Brown thumb grow

[Rwise]

Can it be calibrated?

[Brwnthmb]

It does have instruction manual and it gives Aoruimaer@outlook.com for questions or problems. Other than that it just has “soil tester” where a brand name would be.

[Gingerbeard]

About your pH meter. I am going to talk smack about something I know nothing about.
The lack of any sort of brand on the box, instruction manual, or instrument itself is a good indication it is not a good product. That is not always the case, no. It has been my experience with anything I have purchased for growing.
Another assumption on my part is there is no sort of warranty with the instrument itself. Maybe a return policy with whom you bought it?
When you pH your water, pay attention to how much pH up/down you use from the beginning. If you keep doing the same thing and your meter starts giving different numbers, you will know something is wrong.

[Gingerbeard]

You said it.
Go back to the post you quoted. Below the post, in the comments, in the upper right-hand corner is an up arrow. That arrow will be there if there are more than four comments to the post. Only three show at a time.
Click the arrow and the rest of the comments will appear.

[Brwnthmb]

Rwise
thanks for referencing the chart on leaf symptoms.
I printed one out for myself and will keep it handy. It looks to be very handy.

[Bluey]

Apera have a store on Amazon. The meters are cheap there. A meter that costs $22 is rubbish. It measures nothing with accuracy. It's crap.

[Brwnthmb]

Looking like a nice recovery Brwnthmb!
Notice the differences between the plastic and clay pots versus the bags? Keep it up. You have some time and work ahead of you.
As the plants get bigger, you can use LST to keep everything at the same height, rather than the multi-tiered method that is likely to get knocked over when a big, stoned, dumbass like me knocks into it.
I'm going to make a suggestion for down the road: Don't top. Get your plants back to healthy and fill up that space. If your grow space is even four times what you are showing in your picture, that will be a very tight fit for five plants without topping. Unless you have upgraded in the last little bit, you do not have enough light to take care of much more than the table you are growing on.
What I first said, though. Looking like a nice recovery.

I thought for sure that I had already responded to this, but I must not have saved it, or didn’t post my reply, but I can’t find it now. So I will try again.
Thanks for the compliment about the grow, and as they say, I couldn’t have done it without you (y’all).
I’ve looked into the LST and that is a really cool idea! And since the plant knows which way is up, you can “top” as the limbs go around and create more bud sites! I can imagine a tomato cage or something similar around the plants.
No I don’t have the room or lighting for all I have growing, especially considering grow #2. As I said I kept germinating seeds trying to get that part right and ended up with a big group of newly germinated problems. I thought I would thin them out and only save the strongest ones, but it is hard to give up on one. Each plant is a challenge and you don’t learn anything by giving up.
Still for sake of practicality I will have to eliminate some of these under the grow lights. I have a few on the back porch already to let nature determine the flowering time. I can always put a few more there.
Thanks for your help.

[Gingerbeard]

Brwnthmb about your meter petering out after a few weeks or whatever.
There are probably solutions for that meter you can use for calibration.
Alternately, find yourself a baseline or two. Let's say you always have liquids X and Y in your house. Maybe vinegar and milk. A high acid and a high base. See what the pH of each is and use those as a baseline when you want to check meter accuracy.
Just a thought. Haven't done it myself.

[Brwnthmb]

@Rwise
I was not able to edit my previous comment in order to add the other functions of the meter. Besides ph, it also measures the light intensity, the temperature, and soil moisture content. At $22 it is worth the price, but only if it continues to work. As I said the only other review I’ve had (from @Bluey) said that the meter failed the accuracy test not long after purchase.

[Gingerbeard]

Word to your mother Rwise ! My Blue Lab water pH meter was worth the $75 several years ago when I ate rice and beans for a week to afford it. The little strips weren't worth whatever pittance I paid. My 2-prong pH/water/light meter is only worth the moisture bit. But I only use it on houseplants as me and my bags are in tune.
The price has gone way up to 2 weeks of rice and beans, since. Still worth it. Just need to keep it calibrated.

[Rwise]

There are a lot of resources here just waiting for folks to read/study. Learn to read your plant, just what those leaves are telling you, note that the cause can be what it looks like or PH out of range with a lack of buffers in the soil. Hard to keep the soil just so in tiny pots, as the plant eats this or that.

Read/study this: It can tell you a lot about how to read your girls

https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-symptoms-pictures

[Rwise]

I spent much more for my Blue Labs meter, I also have fluids for calibration, I have calibrated it but it has not been off by more than 0.1. I started with a cheapass meter, tossed it in the trash before the battery died.
There needs to be moisture as this meter uses it, but adding water can change the PH,

[Brwnthmb]

@Rwise
About the unit. It’s $22 from Amazon, requires 2 small batteries, easy to use. It will measure 4 things but I got it for ph. It has digital readout which is nice, the final reading is the correct one; that is you get a reading immediately, then the number starts falling and where it stabilizes is it. So far the number hasn’t stayed at that reading but I think I need to water the plant first and wait, then measure. The soil wasn’t very wet in any of the pots that I measured, and I can see how that could be a problem. I will be able to give a better review after I have used it more. I have been cautioned that this meter loses accuracy but so far so good for me.

[Rwise]

Yes, I corrected that, acids are a PH down

[Bluey]

You have so little soil it won't work as it should for very long so measure your inputs and keep them in the vicinity as Rwise said in post #3. Vary it within those parameters. Watch your leaves for tell tale issues and adjust when needed.

Don't do anything too dramatic. Small steps