Soil ph

Hey growmie,if your plant looks healthy, don’t worry too much. But yes your numbers are a bit off, 5.5 in the soil and 7.2 runoff can point to some buildup or drift happening in the medium. Most cheap soil meters are unreliable. Runoff pH gives you a better picture, but only if you're collecting it properly, take the middle of the runoff stream, not the first or last bit. Otherwise, you're just reading built-up salts. If your readings are accurate, there’s likely some excess in the pot starting to affect pH balance. It’s not a disaster, but worth keeping an eye on. Here’s what I’d do: – Water with pH 6.5 and see if the runoff drops toward 6.8 – No need to flush hard like in hydro, just do a couple light waterings with stable pH – Double-check your pH pen calibration — don't assume it's still accurate – If your plant is still growing fine, this is just a minor correction, not a crisis Bottom line: the plant looks good now. Keep going, but adjust slowly and don’t get lost chasing the numbers. You caught it early — that’s the important part. Wish you the best of luck with the rest of your grow bro 🤞🍀❤️✌️

soil ph meters suck. Many factors can cause an unreliable reading. runoff pH is similar... how you measure it will greatly impact the reading you expect - e.g. early runoff or late.. even leftover dried up solutes that dissolve in the tray etc. It's good to measure this stuff, but don't assume good/bad until you form a baseline expectation. When you add water or fertilizer, ph-balance it because it's a simple thing to do. As long as your tap remains consistent, once you measure it out once you don't have to measure it out again. If you were really 5.5 in the medium, you'd probably start to see caclium deficiency issues Your plant is mostly healthy, though somethings can be improved since those leaves don't progress much beyond 5-fingers. while it could be genetic, it's also correlated to a well balanced diet. I wouldn't overreact to it. Keep tracking for future reference. Consider differnt soil or amendments, but as far as this cycle is concerned you aren't re-constituting that soil, so no reason to fret over it. Bright side - slightly off is fine. Go look up some results of absolutely dumpster fire plants and you'll see what you are responsible for is a small portion of the total.

don't drive yourself crazy over the runoff , who cares, if your plant healthy...6.0-6.2 during veg, 6.2-6.5 during flower going in ... if a problem arises check the runoff maybe ?

Other good answers below as well on accurecy of the pen testers and if not calibrated they are also off. Mine needs it once every 2 weeks and more so if it dries out. Strips are a bit more easy and do not require any calibration just proper storage. Pool ones tend to have two or three indicators to help resolve greater PH numbers to the 10th decimal. aka 7.1 though to 7.9 as an example. or semi accurate between main numbers like 7.0-7.5-8.0

If the plan looks healthy I would say its fine. Them soil PH monitors that use a single spike are mostly useless and widely inaccurate. The runoff PH is more useful but again plant is looking just fine. Soils PH tends to manage itself just well on its on. I have never altered nor monitored the PH in any other plant that I have grown but Cannabis, and when I do it does not seem to do much of anything. I have not altered before and altered both times it grew just fine. The best tool here maybe a EC or PPM pen to ensure its not to strong but you can resolve that by the growth of the plant and any symptoms on its leaves. Not seeing any there either. I would not worry about this. Also medium PH can vary widely in different parts of the soil/pot based on its composure and moisture levels, its moves up and down on the scale as part of a natural process it is never all one PH level at the same time.. Nutrients in liquid feed are almost always readily available regardless of PH and work within a wide rage from 5-8. so I don't think you have anything to worry about. Hydro tends to run PH lower to reduce the growth of other things in the liquid medium. but hydro with a substrate does not need to be 5.5, can run at 6.5 and have same results.

The plants are sound. They will change the ph around the Rhizosphere where it matters just keep giving ph water/feed, if the over all soils ph is near what she wants ìts easier for her to control the Rhizosphere.. the plants are in control.. we're just helping them out...

You dont flush or adjust soil, fact. This is for hydro or coco guys. In soil you just have good wet/dry rhythm and load right ph. Those soil meters shows how fat is milk, but not real ph. When you collect run off for test, you dont take first or last, you take middle, collect it into clean plate. Now you tested old salts and leftovers mix with your run off. Even meters for liquid lie, they need care. Save money for bluelab or similar. Those cheap ones usually lies too. I always had aquarium ph test kit with drops and colour change by ph, that helped to be sure that my meters work and shows true numbers. Jbl 6.0 - 7.6 has good range and will last you few years or more, for control testing. https://www.jbl.de/en/products/detail/2433/jbl-ph-test-60-76?country=us

Suggests a buffering or salt buildup issue in the root zone. Soil pH 5.5 means the rhizosphere is too acidic, which can lead to nutrient lockout (especially calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus). Runoff 7.2 likely indicates alkaline residue or excess salts being pushed out. Fix: Flush gently with water pH 6.5 until runoff drops below 6.8. Avoid strong inputs for now and check again in 2–3 days. Microbial life in organic soil can help rebalance, but you may need to reset the medium slightly. You're on the right track catching this early! On second thought, as you say your plants looks okay and I would agree... are your devices correctly callibrated? If yes it would normally lead to the conclusion that there is a difference, but I would double check in a test solution/medium, as most of the household devices use some "internal calibration", which is a bit misleading.