I watered very late last night. My ph of my water was pretty good I figured at about 6.45 or so, but my run off in the pan was super low at about 5.9 or so! Should I water again today with higher ph, to try to straighten things out??? Was too tired to deal with it last night like I think I should have? Strange thing is that I thought my soil, which is mostly FFOF, and a little bit of this other potting soil…, is, or was, about 6.3 when I transplanted these plants into bigger pots months ago! Isn’t that strange? Any ideas on what is going on with these plants, or with my soil now???
What did your meter say, exactly?
Next time, just adjust your IN pH a few points higher…say 6.8. If the runoff comes out too low again, then immediately water with higher pH’d water & check that runoff. If the runoff is now starting to raise, but isn’t quite where you want it, then keep watering, immediately, with that same water, until the runoff comes out how you want it. Basically, you’re doing a mini-flush.
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It was getting so late, it is hard for me to remember exactly what the run off was…, and I did not write it down… One plant was maybe about 5.89 or so, and the other one was 5.92 or 5.93 I think. So, I should just wait till next watering, and try to water with water around 6.8 ph in 3 and a half or 4 days, my usual? I tried to get my water higher ph actually before watering, because my soil is a little low, but it came out at around 6.95 and then 7 ph twice… Sometimes I have trouble getting the ph of my water right where I want it to be! thanks @blackthumbbetty!!!
If my soil was at 5.? right now- i would be going in and dumping a half to a gal of 7.2 water over them. It’s a big leap to 6.3-6.6 range from there. You’re in lockout currently.
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Thanks @Budbrother! Well, they both came out at around 5.9 or so… So, a little bit below 6.0 ph. Too low for sure!!! Using 6.45 ph water… So, u think they are in lock out right now? U would flush them with 7. something water now? Even though I just watered them very late last night, at around 1 am actually?
Depends on what they looked like. Got any pix to share with the class? How far along? 5.9 isn’t really an issue for healthy plants. They can take it for a few days. It’s not really a flush, since that takes 3-5x the pot size. I would call it an minor attitude adjustment.
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Sorry @Budbrother, don’t have a smart phone right now, and my computer cam won’t work either… Wish I did!!! They look pretty good though… Look like they are doing well. Those 2 are getting pretty close to harvest actually. Well, the big middle bud on the one that started flowering first is real close. Just got a loupe to look at the trichomes (sp.?), 30x and 60x. I thought that bigger middle bud was certainly ready, but trichomes do not seem to be turning amber yet, as far as I can tell… Wish a had something to magnify them more! the pistols are mostly or almost all red/orange on the middle bud…
Don’t go by pistols. Scope the actual buds when ya do it. They will mature at different rates all over the plant.
If they’re that far along. Give them some 7.0 on next whatervering in a few days. No harm will come from it at all. Flowering- Just not a good time to be locked out if ya can help it any.
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Thanks again @Budbrother! Just got that loupe thing! 30x bigger viewer, and 60x small little viewer… Just tried it for the first time yesterday. Seems kinda hard to see the trichomes real good with that thing to me? My eyesight is not very good at all though, lol, and it is hard for me to hold the loupe perfectly still… U think that is a good thing to use for checking trichomes? Could just be my poor eyesight!!! I do not think any trichomes are turning amber yet, but really hard to tell for me! Well, I have never used a loupe for looking at trichomes before! Maybe clear, or maybe cloudy… Hope they are not turning amber yet… lol People that have a lot of experience, have said to harvest when about 30% amber trichomes… What do u like to use to look at trichomes?
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Do u use something to look at trichomes @blackthumbbetty and @raustin? @OldSkunk said he has a 40x loupe, but finds it hard to keep in focus…, (or something like that, I think he said…)… He also got a hand held micro scope or something like that too, and says that works good but he has to cut a piece of sugar leaf off bud, and put it under the microscope thing to look at it…, (I am paraphrasing as best as I can remember, what he wrote on another topic, of course). I think, I might see what he meant now about his loupe, even though mine has a 60x. Hopefully when they start to turn amber, it will be obvious to me… Need to try it again, and see if I can get it wired… See if I can figure a way to hold it more steady… or something… lol
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I bought a usb microscope & a clip on microscope, but I still have the easiest & best success using a macro photo app on my phone.
I just can’t keep my hands steady enough for those fancy camera-scopes. If I’m not worried about taking pics, they work well for checking, just not sharing.
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I use this type of loupe. I can only really see the trichomes good at 60x. Mine doesn’t lose it’s focus perse, it just end up bumping it against the buds and getting resin all over it.
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Oh yea… I prob. got resin on mine too by now!!! I keep doing that too!!! tryin to figure out how far away to hold it. Thanks @Sixpackdad. I will have to check that! That would make it look blurry too!!! Let me see if we got the same one… in a minute… I am jus using the 60x’s too…
Mine looks just like ur’s, (the Beemoon or whatever, lol) @Sixpackdad, but I got a Dreame one, or something like that…
This is what I use. It clips to the phone to take pics. I love it.
https://www.amazon.com/Qooltek-Clip-type-Microscope-Magnifier-Universal/dp/B00K1ANJWK/ref=pd_aw_sbs_421_of_55?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00K1ANJWK&pd_rd_r=b937cdc8-e08e-11e8-9610-817859b593e5&pd_rd_w=eFgMv&pd_rd_wg=UEULb&pf_rd_i=mobile-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=926ebe02-3236-40c6-ac63-01ad178f498a&pf_rd_r=9Q095G29W30VWD9GNZTV&pf_rd_s=mobile-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=8FXDM9QAEMQPKF5S13VY
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Thanks everyone for the help!!!
Back to the original topic!!! lol Is it normal for ph of the run off water, (the ph of the soil…) to get lower as the plants get older? Is that something I need to look out for? I do not know, or can not figure out what I did wrong for this to happen? Other than I was often or sometimes watering with water that was a little below 6.5 ph, maybe 6.4 or so sometimes… If my soil started out at about 6.3 or so, then watering with water that is 6.4 ph, should not make run off water go any lower than 6.3, I would think? the Nutes in potting soil, such as FFOF or Gardeners Gold… would get lower/washed out as it gets older…, I believe. Is that why the ph of the run off water is getting lower, as the plant gets older? If so, then maybe I should put some Lime/Dolomite or something else in the soil to start with and bring it up more like 6.7 or maybe even 6.8 ph, to account for ph dropping as plant gets older and grows? Thanks again for all the help everyone on here!!!
Good question, I am not really sure. The pH is going to change depending on what’s in the soil. Growing in coco, when I water with 5.8pH, I get a higher pH (typically 6-6.4) on my runoff. There does not seem to be any correlation between the runoff pH and the ppms. So, it’s easy to speculate that there are likely a great number of factors that are going to determine the pH of the run-off. Not much of an answer, sorry.
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Well, that is interesting that u water with lower ph because u know that ur run off will be higher!!! lol hmmmmm Thanks for the reply…
It’s normal for your medium to acidify after a while, with salt build ups & nutrients breaking down.
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