testing the pH of your substrate

[seymore_budz]

I see so many growers measuring the run off to find the PH of their substrate. This is far from accurate! If you want to measure the PH at the rootzone, watch this video and measure substrate PH like a pro.

PS: details are key here.

1) he used distilled water
2) he took more than one sample.

Don't cut corners :D

[MrNice]

GG

Ive done this not fot PH tho wanted to know how much nutes was in the soil mixed 50/50 distilled water to soil and a coffee filter to filter the soil from the water left it over night
the soil i use has some dolomite stuff to balance the ph mormally stay arond 6.3 to 6.5 ph ish

[seymore_budz]

GG

Ive done this not fot PH tho wanted to know how much nutes was in the soil mixed 50/50 distilled water to soil and a coffee filter to filter the soil from the water left it over night
the soil i use has some dolomite stuff to balance the ph mormally stay arond 6.3 to 6.5 ph ish

Nice one MrNice. You should try a 2:1 ratio rather than a 1:1 and see if it makes a difference. The dolomite lime indeed acts as a buffer but if the water reads 6.3-6.5 due to the lime, the rootzone will be the same.

[MrNice]

GG

any chance of a post on nutrients for us newbies ratios etc strength Ec levels i was talking to GMO one night about them

[seymore_budz]

GG

any chance of a post on nutrients for us newbies ratios etc strength Ec levels i was talking to GMO one night about them

I could but it's quite an ambiguous topic due to it not being a constant. Nutrient ratios will change based on origins of the plant, environmental factors, plant health etc. This is why there are so many mixed opinions about ratios etc online. There are a few formulas you can read up on but it's a very deep subject that I don't understand if I'm honest. What I can tell you is ratios are by far the most important factor and the acceptable ranges are much more forgiving than PH. As long as you have a quality fertiliser that will provide adequate primary and secondary macros, you're good trace elements are required in such tiny amounts, the micro nutrients from one seed is enough to grow a plant from start to finish. All these additives that are available will only make slight differences. 95% of the plant will come from just nutrients. If you want me to be frank, forget about the nutrient brand and additives and focus all your attention on genetics, environment, PH and plant health in that order. You focus on those factors and I guarantee you will have some decent smoke. The rest is just marketing unless you step outside of the hydro hobby market. Once you have those dialed in and you're producing killer smoke, play with the additives and try to give yourself that little extra flavour or weight.

I could elaborate on a few points I touch on in that paragraph if you would like me to in another thread?

[Captain Beefheart]

to understand PH first off ewe gotta know how the scale works !! Titrations

[seymore_budz]

to understand PH first off ewe gotta know how the scale works !! Titrations

Hehehe throw em in the deep end hey Captain :)

[Captain Beefheart]

in laymans terms bach but heres a rule to thumb to go by,summit with a ph of 7 say neutral !! drop that ph to 6 its 10 x more acidic !!! drop it to 5 and it then becomes 150 times more acidic !! drop it to 4 its now well over 1000 x more acidic....... uncle dewi liked his PH bang on or as near as possible with each + every medium + theres not 2 mediums the same water / soiless / mud the each have their desired sweet spot....... i just listened to my uncle dewi see my dope aint sick !

[seymore_budz]

in laymans terms bach but heres a rule to thumb to go by,summit with a ph of 7 say neutral !! drop that ph to 6 its 10 x more acidic !!! drop it to 5 and it then becomes 150 times more acidic !! drop it to 4 its now well over 1000 x more acidic....... uncle dewi liked his PH bang on or as near as possible with each + every medium + theres not 2 mediums the same water / soiless / mud the each have their desired sweet spot....... i just listened to my uncle dewi see my dope aint sick !

Love it! Great explanation :)

[Captain Beefheart]

put it this way im running half a dozen in asdas mud next up + ive ordered a kilo of dolomite lime ready to boot in a few weeks time......... i would not run mud without it....... neutral for the win + i`ll be using tomorite as the 1 part fert i need a rest off the soiless / coco the last 2 years nigh on finished me.... i loves the mud see i like DIRTY........... i was goona go full organics or as close as...but im to tiered these days i want ease.... + dirt does it for me.