[GpsFrontier]

Hello Davephan,

I don't have a way to measure pH yet. I plan to buy a pH testing meter and testing strips.

Personally I wouldn't waste money on a pH meter or pH litmus strips. Even good electric meters can give false results even when taken care of and calibrated properly, and good ones are expensive. litmus strips tend to be to hard to get a good accurate reading. I'd recommend using pH drops. Their similar to litmus strips in that you read the color, but the drops will give you a much more accurate color reading. Even if you do choose to spend the money for a electric ph meter, make sure to get some pH drops to double check the readings if there is any question of it's accuracy. I wrote this: pH test kits versus electronic pH test meters about it.

I was wondering how critical pH is for hydroponic gardening.

pH is very important, it's the difference between healthy plants and plants with deficiency. Plants are only able to absorb certain nutrients when the pH is within a specific range. When the pH is out of range, the plants cant absorb the nutrients in the nutrient solution no mater how perfectly balanced or concentrated it is. When the plants can't absorb the nutrients, they begin to suffer deficiency.

If I just took tap water, let it sit overnight or a couple days, then attempted to use the water without testing the pH, would the results be significantly worse than if I waited until I purchase a method to test the pH.

There are two parts to this question. First, naturally it depends on how far off the pH is, and how long you wait. A few days, a week, I wouldn't worry about it, multiple weeks I would wait till I was able to test pH. However if the pH is real high, it wont mater when you adjust the pH, the damage to the nutrient solution will already be done. When the pH reaches above 7.0 and higher calcium and iron molecules/ions will bond, when they do, both calcium and iron that have bonded will be unusable to the plant. This bonding cant be undone, even if you lower the pH to the right range.

Second, using tap water may be a problem as well. Most water supply's are high in some dissolved minerals like calcium, manganese, iron etc. etc. These excess minerals through off the balance of your nutrient solution. And Again here when calcium and iron concentrations are high they want to bond together, even when the pH is in the right range. Sometimes this iron and calcium bonding is refereed to as "fall out" or "precipitation."

How much of a difference does adjusting pH make? Is it a huge difference? Or a minor difference? I'm guessing it depends on how far off the pH to the ideal range.

Yes, that would absolutely depends on how far off the pH is. The farther out of range it gets, the less the plant is able to absorb the nutrients. 0.5 out of range not that bad, 1.0 or more out of range not good. Above 7.0 not good, unless it's a specific plant that does OK between 7.0 and 7.5 like some hot peppers. But in general you never want the pH to go above 7.0 because iron and calcium will tend to bond.

I understand the recommended range for tomatoes and peppers is 6.4 to 6.7.

Not only is that range a bit to small, it's on the high side. Tomatoes 5.5-6.5, Peppers 5.8- 6.5. In short both will do well around 6.0. Almost all hydroponically grown plants do great around 6.0. For Hot peppers you can increase the heat by increasing the pH, but if you have other plants in the same system the other plants will suffer.

Is there a difference between the taste of hydroponically grown produce verses soil grown produce? I've experienced a huge improvement in taste from my soil grown tomatoes and peppers, compared to the grocery store tomatoes and peppers.

Ah, the debate question. The real answer is that depends on you. It depends on how well you take care of your plants, the nutrients you provide them, whether you bother to check pH and how often, environmental factors and stress, in short the attention you pay to your plants. Flavor depends on whether the plants get the nutrients they need, and if the plants are stress free and healthy. You have a lot more control over the plants environment, nutrients, and thus stress levels when you grow them hydroponically than if they were grown in soil. It's up to you whether you do or not, and how well you take advantage of it or not that will determine flavor.

As for the difference in taste between tomato's you grew in soil yourself and what you buy at the store. That has to do with shelf life. You need to remember store bought produce is picked early before it's actually ripe and had a chance to develop it's full flavor. That's done to prolong it's shelf life. The stores cant sell soft, bruised, or moldy fruit, so they need them to last as long as they can before they get soft so they will sell before they have to through them away. Ripe tomatoes will get soft in 1-2 days, and peppers not much longer. When you pick your tomato's and peppers at home you don't pick them before their ripe and place them on the counter or in the fridge, then wait a week or two to eat them I'm betting. You pick them when their ripe and eat or use them within a day or two. That's why there's such a big difference in taste between what you buy at the store and grow yourself.

I mean think about it, everybody is guilty of it, including me. When you go to buy tomatoes (any produce) at the store you feel them to make sure their firm and not soft or bruised right. The reason their firm is because their not ripe. But if their soft you know they wont last long and seem like their even rotting, so you choose the firm ones. When you pick them at home they are softer than the ones you buy at the store, but you know their fresh, and your going to use them right away anyhow. They taste much better because you let them actually ripen before you picked them. If the store did that they would have to throw them away by the time they got to the store. Just the bulk weight alone would squash the ones on the bottom of the pile right away. All that would be left by the time they got to the store is tomato sauce. But we are all so used to the bland tasting produce we buy from the store, that's it just seems amazing when you taste home grown produce. Night and day.