PH

newguy1 said:

hello I have a question when watering my plants I give them a PH of around 5-6.5 I mainly go for around 5 is that to low I am doing a soil coco mix grow and this is my first time. My plants look amazing really healthy so I thinknt good but just would like some more input. Also when I give my plants nutrients it causes my ph in my water to go below 5 so what I do is raise it up to about a 11 and add my Nutes and that will bring it down to about 6 is doing it like that ok? Thanks for any help

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Jimdamick said:

Well, you really aren't doing your plants any good with such a wide variance in PH levels. You are actually setting them up for a lot of problems, such as the possibility of creating a hermi. Stable PH is imperative for nutrient take up, and without that, your plants will never thrive.
You have to meter your feed water AFTER you add your nutes to the water. In soil you should be shooting for 6.3, which is optimum. Hydro you want 5.8. Go to a hydro store, a good garden center or online at Amazon and get a bottle of each of PH up, and Ph down. Add to your nutes slowly to adjust. Take your time adding it, wait for 10 minutes after adding, and then test again.
Good luck

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newguy1 said:

So it is ok to add ph up after my nutes? I have everything I need when it comes to ph up and down and meters. Here are some pics please let me know what you think

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Jimdamick said:

Plants look good. Sounds like the last meter you MUST have is a PPM/EC meter, which will tell you exactly what your giving your plants as far as nutes go. Using the suggested amounts on the bottle is probably close, but probably really isn't good enough, you want it perfect for optimum growth. For example, as your plants develop, their nutritional needs grow, so what you are feeding them at 4 weeks, is not the same as what they need at 8 weeks, at that point you could almost double that amount, but guessing, which is what you are doing following recommended amounts, isn't the way to go. Real pot growing is a science, and if you want optimum results, which I'm sure you do, after all it is an investment in time and money to produce a healthy plant, Look at this way, A good combo meter that tests everything, PH/PPM will set you back $150, but if you get say, 1.5 oz per plant at a street value of let's say $250 per zip, you will have paid for it on your first grow. If you want to do this long term, you 1st need the tools to do it right, so get a PPM meter, and your plants will love you. Finally, ALWAYS add PH adjuster after you put your nutes in the water, because the nutes WILL affect your PH.

Click to expand...

Jimdamick said:

Plants look good. Sounds like the last meter you MUST have is a PPM/EC meter, which will tell you exactly what your giving your plants as far as nutes go. Using the suggested amounts on the bottle is probably close, but probably really isn't good enough, you want it perfect for optimum growth. For example, as your plants develop, their nutritional needs grow, so what you are feeding them at 4 weeks, is not the same as what they need at 8 weeks, at that point you could almost double that amount, but guessing, which is what you are doing following recommended amounts, isn't the way to go. Real pot growing is a science, and if you want optimum results, which I'm sure you do, after all it is an investment in time and money to produce a healthy plant, Look at this way, A good combo meter that tests everything, PH/PPM will set you back $150, but if you get say, 1.5 oz per plant at a street value of let's say $250 per zip, you will have paid for it on your first grow. If you want to do this long term, you 1st need the tools to do it right, so get a PPM meter, and your plants will love you. Finally, ALWAYS add PH adjuster after you put your nutes in the water, because the nutes WILL affect your PH.

Click to expand...