Dolomite lime is not only a pH up solution, it’s also a calcium source and a pH stabilizator… More stable is the pH, more nutrients uptake and nutrients availability to your plants @SilentHippie
I was reading 1Tbsp sprinkled on 1 gl. of soil. My seedling pots are 1 pt. so about 1/8 th tbsp. per each pot and go from there. Sound about right?
Misted NL sprout with 5.8 water tonight.
@bob31
Oops the stuff I’m looking at is pelletized. Think it will still be ok? I could crush it up.
Yeah I think so. Why not. You’re going to be using it in such small amounts I can’t imagine it would be hard to do?
Supplemental entry:
Put a small amount of lime on the surface this morning with a light layer of perlite and topped off the pots with fresh seed starter. Misted NL with 5.8 water.
I also read an article that explains why my distilled water’s Ph changed. It seems that Co2 inn the air reacts with water and changes Ph over time. I never knew that.
The Tuts’ soil was still a little moist so I didn’t water them, will check tomorrow morning.
The Tuts have their 3 finger leaves developing and the next set are coming in too. On a whim, I stuck my nose up to the center of them and WOAH! While the scent is not evident unless you get up close, I didn’t expect them to be so skunky! These girls are gonna reek.
Thanks again to everyone for the help.
Don’t be alarmed if you don’t see large changes from the lime overnight. It may take a bit longer than that, but it will do its thing.
As far as the scent goes, you’ll probably be pretty surprised how much they smell. It won’t be long and just a slight brush against some leaves will get really stinky.
I’ll keep watering at 5.8 and keep an eye on them. I’d like to transplant in a week or so but I’d also like to see the NL catch up a little so I can do all 3 at once. She’s a week behind the others.
Sounds like a good plan.
Nile Expedition Day 21:
Been a great week for everyone:
Ank is doing really well. She started out a little frail, experienced a minor trauma and is now outshining her sister.
Nef is looking good also. She shot out of the soil as a sprout but her sister has surpassed her slightly.
Aurora, one week younger than the twins, is catchinig up quickly.
We experienced our first stumble. I was watering our girls with 6.5 distilled water. My runoff was crazy low. Asked a few questions. It turns out I have our seedlings in a “soilless” mix instead of soil. Being such a rookie, I had no idea, and was watering at the wrong Ph.
@dbrn32 @bob31 @Niala @Majiktoker all helped me get back on track and helped me understand a little better. Thanks guys!
Put some Dolomite Lime in the starter mix to help with the low Ph. Over the course of watering this last week, Ph has raised about .02 a day. Today’s watering, 5.8 in 5.2 out. Thanks again guys.
Monday, I started the girls on Rapidstart and they seemed to like it. We’re going to make Mondays our feeding day for now.
I have another inexpensive LED light, just like my “blurple” one, in my Amazon cart and am on the fence about ordering it. The extra light should put me in the upper end of the “sweet spot” 35-50w/sq.ft. I’m undecided because even though my watts per sq.ft. would be higher, I’m not sure that I’d get the penetration that more quality lighting would provide. The money might be better spent towards better lighting and not more lighting.
This leaves me with another question about my soil/soilless situation. When I transplant my seedling pots, with the soilless mix, into FFOF/soil what should I Ph my water to? The soilless calls for 5.8, but the soil needs 6.5. Do I need to do something to my soilless mix to get it closer to the soil?
If you transplant to soil, it should be treated as soil. That would mean changing what you pH water to indeed. You will probably see them stress a little, but I’m sure everything will be fine after a couple days.
As far as the lights go, that’s a predicament most eventually get into. There’s no right answer either. If you’re planning on investing in different lights later, I would save the cash for that. If you think you’ll be pretty happy with just a bit more, then go ahead with the purchase.
You’re welcome @SilentHippie
You have to expect your girls to go in transplant choc, essentialy due to pH differiency , however, they will survive… You can try to pH up a little a few days before transplant (2-3 days) to minimize the choc …
And I am with @dbrn32 for the light, essentialy, it’s up to you, they will benefit to have more but better quality LED’s is a non-négligeable factor to consider…
~Al
@Niala has a good point about possibly raising the pH in a little prior to transplant. I have never tried it, but I don’t see why it would hurt anything.
Also, it probably would be a good idea to treat the ffof with a smidge of that lime prior to transplant as well.
When you transplant into new medium (in this case ffof) your ph is going to want to be around 6.8 and my pleasure that’s what im here for, im glad they have turned around for the better