Bought a soil ph meter and now I'm confused.

Ok, I bought a little 3 way soil meter, ph, light, moisture on Amazon. I tested to make sure it was calibrated, it seems really nice.

So my poor plant that was having issues (see my older thread), sure enough, the ph was about 5.7. I was testing the runnoff, but I supppose I wasn't capturing it carefully enough I think, because it wasn't showing that low.

So what do I do to fix that? In my case right now it's too late, I'm about to chop anyway. But normally, how should I use one of these things? I've been carefully ph'ing my water to 6.5 since problems started a few weeks ago, so is the drop likely due to inadequate flushing maybe? I've only used nutes as needed, but not really done an all-out flush. Seems like one of my strains (unknown) tends to have a lower ph compared to the others, even though it's the same water.

Also, is there a good guide somewhere to better understanding ph in soil, how to adjust based on readings with a soil meter? Like should I water next time with higher ph water to compensate? Will the ph change as the soil dries, and how? (I noticed it went back up after drying, and then went back down after watering...) Thanks in advance.

Here's what you do. Add a little of this to your soil next time before you pot.
Then quit worrying about the ph of your soil. You'll sleep better at night.

Those meters suck. Are you in soil?

Found this picture, let the debate begin...lol

Antitheist said:

Here's what you do. Add a little of this to your soil next time before you pot.View attachment 4232568
Then quit worrying about the ph of your soil. You'll sleep better at night.

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I've been thinking of trying this, will do...

hotrodharley said:

Those meters suck. Are you in soil?

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Yes, I'm in soil - half Happy Frog, Half Ocean Forest. In what way do they suck? Like inaccurate, break easy, not worth it?

raratt said:

Found this picture, let the debate begin...lol

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Well, yeah, I'm a newb (two years in) but to me I read conflicting things. Some say don't worry about the ph of your soil, some say do, etc.. etc... I usually honestly haven't worried too much about the ph of the soil until I realized it might be why my problem strains have problems... idk... I try and ph to 6.5 every time I water. But I will admit I don't really do the flushing thing ever. Maybe I should give that a try.

hawse said:

Yes, I'm in soil - half Happy Frog, Half Ocean Forest. In what way do they suck? Like inaccurate, break easy, not worth it?

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Yes to all 3. Runoff pH is wasted time. Soil pH is irrelevant. They're not precise at all.

Only moisture meters are a bigger waste.

hawse said:

Well, yeah, I'm a newb (two years in) but to me I read conflicting things. Some say don't worry about the ph of your soil, some say do, etc.. etc... I usually honestly haven't worried too much about the ph of the soil until I realized it might be why my problem strains have problems... idk... I try and ph to 6.5 every time I water. But I will admit I don't really do the flushing thing ever. Maybe I should give that a try.

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Flushing is junk. If the soil is well built and amended correctly your good. I simply add nutrients and water in soil. Ph is important in hydro applications.

Lordhooha said:

Flushing is junk. If the soil is well built and amended correctly your good. I simply add nutrients and water in soil. Ph is important in hydro applications.

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Idk, i've went over 6.5 in soil and my plants suffered tremendously

athomegrowing said:

Idk, i've went over 6.5 in soil and my plants suffered tremendously

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Something else was off I water with water from my well. It ranges from 7.5 to almost 8. Never ran into issues. It's the reason they put buffers in the soil. Hell even coco mixes are coming amended with buffers.

Lordhooha said:

Something else was off I water with water from my well. It ranges from 7.5 to almost 8. Never ran into issues. It's the reason they put buffers in the soil. Hell even coco mixes are coming amended with buffers.

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Surely you'd encounter issues that high

athomegrowing said:

Surely you'd encounter issues that high

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Not in good soil my plants are exactly how they should look. I feed a one part nutrient from start to finish. I think alot of issues come from unbalanced nutrient profiles. They end up locking something else out. I ph my rdwc grows only other than that water no adjustment necessary.

Ok, so would a mixture of half Happy Frog, half Ocean Forest be considered good soil (that's what I'm using)? For my next grow, I'm thinking I'll stick with this, but also add some lime as suggested above as see where that takes me. Thanks for the advice about soil ph, perhaps I'm overthinking it then...

hawse said:

Ok, so would a mixture of half Happy Frog, half Ocean Forest be considered good soil (that's what I'm using)? For my next grow, I'm thinking I'll stick with this, but also add some lime as suggested above as see where that takes me. Thanks for the advice about soil ph, perhaps I'm overthinking it then...

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Yes that should be perfectly fine. I use to mix root organic original with promix bx and never ph’d my feed or water.