Soil pH run off is 5.2 please help: Slowed growth

[Grower2020]

Hi guys please help me I've encountered a low ph in my run off in my soil grow. The leaves seem too light in colour but not yellow. The new shoots have slowed down and have like a crinkled affect. I'm not over watering I know that because I'm letting the soil dry out 75% between waters but not to the point that leaves droop . I've grown the same way every time and using the same potting mix that I always have. Can I use bicarb soda to raise the ph and how much and how often do inapply it to my watering ?
Please anynfeedbsck would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[copperrein]

Could you get photos? You're purchasing or making your potting mix?
I would use dolomitic lime to raise pH. I'm not sure what bicarb would do.

Photos are going to be really helpful as well as more detail on the soil.

 

[013]

To help we need more info.... How old are your plants? How many gallons of soil? What kind of soil? Did you amend it? What kind of nutes are you using? Do you add cal-mag? To what value do you set your ph at? What kind of ph pen do you use? When was it last calibrated? Do you adjust ph before or after mixing your nutes? How much water do you give in one session? How do you determine when it’s time to water again? Yes we need pics please

Runoff ph or ppm have never mattered, they contain chemical salts from your nutes plus any fine sediment that comes out in the wash. Depending on soil type you may not even need to adjust ph.

 

[Grower2020]

To help we need more info.... How old are your plants? What kind of soil? Did you amend it? What kind of nutes are you using? Do you add cal-mag? What kind of ph pen do you use? When was it last calibrated? How much water do you give in one session? How do you determine when it’s time to water again? Yes we need pics please

Runoff ph or ppm have never mattered, they contain chemical salts from your nutes plus any fine sediment that comes out in the wash. What matters is the ph right before you feed the plant.

I just did a slurry test from soil from the top of the pots using pure water with no ppm and the ph is 6.0 right after a nutrient feed which was ph'd at 6.2. No cal mag added just thrive all purpose fertilizer which I have used for years without any problems . and a tiny bit of 5 in 1 liquid fertilizer and also a tiny bit of oz magic monsta bud as they are in pre flower and just started making hairs.
The brand of potting mix is shop bought and it's called searles premium potting mix. It's Australia's best potting mix , it does contain slow release properties in the mix but it has also never been a problem and don't see why it would be now. People have said it's too hot but I have used it for years with the same fertilizers and never had a problem and have always produced coke can size colas . I calibrate the pen and wash the probe before every single use .

 

[013]

Sounds in order, not a fan of the pre-nuted soil but you have confidence in the brand. Ok I looked at a few of your others posts. I’m going to jump at the concrete slab part. I don’t know beans about your Aussie climate since I’m US based. But here an indoor or covered concrete slab stays at 55 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit all year long and the 1 degree temp swing is from the peak of winters cold to max of summer heat. I suspect cold feet but take a temp reading on the slab.

Yes sir, get those puppies off the concrete slab. I grow in basement and I’ve got those snap together foam floor tiles, a wood pallet, half sheet of plywood, the tent, another cut down pallet, a kiddie pool for drain pan, then my plants are sitting on plant risers.

Nice looking garden and setup!!!

 

[Grower2020]

Sounds in order, not a fan of the pre-nuted soil but you have confidence in the brand. Ok I looked at a few of your others posts. I’m going to jump at the concrete slab part. I don’t know beans about your Aussie climate since I’m US based. But here an indoor or covered concrete slab stays at 55 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit all year long and the 1 degree temp swing is from the peak of winters cold to max of summer heat. I suspect cold feet but take a temp reading on the slab.

Yes sir, get those puppies off the concrete slab. I grow in basement and I’ve got those snap together foam floor tiles, a wood pallet, half sheet of plywood, the tent, another cut down pallet, a kiddie pool for drain pan, then my plants are sitting on plant risers.

What about a thick blanket under them would that be ok ? I just did a temperature check on the soil and the soil gave me a reading of 22 degrees

 

[013]

Never tried with blanket - so no idea but I have seen many here with problems from cold feet & wet feet. A slab is considered a heat sink, it will suck the warmth out if anything around it. It’s not just the cold either but the continual water vapor rising up. The top of the soil is one thing it’s got a huge light to radiate heat onto the soil surface I would raise the tent at least 8 to 10 inches - but whatever you decide.

 

[Grower2020]

Never tried with blanket - so no idea but I have seen many here with problems from cold feet & wet feet. A slab is considered a heat sink, it will suck the warmth out if anything around it. It’s not just the cold either but the continual water vapor rising up. The top of the soil is one thing it’s got a huge light to radiate heat onto the soil surface I would raise the tent at least 8 to 10 inches - but whatever you decide.

I'll take your word for it and have a go at raising the tent from the ground. Thanks heaps dude really appreciate it . So it seems as though my soil ph is fine then ? If I did a slurry and it was 6.0?

 

[013]

i wouldn’t worry about the soil too much. I suspect they want to protect their brand name so they’ve done their research on adding elements, mixing and quality control to keep it buffered within proper ratios. As long as your feed water is between 6.2 to 6.4 you should be good to go

 

[013]

BTW’s I’m not an expert or pro, just a gardener so please consider all other opinions and defo keep us posted as this unfolds. Really nice to let me hang in your garden for a second - stop by mine anytime!!

 

[Grower2020]

i wouldn’t worry about the soil too much. I suspect they want to protect their brand name so they’ve done their research on adding elements, mixing and quality control to keep it buffered within proper ratios. As long as your feed water is between 6.2 to 6.4 you should be good to go

Awesome I'll just keep plugging along and hopefully see some stretch soon , entering week 4 tomorrow and see a couple of sex hair now . Hoping they become dec3nt sized autos . Do they look on track to you ?

 

[Grower2020]

BTW’s I’m not an expert or pro, just a gardener so please consider all other opinions and defo keep us posted as this unfolds. Really nice to let me hang in your garden for a second - stop by mine anytime!!

Will definitely keep posting and I'll have a quick look at your garden now actually.

 

[013]

They look fantastic, seriously! Seem to be well on their way and ready to launch. Soil moves slower and that’s a good thing

Oh crap mine is a shitshow - I battled pests from March 2020 all the way thru. Just now getting the LOS setup going with beneficial predators. My first 6 grows we’re not even photo documented because the camera was in a funky macro mode setting and the pics were hosed. I saw you were asking about coco & dwc but my 2 hempy chicks just crawled the bed real bad. Hydro grows are faster but they can hit the wall at warp speed too. Those 2 hempy girls went full head on collision in about two days but I’m not very skilled at reading symptoms in hydro and adjusting for the speed of hydro

 

[Grower2020]

I trained them for the second time today and here's how they are looking now. I only trained the nicest ones . There's about 6 or 8 nice ones i trained and I'll out the other ones untrained on the outside of the nice ones and allow the nicest biggest trained plants to absorb the brunt of the light . 21 days old day . Beginning of week 4 and first signs of sex appearing

 

[bobrown14]

I'll take your word for it and have a go at raising the tent from the ground. Thanks heaps dude really appreciate it . So it seems as though my soil ph is fine then ? If I did a slurry and it was 6.0?

Can put the plants containers on rollers off the floor is enough. Plants dont look that bad either. I get worse looking plants with dis-coloration and dont worry too much about it.

Cold feet will slow your growth is my understanding.

Slurry test of your soil for pH is not very accurate. Hafta remember that pH is logarithmic scale so a little off is a lot off. Grain of salt.

Runoff test is meaningless.

If you're growing in soil which it looks like, its all about the microbes they are what feed the plant. Get them happy.

 

[SmokingWings]

I would use dolomitic lime to raise pH. I'm not sure what bicarb would do.

Mixed with the water the baking soda or 'bi-carb' will raise the pH. I am not sure that it is recommended for changing the pH of the soil itself or if it would even work. But for water it is common recommendation; often recommended for fixing the pH of swimming pools with an acidic pH reading.

 

[bobrown14]

Best to let the soil be and not mess with soil pH. Just get your water pH right anything between 6pH-7pH is good.

If you got a slurry test (again not very accurate) and it was 6pH - yer good. Its best to have soil slightly acidic.

Don't add lime to your soil when there are plants in it specially in a container. The pH swing will be VERY large and it will be irreversible.

If you dead set on checking your soil pH then send a sample into a soil lab - can get one cheap at your local county extension service. If you live somewhere where they dont do soil testing in your state you can send it to another state. There are a few states that will do soil testing regardless of where in the US the soil came from.

 

[Dada254]

Hi guys please help me I've encountered a low ph in my run off in my soil grow. The leaves seem too light in colour but not yellow. The new shoots have slowed down and have like a crinkled affect. I'm not over watering I know that because I'm letting the soil dry out 75% between waters but not to the point that leaves droop . I've grown the same way every time and using the same potting mix that I always have. Can I use bicarb soda to raise the ph and how much and how often do inapply it to my watering ?
Please anynfeedbsck would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Poor on 6.8 ph when watering use ph up to help you out it should bring ur run off up

 

[bobrown14]

Dont go by runnoff.... its not a thing.