Background: My first ever was three plants in my closet using a DWC hydroponic system and a 400 watt switchable light. The harvest resulted in “buds†that were so dry, wispy, and devoid of THC that the whole thing was basically a waste, apart from the considerable educational value. My diagnosis (based on input from colleagues online) is that (1) I harvested too early and (2) my plants were burnt from being too close to the light. I am getting ready to undertake my second attempt at this and wanted to share my thinking. I've got five seeds of Millennium bid left and am determined to figure this out. I would like to share my thoughts with everyone here and see if you think I'm on the right track. Medium: I am going to try a soil grow this time. It seems more complicated in many ways than a hydro grow but I think the logistics of soil will work better, particularly since I want to try LST. (I'm trying to educate myself on organic soil growing in pots. Any resources you might be able to point me towards would be appreciated.) Method: As mentioned, I'm going to try LST to keep everything short and squat and to maintain a relatively uniform canopy. I would have liked to try SOG and tried for an earlier harvest but my understanding is that growing from seed makes this inappropriate. After this grow, I ought to have at least a couple of females that would be suitable for cloning. At that point, I'd like to try ScrOG perhaps. Does this make sense?
It makes a lot of sense, and I think you should be able to do well. It seems like you've learned from your mistakes, which is the first step to becoming a better gardener. A ScrOG is a very efficient method of growing hydroponically, IMO. Soil can be more complicated in some ways, not so much in others. I think soil is a little more intuitive for new growers. Just make sure to stay on your water quality and pH, and start nutrients at a low dose before working up to the full recommended dosage. Problems with nute burn, pH deficiencies, can be more difficult to fix in a soil grow. Some soils, like Foxfarm Ocean Forest - are great for mature plants or clones, but can be a little strong for some seedlings. I've recently had good luck starting seeds in a 50/50 Pro-Mix, FFOF blend with added perlite. Pro-Mix by itself works well, but doesn't contain the nutrients that richer soils do, so plant foods will need to be implemented sooner. Good luck!
It's so weird to hear hydro growers say soil growing is complicated, because I see hydro as more complicated! I gotta agree with the Ocean Forest, I loved that stuff. I don't know if this is universal, but at least in my experience it is way too easy to get N burn, regardless of soil. Whatever you chose to feed with, my tip is to keep it something without a lot of N. For this reason I didn't feed until I saw leaves yellowing and dying on the bottom, signaling the soil nutrients were getting low. The other thing you need to be careful about is watering. Roots need oxygen, so let the soil get bone dry as deep as your finger can go at least before watering. This gives the roots a chance to grow in search of water as well, and we all know bigger roots = bigger plants = bigger buds! If you've gone too long without watering, she'll let you know and a prompt watering will perk her right up, no need to worry when you see she's thirsty. I actually managed to flower, harvest, and then reveg a plant to turn her into a mother for cloning. It took a couple weeks before she was healthy enough to clone from, but once she was right I almost HAD to clone to keep her compact. Just something you might be interested in doing if you want to do clones for a sog or scrog later on. This is what I've learned, so take from it what you wish. Good luck man, I think you'll do just fine!
I just want to make sure I understand. Are you agreeing that the Ocean Forest is too strong for seedlings? If so, would it make sense to mix wit with perlite or am I better off with a different blend like the one suggested by Mr. MJ in the earlier post?
Whoops. Sorry it was late. No I agree that Ocean Forest is good stuff, I used it on seedlings and had no problems. There are so many products and combos that work, I'm sure his works great too.