Hydroponic nutrients guide – Ph in hydroponics AND PLANT GROWTH

PH AND PLANT GROWTH

The level of pH in hydroponic nutrients is a very important factor of gardening to consider, whether it is a hydroponic or ordinary gardening. There is a special scale from 1 to 14 to measure pH level. The neutral pH level is 7, below that is acid, and above is alkali.   

The requirements of pH level and its influence on the nutrients differ between ordinary or “dirt” gardening and hydroponic or organic gardening. Since the scope of this article is soilless hydroponic gardening, all the below information refers to hydroponic gardening. 

From technical point of view, pH level defines the potential of hydrogen-hydroxyl ion content of a particular solution. Different solutions can ionize into positive and negative ions. Those ions, which prevail in the solution, define whether the solution is acid or alkali. Acids are those solutions, where there are more positive hydrogen ions than negative hydroxyl ions. The pH level of acids ranges from 1 to 6.9 on the pH scale. Alkaline plant nutrient solutions, on the contrary, have more negative ions and their pH level is 7.1-14 on the scale. The example of neutral solution with pH level at 7 is pure water, in which the amounts of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions are equal. However, in reality water may have both higher and lower levels of pH.

The peculiarity of pH scale is that each unit of scale change equals a ten fold change in the positive/negative ions concentration. This is called logarithmic scale. For example, if a solution carries pH level of 6, it means that this solution is 10 times more acidic than pure water with pH level of 7.0. Consequently, the solution with pH level of 5 is 10 times more acidic than the solution with pH of 6 and 100 times more acidic than pure water with pH level of 7. In practice this logarithmic principle is used, when it is required to adjust the pH level of the solution. For example, if it is necessary to change the pH level from 7 to 5, use 10 times more adjuster than if you were changing the hydroponic nutrient pH level from 7 to 6.

Related posts:

1. hydroponic nutrients and plant growth factors- introduction
2. Nutrients-The Hydroponic Cocktail
3. Basic Indoor hydroponics Gardening Guide – Plants Growth Factors
4. Plant Nutrients Are Important Hydroponics Supplies
5. Basic Indoor hydroponics Gardening Guide – Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions
6. Hydroponics gardening guide – preparing hydroponic nutrient solution, transplant seedlings and taking cutting for clones
7. Hydroponic Nutrients – Intro
8. Plant Nutrients for Hydroponics
9. Hydroponics supplies – Hydroponic nutrients and growing mediums
10. Hydroponic nutrients Gardening Guide – Hydroponic nutrient solutions composition

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