Soil pH problems!

Hello! Working on my second grow, and I am hoping for guidance on soil pH. I have 5 plants of different strains going (2 photos and 3 autos) and I think they all seem to be showing different signs of nutrient deficiencies. Brown crispy edges on leaves of Bubba Kush Photo (midbloom). Red Stems on F’ing Incredible Photo (early bloom) and on Amnesia Auto (mid to late bloom). And poor Northern Lights Auto (mid-bloom): crunchy, orange and copper speckled leaves (I think it’s a calcium deficiency?). I use FF Happy Frog in 5g pots. feed GH Flora Series with CaliMagic at just above half the recommended dosage. I feed every other watering and I have been pHing to 6.3 (which I guess has been to low?) I try to get 15% to 20% runoff. And I measure the pH of it and it is really low, therefore affecting the plants ability to uptake the nutrients, right? If I’m going in at a pH of 6.3 I’m getting runoff readings as low as pH of 5.3, 5.1, 4.8 etc. I have been trying to research how to raise the pH of my soil but have found a lot of confusing information and lots of contradictory info! Looking for some guidance please! I am looking at adding Limestone dolomite (but is it to raise or lower pH?) to the top layer of soil and then raising the pH to almost 7 for feedings and watering. Would that help? Gonna hold on till I see what folks have to say. Many thanks for your time!

photos would be a big help. Welcome to the board. Taking on 5 plants on the 2nd grow can be challenging.

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A good flush should help your plants. Then, start your input higher (say 6.8 max), since you know your pH drops out. Also, no need to feed every other watering with Happy Frog and those nutes. That combo will cause fast acidification of the medium.

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What kind of lights? Just curious.

How about some pictures in white light and fill this out? It will help a bunch to get a good diagnosis.

COPY/PASTE the below list into your forum post.

Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so; Or post
NA (non applicable)

  • What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed
  • Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF
  • Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths
  • PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)
  • PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable
  • Indoor or Outdoor
  • Light system
  • Temps; Day, Night
  • Humidity; Day, Night
  • Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size
  • AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,
  • Co2; Yes, No

Always try to upload a clear picture of any issues you may have to allow the community to assist you.

Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer should be included. Feel free to elaborate, but short and to the point questions and facts will help us help you in a more efficient manner :slight_smile:

Thanks!

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Ok, thanks for the tips. Here we go.

As @pedally said in the comments 5 plants for a second grow could be challenging. But it just kinda happened and I’m not one to back down from a challenge, so here we are!

Before listing each plants info it should be noted that all 5 had a rough start. I thought I was set up pretty good and wasn’t sure why my plants weren’t doing much. They were, but very slowly. A couple didn’t even make it. And there were a couple that I thought weren’t going to make it so I planted a couple more lol. And I planted the GG4 about 5 weeks ago cause why the heck not? Well, it took me awhile to figure out that the wattage of your light may not be what is advertised and that I should be measuring what is actually being pulled out of the wall. I didn’t have nearly enough light. I adjusted everything so that both my auto tent and my photo tent had the right amount of light. That changed everything pretty dramatically and things were going pretty well for a while. But the photos vegged for quite awhile and they both started flowering on their own a few weeks after the lights were adjusted. As soon as I noticed this I switched them to 12/12. Autos are 18/6.

What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed

  • F’ing Incredible, Pacific Seed Bank (breeder: Norcal Farms)

Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF

  • soil, FF Happy Frog

Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths

Fabric Pots, 5g

PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)

Latest readings: water: pH 6.3, runoff: pH 5.6

PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable

N/A (honestly just haven’t bitten this piece off yet)

Indoor or Outdoor

- Indoor

Light system

- 110W LED full sprectum white + 70W burple LED

Temps; Day, Night

- Day: 23C-24C

-Night: 21C-22C

Humidity; Day, Night

-Day 40-45

- Night 40-45

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size

- Yes. 200CFM, 4” carbon filter

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,

-No

Co2; Yes, No

- No



What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed

- Bubba Kush 2.5, 34th Street Seed Company, Legal Breeder in Canada

Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF

- Soil, FF Happy Frog

Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths

- Fabric Pots, 5g

PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)

- runoff pH5.5

PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable

- N/A

Indoor or Outdoor

- Indoor

Light system

- 110W LED full sprectum white + 70W burple LED

Temps; Day, Night

- Day: 23C-24C

-Night: 21C-22C

Humidity; Day, Night

-Day 40-45

- Night 40-45

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size

- Yes. 200CFM, 4” Carbon Filter

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,

- NO

Co2; Yes, No

-NO



What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed

- Amnesia Auto, Canuk Seeds

Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF

- Soil, FFHF

Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths

- Fabric Pot, 5g

PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)

- Last Reading: water pH: 6.3, runoff pH: 5.6

PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable

- N/A

Indoor or Outdoor

- Indoor

Light system

- Mars Hydro TS3000, set to 270W LED Full Spectrum White

Temps; Day, Night

- Day: 23C-24C, Night: 21C-22C

Humidity; Day, Night

- Day: Approx 50%, Night: Approx. 50%

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size

- Yes. 800CFM, 8” Carbon filter

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier

- Humidifier

Co2; Yes, No


What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed

- Northern Lights Auto, Canuk Seeds

Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF

- Soil, FFHF

Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths

- Fabric Pot, 5g

PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)

- Last reading: water pH: 6.1, Runoff pH: 5.36

PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable

- N/A

Indoor or Outdoor

- Indoor

Light system

- Mars Hydro TS3000, set to 270W LED Full Spectrum White

Temps; Day, Night

- Day: 23C-24C, Night: 21C-22C

Humidity; Day, Night

Day: Approx 50%, Night: Approx. 50%

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size

- Yes. 800CFM, 8” Carbon filter

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,

- Humidifier

Co2; Yes, No

- No

What strain, Seed bank, or bag seed

- Gorilla Glue # 4 Auto, Blimburn Seeds ( got a 3 pack of seeds and 2/3 didn’t even germinate – not sure how good these are)

Method: Soil w/salt, Organic soil, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, KNF

- Soil, FFHF

Vessels: Pots, Grow beds, Buckets, Troths

- Fabric Pot, 5g

PH of Water, Solution, runoff (if Applicable)

- Last reading: water pH: 6.3, Runoff pH: 5.7

PPM/TDS or EC of nutrient solution if applicable

- N/A

Indoor or Outdoor

- Indoor

Light system

- Mars Hydro TS3000, set to 270W LED Full Spectrum White

Temps; Day, Night

- Day: 23C-24C, Night: 21C-22C

Well, there it all is. So many thanks to anyone who takes the time to go through this. :slight_smile:

Hey! please see below!

Hey thanks for the advice! I was prompted to give my info so I posted that. Would you still suggest the same thing?

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Hi! I posted pics and details below! thanks!

Yes, I’d still say it’s most likely your ec/tds and pH. In bloom, we want that pH to be about 6.7-6.8.

I still recommend a flush at about 6.6 followed immediately by a light bloom feed at about pH 6.8.

I don’t topdress, myself, but some lime with the non blooming girls would help with pH. The plants that are firmly into bloom won’t get as much benefit from the lime, since the lime is a slow release element.

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OK, thanks so much for the response @blackthumbbetty . I will flush all of them at 6.6, followed by a light bloom feed at 6.8.
Should I wait for the plants that were more recently watered to dry out or should I go ahead and do them all as soon as possible?

You’re in cloth pots, right? You can certainly flush & feed, now. Then, you probably won’t need to water for 5 days or more.

1 Like