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How critical is pH?
- Thread starter Proud Marine Dad
- Start date
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
The bottom line is that ph in your root zone is very important. This will determine how well your plant processes the available nutrients in your medium via your roots. People that claim they worry not about ph are at best....lucky. If youve never taken a ph meter to your medium and are posting pictures of stunted, burned, or sick plants then your approach is fundamentally flawed. Knowing your strains optimal ph preference is the first step in creating a tailored soil or medium for said strain. A plants optimal ph range tells a knowledgable grower a whole hell of a lot about what and when to feed the soil for the best possible growth. Most of the plants grown on this forum prefer ph to be in he 5.8-6.5 range. Anywhere just shy of 7 will get you by and yes, a majority of people here dont even think about ph, but that doesnt mean they shouldnt.
Capsicum
Banned
Well it is obvious if I am growing blueberry in containers I should have very low ph because they need low ph. You have a buffer with soil, a reason you can just give your plants water and fertilizer and NEVER have to worry bout ph. I have been growing years and never ph my water when growing in soil EVER.
should every container gardener now go out and get a ph meter for their water?
When I first started growing and did not know much I wondered through the hydroshop one bright day...When I stumbled upon the hydroponics and checked out a bucket system the first thing the guy said was "you need a ph meter", Every time I looked to the Fox Farm soil he said no need for a ph meter The difference between the two options was a ph meter
Most tap water is just fine to use in potting soil. I do not filter my water but if you do it brings the ph to 6-6.5 range anyway. For the most part in hydroponics it is good to have a ph of 5.8-6.0, but not in a perfect world 5.5-6.5, a reason ph down is needed a lot. Most tap is high ph. It can be like 8+ at times in some locations. Even that high of ph would be ok to use in a good potting soil, even the fertilizer would bring the ph down a little. That same water would need adjusting if I were to water a soilless garden or use it in a DWC for example.
A side note:Your ppm is higher with hydroponics because there is no nutrients in the water like in the soil and a huge reason is there is more available oxygen at the roots in hydroponics and plants are growing way faster.
So all in all, there is NO reason to get a ph meter for your water if your growing in potting mix. Growing in soil is SLOW and EASY if you had to ph your water what would be the point!?!?!
should every container gardener now go out and get a ph meter for their water?
When I first started growing and did not know much I wondered through the hydroshop one bright day...When I stumbled upon the hydroponics and checked out a bucket system the first thing the guy said was "you need a ph meter", Every time I looked to the Fox Farm soil he said no need for a ph meter The difference between the two options was a ph meter
Most tap water is just fine to use in potting soil. I do not filter my water but if you do it brings the ph to 6-6.5 range anyway. For the most part in hydroponics it is good to have a ph of 5.8-6.0, but not in a perfect world 5.5-6.5, a reason ph down is needed a lot. Most tap is high ph. It can be like 8+ at times in some locations. Even that high of ph would be ok to use in a good potting soil, even the fertilizer would bring the ph down a little. That same water would need adjusting if I were to water a soilless garden or use it in a DWC for example.
A side note:Your ppm is higher with hydroponics because there is no nutrients in the water like in the soil and a huge reason is there is more available oxygen at the roots in hydroponics and plants are growing way faster.
So all in all, there is NO reason to get a ph meter for your water if your growing in potting mix. Growing in soil is SLOW and EASY if you had to ph your water what would be the point!?!?!
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
PH balancing water before use in soil grows....not what Im getting at. PH being important ....soil or hydro....is what Im getting at. Do you actually read the words I write or just skim over and essentially see" bla bla bla, how can I find a way to disagree and make blanket statements about growing?" I gotta take a break from this forum.
Capsicum
Banned
I was making a point with soil there is natural buffers that allow you to have growth in a wide ph range.
"Most of the plants grown on this forum prefer ph to be in he 5.8-6.5 range" Thats in a perfect world yes? That close of a ph range would be fit for hydroponics.
"how can I find a way to disagree and make blanket statements about growing"
I am just making a huge point about the difference between hydroponics and soil growing pertaining to ph
"Do you actually read the words I write or just skim over and essentially see"
If your talking ph of grow medium then you do not need to ph soil unless your making your own, even then 2 tbl sp of lime per gal peatmoss will ensure balanced ph anyway. If your using bagged potting mix and fertilizing correctly a ph meter should never even be thought of. <That is the main focus here.
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
Well it appears your enlightening stroll through the hydro shop has made you quite the ph expert. When you find the pepper that will grow in soil with a ph below 5 or above 8 please let me know. I want it. Then this whole forum could be axed! No need to feed at all. Or hell, sprout the seed right out of the miracle gro itself!
Of course there is a difference between hydro and soil, but telling people not to bother checking pH when growing in soil is just ridiculous. It may not be as crutial but its still very important and some people do have water and soils with crazy pH to start with. I guess all those people advised by pros to adjust their pH when growing in soil are just wasting their money?
Guru, don't leave just because of idiots like this. That goes for you too Potawie! I have learned alot reading your guys posts.
Oh and Capsicum, please stop spreading poor info.
Oh and Capsicum, please stop spreading poor info.
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
I don't think of anyone as an idiot. People spread mal informed talking points all the time on the internet. All I can say for reputability regarding advice given on forums...consider the source. If someone consistently produces huge plants and they advocate the importance of ph, I'd say it's a safe bet to assume they are on to something. Take it or leave it.
Oh, and don't worry. I ain't goin anywhere. I'll always be around
Oh, and don't worry. I ain't goin anywhere. I'll always be around
I agree. Hell, you would think some of the people here teach advanced botany at Texas A&M or something with the "know-it-all" attitude they have.
If I water my potted plants with straight tap water they pretty much stop growing, turn yellow, and put out small stunted leaves that eventually fall off. I know this because I've done it. 
Soil or potting mix is only a buffer to a certain extent. Using water with a ph of 8.5 is NOT going to give you the same results as using water with a ph of 6 just because the plants are in soil.
On a side note, most people that work at hydro shops are not experts. I recently went to my local hydro shop to pick up a few things, and thought I'd ask the guys working there if they new anything about brewing compost tea because this is the first year I'm using it. They didn't even know what I was talking about. After I explained the purpose of it and how to go about making it, one of the guys said "well, if you're trying to grow bacteria just add a 50 cent packet of bread yeast"
Soil or potting mix is only a buffer to a certain extent. Using water with a ph of 8.5 is NOT going to give you the same results as using water with a ph of 6 just because the plants are in soil.On a side note, most people that work at hydro shops are not experts. I recently went to my local hydro shop to pick up a few things, and thought I'd ask the guys working there if they new anything about brewing compost tea because this is the first year I'm using it. They didn't even know what I was talking about. After I explained the purpose of it and how to go about making it, one of the guys said "well, if you're trying to grow bacteria just add a 50 cent packet of bread yeast"
Capsicum
Banned
Yes. This helps my point. Thanks.
Ok so everyone who goes out and gets some potting mix for there outdoor veggie garden please go get a ph meter?
Maybe I am lucky to have ok tap water at a nice ph. "Growing in soil is SLOW and EASY if you had to ph your water what would be the point!?!?!"
Ok can I please clear this up...
You buy or make soil it is PH balanced. Then you water with water that is in a ok ph range you will be fine. Hydro is like 5.5-6.5 or your plant will not grow well, staying at 5.6-5.9 is ideal. Soil you could have a MUCH wider ph range and sill be fine.
I do not think I know any more or less then other gardeners, I have learned a lot so far on here. I feel we all can learn from eachother here, and being I used to grow hydroponically i can say now that I grow in soil I never have to worry about ph. Thats all I am getting at guys.
So what your saying is you cant agree you need to pay more attention to ph in hydroponics? I stopped growing hydroponics a long time ago because of the many advantages of soil !!!!
I have one of the cheap ferry-morse testers... I used it when I made the mix I use in my pots. From my time running my marine aquarium, I happen to know the PH of my water is VERY alkaline (~8.2 iirc), the soil in my garden is quite alkaline as well due to the Lime beds that were dredged up and used to fill the swamp that my property used to be... I use a lot of Black Cow, and Peat Moss to bring it down...
I've never augmented the PH of the water that I use to water my plants with... But I do notice a significant difference between tap water, and rain water. I have a mild kelp based fert/foliar spray that has a very acidic PH, I might try to use it to balance the PH a bit when I water (not much right now, since its raining alot).
I hear h2o2 will help adjust your PH as well, but that seems controversial. I'm going to do some experiments on two sacrificial plants. *evil chuckle*
My tap water is also well buffered... Just using a PH down additive for the aquarium didn't work, I had to find one that would bring it down, and had stabilizers in it, else within a week, without adding any extra water, it would bounce right back up.
I've never augmented the PH of the water that I use to water my plants with... But I do notice a significant difference between tap water, and rain water. I have a mild kelp based fert/foliar spray that has a very acidic PH, I might try to use it to balance the PH a bit when I water (not much right now, since its raining alot).
I hear h2o2 will help adjust your PH as well, but that seems controversial. I'm going to do some experiments on two sacrificial plants. *evil chuckle*
My tap water is also well buffered... Just using a PH down additive for the aquarium didn't work, I had to find one that would bring it down, and had stabilizers in it, else within a week, without adding any extra water, it would bounce right back up.