started a grow with organic soil mix. It wasn't a complicated mix and things went well just before the flip, then small deficiencies seemed to multiply to the point that I realized, I didn't pull this grow off well. I just mixed another batch of this soil thinking that things seemed to be doing ok(not great but ok), but now I wish I didn't. Anyways more power to you growers that can just use water and get great thriving plants. This has not been my experience. Seems there is a lot of different recipes for soil out there. I use a SIP irrigation platform but I don't think that is the problem but could have contributed....
I used dolomite lime and the plants have plenty of nitrogen. PH is good b/c of the Dol Lime and I PH the water so I am leaning toward a P and K problem....hence I want to know if many organic growers use Green sand?
No bc I want to go toward less work. I thought if this grow was good, next round I would go with straight tap water no ph adj
I would be suspect of using pH adjust on water when trying to grow organically in dirt. If your water is so bad you have to add chems, I suggest trying better water. os
I would focus your time on sourcing high quality compost and/or vermicompost or producing your own. Water-only grows are really only possible by front-loading the work through composting, vermicomposting, or taking the time to find a good source for the stuff. To have a productive, low-maintenance garden you have to have a healthy soil, and great compost makes all the difference in the world.
OP what size pots have you used? how long did you veg? it could just be a case of not enough soil for the size plants you had to support a water only grow. what exactly was the soil recipe you used? also, could you elaborate more on what went wrong? pics will help too.
Sure, thank you for asking I am using sip irrigation with #5 SMART pots the mix fills 2 pots Started with 1/2 bag of ffof Added 4 pts of compost, 2.5 acts vermipost, 8 qts perlite, 1 cup dolomite lime, 1 cup dr. Dr. Earth Bloom fert. Veg for 5 weeks...scrog set up I have many areas of different maladies ....some areasvlook like ph probs, some look like P and or K def areas of necrosis. No insects detected With the dolomite lime and phing water I think that ph should be good(ph to 6.8) and lock out not a problem....this mix seems very reasonable.....all good stuff to feed plant. If you have a recipe for sip grow that is tried and true, I'm all ears. My next batch is cooking now for next go around. If I'm missing something, lmk. I am thinking that the veg is too long for sip since roots are growing out bottom of pots into perlite. Since I am using plain water the roots are probably drawing from rez more than soil in pot and plant is not getting nutrients...plant taking water from area of least resistance if that makes sense. When I use nutes, this isn't a problem bc the rez becomes more like traditional hydro. This is just a guess though. I am going to add nutes to rez to test this theory and see if I can salvage grow. I am learning and really want to go water only eventually.
Sorry for assuming. I've never tried BU's myself but have heard good things. I don't think they let it cure for very long before it is packaged and sold, however. I think that you and scoob are on the right track. 5 weeks is a long veg time for a 5 gallon pot. Generally, the bigger soil volume you can afford the better your experience will be. The easy organic soil mix recipe or the recipe given in the no-till thread are both great for SIPs.
^this bigger pot with that kind of veg time. i would say 10-15 gallons if you want to go water only. the recipe on first post of the no till is what you want (with an added 1cup/CF of lime to that recipe) No-Till Gardening: Revisited
Iv been using the no till recipe and its working well. I am just using plain water not phd it sits at around 7.6 out of my tap. I run 2 x 6 gal pots in a 3x3 scrog an 4 in 4 gal pots in a 3x3 which i flower at a foot tall in a perpetual thingy. Just water again. With the odd microbial shot mixed in. If they ever do look like they need a feed i give a kelp tea. On my last round one special queen had a serious def but iv just amended the soil with some blood an bone meal, kelp an org fert for the next plant going straight in. As for the scrog i had an iron def during veg but solved it and now its powerin thru flower. Seems to be a good recipe to me the no till one
^^^This^^^ When "Bu's" first hit the market it was pretty good for a bagged mix but as with anything in a supply / demand paradigm, the quality has gone way downhill IME. It's just high priced cow shit IMO......oops "dairy compost". At $40.00 cu/ft on Amazon Prime for Bu's, it's a non starter from my perspective. Start a worm bin and you'll take your gardening to new heights. Hiya @donothinggardening Hope you're well and killing it in school my friend
glad you guys are doing well with it. I have a thread in the Indoor section if you care to peruse it.