General Organics Q's

indicantonio

indicantonio

Active Member
Hello ORGANIC-RIU'ers!

I'm just now around 1 month into my second grow and I've recently purchased a General Organics - go box. The truth is I'm not real sure if I can even consider this "organic" growing. This week I will be transplanting my ladies into 3.4 gallon air-pots with Roots organic soil. I've noticed that in the box it says to not PH the water, I've read that this is due to some PH stabilizers "killing" some of the "living organisms" in soil. Would this apply to me? I can probably find this out searching around RIU archive but to be honest I can't wrap my head around "Organics", YET!


1.- Any tips/advice using General Organics?

2.- Should I amend my Roots soil with anything?

3.- Should I not PH my water? "Usually the tap water runs around 7.5"






Thank you

Indicantonio
 
zack66

zack66

Well-Known Member
I would add some worm castings and lime to your mix. That will greatly help buffer anything you put in your medium. I have used the GO line for a few years now and have no issues. My water ph runs around 8. My medium is good and I don't adjust anything. If your medium is good your plants should be fine.
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
Make sure you're using dechlorinated water, and many municipalities also use chloramines which are more stable and don't readily evaporate.

A bit more dolomite lime couldn't hurt, and some Azomite. For larger plants and the transplant before bloom you could add a granular organic plant food like Espoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus, Plant-Tone, Flower-Tone, even Citrus-Tone would work (with high P guano). You can find these virtually everywhere: Lowes, Home Depot, garden centers, hydro/grow shops, etc.

Adjusting pH with liquid drops is not necessary. The liming agent (dolomite or calcitic lime) helps to counter the acidity of the components in the mix, while the microbes and the plant itself will fine tune the pH throughout the rhizosphere.
 
indicantonio

indicantonio

Active Member
Nullis said:
Make sure you're using dechlorinated water, and many municipalities also use chloramines which are more stable and don't readily evaporate.

A bit more dolomite lime couldn't hurt, and some Azomite. For larger plants and the transplant before bloom you could add a granular organic plant food like Espoma Bio-Tone Starter Plus, Plant-Tone, Flower-Tone, even Citrus-Tone would work (with high P guano). You can find these virtually everywhere: Lowes, Home Depot, garden centers, hydro/grow shops, etc.

Adjusting pH with liquid drops is not necessary. The liming agent (dolomite or calcitic lime) helps to counter the acidity of the components in the mix, while the microbes and the plant itself will fine tune the pH throughout the rhizosphere.
Click to expand...
Wow +rep! Just for this comment alone totally worth opening up a new thread! haha.

I just transplanted today was afraid I was going to end up root bound. I didn't add anything to my soil, Could any of the products you described be used as a "topping soil" ?

Thank you Nullis!
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
Yes you can top with them. Dolomite is commonly available, garden lime. Get micronized if you can, the finer particle size will help it wash in.
 
H

HalfSackZach

Member
Hey awesome answers guys. Can any of you answer his question about adjusting the ph? Does adding acid to the water to get it to 6.5 actually kill microorganisms in the soil?
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
pH Up is probably worse, but these different products contain different ingredients. It just isn't necessary for the water to be 6.5, and usually fertigation solutions can tend to have a lower pH than that anyways. If using tap water that has a high pH, which is fine as long as it is dechlorinated, I just wouldn't add any additional lime to the potting mix. There are probably minerals dissolved in the water, resulting in that high pH. Primary thing responsible for this is calcium carbonate already dissolved in the water; it contributes to hard water. CaCO3 is the same thing as calcitic lime.
 
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