Nutrients & Adjust my ph - question & answer

When should I adjust my pH?

Answer: Every time you are Foliar Feeding & when ever the pH changes out of acceptable range on the reservoir (Usually not more then a half a point. ex: 6.0-6.5 if it went to 6.7 you would want to lower it a little). One should keep in mind to check and adjust ph AFTER adding the Nutrients, Additives, and/or Wetting Agents as most nutrients and additives will change pH. You are wasting your time adjusting pH before hand. You should Adjust pH AFTER mixing up Foliar Spray and BEFORE spraying plants.

I make a fresh batch of nutrients & adjust my ph to the level I need. A day or 2 later I check my ph and it is way out of acceptable range. What causes this & how do I fix it?

Answer: Ph fluctuation is usually caused by the reservoir being to small. It can also be caused by the nutrients settling to the bottom of the reservoir (poor water & oxygen circulation in the reservoir). If the plants have used a lot of water in that 1 or 2 days then it could be from the water usage. If the quality of the water is poor (a lot of minerals & deposits in the water) the ph could change very fast, the only way to fix poor water quality is to get a good quality water filtration system or buy distilled water.

 

How often should I clean my pH/TDS meter?

The green tip in meter is green because of the green calibration solution shown was used on the pen.

 

Answer: At LEAST once a month, pH Meters especially. The cleaner you keep the Probe of your meter, the better it will work. Letting film or salt buildup on the tips of the Probe can be just as bad as letting the tips of the pens dry out. The tip of the pH probe is porous to allow the solution to be absorbed. If you look at the tip of almost all pH meters you will see that there is liquid in the tip, if the tip dries out the meter will not work. You can use distilled water, Calibration solution or Storage solution to keep the tip moist. Put a piece paper towel in the cap of your meter and pour a little solution in it. This will help stop the probe from drying out.

Should I use a time release nutrient or a liquid nutrient?

Answer: Time release nutrients are applied on average once a month (ever 3 to 4 weeks). Liquid nutrients used in containers with potting soil would need to be applied around once a week. Using a liquid nutrient in containers with potting soil would provide the plants with fresh nutrients weekly, because of this the yield would be higher. Using liquid nutrients in containers with hydroponic growing medium nutrients would need to be applied with every feeding. (Every time you water).

The cup on the left contains a TIME RELEASED NUTRIENT, while the cup on the right contains a LIQUID NUTRIENT.

When is the best time to foliage feed, before the lights come on/the sun comes up or after they go off/the sun goes down?

Answer: Tip burn is caused by the nutrient level (PPM/TDS) being higher than the plant can handle. It is like putting a vacuum cleaner on the root system, the nutrients start going in reverse instead of going into the plant the nutrient goes away from the plant causing the leaf tissue to dry out. Tip burn starts at the tip of the leaf & in real bad cases spreads down the side of the leaf. Having the nutrient level to high not only damages the roots but hurts your yield. Tip burn can be caused by many things; like the nutrient level being just plain to high, as well as diseases, and root rot. If the root system is sick or not healthy the plant CANNOT take the PPM (Parts per Million) being as high as when it is not sick.

Tip burn on a Coleus leaf

My plants have tip burn how do I fix it?

Answer: If you do not have a flushing/leaching solution you can use ph balanced water. You want to balance your ph for your soil/hydroponic growing medium (soil 6-6.5, Promix 6-6.5, rockwool 5-5.5 ect.). Leaching/flushing solutions help remove built up nutrients in the water.

How do I know when to water?

Answer: If you are container gardening, then you would water the plant really well and weigh the plant (container and all, please do not pull up bare rooted plant because it will cause unnecessary trauma to the plants). When it losses around 25% of it's weight you want to water again. You and 10 of your friends can have identical setups with the same plants and most of you would need to water at different cycles. The larger and healthier the plant the more water it will need. Climate, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and air circulation all play a big part in how often to water.

 oil/Hydroponic Growing Medium shown here is too dry

How much should I water when I water?

This is what 15% to 20% run-off looks like running out of the bottom of the container.
 

Answer: You want at least 15% to 20% run-off out of the bottom of the growing container when you water. That means you need 15% to 20% of what you put in the top of the container to flow out of the bottom of the container every time you water. If you do not get good nutrient run off out of the bottom of the container then you will get nutrient lock-up. Nutrient lock-up means that the old unused nutrients have built up in the Hydroponic Growing Medium (anything other then potting soil) and/or soil to the point that new nutrients can not be absorbed by the roots. The plant will start to show signs of nutrient deficiencies, the roots will become damaged, and the yield will suffer.

When I mix my nutrients, the next day I notice the nutrients have settled to the bottom of the reservoir. How do I stop this from happening?

Answer: More water circulation. If you have good air stones already then I would add a water pump to the reservoir not attached to any tubing and let it just circulate the water all the time. This will not only keep the nutrients mixed, but it will help add more oxygen to the water.

Should I use hydroponic nutrients or organic?

Answer: You can use hydroponic nutrients in soil and you can use organic nutrients with hydroponics mediums. Hydroponic nutrients will get you a higher yield but the flavor & aroma will not be as good. Organic nutrients increase the oil production in the plant making them smell & taste better. Both are known to clog systems with poor water circulation or low oxygen or a system that is poorly maintained (keeping your system cleaned & making sure it is working properly). You can make a Hydroponic nutrient smell & taste better by adding organic additives.

Cauliflower growing in hydroponic growing medium with organic time released fertilizer.

How do I measure small amounts of nutrients, like 3 ml?

Answer: Use a syringe that measures cc's. A cc & a ml are the same measurement.

 These Documents contain information gathered from many Online Communities and all possible references have been given to the authors of each individual article.