tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Sept 26, 2023 17:33:10 GMT -5
Hello from a long-time lurker.  I have a question for those of you who monitor pH & EC. Do you constantly adjust your water to meet the needs of the plants, or do you test/fertilize only at certain intervals? The reason I ask is I added fertilizer to one of my Aerogarden Bounty's about 6 days ago (Silica, AG nutrients and CalMag). Wound up with a pH of 6.5, and an EC reading of 2.2. Today I measured levels again, and both had dropped significantly. Took 12 mg of (AG) nutrients to get the EC back to 2.0 (with a pH of 6.4). For context, these are 'mature' Aerogarden Sweet Banana Peppers (planted 58 days), with a good amount of both flowers and fruit. Should I monitor regularly to maintain EC & pH levels, or should I only adjust every x number of days? Thank you! |
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Post by scarfguy on Sept 26, 2023 19:35:45 GMT -5
Hello tdse! Speak up more often. We'd like to hear of your AG adventures. 
I have agonized over the issue of EC and pH and I must admit real, useful information on the net is severely lacking. ( One of my basic questions that i can't find an answer to is simply: is one teaspoon of 10-10-10 fertilizer the same as two teaspoons of 5-5-5??? OR what is more important for blooming P or K  )
ANYWAY, I top off daily and R&R every two weeks. I fertilize every two weeks and apply cal-mag and H2O2 twice a week. I use RO water that I balance to a pH of 6.1-6.3 and it has a little bit of H2O2 to ward off algae. I shoot for an EC of 1.8-2.0 and a pH of 6.0-6.5.
I've never found any explanation as to how the plant uses nutes. My feeling is that it is a bit like eating a big meal. They go hungry for awhile, eat the fertilizer for a day or so and then digests for awhile. I don't think you need to try and maintain a constant EC. With that said, I check my EC about twice a week and if it is really low (under 1.0) then I'll add a little to bring it up to about 1.2-1.4 until the next feeding.
pH is a bi more confounding. I have some plants that hold their pH rather consistently and others that can drop like a rock overnight to 3.5 or even rise to over 7.0 for no obvious reason. I suspect it has something to do with the health of the roots. I have a tomato that is really root bound and the pH drops consistently to 3.5-4.5.
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airscapes
AGA Bounty
Lettuce eat Cake!
Posts: 642
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Post by airscapes on Sept 26, 2023 22:19:53 GMT -5
I would suggest adding the proper amount of fertilizer so the ec is correct when you R&R, then adjust PH over the 1 weeks to keep it in range.. Then R&R ..this is what I was told the big farm do. The plant taketh and the plant givith.. so as it uses what it want, it leaves behind what it does not want and the waste products. So by measuring ec and ph you have no idea of what parts of the fertilizer the plan used and what left behind.. you add more and you have now provided too much of what it does not need. For a mature large plant that is probably too large for the amount of water in the AG, you are better off just changing the water with fresh fertilizer every week to ensure your plant has what it needs.
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tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Sept 28, 2023 9:23:53 GMT -5
Thank you both so much. I really appreciate the insight. I've had Aerogardens for roughly 11- 12 years, but just recently decided to look into pH & EC. We have super hard water where I am (well water in NH), so we have a whole house softening system. I know the salts are bad for the plants, so I end up using RO water, which seems to have a pretty low pH. Trying to do the best for the plants, since I have some $$ invested into the systems (3 Bounty's, 6 Harvests, 2 Sprouts, and a Farm 24XL), but if I am monitoring / adjusting daily, that could turn into a lot of work. Especially in the summer where we also have a decent size traditional (outdoor) garden. Thank you both very much for the replies! |
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campingcorgis
AGA Farmer
🌴 I wet my plants. :-) 🌴
Posts: 3,114
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Post by campingcorgis on Oct 6, 2023 10:10:48 GMT -5
Thank you both so much. I really appreciate the insight. I've had Aerogardens for roughly 11- 12 years, but just recently decided to look into pH & EC. We have super hard water where I am (well water in NH), so we have a whole house softening system. I know the salts are bad for the plants, so I end up using RO water, which seems to have a pretty low pH. Trying to do the best for the plants, since I have some $$ invested into the systems (3 Bounty's, 6 Harvests, 2 Sprouts, and a Farm 24XL), but if I am monitoring / adjusting daily, that could turn into a lot of work. Especially in the summer where we also have a decent size traditional (outdoor) garden. Thank you both very much for the replies! Have you tried using the water from a hose bib? Usually, when one has a whole house water softener, the hose bibs are NOT included. You never know, until you try? If needed, you could get one of the hose bib water filters, available at Walmart and other places. Hubby uses one for washing the cars, saves the mineral spots problem. We have the whole house water softener too, but we use Potassium instead of the regular salt, because ours flushes/drains out onto the grass. The grass loves it, and so do my AG plants. |
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