The Importance of Accurate pH

What is pH and why is it so important to our plants? pH is the measurement of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is important to manage the pH of your nutrient solution to make sure that all of the nutrients you are delivering to your plant can be uptaken and used properly.

The pH of the water affects how much of a specific nutrient the water can carry. This means that when the pH is off in either direction the nutrient salts can totally locked out from entering the plants rootbase. Plants generally grow most efficiently when their pH levels are in the 5.5 to 6.5 range because the required nutrients are available at sufficient amounts. 

Salt based feeding solutions require good control of pH to assure that plants will always have access to the required nutrients. Some growers prefer organic nutrients as an alternative because they generally are more forgiving when it comes to maintaining a proper pH.