New Grower PH and watering questions (first time grow)

[wiha]

Hey all
Its my first post here and ive been reading and learning a lot from these forum.
But i have a few questions that i couldnt find a solid answer for it.
Ive started my first grow 5 weeks ago (im growing Royal queen seeds northen lights)
I have planted my seeds directly into 20L Airpot in soil (soil that i buy from my hydroshop and created for cannabis grow) under 600W dual spectrum lamp.
I planted 5 seeds and 3 of them stopped growing after 3 weeks and ive been left with 2 plants that started to flower now.
I was trying to find out what ive been doing wrong and every information that i found led me to thinks that im doing something worng with my watering and PH and probably with feeding as well (Biobizz nuts).
my questions are :
1. do i really need to PH my water when im growing in soil ? (some people say yes and some say absolutely not)
2. do i need to water untill i see 10 - 20 % run off water (if i do so my soil stay wet for a week untill next watering) or should i water less amount (but no run off water) and my soil will dry faster and i can feed and water more often .
3.Biobizz recommend 1ml to L when feeding (BIOGROW) and i was feeding less then they say and every 3 watering, but what i dont know if should i increase the dose as the plant gets older or stay with half the amount that they recommend untill i finish my grow ?

thanks for you help

​

 

[blue]

Welcome to AFN

Hi Wiha

Welcome to AFN! ^_^

1. do i really need to PH my water when im growing in soil ? (some people say yes and some say absolutely not)

I think biobizz says you don't need to PH the water - I've read recently (from KushT i think - awesome grower) that nitric acid (PH down) will mess up your organic nutes so if PH needs to be done, it should be done with lemon juice (organic rather than chemical acid) - Makes sense.

There's a great thread you should get into that has just started - One of our super growers has just started 4 plants - 2 of them are in soil being feed biobizz nutes.

Check this out! https://www.autoflower.org/f52/parup-pa-pooo-triumphal-return-king-39311.html

There's also some great biobizz advice here https://www.autoflower.org/f89/bio-bizz-knowledge-base-21587.html <----- this is the best thread for you to read

2. do i need to water untill i see 10 - 20 % run off water (if i do so my soil stay wet for a week untill next watering) or should i water less amount (but no run off water) and my soil will dry faster and i can feed and water more often .

When the plants are seedlings, i find it impractical to water to 10% run off - as you say, the pot would be wet for weeks and the roots wouldn't go searching. Its my opinion that smaller feeds are better to start.

3.Biobizz recommend 1ml to L when feeding (BIOGROW) and i was feeding less then they say and every 3 watering, but what i dont know if should i increase the dose as the plant gets older or stay with half the amount that they recommend untill i finish my grow ?

The biobizz feed chart by duck commander should help. it's post 36 in the same thread as above https://www.autoflower.org/f89/bio-bizz-knowledge-base-21587.html

Happy growing
(back in a few mins)

:thank:

Edit: Here's the FAQ about PH (from Biobizz)

WHY DONT YOU NEED TO BALANCE THE PH?
With Biobizz soils, the EC and pH value do not need to be measured, as should when using a mineral medium. Biobizz organic mediums and nutrients are not made of mineral salts but organic bound elements, which are not measurable. The medium has a natural pH form; this will keep the soil in balance by itself.

Double Edit: The advice given is based on you using biobizz lightmix soil.

Also check out Hazy (Another AFN super grower who uses Biobizz with HUGE success)

 

[BRICH999]

Hello and welcome to afn! Everyone does things a bit different and im new myself so ill offer what advice I can.
1. First off PH is important. Plants uptake different nutrients at different PH. Both water and soil PH are important. Think around 6 is what most people aim for. Usually wont have issues unless way high or low but still id rather be safe than sorry so I tested my soil before I grew and adjust my water every feeding. If you are using distilled or RO water your ph probably is ok, but if its tap id definitely check, mine is off the charts high (8.5+)

2.i never watered to runoff except when flushing. Again, some do, some dont. I use 3g pots and in the beginning they were only maybe half a liter or so. To get runoff on a 5g pot you would need to put probably a gallon and a half of water through them and thats overkill imo for every watering. I try to water enough they dont need it for about 2 days. During the first few weeks a gallon of water would feed my 2 plants maybe 5 times, versus when they got to a month they really started drinking a lot and each get about a half gallon each time watering. I dont water until pot feels light and leaves begin to sag a tad (though I probably wont do that anymore)

3. Yes you should increase your nutrients as your plant grows. They dont need a lot during the first few weeks but I know the nutes im using, calculator says to double amount each week between 3 and 5. Heres a chart I grabbed of google real quick since im not familiar with biobizz

 

[yngFETTI]

just curious. you said 1ml to L. you mean that you were supposed to be adding 1ml per L of water, correct? haha it sounded like you were adding anywhere from 1ml to 1L and that is a very very broad range.

 

[wiha]

Thank you all for the answers

From what i understand if im using tap water (PH +8.5) , i do need to check PH but not using PH down only lemon.
Should i aim for PH 6 both water and soil ?
And if i dont need to water till i see run off water how can i check my soil ph ?

just curious. you said 1ml to L. you mean that you were supposed to be adding 1ml per L of water, correct? haha it sounded like you were adding anywhere from 1ml to 1L and that is a very very broad range.

haha 1ml per liter sorry about my spelling

 

[blue]

If you wanted to check your soil ph without run off, you'll need a probe.

I've heard people recommending the Accurate8 soil probe - but haven't used one myself.
All the best

Blue ^_^

 

[Oklahoma gingersnap]

Wiha welcome. I'm fairly new at this myself, but I aim for soil ph of 5.5 to 6. Once your into your grow you can really only adjust soil ph through phing water. Lemon juice works well. Also you can buy a probe meter for testing your soil. I've noticed the plant needs to tell you what it wants. Run off in a 3 gallon pot is too much water for autos is soil. I water twice a week along with one feeding. If you get a probe some have moisture gages on tgem that are somewhat accurate. Cheers sharing one

 

[1guy1plant]

Welcome my friend. I use tap water and it is 8.4. Before I bought some PH down I used vinegar for while. My understanding is that lemon and vinegar will lower the ph rapidly but it also loses its effect quicker than ph down. Which will cause your ph to go back up so watch out for that.

What is the ph of your soil? One thing I do is check my run off occasionally. If you pour your water in at a certain ph level it will come out at a different level after passing through the soil. If it goes in at 6.0 and comes out at 6.5 then your soil ph is 7. If it goes in at 6 and comes out at 5.5 then your soil ph is 5. This allows me to adjust my ph level before watering to dial in the ph in when the water and soil are mixed together. The problem with home remedy ph solutions is that is hard to know how long it will last once everything starts trying to work together. That's just my thought and I am a new grower.

As for run off I usually have more run off at the start of my grow but once I figure out how much each plant is taking right up to the point of run off I only give them more every 4 or 5 watering's to flush a little and to check the run off ph level. There is a lot of info and theories out there on flushing you just have to figured out where you land. I try and keep the mess down in my grow room by only watering as close to the exact amount as possible.

 

[Anthropolis]

Thank you all for the answers

From what i understand if im using tap water (PH +8.5) , i do need to check PH but not using PH down only lemon.
Should i aim for PH 6 both water and soil ?
And if i dont need to water till i see run off water how can i check my soil ph ?



haha 1ml per liter sorry about my spelling

If you have a ph tester, even one of the cheapo ebay ones (but don't bank on those being perfect lol) you can also do the 50/50 Slush test. This is: to take some soil (say 1/2 cup) and an equal amount of water (say 1/2 cup) and make a slushy mixture of it. Important : must know the ph of the water used! This is why distilled water works best, should be neutral or 7.1 or so. Then shake the slushy mix for a few minutes (an old yogurt container works great for this), then filter the slush through a coffee filter or couple layers of cheesecloth. Then you'll have your brown water. Ph test this and write down. The original soil ph should be halfway between the two ph'es of the input water and output water, as others described above so if distilled 7.0 is used and the output brown water is 6.0 then the soil should be 6.5 there's a lot of factors in play here obviously but it'll give ya a good number to go by without expensive gear. This is what I do, and it's not perfect but works great for me.

 

[pop22]

Hey all
Its my first post here and ive been reading and learning a lot from these forum.
But i have a few questions that i couldnt find a solid answer for it.
Ive started my first grow 5 weeks ago (im growing Royal queen seeds northen lights)
I have planted my seeds directly into 20L Airpot in soil (soil that i buy from my hydroshop and created for cannabis grow) under 600W dual spectrum lamp.
I planted 5 seeds and 3 of them stopped growing after 3 weeks and ive been left with 2 plants that started to flower now.
I was trying to find out what ive been doing wrong and every information that i found led me to thinks that im doing something worng with my watering and PH and probably with feeding as well (Biobizz nuts).
my questions are :
1. do i really need to PH my water when im growing in soil ? (some people say yes and some say absolutely not)
2. do i need to water untill i see 10 - 20 % run off water (if i do so my soil stay wet for a week untill next watering) or should i water less amount (but no run off water) and my soil will dry faster and i can feed and water more often .
3.Biobizz recommend 1ml to L when feeding (BIOGROW) and i was feeding less then they say and every 3 watering, but what i dont know if should i increase the dose as the plant gets older or stay with half the amount that they recommend untill i finish my grow ?

thanks for you help

​

Soil grows can develope PH issues. Normally you wouldn't need to check, but if you have an obvious problem, your soil PH should be 6.0 - 6.5 for cannabis. I saw someone mention 5.5 and IMO that way too low.

Here's a link to more info. http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/ph-levels-marijuana-plants/


He mentions using test strips. That's a no no really. Sticking your finger in the soil and guessing is just as accurate as those strips are..................... Get a good soil meter if your having ph issues. Sounds like it could be your water. If your using tap water, try buying few gallons of distilled or RO water. If that fixes your ph problems, you've found your culprit.

There are many ways to water. A lot of people do the saturate + 20% runoff. I've never liked that for soil, It would probably be good for coco. I water by pot size. I use about 20oz of water per gallon of soil. In 3-5 gallon pots, if they are big enough plants to dry it out in 1-2 days, then I up it to a gallon. I like to see my plant need water every three to four days, then I know I'm not drowning them.