I'm a 1st-timer hoping to grow a Bubblicious and an AK48 in a totally organic PC micro grow. I hope to turn this into a hobby soon but I'm really busy with work now and I'd like to do this in the least time-consuming way possible, including research time. Can I buy some organic soil, plants seeds, and harvest some nice organic buds in a couple months?
Your going to need to do research. Asking advice is great. Just wanting someone to tell you everything isn't going to happen. There's too much info and with out having some idea, you won't know what to ask. As far as having buds from seed in just a couple months, if you mean 2 months the answer is no, unless your growing from clones, even then 2 months isn't going to happen unless you want really small plants like those grown in solo cups. A seed is going to have to germinate and get through early seedling before veg, that could take up too a few weeks. Then it will have to veg until it reaches sexual maturity and gets to the size you want for the harvest you want. That could take a couple months or more. Then you have to flower, 6 weeks to 3 months depending on the strain most around 60ish days. After that then dry 4days to a few weeks, then cure if you want. A cure can last months. This is where doing some research will help, there's a lot of ways to grow for different growing situations, size of grow and growers preferences. Come up with a game plan and do some research on growing or you will have problems. As far as organic soils there's a ton of information right here. Read the stickies, your going to need the information if you want to grow. Its going to consume time especially at first, till you get dialed in . Theres no way around it. When I first started looking into organics, I learned right away nobody wants to hold your hand but there is a ton of very helpful, knowledgeable people willing to give advice. I'm coming from growing with bottled nutes, so I do have an idea, but still nobody is just going to do it for me. If you want grow with no research on your own good luck, but that's a lot of time and $ to invest only to find out in the end something went wrong that could of easily been prevented with some research. I had too put off growing on my own for years because of time restraints with work and life, I'm glad I did.
Good advice. I'm just anxious to get started without getting bogged down in too much research beforehand. I know what goes into learning how to do something like this "right" and I at least need to be able to break that research into chunks along the way. It sounds like Subcool Super Soil is the way to go since it's organic and only requires watering. Can I buy this: http://www.tgasupersoil.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=624 mix it with some organic soil bought locally and be ready to plant? EDIT: Some more reading tells me that mix has to sit for at least 30 days. Does anyone ship ready-to-go Super Soil? Or is there a good substitute that a local nursery might have?
Buildasoil does, but it's expensive. Any "super-soil" you buy out of the bag ready to go is going to be expensive
http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1116550-Easy-Organic-Soil-Mix-for-Beginners Easy Organic Soil Mix for Beginners Subcools isn't the only recipe that's water only, there's quite a few. Some times there's other supplies more readily available in your area. Check out this thread. That's why I suggested to look around on grass city, all the information your after is already here....good luck man
Yes, the simplest would be to snag a bag of FFOF or ROOTS, or similar and a small bag of Espoma 'tone' and get started. Not what we do, but it will get you started. If you want to go further down the road then you will have to research. Wet
How about a box of the Buildasoil "Living Organic Soil" and then just water until harvest? http://buildasoil.com/collections/frontpage/products/living-organic-soil
That should work fine, but I have no experience with any bought mixes. You will still need some Espoma. There is no mix that will go from start to finish with what's in it at the beginning, not even SS. If you read closely, you transplant into SS just before flowering. You could do the same with the BAS, or just top dress. But expecting four months+- of growth with the same amendments is unrealistic. Wet
I'd go with the BAS before I messed around with subcool's super soil. I would also get 5 lbs of alfalfa, 5 lbs of kelp meal, and 5 lbs of malted barley for teas. I'd say that should get you through a few micro grows. Each of those ingredients can be stored conveniently in coffee containers
SS is touted as "water-only" but if you say that isn't the case then OK. I will have to transplant? So I should either use Espoma or top dress later on? Which type of Espoma "-tone" and should it be added at the beginning? I searched but I can't figure out what is BAS?
Even buying build a soil, your still going to have to do research if you want a good grow with good results. Its not a fool proof method that makes up for environmental issues, such as mold, temp, humidity, circulation etc, and grow techniques, such as those to improve yield. There's security, and I don't mean just keeping quite, I mean keeping smell at bay keeping people from noticing lights. The list goes on, lighting, time schedules, when to harvest, preventive maintenance, such as that for insects or how to get rid of pests if preventive fails and they take hold. Research is a must if you don't want to fail, struggle or only have a half ass grow, soil is just 1 of the factors out of many. Since your growing from seed you could have 5 months or better involved, if it was me I wouldn't want to waste that time. Get the info upfront so you start right upfront. Its a lot easier and cheaper to have things right in the 1st place then fixing things down the road. I still have equipment for sale because I didn't do enough research when I started.
There's no substitute for research of course, but I plan to do it as I go and keep everything as minimal as possible. Can you tell me, should I add Espoma at the very beginning, and which Espoma?
I'm not saying learn everything. From experience, I tried to learn like you're trying my 1st time, it sucks. Just trying to save you the hassle. Research, like your doing now, on the basics needs to come up front. From what I've heard micro grows require more help and attention because the size of the pots don't allow enough to fuel the plant for the grow. Organics work best in 5 gallon+, I know guys who do 3. You might want to find someone who does organic micros and make sure its what you want ....good luck bro.