ph of the grow medium

alright been looking for a few hours and cant find a satisfying answer to my questions. so what do you all think:

1- sphagnum peat moss, perlite and vermiculite medium, is it soil or soilless. noone seems to agree but i would think it is soilless.

2- looked at all the ph charts (for nutrients availability) and some say that soil/soilless mediums should be at the same ph while other say soilless needs to be between 5.7-6.2 and soil 6.5-6.8 or so. damn it gets confusing.

if any experienced grower ever used such a mix let me know what ph you used for watering and what the ph of the medium was adjusted to. I'm so confused right now.

p.s: i know some of y'all think that peat aint good for growing but i've seen successful grows using this same mix i just described. just need to control the ph of the acidic peat....


anyways thank you all.

I like to use soil with a little peat in it , it helps to retain moisture , although it can be acidic in large amounts. Less peat the better. What is the ph of the soil ?!

twell at first the ph was about 5.4 but i adjusted it to about 6.2, but i read somewhere that soilless mediums(such as peat based mediums) should have a ph of around 5.7-6.2 for better nutrient availability. i always thought peat based was considered as soil so i was on my way to adjust the ph aroun 6.5, but now i dont really know what to adjust it to. if anyone could help that'd be appreciated. What ph do you guys use for your soilless mediums??? should i adjust the ph to 5.9 or so or more like 6.5????

also, does anybody know why ph of soil soilless and hydro should be different, i mean what makes the roots in a hydro system like more acidic ph than in soil, how does that work.

c'mon nobody has any input??? please guys i'd really like to know what y"all think...
thanks

Well, I can't really give you any "peat-specific" guidance. But, I'm growing in coco, which is definitely soiless. As for coco, it's inert. B'Cuzz coco like mine, is also buffered. I need to read more on buffering, before I comment on it. BUT....I ph my nute mixes to 6.0 in my coco. The reason coco is ph'd lower than soil, is because it IS a hydro process. I water/feed everyday. I feed 400mL of water/nute mix per 1.5 gallon container.
Specifically, to try to answer your question, I believe the reason hydro and coco is ph'd lower is because the roots are getting "rinsed" with nutrient solution, instead of the nutrient solution creating a build-up in a soil mix, then sitting idle waiting for the roots to find them, if you will.

What I'd do if I were you and couldn't find any reliable info....start adjusting the ph in your nute solution to 6.5. Wait 3 days and read your plants for any leaf curling. If no curling is occurring, you found your ph--at least your really close to what they want. If you DO experience curling after the 3 day wait, start lowering the ph in your nute solution two tenths at a time. Adjust ph down....wait 3 days...read leaves. Adjust ph...wait 3 days...read leaves. It shouldn't be too hard to find what they like. I'd expect around 6.2 to be their preferred ph. But remember, I have NO experience with peat. So take my thoughts for what they're worth----hint: two cents.

ProGrow - I didn't know you are growing in coco too.:thumbsup:

You might try lowering your pH to the 5.7 range. That's more in the realm of hydro.

How big are your plants? What stage are they in? 400ml per day doesn't seem like enough liquid. I had some plants that I left too long in #1 pots and they were taking 400ml twice per day. They've been in #3 pots for one week now and they're using 1.25L liters per day. I know how much they're drinking because I measure my run-off. You do water until there's run-off, don't you?

PC :smokin:

thanks for the response progro, thats exactly what i am gonna do, i guess i'll have to find the right ph for 'em. ph of medium is at 6.4 right now and i have some leaves tips twisting slightly up with some brown or rust spots on some leaves (suspected to be phosphorus def. but not sure and no it ain't mold my humidity is so friggin low :mad:) maybe cuz of the ph being a lil too high. next time i water i'mma down it to 6.2 and wait to see how the react.

anyways if anyone else has any input and would like to share feel free to do so, it'll be more than appreciated.

c y'all

thanks again

Your Welcome smokeallday! Post us some pics if ya get a chance.

PC...Yeah, I'm in B'Cuzz coco, no perlite. Should have done the perlite, didn't, that'll wait till harvest. When I rinse the medium I'll add the perlite for the next crop.

A....The largest ones I have are 3 weeks into veg, and about 3ft tall--most of em anyway.

B..I started out watering/feeding four times a day--lol. But I got worried that it might be a little too much. What I've read is that coco is "hard" to over-water. That told me its not impossible--lol. So, I've been a little conservative since then.

C...Mine are in 7.5" x 7.5" square pots--1.5 gallons. I'd love to have them in larger pots, but getting this perpetual thing going is trying to break me.If I transplanted the largest ones into larger pots, I'd need 12 of the larger size, plus all the coco to fill them. So far, I already have 4 bags in all the pots combined---at $29 / bag. It's adding up on me----lol.

D... Yes I feed/water to the point of strong run-off. I don't measure it. I just make sure it's way more than drips. My logic is to allow enough runoff to leach some of the salt build-up out. My setup is run-to-waste, so, its not very feasible right now for me to catch it all. How much run-off tells you enough is enough?

Right now, there's eighteen girls in flower and twenty more in various stages of rooting and veg. Check the link in my sig.