Chat
Recommended

False reading or Hi PH?

ItalianDesertBalcony
ItalianDesertBalconystarted grow question 21d ago
Is 20% humus lombrico mixed in my substrate giving a false ‘hi’ ph reading? Or is it truly over the max reading? I got one reading of 7 only at the exact second I took the picture, so I made a video. My water is high in calcium, I recently switched to distilled.
Solved
Setup. Strain - Autoflowering
Setup. Substrates
Setup. Sensors
likes
00110001001001111O
00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 19d ago
The context of measuring soil pH is difficult. Evaporation will skew it futher from 7 - whichever side it is on, hopepefully slightly acidic. you may need to do a little figuring out as to when it is most accurate.. maybe check it a few hours after an irrigation. Then if you notice certain trends through the irrigation cycle, you know to interpret it better with less than ideal meadurements. You will have to learn some familiarity. I doubt it's an accurate measurement due to mechanics of trying to measure pH of a slurryy of solids and moisture. Some chunk of an amendment resting against the probe could possible cause a false reading? ph what you give and spot check runoff.. compare to your soil readings... gain familiarity to use it in lieau of ph-testing to save time/effort/annoyance. Best to perceive a baseline when plant is super healthy and fast-growing etc. This is well worth the effort since you already bought the soil meter. My 100-pack of strips from 5 years ago has about 20 used, lol. I don't even look anymore. nutes are ph-buffered and one less thing to worry about. go soilless. hit the easy button :P it's a 10g plant either way... safe to experiemnt and not worry about consequences.
m0use
m0useanswered grow question 20d ago
Soil PH probes are almost always garbage unless your buying a really expensive one. They break and wear out easily, they are not that accurate and so many things can set them off. A better way to test soil PH is by gathering different samples and letting it soak in distilled water for 24-48 hrs then testing the waters PH from that soak. Don't water with distilled, thats a waste of money and does not have any vlaue added benifit. its water with nothing in it. so it will strip everything around it to become stable. Its the same reason why RO taps use PEX tubing and not metal because the metal will dissolve and corode from the aggressiveness of the water. Give it tap. should be fine. If your worried about chlorine mix in a smallest amount of vit C into the water, you can get it in powder from most bulk stores or amazon. It will break down the Cl compounds and allow it to off gass. I don't do this and I know its in my tap water it does not harm the plant, the levels are so low its a none issue. So yes that might be a flase reading, even if it is 7, that not outside a normal rage for soil PH. 5.5-8, The other person is write the plant has gone into bloom, might be better to start over.
likes
Complain
Ultraviolet
Ultravioletanswered grow question 20d ago
Ph meters send electrical signals from one anode to a cathode and measures blah blah between the two. Electrical signals require a water and salt ions. Only way to e sure you are reading correctly every time is to measure in the same context each time. 20 min after watering for example, taking measurements with different moisture levels will give different results. Metre needs to sit in medium for 5 min before the test, then take the test 4-5 times in succession and see if you get a stable reading. Whenever you are done you wipe off the metre and put it away safe from moisture and oxidation. Phosphorus is the most Important nute for a seedling, above a pH of 7 it will bind with calcium causing problems. I also doubt the pot will do you any favors with regard to oxygenation as when pH is in range Phosphorus likes to bind to oxygen itself during uptake. Hummus lombrico won't drastically alter the pH as it's a ph buffer, highly rich and highly moisture retaining sonic won't go well with the ceramic pot for long unless you keep drier conditions. Gluck.
likes
Complain
TruTraTri
TruTraTrianswered grow question 21d ago
Regarding your profile. Best solution.. get yourself the "guy"? 😅 Or much better emancipate. You don't need a guy, only if you want one😘 Rock on gal'
2 likes
Complain
TruTraTri
TruTraTrianswered grow question 21d ago
Not the answer to your question. Please don't be mad, but I would suggest you don't waste any additional time on that. It has started flowering. With such a dwarf even a reveg would be much slower and probably not healthy at all compared to a fresh start. Edit: seems like an autoflower from an unknown breeder, so no reveg probably. Regarding your question, if you put it in it needs to measure, of course it's changing. Anyway, get yourself some ph stripes and measure input and drain. Cheap electronic devices can measure wrong, calibration issues, and so on. Mixing your own soil is awesome, but if you have issues perhaps just stick with a commercial product. Anyway just start over, even if you love this little one.
1 like
Complain
Similar Grow Questions