I have read so much about how to water seedlings and plants and following the method of weighing the pots works perfect for me.
Now when it comes to feed nutrients I’m still much confused. I know I have to alternate between plain water and nutrient solution. But I have no idea the amount.
For example, if I’m starting to feed a young plant with foxfarm products, i’m going to use 1/4 of the recommended doses to prepare my nutrient solution. But how much solution (gal) should I add? same amount as when using plain water?
Also, should the soil ppm go higher every time I feed them? Is the ppm supposed to go down between feedings?
You don’t feed until In vegitative that’s when your plants are able to take nutrients at a young vegitative usually a 1/4tsp per gal, and as for soil it’s ph, hydro (water) is ppm, unless your testing the water before you give it to your plant, than it would be ppm.
Your soil should be for optimal ph it should be 7 as that’s considered neutral, you wanna try and keep it at 7 in soil, and it shouldn’t go down using nutrients, and if your ph gets to high (7.5-8) for soil, than you can always invest in a ph down solution, and no your ph shouldn’t drop during feedings, all your doing is breaking out excess salts and toxins from the nutrients the plant didn’t use
Sorry, when I wrote “soil ppm” is because I’m reading the run off before and after feeding them.
I read many of Roberts’s articles and he has never recommended soil ph at 7. What is your information based on?
thank you
I read only my soil ph, and sorry yea that makes sence but alrght, hey MacG or latewood wanna help here so I can but our and not mislead, thanks
The target pH for soil is 6.5 and the target pH for hydro is 5.8, and the range can be about up or down about 0.3 points.
And since Majiktoker like the charts/graphics so much, here is a pretty good one:
happy growing,
MacG
Thank you for your help, I figured id stop ahead of time and ask for your before full blown assuming and misleading, but at least I wasn’t to far off for soil ph, again thank you
Why in Bergmans Lab do the recommend 6.0 PH for watering seedlings?
I think because they are assuming you are going to germinate in a peat plug or rockwool plug, which would then be a pH closer to hydro. Or even the glass of water, which would be hydro.
~MacG
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Here he clearly states thru the whole process from seed to bud that the soil PH should be 6. not 6.5
Im a little disappointed that it is not the first time the info given here does not much the info I paid so much to get thru Bergam’s Lab.
Honestly, I’ve noticed this before, and not just in the new Bergman’s Lab, but also in the guides in the ILGM section.
The only thing I can say off the top of my head, but I am not extremely familiar with much of FoxFarm’s most common soils nor Humbolt’s, but what I do know of many of these types of “potting soils” is that they are almost entirely made up of peat, and as such, if your growing medium is made the majority of peat or coco coir, these are actually “soil-less” growing mediums, and as such, actually a hydroponic pH is more appropriate. If they are amended with soil like substances, such as dolomite lime, worm castings, and bat guano, then the pH is going to be a little between soil and hydro.
I’ll shoot a note up the line, and maybe we’ll be able to hear from Robert himself on this issue.
~MacG
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