Hey guys and gals was ripped yesterday off a DBB tester nug and was wondering if we're being generic with our techniques, I've been setting my reservoirs at 5.8 and letting it creep up to about 6.3 before setting it back at 5.8, now would it be more advantageous to keep the pH set at optimum levels based on stage of plant growth, like lower for veg and higher for flower to make sure we're making the max amount of said nutrient available during the times the plants are needing them most, may be overthinking it but was wondering the communitys thoughts on the matter
I have always let the plant tell me, careful attention to the plants stage of life is the key to all horticulture. In my hydro setup with a reservoir as well as potted coco coir, which I use like hydro, I have always kept PH lower in veg and higher in flower, but not exactly 5.8 sometimes I will let it drift down to 5.7-5.6 in veg might raise it to 6.0 and in flower same thing might let it drift down to 5.9 then maybe raise it to 6.3 with no adverse effects on health or yield.
My sweet spot for hydro PH is 6.0 I vary it a bit but not drastic. I believe some cultivars benefit from variable PH, like I said not drastic or it will show. In coco I don’t PH the nutrients lower than 6.0 and never higher than 6.5 I do vary it though.
In my younger years of indoor growing under intense MH streetlights (never used HPS) no tents, just open room, I was strict and ran my hydro at 6.0 no matter what, for years, in flowering and veg. Yields and growth were not High Times stuff, but decent for what we had at the time. I have changed that thinking and looked at plant individuality and stage of life as my PH indicator. Just my opinion I’m not a pro nor claim to be any better than anyone else, I like to share my experiences about the plant I love.
