PH Balance in soil

[Pete]

Can ANYONE tell me how to balance soil PH? I have a stunted but tenacious little "not sure what yet" but it's Indica and it's motivated. It had a nitrogen toxicity issue for the first couple weeks but I got that sorted out. It was born December 1st. I am trying to refine techniques so I can get on with serious planting. It is growing in FoxFarms bagged soil. I am using Maxigrow 10-5-14 at this stage. I am using RX Green's PH reducer in my water but it doesn't affect the soil, or seem to. It also desperately needs some tight pruning but I'm not cool with that yet so if you have any suggestions they are graciously appreciated. I know what I'm looking for is posted all over the web, but for some reason, the issues I have are not clearly laid out anywhere it seems, maybe it's just me. Like for instance, everyone shows pruning, nobody says when and their videos can barf up some really poor example images, angles and lighting.

I may not be so good at it myself.

 

[umbra]

the water ph for soil should be 6.0 to 6.8. This will help stabilize it if you keep in that range. PH swings in soil are an indication of microbial activity and lack of activity. True organics require almost no ph adjustment because the microbes keep it in balance. With all that said, next time you water, water with ph'd water and run 2x the amount to flush the soil. Let it dry out some and do it again. Not sure why you would want to trim the plant. If you want to top it to get 2 growing shoots, then top it at the 4th node.

 

[Pete]

Thank you. That makes sense.

The only reason I'm interested in trimming the plant is for the purpose of directing as much wasted energy as possible to needed areas. There are a lot of smaller leaves fluffing out at the trunk. Since it was somewhat stunted at the start, I'd like to do anything I can to give it a leg up. I don't expect a lot out of this if it even becomes a female (which I should know in another week) but I can get my techniques in place with it and sort out the processes.

I will begin flushing and go from there. Thanks again.

 

[Keef]

Pete Welcome to MP -- This is where weed 411 lives !-- I'm a water pharmer and wouldn't be much help -- Are U growing that with only window light ?--

 

[Pete]

Hi Keef,

And thanks. I am milling the idea of hydro but for now I'm going to see what soil can do. But no, I've got a 600 watt LED set up in a closet painted mat white with a fan and a wet towel for moisture while I decide what I'll be able to do. Pictures under that light all come out purple.... In any case, I'm sure that the nutrients and other dynamics of growing have lots of crossroads I may want to pick your brain about if you're ok with that. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Keef]

Not a problem Pete !-- I'm pink light farmer myself !-- They don't let me out the Old Farts Club much -- I seem to piss off the youngsters off without even trying !-- U got the right kind of soil but it may not need to be fed -- Most growers seem to start off over watering and over feeding !-- U may not be getting enough air flow in that closet but we do best we can -- Monitor your Temps and humidity in there too -- Good luck to ya !

 

[Pete]

So, do you know why the air flow is important? What it does that benefits the plant?

 

[Keef]

It helps them breath Pete -- The leaves breathe thru thier leaves and if the air isn't moving they breathing stale air -- You'll need a small fan in there !-- While U learning on this one pick U out some seed for your next grow -- There's several seed sites such as Seedfinder.com and Leafly.com
More kinds of seed than U can shake a stick at !-- I'm pretty heavy on indica myself -- I had a head injury -- I slipped on a wet spot and broke my fall with my face -- I have some pain issues and some PTSD -- I eat more weed than I smoke !-- I make my own canna caps-- Down here in Texas it's not like I can go to the weed store for medicine !--

 

[Rosebud]

Hi Pete,
I think air flow is as important as lights. The plants need fresh air to grow. They perk up the minute you turn on a fan. seriously.

 

[umbra]

the process is called transpiration, google it

 

[Pete]

Keef...

See? Simple explanations you can't find on the lolcat webz. Thank you. I do understand that they make oxygen in the light and CO2 in the dark so makes perfect sense. I read an article a while back that mentioned letting the plants reabsorb their own CO2 by timing your exhaust fan to come back on 30 minutes after lights come back on. PTSD? Welcome to the club. Sorry to hear about your fall. I've been in dozens of motorcycle accidents, 3 over 90mph. Us head injury guys got a lot of reasons to grow. I love Indica, and that little plant was from one seed I found in a bag of Gorilla Glue, so if I don't kill it and it ain't a dude..........

 

[Pete]

Hey Rosebud,

Thanks for the additional input! The fan is now a thing. What do you grow and what medium?

 

[Pete]

Ok, looked it up. Helluva lot of sciencing goin' on. But thanks for that, it's valuable stuff and I had no idea.

 

[Pete]

So if I could throw another one out there....

My plant is stunted because I messed everything up at the start, but it's looking a lot better and the leaves are moving up faster now. I never seem to get a clear understanding of when to change to 12/12 lighting. I just read an article that says start the bloom at 3 to 4 weeks, but that seems way too soon for all the other things I've read. Any input? My plant is 5 weeks now. Does that seem too early to start the blooms? I still cannot see what sex it is.

 

[umbra]

You may not see sex until you beginning flowering. If you veg long enough, the plant may show pre flowers, but not necessarily. Normally sex will show in 1 to 2 weeks after going to 12/12. You can put plant into 12/12 from germination, it will not begin until it is mature enough. And typically, that is 3 to 4 weeks. If you flower now, it will be a small plant and yield but more than capable of so.

 

[Pete]

Ok then, in your opinion, umbra... looking at the pic I posted at the top and given it's already 5 weeks old, would you say it's a good time to induce flowering? I see mostly images of people who don't even begin flowering until they're a couple feet tall or maybe I'm not understanding what I'm seeing.

 

[Keef]

Pete I'm a cloner - I sex them small --I find me a girl that I like I take cuttings and root them ---Then I can run them over and over long as I want -- U decide when U want to sex them and change the lights to 12/12 --
For the PTSD and other problems -- I suggest a regular oral dose -- Some make brownies --Take RSO or such !-- I just decarb by baking it at 240 degrees for half an hour and crumble it up and pack it into gel caps --Works better than smoking as medicine -- For me I like half high THC indica and half high CBD weed in my caps --

 

[umbra]

Ok then, in your opinion, umbra... looking at the pic I posted at the top and given it's already 5 weeks old, would you say it's a good time to induce flowering? I see mostly images of people who don't even begin flowering until they're a couple feet tall or maybe I'm not understanding what I'm seeing.

It starts with your goals. Photos of someone else's plants are someone else's goals, not yours. If you flower now, you can expect 5 to 10 grams of dried bud. For some, that is their goal, for others it's not.

 

[Pete]

I dig it. These are the nuances I'm trying to get out of what the internet really doesn't say clearly. Thanks bro.

 

[Pete]

Pete I'm a cloner - I sex them small --I find me a girl that I like I take cuttings and root them ---Then I can run them over and over long as I want -- U decide when U want to sex them and change the lights to 12/12 --
For the PTSD and other problems -- I suggest a regular oral dose -- Some make brownies --Take RSO or such !-- I just decarb by baking it at 240 degrees for half an hour and crumble it up and pack it into gel caps --Works better than smoking as medicine -- For me I like half high THC indica and half high CBD weed in my caps --

Oh good.... I've been wondering about cloning. How old does one have to be to clone? You don't need to sex clones, do you? Seems like they should all be fem. How much potency can you fit in a cap? Tell ya the truth, I've been smoking for almost 50 years but I've never eaten any. No idea what that would be like.