Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Testing the soil pH is not going to tell you a thing, other than where the soil is buffered to return to when it is dry.
The pH at the bottom of your container is not the same as the pH at the top of the container where the soil is starting to dry out.
Don't overthink it. Water at the correct pH every time and at least at that moment you know the pH of the entire container is 6.3, where you set it. And accuracy counts... there is a huge difference in adjusting to 6.2 and 6.5. 6.3 is the sweet spot. Hit it every time and keep practicing until you can. I remember many days of up and down as I struggled with the mix.
When you water at 6.3, the soil takes over from there. Most of our "pot soils" are buffered so that they are trying to achieve a 6.7 pH, so as the soil dries and loses the influence of your liquid adjustment, the pH in that region begins to rise, swinging slowly through the range, and as it does, it is unlocking nutrients bound up in your nutrient solution so that they can become available to the plant. If you never hit the correct pH range, the nutrients just sit there, doing nothing but wasting your money.
The pH at the bottom of your container is not the same as the pH at the top of the container where the soil is starting to dry out.
Don't overthink it. Water at the correct pH every time and at least at that moment you know the pH of the entire container is 6.3, where you set it. And accuracy counts... there is a huge difference in adjusting to 6.2 and 6.5. 6.3 is the sweet spot. Hit it every time and keep practicing until you can. I remember many days of up and down as I struggled with the mix.
When you water at 6.3, the soil takes over from there. Most of our "pot soils" are buffered so that they are trying to achieve a 6.7 pH, so as the soil dries and loses the influence of your liquid adjustment, the pH in that region begins to rise, swinging slowly through the range, and as it does, it is unlocking nutrients bound up in your nutrient solution so that they can become available to the plant. If you never hit the correct pH range, the nutrients just sit there, doing nothing but wasting your money.