Nutrients, Yara 20-20-20, Jacks 321 pH stability

So I used nothing but Jacks for a turn (ebb flow), using a commercial agriculture Humic Acid product as a pH up (pH about 11 ironic for an "acid"), I had no issues really keeping my res' within the 5.5-6.2 range, running 5.8-6.0 90% of the time once dialed in. So I kicked off this turn with Yara 202020, because cheap, and I got tired of beating my old bag of cal nitrate with a hammer. For Veg, not a big issue. In Flower, now I can't keep my pH from constantly rising. I'm burning thru acid and jacking EC up, I'm at 2.6-2.9 on week 2 of flip, after a 10 week veg (they were mitey, had to recover). So anyways, I'm curious if anybody has this issue? Is there some nutrient not being used and causing the drift? I will start weaning to Jacks as soon as I can get a new bag of 15.5 cal nitrate, broken down into some zip locs or something, I really detest the brick it turns into.

Also, Buffer ideas?

Store it in a sealed container from now on, so it doesn't suck moisture out of the air.

Even if it does turn into a brick, its not that big of a deal. Just mix up highly concentrated batches and use it in a liquid form. Just like buying a bottle of part B of a 2 part formula at the store... I make stock solutions of A & B, that last all season, and almost never have to get into the bags.

That way your not messing with powders/balls every time.

Measure it out by EC instead of weight. I do it that way anyway for 321 and my bags are still as good as the day I got em. I actually measure the part A first, as I slowly add it to the water. Then just top off with part B calnit until my meter hits the target.

DesperateFarmer said:

Is there some nutrient not being used and causing the drift?

Click to expand...

Probably

Drop That Sound said:

Store it in a sealed container from now on, so it doesn't suck moisture out of the air.

Even if it does turn into a brick, its not that big of a deal. Just mix up highly concentrated batches and use it in a liquid form. Just like buying a bottle of part B of a 2 part formula at the store... I make stock solutions of A & B, that last all season, and almost never have to get into the bags.

That way your not messing with powders/balls every time.

Measure it out by EC instead of weight. I do it that way anyway for 321 and my bags are still as good as the day I got em. I actually measure the part A first, as I slowly add it to the water. Then just top off with part B calnit until my meter hits the target.

Click to expand...

I did break a bag down into a bunch of weighed out zip locs, ive got the most evenly sized rock in the hood. jk. my pH stopped rising. I figured it out. I was in week 1-2 flower and the plants were stripping out the phosphorous faster than I could add pH up (phosphoric acid). Calcium and Phos are on the same receptor so I guess it was leaving calcium, eating P, and I was just replacing P with the acid. They look great this morning except for my EC's being into the low mid 3's. Time to refill and start over. Unrelated I hit them with a new bacteria that fixes N last week, and maybe it's the high EC from using water or the Bacteria doing its thing but they are very Dark Green.