My ph reader is one of the aquarium type readers and 6.0(yellow) is its lowest reading. 6.0 was the reading after 7 gallons of 7.0 water. The larger issue is why I can't raise it up.

I already have dolomite lime, the pellets. I've added 1 tsp per gallon of water twice in the past two weeks to try and help the magnesium deficiency, and my soil is still showing acidic.

How can I mix it into the soil now... or should I just add some with water in feedings?

If your results prove to have dropped considerably, say to around 5.5 (which can happen in late stages of flowering), you will need to add some lime into your soil to help buffer the pH back up again.

Remove the first inch or so of soil, taking care not to damage any roots whilst performing this task. Then sprinkle the lime into the pot, nice and evenly at a rate of 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of lime per gallon of soil. Then replace the soil you removed earlier, and saturate the soil good to wash in the lime.

Do the same test next time your plants need watering just to check that everything is fine, if more lime needs to be added then just repeat the process again till you reach close to 6.5 – 7.0 with the runoff.

Ensuring that your pH is correct should be done throughout the life cycle; this will help eliminate any nutrient lockout that may occur. I recommend doing this once a month just to keep the PH in check, and you should never have a problem with deficiencies caused by pH lockout.

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When I had this issue (soil ph 5.5 a few weeks ago) the dolomite lime pellets is what worked best. I loosened the top 4-5 inches of soil and mixed 1 ounce of pellets right in and then gave it a good watering. By the next day the ph had gone up to 6.5. There is also hydraded dolomite lime which you add to your water, but i don't know where to get it and i've never tried the hydraded version. Can you post a few pics of your plants? this might help us to help you.

Btw I also tried some ph up before i purchased and used the lime and it did not help the soil grow at all.

I apologize, cannot post pics. I'm in the process of posting a link with a pic in response to bonz of what my mg defic looks like, although mine is looking more advanced now than that pic.

I read all the "lime" is the same whether it's garden lime, pelletized, dolomite, etc. I don't think it matters whether you add to soil or to water, although I think if you dissolve in water you should go slower(lighter) because it all goes straight to the plant whereas if you add pellets to soil it probably dissolves over two or three waterings.

FWIW, for the past couple weeks my plant looked like the one in this link under magnesium deficiency- lime green edges, leaves curling upwards.
International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles!

It's only 3 weeks old... it's growing very fast- fat stems, nice shade leaves, just do this at least every other watering the entire plant life or until it's stable. And of course, I should ph the lime water back up to about 7.0?

And I also have some epsom salts for pure magnesium if it is recommended but at that ph it might cause lockout of calcium?

Thanks a lot.

VH

Here's the rest of what I meant to post above but for some reason it wouldn't take when I posted it:

It's only 3 weeks old... it's growing very fast- fat stems, nice shade leaves, eight nodes- it just shows magnesium deficiency.

As of this morning it looks worse because all the new growth at the top looks exclusively lime green, almost as if I flushed the magnesium out of the soil. But I still can't understand why flushing didn't raise the ph some and make magnesium more easily absorbed. I probably flushed everything out of the soil last night.

But anyway bonz, since I have the lime pellets, should I just add 1 teaspoon in water since that gets it down to the roots faster? This pelletized lime dissolves in water. The situation actually improved(I think) the first couple times I added a teaspoon lime with watering. Maybe I have to just do this at least every other watering the entire plant life or until it's stable. And of course, I should ph the lime water back up to about 7.0?

And I also have some epsom salts for pure magnesium if it is recommended but at that ph it might cause lockout of calcium?

Thanks a lot.

VH

i`m starting to think you have a ph imballance and the soil is locked up. your not so concerned about getting it to the roots but more to stay in soil for each watering, but yes ph the water also but i would use the bottled ph up or down for my water and lime for the soil. when you did the flush you shoud have added nutes after because flushing would have washed them ell out. so it will probably start to yellow up.

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No new nutes with flush, was just phing the filtered water up to 7.0 with ph up.

So yeah, my ph is imbalanced as far as I understand it and it's in the acidic range. I do feel like it needs some lime in the soil now so I'm going to go with watering the next couple times with dissolved lime then add some to the soil after that. As advanced as it looks this morning I'm a little bit in the rescue mode.

If I feed again in a few days after this lime water dries a little could I add a little more lime with a feeding or is that supposed to go separate? I guess it wouldn't matter since the assumption of adding it to the soil means when you feed you're dissolving more lime into the soil along with the nutes.

Thanks.
VH

i would add to the soil so it lasted longer or you will be adding it everytime.

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yeah bonz I'm going to. It's just that I want a couple waterings with the dissolved pellets to try and pull it up as soon as possible. When it looks healthier I'm going to add the pellets to the soil to keep it maintained.