Potted Soil Grow Questions

I cloned my recent grow and decided to make a mother out of her.
I will be honest, I am not very good at soil and I have a few questions.

1. How do I check the pH using a meter or strips.
At first thought it seems like a straight forward answer, but: Do I test the run off water? Do I stick the strip into the soil, Do I stick the meter in the soil? etc

2. How do I correct the pH of my soil?

I appreciate any assistance.

You can get a cheap meter on Amazon. The strips aren't very precise but you can get a pretty good idea from them. I ph the water/nutrients I add to them. I never check my runoff. Now that I have reverse osmosis, I don't check ph at all. I grow using organic nutrients.

Most problems in soil aren't caused by ph. It is usually either over watering or over feeding. Make sure you add perlite to your soil for good drainage, and if your using bottled nutrients, only use 1/4 of what is recommended. Let the pot get light between waterings, especially when your clones are small. What soil and nutrients are you using?

Yeah I would say if your using strips, not a meter, than the most accurate way to test pH would be the runoff, only because after you mix the nutrients and water the components of the soil could also have an effect on the PH levels...

cindysid said:

You can get a cheap meter on Amazon. The strips aren't very precise but you can get a pretty good idea from them. I ph the water/nutrients I add to them. I never check my runoff. Now that I have reverse osmosis, I don't check ph at all. I grow using organic nutrients.

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This is the best for soil ph your feed/ water going in other than that you should be golden

@cindysid I am using a potting mix from the hardware store. It was designed for flowers I believe. The clone is showing some yellowing of the leaves, which suggests nitrogen deficiency. However I wanted to make sure it wasn't a pH issue. I am thinking about trying FoxFarm for my nutrients.

@Smokey♛Dragon❀ I have a pH meter that I use with my hydro setup. I assume using it with the run off would be just as effective? Also is a ppm/ec meter of any use with a soil grow.

I should also mention, I do not want this mother to get very big. I won't need anymore than two clones per 3-4 months since I am only growing one plant per. I would like to even bonsai this mother if possible.

Thanks for the input guys.

Post some pics. Most likely over watering is your problem which in turn causes lockout and ph issues.

Here is a photo. The soil is damp as I watered it a day ago.

atrumblood said:

@cindysid I am using a potting mix from the hardware store. It was designed for flowers I believe. The clone is showing some yellowing of the leaves, which suggests nitrogen deficiency. However I wanted to make sure it wasn't a pH issue. I am thinking about trying FoxFarm for my nutrients.

@Smokey♛Dragon❀ I have a pH meter that I use with my hydro setup. I assume using it with the run off would be just as effective? Also is a ppm/ec meter of any use with a soil grow.

I should also mention, I do not want this mother to get very big. I won't need anymore than two clones per 3-4 months since I am only growing one plant per. I would like to even bonsai this mother if possible.

Thanks for the input guys.

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I really hope you didn't use that soil from Home Depot black magic or whatever that stuff isn't the best at all. Only worry about ph'ing the feed/water going in for my mothers I use slow release nutrients then you don't have to worry about the salt build up. Aptus makes these pellets that last for like three to four months, there are others I'm sure I can just pick them up and a bucket last forever after that top with roots organic foundations elemental and grow as need via top dressing. Gives you happy healthy mommas.

cannabis can make you insane huh?

MANGOBICHE said:

cannabis can make you insane huh?

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Lol nah growing is an obsession the addictive part of cannabis is growing.

Lordhooha said:

I really hope you didn't use that soil from Home Depot black magic or whatever that stuff isn't the best at all. Only worry about ph'ing the feed/water going in for my mothers I use slow release nutrients then you don't have to worry about the salt build up. Aptus makes these pellets that last for like three to four months, there are others I'm sure I can just pick them up and a bucket last forever after that top with roots organic foundations elemental and grow as need via top dressing. Gives you happy healthy mommas.

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I am not even sure what brand the potting mix was, but I am sure it wasn't anything labeled black magic lol. I will check out Aptus.

Also what do you think of the clone from the pic. Nitrogen def? or just over watering?

atrumblood said:

I am not even sure what brand the potting mix was, but I am sure it wasn't anything labeled black magic lol. I will check out Aptus.

Also what do you think of the clone from the pic. Nitrogen def? or just over watering?

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Could be either I'm leaning towards overwatering.

http://www.bghydro.com/aptus-baseboost-pellets.html
Look around 1 kg bucket you can find for cheap just have to dig

atrumblood said:

Here is a photo. The soil is damp as I watered it a day ago.

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ahh, that's from the mix having too much forest byproducts in it, uncomposted wood, not enough drainage, lowering ph, also the mix will hold more water than normal, which also steers it acidic.
you need a better container, and better soil.
for premade soils the ones to use would be foxfarm, roots, vermisoil, etc.
you do NOT want wood in your soil.
it sequesters nitrogen, increases soil temps, and essentially sucks.
another thing to consider is that if the soil isn't inert, it'll have all sorts of reading on a ph strip
especially if there is organic nutrients in the soil, all that skews the readings
but from the look of the sil, it's simply the wrong type, that soil is more for potting flowers, which tend to appreciate the acidic water holding capabilities of that mix
make sense?

Listen to greasemonkey. You need new soil with perlite. Do it soon and your plant will recover. If not, you're on a downhill slide.

@Lordhooha Thanks, I will check that out.

@greasemonkeymann . Thanks for the tips man. The potting mix I have does indeed have uncomposted wood in it.
So, If I were to grab some foxfarm soil, add some perlite (ratio?) , and transplant then I should be good?

While I have your attention. What is the feeding schedule like for mothers I plan to keep in veg? I assume just Ph'd water and only feed like once a week?

atrumblood said:

@Lordhooha Thanks, I will check that out.

@greasemonkeymann . Thanks for the tips man. The potting mix I have does indeed have uncomposted wood in it.
So, If I were to grab some foxfarm soil, add some perlite (ratio?) , and transplant then I should be good?

While I have your attention. What is the feeding schedule like for mothers I plan to keep in veg? I assume just Ph'd water and only feed like once a week?

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If you use those pellets like I do I water with ph'd water as needed and I add great white every couple of weeks to keep roots happy.
@greasemonkeymann roots 707 contains some woodish stuff in it So not bad all the time.
As long as this one guy I was talking to locally couldn't figure out what was going on with his plants. Come to find out he had been chipping branches of red pine up in a chipper then mixing it into his soil. Some ppl just shouldn't be parents lol.

atrumblood said:

@Lordhooha Thanks, I will check that out.

@greasemonkeymann . Thanks for the tips man. The potting mix I have does indeed have uncomposted wood in it.
So, If I were to grab some foxfarm soil, add some perlite (ratio?) , and transplant then I should be good?

While I have your attention. What is the feeding schedule like for mothers I plan to keep in veg? I assume just Ph'd water and only feed like once a week?

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yea, i'd say so, the issue is repotting when the plant isn't fully grown into the container is sketchy at best..
meaning you WILL shock it, most likely damage roots as well..
as far as the mom question, it's hard for me to advise on that, i don't keep moms, i clone off clones (been doing that for decades without a problem)
i don't change any nutrients for my plants, ever.
they get the same compost that i make, and nothing else.
but keep in mind my compost is LOADED with amendments, and cycled for at least 6 to 8 months prior to using. Loaded with microbial life, worms and humus.
other growers can give you more specific advise regarding bottle-feeds.
it's been well over a decade since I've bottle-fed anything

Lordhooha said:

If you use those pellets like I do I water with ph'd water as needed and I add great white every couple of weeks to keep roots happy.
@greasemonkeymann roots 707 contains some woodish stuff in it So not bad all the time.
As long as this one guy I was talking to locally couldn't figure out what was going on with his plants. Come to find out he had been chipping branches of red pine up in a chipper then mixing it into his soil. Some ppl just shouldn't be parents lol.

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i don't like 707.
if you took ALL that wood out and replaced it with humus it'd do better.
wood products are filler, and nothing more, they are adding that to make the bags cheaper to make.
wood products are in fact not desired under any circumstance
at least for cannabis mixes.
factually speaking, anyways
i'm not trying to be argumentative or confrontational, just saying wood isn't wanted at all for a mix, it's bad from many reasons

Thanks for the information guys. Looks like I have some shopping to do this weekend.