If using non-organic nutrients in compost should I be PH'ing them??? i never had till now but just read a thread here:


http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=188783

that would assume yes for in-organic nutrients so which one is it then. Thannx

First up why use non organic ferts in compost ? Surely you'd get better results doing a straight hydro grow in coir or a full on hydro system like flood & drain or NFT ? I haven't used inorganic ferts when growing cannabis but I have used them when growing veggies and flowers in the past and I never ever adjusted the PH on them yet my veggies and flowers did just fine. You have to remember that in compost/soil there are many minerals that can buffer or even change the PH of a nutrient solution. If you think about it you don't see folk on their allotments checking the PH in their watering cans before feeding the plants do you ?

If you are using nutrients that are meant for hydro then maybe

Hi felix yeh ive tried hydro but moved back to compost because i didn't have the time to devote to looking after my hydro flood and drain set so yield dropped i always have some plants in compost beside my hydro table and they were performing super so im just replacing my table with more pots as this works best for my heavy working life style.

I understand what your saying about the minerals in compost but then in that link i posted, there's info contradicting that! so i thought id ask, ive tried organic in compost and yes the quality was better with a more resinous plant but with in-organics in compost the yield was far Superior for me anyway. Looked into coco as you said also but again this didn't suite me as it required watering twice sometimes three times a day unless i used drippers which if im going to do that i might as well go back to hydro. Allot of people forget that its not just the methods/equipment/food/environment that can give you the highest yield its what suits your life/schedule as in the end everything's up to you and if your not going to be around to ph a hydro grow or look at the crop daily then there's no point.

I was surprised by Owd's answer too as I understood that it was the minerals in composts that provide the buffering capacity and that that should work with both organic and chem nutes......

But I suppose a healthy microherd may also plays a part in buffering and that is what you haven't got when feeding with chems. So maybe organically fed composts are better at buffering than chem fed composts.......

Hey Felix when did you stop modding. Joolz should put up Retirement threads as-well as Introducing threads.....I am easily confused.

Likewise BluePixie (and when did you drop the 'Satanic' )

I've never heard of checking the PH on compost grown plants when using inorganic ferts, certainly never used to test the PH of my Tomorite tomato food before using it back in the day. Maybe this is just for expensive canna only specific nutrients that you get from a hydro store . I know that Chempak don't advise that is necessary to adjust the PH when using their inorganic nutrients

I found I didn't have the time to carry on modding as there are a few other things taking precedence in my life at the moment so something had to give



Hi RePtOiD,

Growing style is always best suited to your own personal needs, for me I'm lazy and like something I only need to give a quick once over every 3 or 4 days so organic compost suits me fine. Whatever works well for you man, B&Q do some good cheap priced inorganic feeds for salad and vegetable crops so maybe give them a go.

I use an organic mix and I never measure pH.