Ocean Forest.... ph ??

[OneLegUp]

Anybody know what OF's ph range is...

The reason for the question is as some know I've been fighting a ph battle. Well yesterday I went to check the garden with the meter (el cheapo type 19.95) and the fucking reading said 8... now this is after adding lots of epsom in the layers and about 8 days ago adding about 2.5 lbs of sulfur (E.B. Stone ph adjustor). After getting the 8 reading I bought one of those test tube type soil testers... and then tested some OF... the OF was slightly yellow in color and the soil test came in slightly greener than the OF... if you look at the chart with the kits..orange/yellow is 6... green is 7...

So by knowing OF ph... I can better gauge this all..

this is pissing me off......

[Reverend Budbreath]

hi OLU,

I've been using FFOF for a long time now, and I found that the best way to treat it is not to worry about pH at all (assuming decent water whose pH itself is not too out of whack). Organic soil acts as its own buffer, I mean the microbes within that is. Its pH is "dynamic", not as static as hydroponics. When I tried monitoring and balancing and all that, it started going weird on me and then as soon as I just forgot all that and hit it with tap water/tap water based organic nutes, all was well again.

To answer your question though, it's near neutral when it starts because of what's in it. I'm a little worried about your comment regarding "layering epsom", I hope you don't mean you put epsom salts (solids) in the soil itself...! You wouldn't want to pile sulfur on it either... like I say, if you have decent water and use a decent nute program, you should have no major problems without even checking soil pH (I haven't checked soil pH in over 2 years)

[przcvctm]

Rev
If I understand your reply, you don't mix anything into FFOF, just use it straight as is?

[Reverend Budbreath]

Hi przcvtm, no I mix coco coir into it, at about 40% or so. I also will put some dolomite lime into it too sometimes, but these days I'm finding I don't even need to do that as long as I use Mineral Matrix or Cal-Mag every time (or nearly every time) I water/feed.

[przcvctm]

Thanks, Rev.