Ph of runoff in soil grow

Originally Posted by MDEVA

Is there any good reason to test the Ph of your runoff in a soil grow? I know it's good to check when u flush to make sure it's the same coming out as it was going in. But what does the Ph of your runoff really tell you during a normal feeding or watering? I did a plain water last time, and just to kill my curiosity, I tested the runoff. The water I put in was 6.4, and my runoff was 5.5- does that indicate a problem or is it perfectly normal? I was guessing that my ruin off would have a higher Ph, but had nothing to base that on... It was simply a guess, and obviously a bad one. If anyone could take the time to explain this for me I would really appreciate it. I put it in advanced section because I figured you Guys would be the ones with most factual based answers.

You need to add dolomitic lime for a natural ph adjustment. Most all GOOD ORGANIC soils have this. Like my local nursery mix and the happy frog mix i blend together.

Run off is 6.5 all day after i add a ton of worm and bat poo, and other stuff.

Heres my soil mix; im using liquid fertilizers though. Its called the G.O. (general organics) box from General Hydroponics. They are all organic; all of them except for processed squid(doesnt make tent stink) are vegan too so its all organic for sure which makes the smell absolutely amazing. Im in veg and i can tell you right now what each plant will be by the smell; i cant wait to smell the flowers mmm

Coolest part about this mix is its soooo hard to burn plants. Im growing some very good strains(blue cheese,lemon kush, blueberry, etc) but all bag seed mixed up so not sure whats what and im feeding all of them every 5 days with VIGOROUS growth and NO burn signs whatsoever. This setup is very easy, had very good results(smell and growth) and on top of that its the cheapest stuff when comparing price to return benefits.

Hope this helps you out

• 2 parts local nursery mix(canadian sphagnum peat, gypsum, dolomitic limestone and perlite)
  1 part happy frog potting soil (contents and %'s should be able to be found online)
  1/2 part earthworm castings ("wiggle worm" soil builder)
  1/2 part Jamaican Bat guano
  Also add a little extra chunky perlite to ensure the roots have something sturdy to hold onto
  
  
  

  
  

WOW. It's been a while since I checked on this one. I thought this part of one of my posts had pretty much summed up the reason that I ever put this thread out in the 1st place - "If anyone could take the time to explain this for me I would really appreciate it. I put it in advanced section because I figured you Guys would be the ones with most factual based answers." GOD DAMN why does T.H.Cocksucker always have to prove he's so fucking superior to ANYONE who asks a question? Maybe this isn't the forum for me. YES I'm only growing a couple of plants for personal use - but for some reason I didn't realize that made me the biggest fucking lowlife "noob" the internet had ever seen. I joined this site so I could take advantage of info provided by people who have been doing this a lot longer and more successfully than myself. I didn't come on here to argue with a bunch of people who have God Complexes. Here's a fucking suggestion - if a thread, or a particular post, bothers you so much you feel the need to shit all over a person who's simply searching for information, and playing devils advocate in order to have something better explained, then do the world a favor and go fuck yourself to death.

Yes - I'm on what I consider my 1st actual grow. That's why I've read damn near every "sticky" I could find, and spent hours looking at different grow room setups, and browsed reviews on products I'm using. My plan all along for this first grow was to stick to the basics. I haven't done anything other than to feed and water my plants, monitor temp & humidity, control the light schedule. I have paid special attention each time I feed to stay within Ph ranges reccommended for soil, and PPM appropriate for the stage she is at. I don't know what even prompted me to check the Ph of my run-off. I guess I had the pen sitting next to me while I was watering and became curious. I tried looking the answer up myself. And after getting so much conflicting information from various sites I decided to pose the question on this forum. Maybe it would help some of the crybabies on here if I say sorry.... so open your ears and put on your glasses T.H.Cum-guzzler "I'm SORRY for having a question so absurd it would actually make you consider taking your condescending remarks and leaving R.I.U. for good."

@ Dr. Greener - Thank you for your response. I appreciate the time you took to add constructive feedback. So in the future when I water, it's not necessary to keep going until I see a little bit of water in the saucer underneath? I usually rake around the top 1/4" or so of soil, and then start pouring very slowly pausing ever so often to give the water/nutrients time to moisten the soil and then continue pouring until I see the first small amount of water in my tray. Usually there is approx 1/4"-1/2" water in the bottom after everything drains thru that has to be dumped. The whole process takes me maybe 20 minutes or so. I didn't know this was an unhealthy practice. I really am thankful for the advice.

@ Greenlikemoney - I get great personal enjoyment out of growing my "small personal amount." You're right though - I WON'T EVER break even on my "investment." Maybe that's because I didn't see getting into growing an "investment" in the first place. I'm not growing to save money. I'm not growing to make money. I have no plans to sell anything I grow to recoup the funds spent on materials. This is purely a hobby for me. I hope it's ok with you that I still care how my plants turn out though.

I still don't see anything wrong with the question I asked. I put it in the section of RIU where I believed I could get the most informed responses. I thought maybe this was one of those things that should be checked periodically to ensure my soil was healthy and didn't have any Ph related issues. After reading such negative comments, I'm glad it's nearly harvest time for me because I would hate to think of another question that might upset the likes of T.H.Cunt.