Hello GC! I've been reading your wonderful forum for a few weeks now, a few hours after work each night gathering as much information as possible (my head asplode!) with the hopes of starting a HID grow in the next few months, however, I'm bored and want to try to put some of this knowledge to use. I was inspired by SexyStaci's Dollar Store Grow Guide, and had a bit of cash left over after bills and food, so I figured I'd try to put some of the knowledge to use. I know the MG stuff is bad, but the nearest hydroponics store is a two hour drive from me. I live in rural Kentucky. Like, real rural. Don't just fry their chickens here, they fight them first. I want to keep what I spend pretty low, since it's not easy shoveling out hard earned cash in hard times on something that may or may not work and I don't think I can let myself save up money for an HID grow and spend money on something that I view as somewhat temporary. If you can't get it at Lowes, True-Value, Home Depot, Wal-mart or any other run of the mill store, I can't get it. I know I need better soil, I'm working with what I could find. I appreciate any and all comments or questions and will respond to them all. OK, so I went shopping From left to right, top to bottom: 6" desk fan - $6 (Dollar General) Miracle Grow All Purpose Plant Food - $4.50 (Dollar General) Growers Tray - $5 (Wal-mart) Peat Pots, 12 ct - $1 (Dollar General) GE 26w Daylight CFL bulbs, 2 pack - $6.97/ea (Wal-mart) x2 = $13.94 MG Organic Choice Potting Mix, 8 qts - $4.24 (Wal-mart) 8" Square Planters - $2/ea (Dollar General) x4 = $8 GE 43w Softwhite CFL bulb - $8.77 (Wal-mart) 6 pack GE 26w Softwhite CFL bulbs - $13.88 (Wal-mart) Brinks Analog Outlet Timer - $4.44 (Wal-mart, close out item) Tyrannosaurus Rex - $0 (Grass in front of Applebee's) Power strip - $9 (Dollar General) <- returned and replaced with $3.37 model from Wal-mart Spray bottle - $1 (Dollar General) Shovel w/ ruler - $1 (Dollar General) Not shown in picture: Y socket - $2.27 (Walmart) Socket w/ electrical plug on the back - $1.37/ea x3 = $4.11 (Wal-mart) Extention cord - $0.94/ea x3 = $2.88 TOTAL COST = $84.40 The way I rigged it up, I'm going to start them in our spare bedroom's closet. It has a shelf near the ceiling, so I took some twine and tied a noose knot at the top, one for each bulb. This way, using the same idea in bra-straps and backpacks, I can make the loop longer, and raise the bulb up. I put two of them on coat hangers with a 'v' bent into the bottom of them so that I can move them from side to side. I'll post some pictures of the set up once the seeds sprout, since I'm lazy. I'll post more in a day or so... hopefully!!! Hoping to get to know lots of you, Peter
your soil should be ok man, its the same stuff i use, i would mix in some perlite with it though, just a thought..
OK, I've read some people saying that it's horrible, but the people that seem to know what they're talking about don't make it out to be the plant killer that some do. I'll buy some perlite next time I go out. I assume I should leave the soil that the seeds are in alone and put it in the bigger pots when I move the plants, right? Do you mix both of your bags or do you mix it before you add it? Also, the nutrients in the MG aren't going to be too deadly, are they? I read that it feeds plants for 2 months, is there a way to wash them away or would that be stupid?
i used that soil for my grow too, which i'm about 3 weeks in on, and had all sorts of trouble with it. make sure you keep it on the dry side while they're young, the nutes are released by water so if you overwater it'll release a ton of nutes and burn/kill the plants. that's what happened to me anyway, i moved to plain top soil now and they appear to be bouncing back. not saying you shouldn't use it, just watch your moisture. if i could go back and use something different from the start i would.
Yeah, It's a mess right now. Every damned seed I put into it sprouts and dies. Are there any soils that are a bit more mainstream that are any good? I can't get fox farms. I can't get anything directly related to growing pot.