Hey guys, i went to the store to buy my first soil.. I ended up picking up Miraclegro organic choice potting mix, some garden lime and soil acidifier. Please tell me if you guys think all this is a decent medium? i wont add garden lime or soil acidifier once i see the pH of the miraclegro, than ill add whichever. what u think? *i still havent opened any bags so i can still return it.
How much did you pay for it? Nearby me there's a store that sells ocean forest for 13$ a bag...elsewhere it 20+!!! Even at the 20$ price I wouldn't trade it for shit. I love it most people say its too hot for seedlings, I feel that's bs cuz mine live in it from seed till harvest. You could also always make your own
FFOF is what I'm using for my 1 scrawny clone and granted it's only been in for something like 12-13 hours it seems to be like it still super green no drooping nothing.
I hope you rooted it prior to transplant, I think it may be too hot to clone in but I have never tried, I like rapid rooters first for clones but seeds I put directly in the soil so hell it might work :/
return it. ive grown in miracle grow. if you buy a better soil like ffof the extra $10 you spend on it will definitely be worth it. miracle grow does not drain well and has time release nutes. plants dont get nearly as hearty in my experience, roots dont grow as well, and by the time your plant is done, the rootball is brown and slimey. fox farm ocean forest mixed with a good amount of perlite or extra coarse vermiculite is the way to go! trust me, youll be so happy in the end. i start my seeds in it and use it through harvest. FF Light warior isnt bad for seedlings but upon transplant, you will want to use the FFOF anyways, so just start with that
Home depot does not supply it, but i will look around today. Thanks guys, what else you guys think i should get with some FFOF? im assuming just perlites and worm castings .
perlite or extra coarse verm are definitely good things to have (borderline necessity IMO) worm castings will positively help too, but they arent necessary. my mix is 3 parts ffof, 2 parts perlite, 1 part earthworm castings. it breathes really well and the plants seem to love it
If you bottlefeed, FFOF, anything more than just chlorine evaporated water I don't think that adding all the evtras are necessary, I think it has plent of worm casting, and for me the drainage out the bag is awesome. I also use smartpots...maybe that's y I never have drainage issues lol
yeah smartpots definitely help with breathing. how do you like them as far as growth? theyve been in consideration for quite some time but my local shop doesnt carry them so i havent made the effort to order em. think its worth it? have you ever done a side by side (smartpot/regular pot)?
Hey guys, i just went to the store and picked up some Epsoma Organic potting mix and some epsoma organic perlites. I gave the miracle grow back, do you guys think those 2 items would run me a good medium?
I've been to about 4 different garden centers, 2 were family owned. ALL of them had blank faces when i asked about this soil. So i went with the espoma.
Epsoma products are a great choice and you will be happy.......You may need to add some lime after you check the runoff for the cal/mag and to ph neutral. The only other product I would recommend and you might find locally is Black Gold Natural and Organic....
I did buy epsoma lime , do you think i would need anything else in my medium besides epsoma perlite, epsoma organic soil mix, and some lime? i also have soil acidifier
You should be able to grow just fine with that medium and a good fertilizer.....If you intend to grow true organics using non chemical ferts where you feed the soil and develop a strong microherd that in turn feed the roots I would recommend a few ammendments to add for better results and using a all organic fert......
What kind of fertilizer do you reccomend brand wise? And when should i first start adding fertilizer? during what stage or right away?
That would depend on how you want to grow, chemical or, organics. Organics has a slight learning curve for optimal growing but, the smoke will taste better, be chem free and when you get it down pat with a good soil mix can be just a water only thing most of the time. For seedling and clones their is enough natural fertilizer in the potting soil to sustain a plant for three weeks or, so. When you do start fertilizing you want to use 1/2 what the label recommends to avoid getting nute burn and take it up if the plants look like they need more. As for fertilizer you don't need to spend big bucks to do a good job and get descent smoke. For chemical fertilizer General Hydroponics, Technaflora brands, Home and Garden and Eco(Eco Enterprises) products are all good ferts and priced right. For Organics Dr Earth, Epsoma, Neptune Harvest and Root"s Organics are top brands, but with organics it's really how well you ammend the soil for a super crop.
General organics I fuckin loved that shit... first organic/hid grow with bagseed yielded between 7-8 oz off 7 plants, a little small but they came down 3 weeks early cuz a hermie, GENERAL ORGANICS!!! Check my grow thread for a bud pic from last grow Also my biggest advice to ANY grower...grow with what you believe in. I believe in organics and in turn they treat me well. Just know it can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be.