I need some clarification on PH and meter reading

[Palpater]

These questions may seem elementary but the more I read the more confused I am getting.

I have grown 3 grows of bag seed. I'm currently in my 5th week vegging DP White Widow fems.

Questions:
I am growing in ProMix-BX, a peat based mix from AGWAY.
Is this considered Hydro or Soil for determining nutes and taking PH readings?

I just bought a Hana Combo digital meter. My tap water reads 5.2PH, the run off from a plant is reading 5.9. What should be my goal for run-off? should I be reading after a straight watering or when I feed?

Lets say my PH goal is 6.8 (or whatever it should be), what PH should I be watering with if I want to raise it from 5.9. How best to raise it and should I be doing it slowly over a week or two?

Currently, I have Dolo-lime that is granulated for lawn use. I put it in the blender to make a mixing powder. I've been adding about six pinches to two gallons of water to raise the PH to 6.3 before watering. Is this an acceptable practice?

My meter:
I know I need to purchase some calibration solution, but should I be soaking the meter in some solution when not in use or the probe??? The care for this meter was not discussed in the directions.

Any help much appreciated,

Palpater

 

[Racefan]

Dude! My mind is not working well enough right now to answer this. I'm not sure about a storage buffer solution for the combo pen or not. Best check the manufacturer about that one. Some require it, some don't. Pro mix is considered a soiless mix but I wouldn't call it a soil grow. Call it a container grow which is done the same way as soil 5.9 is a decent ph IMO. Are you showing a ph problem? if not, don't screw with what works. If adding the lime has been working and is what's giving you the 5.9 ph then cotinue with it. Once again. don't screw with what works unless your willing to screw things up. Sorry my friend if I wasn't enough help. I'm undewr the weather right now. Got a nasty cold.lol

 

[Palpater]

Sorry your not feeling good Racefan. Too bad MM didn't have cold relieving properties.
Dr. Palpater says, "Smoke two joints and call me in the morning".

Working...yes....flourishing...no.

I just bought the PH meter this week. It looks like I have been growing in slightly acidic PH for some time. I always seem to be dealing with yellowing, some in veg, mostly in flower. I was hoping it was just the bag seed genetics, but I am seeing the same results with this DP WW grow. I am trying to eliminate the guess work and nail down my processes. I figured the best place to start is to get a good grip on PH. Then I need to work on learning PPM\EC of my fertz.

 

[Farmer Rich]

Hey Palpater,

I grow in nothing but soil-less mix called Pro Earth. Your water seems very acidic.. I generally have pretty good luck with a Ph of 6.1 - 6.3. For nutes, I use ESU Greenleaves products (Grow/Bloom/Boost Juice) and Advanced Nutrients Carb Load during flowering. To tell you the truth, I never measure the water coming out.. What I have started doing is using a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter to measure the nutes. I like 1000 ppm for veg, and a 1000-1400 ppm during flower.. ramping it up and doing a flush with water/carb load about 10 days before finish and just water/carb load as necessary until they're chopped.

I'd upload some pics, but evidently I don't have the privilege yet.

Good luck,

Farmer Rich

 

[Racefan]

Hey Palpater,

I grow in nothing but soil-less mix called Pro Earth. Your water seems very acidic.. I generally have pretty good luck with a Ph of 6.1 - 6.3. For nutes, I use ESU Greenleaves products (Grow/Bloom/Boost Juice) and Advanced Nutrients Carb Load during flowering. To tell you the truth, I never measure the water coming out.. What I have started doing is using a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter to measure the nutes. I like 1000 ppm for veg, and a 1000-1400 ppm during flower.. ramping it up and doing a flush with water/carb load about 10 days before finish and just water/carb load as necessary until they're chopped.

I'd upload some pics, but evidently I don't have the privilege yet.

Good luck,

Farmer Rich

EVERY member has the ability to upload pictures. they just have to be uploaded to the site gallery first. Then transfered to a post. In my signature is a tutorial on doing this. Look it over. if you need any further help ask.