Woodsman's Northern Light #5 Grow

[onthe420train]

6.7-6.8 sounds to be good for fox farm. I don't have enough experience to tell you if its good or not but I imagine that is a fine pH for fox farm. pH really isn't as big a deal as people make it to be, most problems that appear to be pH are really other things like ratio or deficiency its just a matter of getting it all right on. 6.7 sounds fine though.

keep an eye on your runoff, that guys point wasn't you don't need to do it hes just saying its not that big a deal unless it is.

I run nute mix through my pot until runoff = nute mix. takes a pump and a bucket and a lot of water going through hahaha but I'm in soilless/hydro.

To clarify for Sungod your soil has been treated with lime which is a natural pH buffer and lowers the pH.

and to Here To Learn if your soil has been treated with lime you actually want to water with a pH of 7 because the soil will lower the pH.

 

[Woodsman]

OK so here's what's left of the Hash I made last night. This is about half of what I had:

Could be a lot, Right?

Well it's not! LOL

Now, if I only had a kilo of this stuff!

 

[Woodsman]

6.7-6.8 sounds to be good for fox farm. I don't have enough experience to tell you if its good or not but I imagine that is a fine pH for fox farm. pH really isn't as big a deal as people make it to be, most problems that appear to be pH are really other things like ratio or deficiency its just a matter of getting it all right on. 6.7 sounds fine though.

keep an eye on your runoff, that guys point wasn't you don't need to do it hes just saying its not that big a deal unless it is.

I run nute mix through my pot until runoff = nute mix. takes a pump and a bucket and a lot of water going through hahaha but I'm in soilless/hydro.

To clarify for Sungod your soil has been treated with lime which is a natural pH buffer and lowers the pH.

and to Here To Learn if your soil has been treated with lime you actually want to water with a pH of 7 because the soil will lower the pH.

Thanks onthe420train

I think what I will do so as not to go out of my mind (I do that without growing), I'll just grow my stuff like I never heard of pH. Then, if the soil pH (cause that's all I can test) go below a safe level (like what) or above a safe level (like what), I'll then ask for help! LOL. I already suffer from daily migraines and don't need more triggers!

Is this plan OK? I really appreciate all the help and understanding. You are all terrific growers and people!

 

[Sungod]

Thats pretty much what i do. I think I'll keep doing what I'm doing it might not be perfect but it seems to be working for me. Maybe one day the whole ph thing will become clearer to me.

 

[onthe420train]

Woodsman I would aim for 6.5 all the time. or just water with 6.5 all the time. that way if it ever drops to 6.2 or raises to 7, values just beyond the comfort zone for soil, you'll be correcting it!

pH is determined by the chemical composition of the water. pure water is pH neutral. pH up and pH down are chemicals that will change the levels of nutrients in your solution depending on the ingredients.

Lime is pretty much a natural way to buffer it from inside the soil and eliminates the needs for pH adjustments.

 

[Woodsman]

Thats pretty much what i do. I think I'll keep doing what I'm doing it might not be perfect but it seems to be working for me. Maybe one day the whole ph thing will become clearer to me.

You and me both! LOL

 

[Woodsman]

Woodsman I would aim for 6.5 all the time. or just water with 6.5 all the time. that way if it ever drops to 6.2 or raises to 7, values just beyond the comfort zone for soil, you'll be correcting it!

How do I water with a given pH value? How do I check the water when I don't have a tester for that?

I see that you said a pH of 7 is a ceiling and 6.2 is a bottom safe pH level, correct.. That is the soil I presume (I only have a soil meter)

 

[Woodsman]

Just adding to my previous post,

I check my soil pH with my meter after I have watered or fed my plants. The instructions that came with it said that the soil is tested when it is wet or muddy.

 

[BreakPoint]

yeah that's how you do it Woodsman. it is a lot less critical in soil so unless your leaves start twisting or folding it's all good. If they do then you need to check & adjust up or down, but just remember to do it uber slow. I don't remember anyone saying that yet. but that's really important. no big changes to your ph or you'll do way more damage than good.

 

[Woodsman]

yeah that's how you do it Woodsman. it is a lot less critical in soil so unless your leaves start twisting or folding it's all good. If they do then you need to check & adjust up or down, but just remember to do it uber slow. I don't remember anyone saying that yet. but that's really important. no big changes to your ph or you'll do way more damage than good.

Thanks Breakpoint, and thanks again to all of you guys for helping me out, I'm understanding much better now (I think! LOL) thanks to you all!!

 

[Superweed]

OK so here's what's left of the Hash I made last night. This is about half of what I had:

Could be a lot, Right?

Well it's not! LOL

Now, if I only had a kilo of this stuff!

that will be one of better hash you ever smoked

 

[Woodsman]

that will be one of better hash you ever smoked

Excellent smoke! Too bad it is so little!

 

[Superweed]

Excellent smoke! Too bad it is so little!

Don't warry NL are there for youuuuuuu

 

[MountainHigh]

6.7-6.8 sounds to be good for fox farm. I don't have enough experience to tell you if its good or not but I imagine that is a fine pH for fox farm. pH really isn't as big a deal as people make it to be, most problems that appear to be pH are really other things like ratio or deficiency its just a matter of getting it all right on. 6.7 sounds fine though.

keep an eye on your runoff, that guys point wasn't you don't need to do it hes just saying its not that big a deal unless it is.

I run nute mix through my pot until runoff = nute mix. takes a pump and a bucket and a lot of water going through hahaha but I'm in soilless/hydro.

To clarify for Sungod your soil has been treated with lime which is a natural pH buffer and lowers the pH.

and to Here To Learn if your soil has been treated with lime you actually want to water with a pH of 7 because the soil will lower the pH.

Lime lowers PH? You are talking about Dolomite lime right? I always kinda thought it buffered the acidic nutes and raised them to 7, but if you ph your nutes to 7, won't lime (an alkaline) keep raising it as it leeches into the soil? Supersoil is out of my realm of experience and with Lilbit's success, not really seeing the need.

I decided not to play with buffer's or slow release additives, I just let FFOF deal with the first 4-5 weeks and then start my nute schedule. I actually feel better now that I have started to water like Setting Sun does (well I don't do the whole sprayer thing, am some things I am not willing to do lol), but I water enough to get about 20% runoff. I love the smell coming from the runoff now and when I test the runoff. I have no reliable soil meter, my crappy green 3 in 1 meter never worked for PH, so I bought drops, relatively cheap and test my runoff.

Easy enough to guess based on the runoff. If your runoff is lower than what you put in then the next watering plan on watering with slightly higher ph water, but that can drift so no huge changes. I would never personally make a change more than .5 different, my Lilbit gets watered every two days cuz she is a thirsty girl, is easy to watch her drift. She actually stays close to target with the extra watering I run through her now though.

To each their own brother.

 

[onthe420train]

Yeah MountainHigh rings true! listen to him and reconsider maybe using some lime hahaha. anyways I think lime and soil are a good combination because it allows you to use low pH blooming reagents heavy in potassium and phosphate in order to increase yield. It is true that dolomite carries a higher pH and it is used to raise the pH of soil not lower it. But I think that 5.8 is a fine pH for soilless and 6.2 is a fine pH for soil and a 7.0 buffer wouldn't solve the problem of my tap (8.3+) so it does lower my tap. I guess that is probably the source of the confusion so I just say 6.3-6.5 veg. maybe 6.7 in bloom.

 

[MountainHigh]

Yeah MountainHigh rings true! listen to him and reconsider maybe using some lime hahaha. anyways I think lime and soil are a good combination because it allows you to use low pH blooming reagents heavy in potassium and phosphate in order to increase yield. It is true that dolomite carries a higher pH and it is used to raise the pH of soil not lower it. But I think that 5.8 is a fine pH for soilless and 6.2 is a fine pH for soil and a 7.0 buffer wouldn't solve the problem of my tap (8.3+) so it does lower my tap. I guess that is probably the source of the confusion so I just say 6.3-6.5 veg. maybe 6.7 in bloom.

Haha, as a newbie most of those additives seem like voodoo to me right now (from reading I kinda get it, but...), if I can't control them then who will? OMG chaos running around in my soil....

I had heard that Dolomite would neutralize your soil, I just for the life of me can't figure what mechanism it would be using to do so....was hoping you would know how it actually lowers ph. I know it is good source of Cal and Mag but until I get how it works it will not be part of my regiment in my soil. I am gonna actually research it now....see what you made me do.

 

[onthe420train]

IDK I guess garden lime has a really high pH and is highly basic? confused.

 

[Slowpuffer]

I use FFOF soil and sometimes i use it for two grows in a row. I use tap water that tests about 7. I let it sit in milk jugs for 2 or 3 days before i use it. I follow the FFOF ferts soil feeding schedule and i've never had a problem. I do add cal-mag the last month of bloom. I'm not saying i'm doing it right, but i'm getting a good harvest. As a matter of fact, I only check soil run off for ph, if i got a problem with a plant. Other than that, I just watch em grow !! I bought one of those Ferry & Morse electrical soil testers, but i have never figured out how to use it. No matter what, it always reads 6.9-7.0, so it's been out of use for a couple of years now. I got it to check the conditions in my outdoor garden, but it just don't work !! Ha !! If you figure out how it works, please let me know. I can stick this one in pure cow shit and it still reads 7 !! Ha !! So it's basicly new in the box !! And worthless !!

 

[Jbleez]

woodsman-

you dopey lol hey when im ready for harvest u got show me how to make all that stuff ok?

 

[Woodsman]

I use FFOF soil and sometimes i use it for two grows in a row. I use tap water that tests about 7. I let it sit in milk jugs for 2 or 3 days before i use it. I follow the FFOF ferts soil feeding schedule and i've never had a problem. I do add cal-mag the last month of bloom. I'm not saying i'm doing it right, but i'm getting a good harvest. As a matter of fact, I only check soil run off for ph, if i got a problem with a plant. Other than that, I just watch em grow !! I bought one of those Ferry & Morse electrical soil testers, but i have never figured out how to use it. No matter what, it always reads 6.9-7.0, so it's been out of use for a couple of years now. I got it to check the conditions in my outdoor garden, but it just don't work !! Ha !! If you figure out how it works, please let me know. I can stick this one in pure cow shit and it still reads 7 !! Ha !! So it's basicly new in the box !! And worthless !!

woodsman-

you dopey lol hey when im ready for harvest u got show me how to make all that stuff ok?

I mentioned lime or lemon as in 'juice' way up in the previous posts as an 'acid' and a simple home remidy (what do I know!)

I guess when I get a problem I'll bring it up.

Slowpuffer howdy bud, I have a 4 in one. Before I bought it it also had reviews by folks that said they can't get it to move off 7.. Same here when I first tried it. I took the green scour pad that came with it and scrubbed the heck out of the posts. Now it seems to work fine? I've been getting a 6.7 to 6.8 on the soil after a water or feed (has to be a very wet soil).

Jbleez, I just followed the instructions I found on this site for the hash. Thinking about using my Mazar for more, What ever is left over after I harvest the NL.