bad batch of soil?

is it possible a bag of fox farm ocean forest has something wrong with it? i guess everything is possible but has it happened or been heard of a lot ... its throwing my ph off... the run off ph is much higher at 7.3 ... was 7.5 2 weeks ago ... and yes im using a 6.3 ph going in ... and now im experiencing problems with the plants ... thanks for any help ... the pics are from before and after ... taken earlier today at 3 pm 10/17/11 ... then at 12:30 am 10/18/11

6.3 ph is for Hydro? Soil needs to be watered with 6.5-7.0 ph.?


we have the same hood. <3


Use 6.8 ph water from now on. Should help, though the initial shock will cause them to need a longer recovery time.. dont throw them into bloom yet.

It's time to feed'em a dose of Big Grow 2 tsp full dose ph'ed 6.5-7.0! I'm betting yo haven't fed right?
Ya I've thought the same thing bad batch, old out of date cause it's never the same!

Looks a lot like what I have going on... I've narrowed it down to overwatering or that it's hungry, because my runoff is at 6.5 in FFOF. Seeing as how you're soil is turning alkalkine, did you add anything to the soil? Or just the straight FFOF?

Are you using RO water? Or tap?

Take a sample of the soil from the middle of the pot by gently digging it out from one side. Then put that into a pill bottle big enough for your meter to fit in. Add just enough distilled water to make a soup (slurry) let it sit for about 20 min. and measure that. That will tell you the actual pH of the soil. I've seen a lot of threads here lately with people having high pH problems with FFOF.
Runoff will only be an indicator, as it isn't in contact with the soil long enough for the soil to actually buffer it. You need to know the actual soil pH.
To lower the pH, try adding some sulphur (not sulphate) on top, then water that in. Go slowly. A nursery will generally be able to help you, just tell them you are growing something other than what you are.

i didnt add anything to the soil ... it was just giving me a high runoff ph ... i transplanted them to inert soil.

do not listen to anybody, water with exactly ph 6.5 in soil every single time, water 1 litre per every 5 litre of soil, water every 2 or 3 days depending on the room conditions, and wait till the pot is very light, and dont worry about the run off ph, that is fluctuating with soil and salts from your last feeds, ok here is a chart for ph correction and nutrient uptake at the ph levels.
and those plants look slightly over watered.

WeeGogs said:

do not listen to anybody, water with exactly ph 6.5 in soil every single time, water 1 litre per every 5 litre of soil, water every 2 or 3 days depending on the room conditions, and wait till the pot is very light, and dont worry about the run off ph, that is fluctuating with soil and salts from your last feeds, ok here is a chart for ph correction and nutrient uptake at the ph levels.
and those plants look slightly over watered.

Click to expand...

Jack Harer said:

Click to expand...

seems as though someone is having a giraffe, hey jewverine, just do as i say and check your run off after 6 feeds i bet your run off will be a bout 6.6ph wink.

same plants ... new inert soil ... sunshine mix 4 ... after week 3 nutes at 900 ppm with advanced sensi grow A/B, voodoo juice, and b-52 ... and now my runoff ph is good ... huge huge difference ... i couldnt be happier ... this is my first grow so im happy i could make a successful adjustment based on the problem ... another thought ... why would i want hot fox farm ocean forest soil when fox farm nutrients arent as good as advanced nutrients ... for a first time grower inert is the way to go because all the nutes can be regulated