budjamesbud

hello
i'm using thuis mix
about 16 cups potting soil
16 cups perlite and vermiculite, mostly perlite depending on potting soil
1 tbsp of a ll purpose fert
1/2 tbsp bone meal
2 cups worms castings
1 tbsp lime

this is a mix that is for flowering SOG plants so that is why it is short on N

anyways,
some of my plants are in pots that i think are too small
they are getting quite large and i think they may be short on nutrients....
i have been watering them with about 10ml of liq. seaweed and 20ml of liq guano. this i aerate with a fish pump just to get it going and maybe add 02 to the roots

my plants were getting yellow so i flushed them all real good and now they sem to be rebounding nicely......flushed 2 days ago and gonna fert today.......
i think they need nutes but that perhaps their was a build up of salts or something (can this happen with organics?) this is why they are rebounding now.........
i stuck a test strip under some moist soil near the surface and the strip strayed the yellow on the low end, which is 6.0, so im thinking that maybe the soil is too acidic and maybe i should add more lime to my mix next time

so, anyways this all leads to my question.....
i added a bit of lime to my nute soln in an attempt to raise the pH a bit......is this an effective way to raise pH of potted plants?
mind you i'm not too practice with the test strips either.......any suggestions?

thanks loads
jimmy

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budjamesbud

ooooops................
my all purpose fert is organic too
and the 10ml liq. seaweed and 20ml liquid guano was per gallon of water..

sorry
james

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stoker6

whaz up james??

6.0 actually doesn't sound too bad for soil. However, lime is acidic and will lower the ph. Don't know of a good organic that will raise it.

Sounds like you are doing the right things with the exception of a good source of N. Fish emulsion will green them right up if there is a N prob.

But we would need to see a pic to see if the pot was too small. Yellowing can also be overwatering. I think after you flush the a little yellowing is normal. Let'em dry out and give'em some N. Seaweed doesn't contain a lot and is usually used for trace minerals

Lizzie Borden

Yes, lime is an effective way to raise soil pH. But I agree with stoker that 6.0 isn't bad. I recommend that you get a pH probe tester rather than using the strips.

stoker6

I was thinking citric acid as in lime juice

budjamesbud

i do have a pH pen but i think it is only for liquid...
they seem to be perking up a bit now since the flush and refert.
ill check again in the morn.
the most yellow ones are at 8 weeks flowering so a lack of N is ok, and maybe its a sign to hang 'er up?they're going into a dark stress period soon, then to the hanger....
thanks all.

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lilbuddie

This is absolutley wrong! Please look up simple info like this before you post it!
A simple glance at the organics chart in the grow guide can show you that.

IMO, 6.0 is just on the threshold of bad. Bedding with a small amount of lime (depends on pot size) that is leached into teh soil will help raise your pH but dont over do it.

Also, I think it is the guano that is driving the pH down.

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budjamesbud

yah, the lime mistake was corrected.....
i think he thought i was talking lime juice, and not dolomitic lime..........
he realized it though.............

my pH strips have a range from 6.0 to 8.5 i think, so im guessing that my pH is 6.0 or less, since if it was lower it would have no effect on the strip......
i added a bit of lime to my watering soln though and will increase the lime next batch of soil.............
the flushing seemed to help, and the yellowest ones r the closet to harvest

thanks
jim

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