i wanted to do a hydro setup, but i am very limited in what i can get shipped out here... i am currently located outside the mainland so getting nutes shipped out here would prob draw way to many red flags that i want.. with that said i am going the soil route. So basically i will be buying what i need from feed stores, homedepot and kmart. quick background on myself: never soloed a grow, helped with a few hydro grows but not to the extent of knowing the nute breakdowns etc. did a lil reading but not to sure how i should go about this. should i buy micracle gro fertilizer or should i make my own soil from vermeculite and perlite etc? and also what would i need for feeding nutes threw out the veg and flowering stages? i feel like this might be harder then i thought due to the fact that i have no access to actual marijuana grow supplies and forced to mix up my own... i am willing to the do work and research i just dont know where to start.
From what I have heard around these boards stay away from miracle grow. You can build your own organic soil from scratch with all the nutrition your plants will need. The perfect place to start would be right here http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html good luck just follow the first couple of posts made by InTheGarden and you will be all set.
If you are wanting to go organic then I would personally stay away from miracle grow ect..there organic fertilizer are time released and for our fast growing plants prob aint the best, also the stuff they use to make those ferts aren't of a very good standard. I would go ahead and try the feed stores you said you had access too and try get some kelp, alfalfa and what ever else you can get from them as they would be much better amendments than miracle grow.. you could even use stinging nettles and comfrey and those are free.. You should try source some rock dusts and Neem seed meal too. For your actual soil mix you could use perlite and vermiculte as your aeration deal but for your humus source you should defo look into getting some quality worm castings or thermo compost as these are the backbone of your soil. you should also get some coco coir or peat.. Here check out ths thread it will help you out alot better than I could http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html and this http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1111289-rock-dust.html and maybe read through this http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/951823-botanicals.html
You got very lucky that you stumbled into this little back closet of the City. You don't know just how lucky you are yet. There is gardening and then there is natural, healthy gardening that will make you smile when you see the very impressive results that can be had with a simple, well constructed soil mix. Don't get scared by all the different organic materials you see bounced around the board here. Let me ask you this - can you get these simple materials? 1. Worm Castings 2. Compost 3. Pro Mix or Sphagnum Peat 4. Agricultural Lime 5. A "blended", dry organic fertilizer such as Epsoma Garden Tone or Tomato Tone. There are others available as well that are very similar and will suit your basic, beginning needs. If you can answer yes to these items then we can help you prepare a very simple yet highly effective soil that you will need to do nothing to but keep it moist with plain old water from start to finish. Let me know. By buying bottles of nutrients you and your plants come to rely on them and trust me - they are unnecessary and can cause more problems than they are worth. If you can locate these 5 ingredients then you will succeed and as you learn start adding different items as you find them and learn about them but this is guaranteed to get you started on a good road to organic gardening. J
I have to agree with jerry although it may seem intimidating at first but it is really much easier to build your soil than to have to measure out your nutrients and mix them with some water not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it is to pH the stuff! With the materials jerry listed you will never have to worry about any of those things just make sure your using chlorine free water and you are all set just water and observe. This is my second grow and the fact that I no longer have to pH nutrients is so nice I just get a couple of buckets of tap water add some of my organic soil in it leave it out for 24 hrs and when I am ready to water I just get a cup and I am all set. You really can not get any simpler than organic growing no matter how complicated it seems to you at first. If this is your first solo grow it is the perfect time to start no need to spend hundreds of dollars on bottled nutrients when you can get better results and you can reuse the soil you made.
i feel like this might be harder then i thought due to the fact that i have no access to actual marijuana grow supplies and forced to mix up my own... The cannabis growing industry has tried to make this appear much harder than it is. They (the "Nute" companies) have tried, and succeeded!! in making it seem like we need their special magic bottles and products or our plants won't grow well or won't grow to their full potential. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cannabis is not some special plant that needs special nutrients. In fact, it is probably one of the easiest plants on the planet to grow besides Moms spider plants. By gardening organically you will learn to grow plants - not just cannabis. As far as "actual Cannabis growing supplies" go there isn't any such thing, at all, whatsoever. The fertilizer companies may lead you to believe that this is the case but it simply isn't. Can you imagine, just for a moment, what food would cost if farmers needed to buy all those very expensive bottles for vegetables and grains??? Holy shit, we couldn't afford to eat. As far as "being forced to mix your own" this is a ridiculously simple procedure and you I'll be so much better off for having done so. Buying soil is expensive and you have no idea what is in it. Just because it says on the bag what's in it doesn't mean squat - about the quality or the quantity of the various items listed. By mixing your own you are in control and will see the benefits. Wait until you see how stupid easy this is. Welcome to the Organic Growing Forum. J
Like Jerry said you don't need no special nutrients at all.I will be the first to admit I have spend thousands of pounds on nutrients, I have read propably every sales pitch and believed what it said, if it sounded good I went out and bought it. I have stopped that now and just mix up a well balanced mix of organic meals like alfalfa, kelp. neem, guanos what ever...aslong as it's in the soil and had a chance to break down the plant has access to what it needs when it needs it it will grow better than any force fed bottled salt nutrient.. I know this now that i've tried it! and to be honest I didnt think it would be this easy and my walet and my plants are a lot better off now!
You're just a miserable little man aren't you? We're you abused as a child - or, perhaps, you still are a child pretending to be a gardener? Have you ever noticed the many negative comments directed at yourself and wondered why? Jerry.
I'm miserable little man because I corrected you? Get over yourself bro. I know exactly why, because I speak up and against bullshit. I'll survive I don't feed off of peoples admiration like you do, pathetic old man.
Kesey I used pro-mix and lime, my plants look pretty damn good so try telling them that its not a good mix. There is no need to bash on people with different opinions everyone has a different mix that works for them if you do not like pro-mix and lime together do not put it together but if it works for one person it obviously is not harmful.
over the last 3 years promix has started to use less and less lime the ph of most promix out my way is around a 5..
Kesey, why the fuck are you so caustic? If you have a point then make it in an educated discussion. I'm curious about the point you brought up but attacking J at every turn makes you look like a tool. I use pro-mix. I've grown using various methods. I also thought I knew everything until I stumbled in here. I'm open to listen to new (at least to me) ideas, but make your case intelligently.
thanks alot jerry and everyone for your input. I am now so exited to get this under way. i will be going shopping this weekend for all the needed supplies i am sure i will be able to find everything needed. is there a chart or breakdown on the ratio of mixture to make the soil and so on?
Hi Joe. That basic recipe will get you started and it will work perfectly well. I "do" suggest you read around in the Organics forum to continue reading as to the how's and whys that makes organic gardening work as well as it does but in the meantime - First and foremost you want and need quality worm castings and quality compost - these two items can make or break a garden. You also need either ProMix or plain old sphagnum peat. The difference between the two is that ProMix (while still being 99% sphagnum peat) simply has some aeration in the form of perlite and a very light charge of lime. Sphagnum Peat is acidic - thus the lime to balance the pH. If you get regular sphagnum you will want a "liming agent" - whether it is agricultural lime, oyster shell flour or crab meal. A blended organic fertilizer such as Epsoma Plant Tone or Bio Tone or Garden Tone - or a similar blended organic fertilizer. While you are at the store get some kelp meal if you can. The Epsoma company sells little 5 pound sacks of that too. You want to make a 50/50 mix of the castings and compost. Now for ratios - 60% to 70% peat or ProMix. If peat, add 1 cup of your liming agent for every cubic foot of soil. A cubic foot is 7.5 gallons. If ProMix you really don't need it but could use up to a half cup - wont hurt anything and may probably help. 30% to 40% castings/compost Now add 2 or 3 cups (per CF) of the organic fertilizer. If you can get the kelp meal just adjust the ratio so that it totals 2 or 3 cups. Neem cake, crab meal, alfalfa are also great to throw into the mix if you can - like I sad just adjust so that your total fertilizer comes to the 2 or 3 cups TOTAL per CF of soil. Adjust the base soil also as needed - the compost/castings/peat - you don't want it holding water, that's all. It should drain and be "springy" - not clumpy. Now wet it all down thoroughly and set it aside for 4 weeks once its all mixed and wetted. This allows the soil microbes/bacteria the time needed to start to break down your fertilizer and organic matter so that it can be used as plant food. After the 4 weeks you are totally ready to plant. When you mix, think ahead for next time too so mix extra. That's it. It's that easy to get started. Now keep reading in here. This is just the beginning - the very tiny tip of the iceberg. Good luck. J