The importance of PH

The Importance of PH - what is PH?

I have been asked to write a blog on my experiences within the ‘indoor gardening’ world for the purpose of these blogs my name is Star Dawg.  I hope these blogs will offer help and advice to beginners and or experienced growers

PH is a complex subject I’m trying to make these blogs as simple as I can for people who are new to growing. If anyone wants me to expand on anything please let me know

I have been involved with growing for over 10 years from large commercial grows down to closet grows and in that time I have tried most types of systems Inc. RDWC, dripper systems, auto pot, flood and drain and hand feeding in all types of medium from coco, soil, water and clay pebbles no matter what type of system or medium 1 thing is certain, if you want to succeed and produce a good quality crop then understanding PH is vital 

A lot of growers don’t seem to realise the importance of PH levels throughout a plants life, let’s start from the beginning, what is PH? PH stands for potential Hydrogen and is measured on a scale from 1-14 with 7 in the middle as neutral, values below 7 indicate acidity and values above 7 indicate alkalinity.

Ph. is important to growers because if the ph. value of your nutrient mix is too high or too low plants can’t uptake or uptake is reduced, the optimum values for uptake are between 5.5 and 6.5 the values that I work to are between 5.7 and 6.4 in coco 5.8 and 6.2 in RDWC and, 6.0 and 7.0 for soil depending on the strain and what stage the plant is at. (These values have been fine-tuned over the years and are what work best for me and my strains)

Some nutrients are absorbed more fluidly at different ph values Nitrogen (N) absorbs better at a ph. of 6 while phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) PK boosters absorb better with a ph of 6.2-6.4 this is why I move my ph values at different stages of grow and flower to push the plant to absorb everything it needs to reach it maximum potential (put on more weight)

Over a 24 hour period the ph in most reservoirs will move up and down depending on the environment ‘the drift’ a grower should check the ph at least twice a day to make sure you are within the desired values.  Setting a ph of 6.0 will allow the mix to drift between 5.7 and 6.4 and still be within range, adjusting the ph is made easy by purchasing a ph pen (blue lab) and a bottle of ph. up and ph down.  Follow the instructions to calibrate the pen and simply dip it into the reservoir and wait for 1-2 minutes for it to show the reading and then adjust either up and down to your desired value, how much ph up and down you need to add will vary depending how much you need to adjust, take it easy add a few drops with a ‘dropper’ mix it in and re-test with the ph. pen. What you don’t want to do is add to much ph. down and then ‘chase’ the ph. back up as this will have a negative effect on your nutrients.

A good way to understand ph is if your thirsty and you have in front of you 3 drinks , a glass of iced water , a cup of tea , and a glass of room temp water , you drink the iced water which gives you brain freeze so you reject it which still leaves you thirsty , next you drink the tea which is too hot so you reject it which still leaves you thirsty , next you drink the room temp water which is just right for you to consume so you drink it all giving your body what it is asking for.

Over the years I have learned to read the plants to understand what they need you can tell what a plant needs by understanding things like leaf colour, how a plant is standing and the growth pattern, yellowing of the leaves indicates a lack of iron indicating alkalinity high ph While a plant with burn spots and a wilting stance indicates acidic conditions.

Ph is a subject where you could ask 10 different people what ph they set and you may get 10 different answers its all about finding what values work best for you and your strains but if you keep within the 5.5 6.5 range as a guide this will put you on the right track.