larrydonline
New member
From reading posts here I've learned that some growers actually check the pH of their soil. I've been growing outdoors for over a dozen summers and I've never checked the pH of soil yet, so I wondered how common it is for growers to actually do that? Every help guide for growing cannabis I've read, and that's quite a few, always talk about the importance of your soil's pH. I've never seen one yet discuss how to take the pH of soil. So not knowing any method for checking it, I've never worried about it. What would be the expected result if the pH was off by say two from the desired range of 6.0 - 7.0? Would buds not develop?
Another reason I've never bothered with testing the pH is that I know my water source is high, around 8.0. So if I amended the soil to the ideal pH, I'd still be feeding them water that was way high. I've grown hydroponically for even longer than in soil outdoors. I check the pH of that water daily and I know how to adjust it if it starts wandering off too high or low. I don't think anyone could expect a successful crop growing hydroponically if pH control was neglected. But in soil I wonder how important it really is. I do start with commercial potting soil so I assume the pH is adjusted at the beginning. How many others don't bother with it after that?
Another reason I've never bothered with testing the pH is that I know my water source is high, around 8.0. So if I amended the soil to the ideal pH, I'd still be feeding them water that was way high. I've grown hydroponically for even longer than in soil outdoors. I check the pH of that water daily and I know how to adjust it if it starts wandering off too high or low. I don't think anyone could expect a successful crop growing hydroponically if pH control was neglected. But in soil I wonder how important it really is. I do start with commercial potting soil so I assume the pH is adjusted at the beginning. How many others don't bother with it after that?
