How does happy frog compare to ocean forest?

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by poppybgood, Oct 12, 2011.

  1. Hey guys, I've been searching and calling local nurseries relentlessly for the past few weeks looking for pro mix or fox farms products. I finally found a nursery 25 miles away that carries Happy frog, but doesn't have any other fox farms products available. I asked the lady over the phone if she could order FFOF for me/she told me only if I want a pallet LOL!!

    Question: How does happy frog comapare to FFOF. I've seen both positive and negative feedback about the Frog here at GC and elsewhere, but how much difference is there?
    Also, I though the price is very reasonable @ 12 bucks for a 2 cu ft bag.
     
  2. Pulled this quote from a "DROJO" on another forum:

    There are a few differences between HF and OF.

    Ocean Forest
    Ocean Forest is FF's Creme of the crop. Its their highest quality and best selling soil. Its ph adjusted and usually around 6.3-6.8.
    It has high quality earthworm castings, high quality bat guano, fish meal, shrimp meal, crab meal, & norweigan kelp meal. They also throw in sphagnum peat, perlite, composted forest humus & oyster shells. Its a very rich soil and has been known to burn a few plants, but this happens far less than ppl will lead you to believe.

    Happy Frog
    Happy Frogs 2.0 cu has a lower MSRP than a 1.5cu bag of Ocean Forest, and that's because Happy Frog is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to Ocean Forest for regular container plants.
    So to start off, the nutrients aren't as strong in Happy Frog as they are in Ocean Forest.
    Happy Frog contains sphagnum peat, oyster shells, composted forest humus, earthworm castings, and bat guano. Another major difference between Ocean Forest and Happy Frog is that happy frog contains mycorrhizae, and humic acids which as you know roots love. Its rare, but some bags of happy frog have sometimes had unstable ph's so now dolomite lime is also added to Happy Frog for stability.

    You're plants will love either, and some ppl even mix them. Its really up to you bro..

    take it easy



    Hope this helps OP
     
  3. I've used both. I prefer FFOF. Happy Frog must have had mushroom spores, cuz I got mushrooms. I live in the desert, mind, so...

    The mushroom thing didn't bother me that much. Anyway, I grew good bud in both. I've never had probs with FFOF and I grow other stuff in it too. I just like FFOF's particular bat guano and earthworm castings and shrimp/crab meal and that particular color of rich, special lovely shade of deep green that it gives all my all plants. FFOF is top of the line, and doesn't need amending (tho I do anyway)

    But hey, you can grow good stuff from MG if ya know what you're doing.
     
  4. Awesome!! Thanks for the help guys. Do you think 12 bucks a 2ft bag is a reasonable price for happy frog? I'm getting it regardless, since finding anything of quality around here has become a bitch. We used to have a nursery that carried both pro mix and fox farms products close by, but closed down due to the economy. I don't mind having to adjust ph,drainage, etc. as long as the base product is like they claim.
     
  5. $12 for a bag is VERY reasonable,$18 around here. I have 2 friends one uses OF the other uses HF and they both have good results without lime.


    BeZ...V
     
  6. That's good to hear.
     
  7. Wow I feel lucky. I have a nursery about 3 miles from me and she sells me the ffof for $9 a bag.
     
  8. The local kids are all atwitter because of a price war by the grow stores around Portland - FFOF has been selling for $9.00 - oh my!

    It's still overpriced.
     

  9. And for your convenience it's right next to the gnat troll.....MIW
     
  10. Perhaps one of you would care to inform the uninformed as to why you feel the ffof is over priced? Are the ingredients really that inferior?

    Thank you, Sam
     

  11. Around me I can get premier (peat) mix for $9 for a 3 CT ft bale, lava rock is a couple bucks a bag, some homemade ewc and or thermo compost, and a handful of espoma tone ferts some seed meals, crab meal and such and your light years ahead of FFOF, at a fraction of the price, even at $9 a cf of ffof, and your much less likely to have gnats from your soil mix, as ff is famous for. I started a thread on this a while back in fact, and I'm growing in this mix right now. Don't get me wrong you can grow in it, and it's way better than miracle grow, but still, faint praise.......MIW
     
  12. #12 poppybgood, Oct 14, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 14, 2011
    MIW, I have read a few horror stories about gnats swarming out of bags of FF products, but I still have a feeling some of those stories are a bit exaggerated. Not to say the product may be chocker block full of eggs waiting for the perfect opportunity. While we are discussing soils, I had posted in another thread the mix I made, plus a large transplant nursery right down the road that produces their own soil.BTW, when I got a 5 gal bucket of their product, I didn't see a single flying critter come out of it. So here's what I concocted- tell me if this sounds better than the happy frog. I may save my gas money and take a fishin trip instead.

    5 parts spaghnum peat.
    5 parts meduim perlite.
    1/2 part coarse river sand.
    1/2 part vermiculite.
    From there I mixed the local nurserie's potting mix 50/50 with my soilless mix. I didn't get ratios from the guy, but I'll do my best to remember what all he told me goes into it.

    Cow manure.
    Rejected peat(I'm assuming he meant from busted bales they can't sell).
    grass clippings.
    oak leaves.
    very small amount of pine bark and deciduous wood chips from their chipper.
    All grades of perlite.
    Very small amount of sand.
    The shit was really chunky, so before blending with my soilless mix I sieved through 1/2 inch mesh, but kept some of the larger stuff to the side to re-introduce back to my mix.

    Does that sound any better than FF? I mean the local nursery mix smelled like heaven to me, very earthy and it was completely done cooking off. How much better can it be if there's actually earthworms and redworms living in the mix already?

    Edit; I can get the local product for 15 bucks for a scoop(front end loader) It takes approx 2 scoops to fill the bed of a standard pickup level to the rail.
     
  13. Poppybgood and wise to buy the local mix......
     
  14. I'm thinking I may do just that MIW. I transplanted my chronic starters into the mix yesterday, and it's already like night and day.. Now they are green as their supposed to be after only 24hrs.(They were the ones I nearly killed with chicken shit). I didn't make much of the blend I mentioned earlier, and was planning on buying enough happy frog to flower them in. However, I may just get some more nursery mix and more peat and perlite, and amend with just a tiny bit of bone meal and a pinch of chicken. The guy at the nursery told me the nutrient value was dead nuts for transplants and now I believe him. I think cutting it down like I did is going to be the ticket for indoors. It's been so long that i've grown outdoors from start to finish, that now I'm paranoid as hell about too much nutes, especially after what I did to my starters with the chicken manure.
     
  15. I transplanted my chronic starters into the mix yesterday, and it's already like night and day..

    Poppy, once you start mixing your own soil you'll never, ever buy pre-packaged/commercially mixed soil again.

    The further you get into organics you realize what a better job that you can do vs. the commercial bulk (Foxfarm) companies, it gets even more fun when you start seeing better results than you ever could have with store bought pre-packaged soil.

    Good luck! :)

    jerry.
     
  16. Im a new grower as well and have used both happy frog and ocean forest and I am looking into alternatives at the moment (more like keeping an eye out) but I've decided to mix happy frog, ocean forest and light warrior by mixing a bag of each and throwing a little perlite in the mix. So far it's been good but I have yet to produce some end product yet so I'll see how it goes but I doubt the results are going to be bad due to the soil in any way.

    I pay $24.?? A bag for OF. $22 a bag for HF and $25+ a bag for light warrior. So you guys got it made at those prices.
     
  17. Fungus gnats in my FFoF a few weeks ago. Finally under control with a few neem soaks. I can't bash fox farms though, who's to say they didn't get in there while they sat on the pallet in the hydro store.

    Never tried hf but of seems to keep my girls happy.

    I'll also add that it wasn't a swarm, less than 10. I noticed larvae in my runoff which really freaked me so I neem flushed and no more live larvae in runoff.
     
  18. #18 rain dancer, May 10, 2014
    Last edited: May 10, 2014
    Great post.

    I know the threads old but the information is new to me.

    I jus picked up 2 bags of happy frog To mix with one bag of ocean forrest and some perlite :D
     

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