Howdy Nocto. This thread is about to get a third revision. I've discovered the use of plugs for seed starting and wanted to add what I have learned. My mix remains the same, but I've discovered that if you put your seed in a very moist root cube, then plant the cube in your starter mix, the sprout doesn't so much as budge when watering--very stable. The reason I did away with MGOC is experience. In my opinion the only nutrient suitable for tiny sprouts is EWC. They don't need any nutrition in the mix for the first few weeks, and for the next few weeks, the EWC handles it really well and also puts some biology in the mix. So now my mix is something like this: 40/30/30 Jiffy mix/EWC/vermiculite. Plant seed in very damp root cube and plant cube and unsprouted seed directly into your small pot--4 inch pots or bigger. Give this a try, ya'll. You'll love your result.
what do you think about hydro farm's peat pellets in a dome container sittin ontop of a heating pad on low??
I think they'll work wonderfully, but you'll still need a starter mix. Peat is non-nutritive, so it will only hold your plants for a week or so before they get to wanting a big mac. You won't be able to transplant those pellets into a full strength mix or they'll freak out. They won't die, usually, but you might want to kill them to put them out of their misery.
cool well thats the way im goin this year then! im really startin to get get jacked up with them sleepless nights, goin through all my plans in my head! glad i got the first year of learnin out of the way lol no more rookie mistakes!
How much EWC would I need to use to replace the manure for the final soil mixture? Would it be okay to add neem seed as a topping? Also, do you use this same sort of mixture in your indoor grow for the final stage? I'm using General Organics line of nutes at the moment with 2 part ProMix, 1 part Hydroton. I've seen a lot of improvement after adding just the hydroton. Looking to add lime, and basically stalk you so I can remodel my life. Thanks! Kush
Is it necessary for sprouts to have a dark cycle or could they go 24/7 for the first week or two? Mine are under 2 CFLs.
[quote name='"VTX1800"']Is it necessary for sprouts to have a dark cycle or could they go 24/7 for the first week or two? Mine are under 2 CFLs.[/quote] Well my sprouts have finally started growing past the first true leaves. I might have been expecting too much from them at first. I'm use to growing autos that take off right away, so I was expecting the same thing from the regs. Guess not. I'm now putting the babies outside during the day and leaving them there from sundown till 11:00 than under lights all night.
Does anyone here use coco coir instead of peat moss? From what I can tell they do virtually the same thing equally well, except one is renewable/sustainable, while the other is draining peat bogs that are millions of years old/not sustainable. Is there any noticeable difference with one over the other? I found both a coco coir starter mix at the Mega Home Store and a peat one. A
[quote name='"a206h"']Does anyone here use coco coir instead of peat moss? From what I can tell they do virtually the same thing equally well, except one is renewable/sustainable, while the other is draining peat bogs that are millions of years old/not sustainable. Is there any noticeable difference with one over the other? I found both a coco coir starter mix at the Mega Home Store and a peat one. A [/quote] Check out Ed's coco guide. If you read it from the beginning you will know more than most people about coco. As far as I know coco and peat moss are very different and do not do the same thing in any way.. Coco drains well moss holds water. I grow in coco exclusively and would not use moss for anything.
What do you think of 3parts sphagnum peat moss 3parts organic humus 3parts perlite as a seedling/vegetative mix?
that would work for you, I think. replace the compost with castings and you can also use it for a starter mix.
Ok so I just finished my 1st grow, and I have a few questions regarding how I should start my second grow. To tell the truth I had a bunch of seeds out of a couple of bags collected over a few months that I tossed outside in the back one day. It rained, and the next morning I had 10+ seedlings poking out of the ground. I never went out and bought anything for my babies, just watered them with crappy South Central Los Angeles water from the water hose (the days that I remembered to water). 6 months later I had an ok crop, but one awesome plant. I kept a few seeds that I found in the buds and now I want to do this right. This Starter Mix doesn't have any soil in the ingredients. Excuse me for being a total noob but is that what the 1 cu.ft. of peat is for, the growing medium? I googled the products needed and found all of them in locations relatively close to my area so that's not a problem. How many seedlings will I get out of this Starter Mix, or is this just for one plant? Excuse me for being a total noob, but I'd rather grow Hulk-sized buds (instead of just adding water, literally) and want to make sure I'm getting my information correct. I swear I get an info overload everytime I sit down and start searching for information. I take good notes though so any info offered won't be wasted on me. Thanks in advance GC. Pass it around.
Soil (dirt in the ground) is basically comprised of organic matter and small pieces of rock. With container gardening, typically, the addition of a humus source, be it compost or earth worm castings (ewc) takes a mix from soilless (just peat and perlite, or plain coco, etc) to soil. Add some rock dust and you'll really get it going. Remember too that a starter mix is just for seedlings, and they'll need a more nutrient dense soil as they get older. hth
Thanks for the tip. Hopefully you can answer my second question, which was is that starter mix just for 1 pot? Also, I plan on following Subcool's organic grow guide so I'll be testing out his soil mix for veg and flower.
I'm not sure, I haven't seen the recipe, but if it uses 1 bale of peat moss, no, it's for way more than 1 pot. Check the link in my sig for an easy organic soil mix if you're interested.
Peat has humus and coir dose not...Your going to have humus from the peat but, another sourse like ewc etc is a good addition to any organic medium for keeping the ph in check and providing microbial activity. A good blend is 60% peat and 40% coir plus compost and seed meals etc.... For a starter mix just plain coir hydrated with 2mm of cal/mag and feeding a fish fertilizer when they sprout works well. I was using an emulsion with good results but a cold processed fish fert would be better...Coir dose not have pathogens like peat and is desirable for seedling to avoid damping off and the amount of oxygen the roots receive with coco is great for fast growth.....Once the seedling are established you can transplant into he blended medium......