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Alkaline Soil


there_will_be_bud

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Hi Everyone

Im 21 days into flowering 4 OB's using Canna Terra soil, and up until today thought I had good soil about 6.8 - 7.0.

In fact For the last 5 weeks I have been using the PH test meter incorrectly, and only inserting the needle into the soil the first 3-4 inches. Today for some reason I stuck the entire needle in as far it would go and lo and behold it showed my bloody soil is between 7.5 and 8.0 !! how do I get it back down again ? PH the water ?

Not only that but my PH tester isnt even that accurate every time I put it in its somewhere between 7.5 and 8.0, does anyone know a better instrument for testing PH. mine is a long needle with a meter reader on the end

Help :wink: :spliff:

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I read in plenty of places should be between 6.8 and 7.0, like Oldtimer for instance.

im even more confused now

ps... make I meant 6.5 and 6.8

Edited by there_will_be_bud
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Guest dr rockster

newbudda's right mate as you really don't have to ph compost as it will stay within a range that is acceptable to the plant with most plant foods

and I've just had a look at your profile and see you use Bio Bizz so you're fine. :unsure:

It is good to check your tapwater,mine is around ph 7.3 which is close to neutral and is fine.

You might want to reread what you read by Oldtimer as he doesnt state that compost needs to be adjusted,as I say,the compost buffers it itself.

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newbudda's right mate as you really don't have to ph compost as it will stay within a range that is acceptable to the plant with most plant foods

and I've just had a look at your profile and see you use Bio Bizz so you're fine. :)

It is good to check your tapwater,mine is around ph 7.3 which is close to neutral and is fine.

You might want to reread what you read by Oldtimer as he doesnt state that compost needs to be adjusted,as I say,the compost buffers it itself.

The optimum ph of the compost for maintaining health and growth is 6.5 to 6.8. It is much harder for the compost to buffer up than to buffer down.

I don't know how many time I have to say this, if you do ph down not below 6.5! You will mess up the micro flora and if not very careful ruin the compost..

Thanks for the help doc, I had a look at oldtimers post its copied and pasted in bold above. its still possible its just me totally getting the wrong end of the stick but I got it in my head that my mud needs to be 6.5 - 6.8

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Guest dr rockster

I don't think it's worth the risk of damaging the compost's micro herd as ph 6.5 is on the cusp of damaging it,so really I don't know of any organic

gardeners at uk420 who would risk using phosphoric or nitric acid for that reason.

I used to check my feed was ph 6.5 but that was with chems in compost before I went organic.

My girls seem to get by without adjustment? :)

post-12104-1219628332_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for that I feel re-assured.

Now all I have to worry about is slightly yellowing leaves at the bottom falling off and signs of lsf. top 2/3 of plant seems as healthy as can be.

yours looks nice you must be proud, here's a pic of mine

post-34880-1219630062_thumb.jpg

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Firstly if this ph tester is one of the garden centre soil probe types, they are totally useless, they are the chocolate teapots of ph testers, you will get a more accurate reading if you hold your finger up to the wind with your eyes closed and randomly pick a number between one and ten. Not only that you are breaking feeder roots every time you use it.

If the yellowing is because of leaf spot and not just fungus attacking weakened leaves that have had their nutrients stripped, you need to deal with the fungus.

The thing to worry about is the fact that your plant is not getting enough nutrients needed to flower, ie if the leaves are yellowing because nutrients are being stripped from the lower leaves to feed the top of the plant to form flowers.

Suggestion give a one off feed to saturation of 5ml of bb fish to the litre. That should halt the nutrient stripping, if this is the problem and not a fungal one. Then raise your feed levels a little.

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Thanks oldtimer, I will throw away that PH tester and follow your advise, but what is BB Fish ? can i get it from the garden centre ?

Edited by Owderb
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And good stuff it is too is fish mix, my mothers love it and I use it in early flowering instead of grow

I was wondering is it OK to use fish mix all the time instead of grow, would it impart any taste at all if used in the last weeks???

EM2

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Cheers for that OT, I am thinking of binning the grow as its no where near as good as the fish mix IMO, I never thought it would taste like fish but I did wonder if there would be a difference in the taste of the end product, something else to try out aint it :P

EM2

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