Hey everyone! I was sure hoping someone could help me with pH issues. So we are having some issues with too low pH. pH is sitting right around 4ish. I have those sticks you stick in soil that tell the pH, light, and how wet they are. The soil used was experts gardeners from Walmart. What’s the easiest way to get pH in soil up quickly? I believe it may be the soil. It has good shit in it, but I’m thinking it’s meant for flowers, not cannabis… Any input is appreciated.
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There is a lot to unpack here.
I don’t trust those stick meters you mention. Do you have another way to test?
Are the soil manufacturers specs somewhere?
Do you have plants in this soil currently? How do they look?
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I’ll find the spec’s hang on… I have several in the soil and they aren’t getting much bigger. Some have yellow leaves.
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I’m afraid that tells us nothing.
I thought it was interesting that the mix changes based on what state you are in (which makes figuring it out more difficult.)
I use Promix which is mostly peat and is acidic.
I balance this out by using neutral ish water/ferts. I wouldn’t recommend this to you without knowing some hard numbers.
A pH meter doesn’t have to be expensive. I have a fancy one but I use drops usually.
I imagine your soil mix is fine but there are a lot of unknowns.
All the best.
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Ugh… That ingredient list. I know everyone has to do what they have to do, but if all possible, don’t buy soil from Wal-mart. I didn’t see it on the package, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are biosolids in there as well.
If your soil is at pH of 4, I think you are going to be seeing some major problems. Can you post up a picture and maybe let us know what your watering schedule and water quality are like?
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The proper way to test soil pH is to mix 1 part soil with 1 part distilled water. Agitate for 30 minutes, then wait for an hour. Then test the water with a calibrated meter, paper strips, or drops.
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Yeah I kind of get the don’t buy your soil at Walmart. I have a friend though doing it with me and I was planning on making super soil, but be he instead bought only that soil. Although, it is partly my fault. I screen shot some advice from here actually from a few years ago and someone said they just buy that soil and he took it upon himself to buy it and use it. I meant for him to create a super soil, but I must have missed the part about some guy saying you he only used that soil. I don’t know for sure. He is definitely over watering. I told him to not water for a couple days. And to let them dry out some before watering.
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Ok thanks… I honestly didn’t know that, but makes sense. I’ll buy some pH testing strips. Thanks!
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I third the strips and/or drops. Easiest and cheapest method . Goodluck
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I would take a closer look at the watering schedules. Anything is possible, but bagged soils aren’t usually pH of four out of the bag.
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A while back I had a bag of Fox Farms Strawberry Fields soil.
The pH on that was super low. Like, 4.0 range.
Plants suffered until I figured it out. I had to flush it many times, and was watering with water that was pH8.5 just to try and normalize it. What a hassle.
Never buying that one again.
And now, if I see plants suffering for no apparent reason, Immediately, I check the ph of the soil by running distilled water through it and measuring the runoff.
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I purchased the strips on Amazon. Should be here tomorrow… thanks for quick responses! I love overgrow.
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For the record, BOG bought his soil at WalMart as he was making a name for himself on overgrow 1.0. Back then, it was Sam’s Choice. To that, he added blood and bone meal, perlite and, most importantly for pH issues: lime. I know this from memory because I emulated him from the beginning of my growing career (around 2001). I used what he used, soil and nutes, and my results were also awesome.
So if you do buy your soil from Walmart, you should probably amend it with a few things before using it. And for god’s sake, don’t put seedlings in it!
Also for the record, I don’t buy my soil from Walmart anymore. Now I use Burpees Organic Potting Mix, and add peat + the other amendments I mentioned above.
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No offense, but I don’t care who bought their soil at wal-mart. It’s super poor quality and pretty much always contains biosoilds. I’m not a fan of the slaughter house byproducts either. Soil companies get government subsidies if they use products that are otherwise difficult to get rid of.
In 1984 the EPA banned municipalities from dumping their sewage sludge into the ocean. With no where do dispose of all this crap (literally) someone came up with the idea to compost it and sell it as organic fertilizer. Thus biosolids are born.
Assessing Pollutants Found in Biosolids
Assessing the potential risk of pollutants found in biosolids is the top priority of EPA’s Biosolids Program. EPA identifies pollutants found in biosolids through open literature reviews and sewage sludge surveys in order to assess their potential risk to public health and the environment. More than 500 pollutants have been found to occur in biosolids (in at least one instance) since EPA began tracking their occurrence in 1993 when 40 CFR Part 503 was promulgated. Not all of the approximately 500 pollutants that have been found in biosolids will be present in every wastewater treatment facility. Pollutants found in biosolids will vary depending upon inputs to individual wastewater treatment facilities over time. The presence of a pollutant in biosolids alone does not mean that the biosolids pose harm to human health and the environment.
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I really want to know what “forest products” are. Does this mean sawdust or dead woodchucks? Or somewhere in between? Crazy.
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I would guess you are 100% correct on the sawdust, wood waste, etc.
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My biosolids are definitely “Class B” 
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I spread biosolids on hundreds of acres a day (usually a little less) throughout metro Detroit 
ALSO, like @Purple-N-Hairy said, amending your soil is a necessity for any base soil in my opinion… I amend all of my promix, promix hp, hp cc, and cc40.
Dolomite lime raises pH levels (each nutrient you add raises or lowers in their own way) and depending on your base starting pH it can act as a buffer to get you to your mid 6’s without pHing anything
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Sounds like a shitty deal… 
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