What would be the least amount of amendments for Fox Farms Ocean Forest to make it from veg to flower? Im obviously low on funds at the moment and need to make a water only soil without having to use any nutrients later down in the grow. Availability to a few hydro stores is no problem I just need the bare essentials right now to get a decent recipe mixed up. Appreciate the help thanks.
you can build your own so much cheaper than Fox Farm ocean forest. you would know exactly what's in it and you could use better compost and better castings in it. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1266864-Help-me-build-a-"water-only"-soil.#entry19155291Help me build a "water only" soil.Mj marijuana is nature's way of saying high!
If you are low on funds, don't spend big bucks on FFOF (which isn't a water only soil for the whole grow anyway). There are cheaper sources of higher quality stuff available. Go through these links (at least a few pages) and you'll have a good idea how to start: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1266864-help-me-build-water-only-soil.html http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1239759-soil-mix-help-your-thoughts.html http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/988488-ready-grow-bagged-soil.html?hl=bagged http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/336320-organic-soil-mix-mine.html It may seem like a lot to read, but since the soil is the most important part, and you'll need to do nothing but water afterward, it's worth putting a lot of thought into Edit: Damn you marva, you beat me again!!!
This one. http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/336320-An-organic-soil-mix-of-mine#entry3904004An organic soil mix of mineMj marijuana is nature's way of saying high!
I know fox farms isn't the best but it's all I got left on hand at the moment from my latest grow, and wanted to grow with the bag I got left and add a few amendments to the soil so I can make it from seed to harvest with only water. I seen a simple recipe posted on RIU,a while back. Would a simple recipe like this be effiecent or even work?
mix in some chicken manure pellets and kelp meal and you'll have all the nutrition you need to get you through to maturity. You can also use those same items to soak a fistful here and there and use as teas. Epsoma sells a little 5 pound bag of kelp at most garden centers or Home Depot/Lowes and maybe even Wal Mart. I bet you can find the chicken manure there too. I'd also suggest a topdressing of some worm castings, but with these items Im sure you can get thru the hard times... j
my last water only run with FFOF.. i vegged in the soil straight out of the bag till they were ready to flower. (2.5ish weeks in a solo cup and another 5 weeks in a 1.5 gallon "rose pot") transplanted to a larger pot and added some perlite, worm castings and kelp to the mix... flipped to 12/12. at around week 3 and week 6/7 of flower i top dressed with more castings and kelp (worked into the top few inches of the soil as well) that took me all the way to 11 weeks.. but like the others mentioned.. making your own mix in the long run will work out cheaper and much better quality and less maintenance. (i just recently broke away from the ocean forest myself after about 10 years of growing in it.. you can do it man!!) also.. i'd still suggest watching the PH of whatever water you add to that ffof. but as far as veg is concerned.. you'll be all set without adding anything if you choose. ffof peters out during flower, that's where the issue will be. good luck.. and take some of these folks advice, they know their shit.
Exactly, I want to ammend the soil I have left so I can make it through flower to harvest with just whats in it, But how much EWC, perlite, kelp to say 2 gallons of fox farms ocean forest? Also would I have to add some lime, and would epsoma tomato tone help?
like 1 or so tablespoons per gal of soil of kelp.. a few healthy sized handfuls of ewc.. (may wanna add a bit of perlite if need be, depending on how much ewc you add) i'd imagine the epsoma would be good and will only help. i never added any lime with ffof and those few amendments (someone who knows more than me may be able to answer that better) .. i have only done 3 runs with it like that, and they all turned out well. just as well if not better than using any bottled stuff.
This would get me to harvest with no problems correct? Also whats a cheap ph pen I can get off amazon that is accurate?
it worked for me.. that's all i can really say lol assuming you have a good water source and a solid grow room i don't see why it wouldn't work for you. hannah and milwalkee make good meters.. not sure how much you wanna spend. http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instruments-Electrode-Batteries-Resolution/dp/B0085WOIMQ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1389232246&sr=8-14&keywords=ph+meter good luck man.. and i really suggest having a read around this forum.. the soil building thing is pretty cool. It's not as much of a pain in the ass as i thought it would be (the mixing and storage of the amendments etc) everyone and their uncle has their own soil recipe posted up and all of the stuff gets confusing. Just pick a couple of proven growers and ripoff their ideas it's worked well for me ever since Mr Postman was posting on grasscity. some ffof "water only"buds.. View attachment 1320346 View attachment 1334116 View attachment 1334125 View attachment 1334124 View attachment 1334119
I'm pretty sure the lime is used to correct the acidic pH that peat moss would bring to your soil mix, but since you aren't adding any additional peat moss and the the ocean forest already has oyster or crab meal or whatever in it, you wouldn't need to add more lime. The addition of ewc should help to control the pH if I'm correct. There are a few guys who will be all over this momentarily to confirm or deny lol.
The tomato tone will see you through with nothing else. 2 gallons? IDK if it would even be worth buying stuff for only 2 gallons, the tomato tone is pretty complete in itself. Especially if you're low on funds. Get to harvest, then start thinking of ingredients for doing a decent mix for the next grow and acquire them as funds allow. Wet
I have maybe 3 gallons or so of fox farms left thats why I want to use the last of it but would say some epsoma tomato tone and some worm castings would be the bare essentials to make it to harvest with no problem like defeciencys? Would I need any lime or anything else?
If just flowering, you could probably skip the lime. It does have some oyster shell flour added, just not enough for vegging AND flowering. It wouldn't hurt to add some, 2tbl/gallon of mix. EWC, same deal, couple of handfuls for 3 gallons of mix. Depending on the fund situation and if you are just flowering (8 weeks or so of growth), I think you could skate and just get by with the Espoma. 12 weeks or more of growth is a different story. Wet
Most likely Epsoma "Tomato Tone" and they're kelp meal product they sell is from what I can gather. Other then those few amendments, (EWC, Epsoma "Tomato Tone" and "Kelp Meal" Perlite), what about the water source? Is tap water sufficient or should I use bottled water or distilled? Also, can anyone think of a simple ratio to mix these amendments up into a basic recipe for about 2 or 3, (maybe 4 if I'm lucky) gallons of Fox Farms Ocean Forest?
So for a simple recipe I kind of came to this conclusion just now 2 gallons FFOF Soil half gallon EWC half gallon Perlite 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Espoma Tomato Tone 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Dr. Earth Kelp Meal Possibly a 1 1/2 to 2 cups rock dust Possibly a tablespoon worth or so of Dolomite Lime Mix together and let sit to cook for at least 3 weeks to a month How does this look for a beginners organic recipe mix?