SupraSPL

Hello GC! I am newly registered here but I have been lurking for a long time, along with other sites such as grasscity. My grow philosophy is based on affordability, availability, security and top quality results. I want to give something back to the community, so here is one way I might be able to help any new growers looking to put together a small op on a very limited budget but still get top results.

I am assuming you already have your genetics problem knocked, that is a whole nother topic. It is not necessary to buy an expensive PH meter. Granted, some people may find my method too much hassle I can certainly understand that, but it is doable. Once you get used to it, its very fast and no batteries required

PH
Tap water is often too high in PH, not to mention loaded with chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals etc etc. If you want to go organic, to get started head to walmart or similar, grab 2 gallons of R/O (reverse osmosis labeled drinking water) and 1 gallon of Spring Water (the great value brand). Grab an aquarium PH test kit ($6) in the pet section (250-750 uses).

The R/O water will measure about 6.0. The spring water will vary by location, but should measure ~8.5. Poland spring does not always measure basic, so Id recommend avoiding that one.

*It is worth mentioning that you can get R/O water from the Culligan machine at most Walmarts and can refill your jugs for 37 cents per gallon. It would likely be cheaper to track down a bottle ph up instead of using spring water for that duty. R/O water does not seem to have much buffer, so a small bottle of PH up should go a long way.

Mix a small batch of the two waters together until you get a PH reading of around 7. (About 4:1 R/O to spring) Pour it through the soil and catch the runoff in your vial. You'll want to aim for a reading of 6.5-6.8. If this is the first time running water through a given container, the soil particles may obscure the reading. In this case give it another small flush.

It can be tricky to accurately match the colors. You must hold the sample next to the card correctly, relative to the light source (this takes a lil experimenting to get right).

In the pics below, four parts R/O to 1 part spring resulted in ~7.1 PH. When applied to most potting soils, the runoff would be ~6.5. Adjust your mixture as needed to achieve the runoff range you need. Once you get your process down, you probably will not need to measure your runoff every single time you water/feed.

*Adding fertilizer to your water will alter the PH so you should take this into account and alter your water mixture as needed to maintain the correct runoff PH.

pic1 is good and legible, pic 2 is a fail, the sample is too close to the card and the shadow is obscuring the color.

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Nearly water soluble fertilizer I have seen leaves the water colored in some way. MG turns it red/blue/green based on whatever variety it is. FF Big Bloom leaves the water muddy brown. FF Grow Big leaves the water tinted green. What fertilizer do you use that leaves the water clear enough to get an accurate color based pH reading?

SupraSPL

I use a liquid organic fert from Age Old. At the lowest recommended concentration (1tsp/gal) it does give the water a slight brown tinge but not enough to interfere with the reading. The runoff typically does have a slight brown tinge to it as well but it has not been a problem getting a reading.

You do raise a good point. I have been using FF Ocean Forest soil so I have been going light on the liquid ferts. When I try my new soil I might be required to increase the liquid dosage. If this becomes a problem I will have to add more of the granular ferts to the soil instead.