but sometimes correcting the balance is what’s required and the ph will stabilise as an effect of having a balanced soil. Soil testing is really the only way to do this with any accuracy - but folks can get good at running things pretty close just by instinct and practice and I’ve grown plenty without testing thanks to the forgiving nature of organic soil.
So, I don’t know anything about using synthetic nutes, but it seems to me, based on this, that the better balanced nute lines (if there are ones that have the science of interacting with the plants exudates figured out, so as to maintain balanace), they would/should be less susceptible to fluctuations in Ph.
I’m pretty high right now, and it’s pretty late so I’m tired too, so maybe none of that makes any sense. It certainly doesn’t offer anything very practical
. I just had these rambling thoughts in response to reading that the first time and had to get them out.
I’ll read it again sometime.
Maybe you should do an experiment or 2. Just keep an eye on your water and concentrate on the balance of things and see what happens.
Just as I’m signing off... I wonder. Did the person you communicated with know you were talking about synthetic nutes. I don’t know how much the electrochemical side of things changes with those - if it’s enough to make a difference... just thinking out loud now, better go to sleeeeeeep....
.....zzzz....
...Nice thread Shed...
(giggle, that rhymes)
I had a good laugh at the end of your back and forth.... 7.4 give gas buddy
. I bet he has a full file of cut and paste responses for ph levels.
Y'all done cornfuzzled me, but I'm just now trying my hand at something other than dwc, and I don't bother with pH when doing dwc even.
