Today we checked on our hydroponic system after being away over spring break. We noticed that our plants had sprouted! They were a nice size and mostly a green color. We checked the water level in the system and noticed that it had lowered, which we had figured it would over the time we were gone. We added more water to the system. The plants looked very healthy and colorful.
Next, we checked the pH level of the water in our system. We tested and noticed that the pH was a blue color which indicated to us that it was high. In order to correct this we used the lowering pH drops and added them to our water. We kept adding drops until the pH had reached a balanced level of neutral.
This is a picture of the pH level we obtained after lowering the waters pH in our system.
Nice system, I am glad to read about the pH problems and solutions here as I am sure I will eventually face the same problems. Good Luck in growing!
It’s a good feeling when you see your plants sprouting. Spring break must have made you nervous if you just put them in and then had to leave them unsupervised. So glad to see that they are doing well. I’m not sure how much water you have your cups and rockwool sitting in but our system seems to be doing well with the rockwool sitting in about a quarter inch of water. I don’t think they need to be completely submerged or soaked (don’t know if yours are or not). I could be wrong about the level of the water in relation to the rockwool but it has been working well for us. Good luck to your plants and system!
Thanks for the help guys! Were going to try to lower the pH more next class and also start adding the nutrient solution. Can’t wait to see how the plants will react to the change!
After reading your blog and Scott’s comments above, I can agree with him in saying that there is a direct affect with the water level dropping and solution being added which gives some stability to our pH. In addition, the lower pH levels seem to be your friend, like Scott said above. As long as the temperature that you measure remains constant, the pH should remain relatively stable throughout the growing process.
I’m glad your plants made it through spring break. Hopefully you will be able to figure out a trick with your pH levels, wish I could be more of a help. Looking forward to your solution.
Thanks Scott, I’ll have to try that! Your right, your plants are growing very well!
I see that you have been striving for a pH level of 7.0. We are also growing mesclun, and in our research we have found the pH level should be around 6-6.5. We have been having some rising pH problems ourselves. Every time we come back to check it, it seems to be a little high. We have been mixing our solution to a pH of 5.5. Every time our water level drops and we add the solution, it seems to stabilize our pH in the system. Our lettuce has been growing pretty well now. I would suggest mixing your solution up so the pH is on the lower end of the threshold because a rising pH seems to be the trend