Water Water Water

[Oldgeezer]

Have recently changed my soil mixture and am now using peat moss and perlite but can only find pelletised lime in the local stores. When I water my plants, using Fox Farm fertilizer, the water I use is 7.2 but when it goes thru the pot it comes out 6.0. I am fully aware that the peat moss is causing the change but my question is should I be concerned about the water in or the water out. If anyone has used the pelletised lime how much would you add to a five gal. pail of mixture. The ratio of peat moss to perlite is 3 parts peat moss 1 part perlite. Which Way Do I go or should i still be bringing my water I use to the 6.5 ph HELP THANKS AGAIN FOR BALING THE OLDGEEZER OUT

 

[DrFever]

To raise pH in soil: potassium hydroxide, dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, crushed oyster shells, or PH Up.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I am not sure how much to use for 5gal soil mixture but I personally would pulverize the lime so that it goes in as powder rather than pellet as that will allow it to mix into the soil well, then mix in about 3 heaping hand fulls. If you are going the organic route then make sure to get plenty of microbial suppliment and they will maintain the ph for you.

 

[Oldgeezer]

may not have asked my question right what i need to know is which is more important the water ph that i use for watering or the ph of the water that is run-off thru the pot

 

[nouvellechef]

Water that goes in. It's only usually in spring time that Home Depot/lowes carries Lilly miller fine ground lime. In the PNW, year round feed stores carry the fine ground lime. That pelletized lime will take a year before it is really working good.

 

[orangesunshine]

my guess is your actual soil ph is somewhere in the middle of the watering number and the runoff number---one is not more important than the other---the composition of the soil is what is changing the number and imo would not be the least bit concerned with the range you are operating in

 

[WeedHopper]

I never paid any attention to runoff. I made sure my water and nutes were Phed and cooked(airstone in bucket) for 24hrs, recheck PH and then watered.Never had a problem.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Yeah, the runoff water is just a round about measure. If you try to get the runoff water to the right numbers then the soil will most likely be too high as it is holding most of the chemicals that go in. In soil, I try to make sure that I PH my water going in to 6.5-6.9 all the time and then the soil ends up staying around 6.8, I haven't checked the run off in awhile as I found it just confused me.

 

[Oldgeezer]

Thanks a bunch due for feeding to day so the advise is really appriciated Just an update to another problem some of the clones seemed to have turned into auto flowwers but with 24/7 lite they are coming along find and are due to being put into Flowering light in a couple days.