Fox farm sledgehammer

[Peycke]

I have been using fox farm grow big and big bloom nutrients for 3 weeks in veg stage am getting ready to use sledgehammer flush question is do I add it to regular watering with nutrients or do I have to do it by itself also I assume I should still ph water correct?

[Mr.furley]

It is a water only product, and yes PH after you add it.

[Toker1]

Agreed no nutes. It’s a wetting agent made for flushing nutes.
Are you following the feed schedule found on the FF website?

[starramus]

I have never used it. On the schedule there are a number of other products. I have found the Trio to be more than sufficient. For your convenience here is the schedule. usa-soil-schedule-english_3-2018.pdf

[Peycke]

Thanks guys and yes I am following the feeding schedule but it seems like as I keep feeding my runoff gets lower and lower ph each feeding so I figure I need to flush

[Toker1]

Measure your PH going in... then measure the PH coming out. They should not differentiate very much.

[Peycke]

The ph in and out is starting to differ quite a bit 7.0 in and starting to get 5.5 out

[Peycke]

Growing in fox farm ocean forest soil

[Toker1]

I use the same soil and same liquid fertilizer. I only feed once per week so I have no need to flush. But your PH is really low. If it’s 7 going in and 5.5 out... then the root zone PH is way below 5.5. So yes, flush away. But you also need to know why is got so low in the first place. Were you always adjusting PH to be between 6.2 and 6.8 durring watering and and feeding? That’s what the manufacturer recommends for this soil.

[Peycke]

Yes always ph to about 6.8 to 7.0 going in

[Toker1]

I think you meant to say PH of 6.3-6.8 is recommended for this particular brand. No more no less.

[Potted]

I thought that was the topic at hand ? But thanks fo reading the bottle, and for correcting me for not being wrong.
I’m not going to argue any point with u go find yourself someone else to spare with .

[Toker1]

Wow. Really? Actually I spoke with the manufacturer directly. Just thought it was good sharing the knowledge.
Good thing you can block users on this site....
Please expect radio silence from this point forward.

[Toker1]

Are you watering until run off every time you feed and water?
if your putting in at 6.8-7 and it’s coming out at 5.5 something is wrong. You need to understand what is lowering the PH so drastically. Was anything else added into the soil?

[Peycke]

No nothing else added I do also use earth juice calmag along with foxfarm nutes I am going to be flushing with sledgehammer today will ph water to 6.8 in

[Peycke]

PJust finished sledgehammer flush 6.8 ph in 5.7 ph on 3 plants out and5.5 on 1 plant out 5 gal containers plants look good very green and growing good. Should I do a heavy flush with water on ph to 6.7 until runoff is up to 6.3 or so or wait until next watering and try to adjust I water about every 5 days adding foxfarm nutes and calmag each time should I only give nutes and calmag every other watering trying to get ph in range before it affects plants

[Toker1]

Yes. I would try and raise the PH of the run off to as close to 6.3 as possible.

[Peycke]

Should I flush with water now or wait for next watering also 1 other thing I thought about is I and using the metal cone shaped tomato trellis in my pots

[Toker1]

You can continue to flush with ph adjusted water for now. Like I said, you want that run off a bit closer to 6.3. If you can flush until you reach there, that would be best.

[WeirdWiredWolf]

The metal from the stakes could be leaching into the soil and affecting PH that way. I'd switch to bamboo/wood or plastic stakes and string.

[Potted]

Tomato cages are usually galvanized,I hav seen painted ones ( for the yuppies) I guess. Galvanized doesn’t break down or rust like normal metal. For instance chain link fences don’t

[Peycke]

Potted hope I didn’t flag your post hit the 3 dots thinking it was something else new to site . Any ways that’s what I am trying to figure out is if the galvanized tomato cages are affecting ph I know galvanized metal does give environmental problems but I would think the amount of metal in pots is not enough to matter. Do you guys think I should only give nutes and calmag every other watering and just plain water in between would like to know what you guys think is causing this low ph. All opinions are appreciated Toker1, potted, weirdwiredwolf, mr farley , starramus

[Toker1]

Low soil PH increases the corrosion rate of the zink used to galvanize steel. I know this from my experience working in power generation.
Zink can leach into the soil, alone with other elements like iron and cadium. Mj requires a slightly acidic soil to grow. Professional gardeners do not recommend low acid solids for galvanized garden beds due to this fact.
It’s possible that these salts are leaching into the soil from the cages and causing your PH drop.
Anyway to replace the metal cages with another less corrosive material?

[Potted]

We’re good, there are many products that can change th ph of the water ( many ) anything that is added to the water changes the ph that’s y I always ph last.... right before I water.... it’s the best way to insure this. And shake all chemicals good befor using.