My pH in my Malibu compost soil mix will NOT stay below 7- 7.5, as well as run-off. I've been making my RO water 6, and even 5.8 this last watering, a good 10% run off...still nothing below 7.1 - 7.4 between run off and soil. Do I need to make my water 4.8 or what?!? Help. This is my second round of clones and I really don't know how to resolve the problem because you can tell they are hungry but not able to uptake what they need
PH in soil and run-off too high
- Thread starter Cheschire
- Start date
Are you growing organic or synthetic ? composts are neautral mostly around 6.5 to 7.5 , pics would help and more info , are the clones rooted ?
A lot of people don't bother with organic run off but if you put in a ph of 8 and it comes out 5 then there is a small clue that the medium has went acidic but its not a perfect reading , I looked the compost bag up your using and its organic so its neutral as the microbes made it this way so the compost ph is right ,
A lot of people don't bother with organic run off but if you put in a ph of 8 and it comes out 5 then there is a small clue that the medium has went acidic but its not a perfect reading , I looked the compost bag up your using and its organic so its neutral as the microbes made it this way so the compost ph is right ,
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Hi @Cheschire and welcome to the forum! 
First of all, the pH of runoff out of soil is not something that can measure to give you any indication at all what the soil pH is. Think of it like a coffee percolator... the more runoff you produce, the more diluted it is. At what point is a reading you get accurate? 10% runoff is going to give you a different reading than 20% runoff... it is totally arbitrary and meaningless to measure the pH of your runoff in soil.
Soil is set to a high pH for a good reason. It is not something you need to adjust. The only thing you need to do is to make sure your incoming fluids, whether it is plain water or water mixed with nutes, is carefully adjusted to 6.3 pH immediately before applying it to the soil. It is as simple as that... and then the buffers in the soil start reacting on that column of water, causing it to start to drift upward in pH toward that high base pH that the soil is set to. This effectively drifts the pH of your nutes upward through the scale, from 6.3 to 7 or so, each time you water... getting to the perfect pH for maximum availability for each nutrient in its turn. Think of your target pH as the entire range, not just one number, and realize that the high pH of your soil is your tool to making this happen.
First of all, the pH of runoff out of soil is not something that can measure to give you any indication at all what the soil pH is. Think of it like a coffee percolator... the more runoff you produce, the more diluted it is. At what point is a reading you get accurate? 10% runoff is going to give you a different reading than 20% runoff... it is totally arbitrary and meaningless to measure the pH of your runoff in soil.
Soil is set to a high pH for a good reason. It is not something you need to adjust. The only thing you need to do is to make sure your incoming fluids, whether it is plain water or water mixed with nutes, is carefully adjusted to 6.3 pH immediately before applying it to the soil. It is as simple as that... and then the buffers in the soil start reacting on that column of water, causing it to start to drift upward in pH toward that high base pH that the soil is set to. This effectively drifts the pH of your nutes upward through the scale, from 6.3 to 7 or so, each time you water... getting to the perfect pH for maximum availability for each nutrient in its turn. Think of your target pH as the entire range, not just one number, and realize that the high pH of your soil is your tool to making this happen.
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- #4
- Thread starter
- #5
I'm using this, -see pic- which somebody commented on another thread about my lighting situation, that it contains coco and I should try to pH my water at 5.8 to see if they will start to uptake the nutrients, would you agree with this?
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
no, not at all... just because it contains a little coco is no reason to start treating it like a hydro operation. As long as you have 70% or better soil in there, treat it as soil.I'm using this, -see pic- which somebody commented on another thread about my lighting situation, that it contains coco and I should try to pH my water at 5.8 to see if they will start to uptake the nutrients, would you agree with this?
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- #7
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
So Bill believes that the major ingredient in your soil is coco... if this is true, he is correct. If it is just a side ingredient, and the majority of its content is actually soil, then I am sure he would agree with me. It is your task to find out what the truth is... how much fake soil (coco) is actually in there.Ok, so this person says opposite, -see pic- and I'm sure is why my plants are not doing good... I get opposite ends of advice and don't know which way to go
Ill look the bag up , the confusing part is if your going synthetic you lower the ph if not you feed the soil , all my mixes contain coco , some mostly coco and some with peat and compost , Its a potting soil you have , ill get a look and see what it says , I just opened my eyes had a lay on to 6.am,
It looks like a good proper organic potting mix , that is better feed with teas and dry amendments , its fully organic and gm free , so you don't want to feed synthetic and the ph should be kept in check by the microbes and the humus.folvic acid etc, you should maybe order their teas that suit their product , I just had a quick look, , I have a journal below where I use microbes to grow , you can tag along , That's if you like to get your hands dirty 
Its not for the faint hearted or lazy people , its full on but better for you and the planet
IF you can get a picture of the ingredients , they have a few and I am using a small device and cant see them too good lol
Its not for the faint hearted or lazy people , its full on but better for you and the planet IF you can get a picture of the ingredients , they have a few and I am using a small device and cant see them too good lol
Found it
Ingredients:
Coconut coir, compost (dairy cow manure, wood chips, straw, concentrations of yarrow, chamomile, valerian, stinging nettle, dandelion, and oak bark), fir bark, perlite, worm castings, soybean meal, fish meal, fish bone meal, langbeinite, alfalfa meal, crab meal, greensand, neem seed meal, volcanic ash, and kelp meal.
Its best to use compost teas, microbe teas and or organic ferts , the plant roots will higher or lower the ph along with the microbes neutralizing things ,
The roots will secrete either acid or alkaline substances depending on the crop’s stage of development, the food available, the differences in root temperature and light intensity. So you see why the pH of the root environment can constantly fluctuate.
Ingredients:
Coconut coir, compost (dairy cow manure, wood chips, straw, concentrations of yarrow, chamomile, valerian, stinging nettle, dandelion, and oak bark), fir bark, perlite, worm castings, soybean meal, fish meal, fish bone meal, langbeinite, alfalfa meal, crab meal, greensand, neem seed meal, volcanic ash, and kelp meal.
Its best to use compost teas, microbe teas and or organic ferts , the plant roots will higher or lower the ph along with the microbes neutralizing things ,
The roots will secrete either acid or alkaline substances depending on the crop’s stage of development, the food available, the differences in root temperature and light intensity. So you see why the pH of the root environment can constantly fluctuate.
