I’m hoping someone can help me with pH issues. I just started a few new plants in 4 gallons pots of Miracle Grow potting soil. Before planting the seeds, I watered my pots of soil with our well water which has a pH of about neutral …6.8 to 6.9. The pH was 6.2. So, after planting my seeds, about a week later, the pH had lowered to 5.6. The next morning, I watered with water that was 7.0. The pH had gone down to 5.5. This morning, I watered with 7.4 water. And it’s down to 5.3. This same sort of problem seems to have been an issue for me for a long time. I can’t seem to make the soil pH stable.
Last grow, I tried adding ag lime to the soil. And I had a heck of time trying to get the pH low enough. It was like I was fighting the lime. This time I’m using straight Miracle Grow.
Any help you can give would be appreciated.
Thanks
You’ll be better off using a soil buffered for cannabis such as Roots Organics, Black Magic, or a Fox Farm product. Miracle Grow contains time release nutes which submarine your pH every time you water.
Yes indeed
That is why miracle is no bueno for growing cannabis
Miracle grow has time released nutes that end up releasing nitrogen in bloom phase and there’s your problem as mentioned above.
I would also repot
Good luck
Good Morning @cmsnde I can assure you that the MG soil is not going to be good for your plants. My first grow was in MG and there was nothing I could do to make it better. If I had known this earlier in my grow I would have changed my medium right away.
You definitely can’t add any nutrients because of the time release nutrients that are in the MG.
This is your only real option. MG has ‘timed release’ fertilizer that, every time you water, dumps harsh fertilizer with a low PH into your medium. You could flush 'til the Vacas reach the Hacienda and it will never improve but get worse. PH of 3.8 is entirely possible.
I don’t wanna beat a dead horse, but the issue is the soil. I bought 1.5 cubic feet of MG organic soil in the beginning. Thank God someone talked me into returning it for FFOF soil. They have those time release nutrients that I guess are really bad for seedlings, and pot plants in general. Live and learn tho. Next time u know, switch to a different soil
If you don’t use a medium buffered for cannabis you will be fighting issues through the entire grow. You can grow in homemade medium but HAVE to plan for managing PH. This means blending in gypsum and dolomitic lime along with PH neutral supplements like worm castings. Fruit bat guano is used for P and K but typically acidic.
