New soil ideas...

"Mixing amendments and all that good stuff", is not really a good idea for new growers....There are amazing organic mixes available....Many VERY experienced growers still use the organic mixes on the market that are designed to give the best results....There are some, again, experienced growers, who do dabble with specialty mixes, but its not as easy as it may sound to get the right blend of ingredients...The thing most important is that the mix can readily give up ALL the proper nutrients in the proper ratios......Playing mad scientist is NOT for beginners....In a long run, its more expensive and very time consuming.... Pre-made mixes are made in bulk so pricing can be competitive.... Stick with quality mixes made for the job....AND YES, perlite is usually necessary to loosen and aerate the soil...Any 'nervous waterers' (over waterers) need more perlite than others...Wet feet for plants is a close second to over feeding for common problems using organic mixes.... Straight organic mixes can hold way to much water if one is not always careful to monitor moisture levels...As always, make sure its drying btwn watering and your keeping your pH in check, AND never start feeding a plant in organic mixes unless it shows signs of needing amendment....This can quickly cause nute burn with smaller plants...the soil is designed to carry the plants needs for some time...let it do that!...dont ANTICIPATE issues and give them any nutes as a preventative thing.....WAIT till they need it....YT

 

I did the supersoil for awhile, still do for my veggies. If you want to have total control of what your plants are fed, I would suggest growing in coco. Small pots, fed often produce some fast growth and good yields. You have to monitor and adjust PH and PPMs to some extent. It’s really easy to dial in. Check out my journal if you’d like to know more.
Soil2Coco’s Indoor Multi Strain Journal

 

Soil2coco is offering good advice....I've been growing hydro forever...did organics back in mid eighties but started with hydro and went right back to hydro...In a nice coco/perlite mix or vermiculite/perlite (what I use), is simple and completely inert....So you can set your nute levels for the size of your plants and pH monitoring is a lot easier....for simplicity, a drain to waste or hempy style containers are easy as it gets and I will put it up against any high dollar dwc set up or flood or drip tables.....Great thing about a soilless drain to waste, is you control EVERY THING....Set your ppm and pH, water and thats it...rewater when they dry out....no reservoirs to monitor, pumps, plumbing....Pic of my current grow in veg right now...but included another pic of last one to show how a hempy bucket produces buds.....cpl close ups of quality of buds it produces....basic hydro is where its at now....only need a bucket with some holes, a good soilless mix and a quality nute....YT

 

Nice setup you have there. I love the frosty pics. Just took some of my White Sharks with two weeks to go. These girls end up covered. I can’t wait to see the GG4 x WW crazy trichs

 

Gotta love the simplicity and results....that white shark is pretty and has WW in it...your gonna love the straight White Widow (ww).....pic of my pet WW....little washed out with the HPS light but it makes a statement on how well simple hydro works...YT

 

The industry hopes that too many dont catch on how well the basics work....Their livelihood depends on ppl not knowing any better and busting out the big bucks for complex systems....I been thru EVERY GIMMICK that came out since my 1st crop in 1979, and been using basic hydro for a long time now....these are just 3 gal buckets set up hempy style...YT

 

Basically yes. Start seeds in solo cups kept moist with light nutrient solution (you can see what I use in my journal), when roots poke through the bottom (about two weeks) transplant to 1 gallon pots. You can stay in these to the end and will allow multiple feeds per day to reap the hydro benefits of coco.

 

P

perlite isn’t necessary in one gallon pots but it won’t hurt either. Better drainage

 

My 2 cents. I start with happy frog soil in 5 gallon pales. I mix in a cup of blood meal bone meal, and Alaskan fish meal. I use high nitrogen mix to start, limits my need to add much during grows. Normally I feed a teaspoon of desired nute around drip line every 3rd watering. Most new growers add way to many nutes and have all kinds of plant issues. More isn't better for nutes. I also use a nice cocco mulch about an inch thick, helps with water retention. Happy frog is a nice base soil, I add some nitro and let her go, the only other nutes I use are lime and kelp meal if needed. Organic growing is fairly easy bro, just don't over due it with the nutes. Pic is of plants in my soil almost done flowering now.

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Figure out container size based on the # of plants you want to use in your given space....You can do anything from plantlets to prunned bushes...plantlets of course can be done in much smaller containers and larger plants up to 3 to even 5 gal depending on how big you need that plant to fill your space...I am not a fan of multiple waterings per day as some suggested....un-necessary extra work...I have a 20 sqft area now and use 6 plants in 3 gal hempy buckets....each is prunned to 8-10 tops....If you DO grow more than just plantlets in 1 gal pots, DO NOT use straight coco...WAY to wet for larger containers....I personally use a 75-80% perlite to vermiculite mix, and only need to water every 3 days and MAYBE every 2 in heavy stretch/early flower...The Hempy bucket design gives you a 2 inch deep internal reservoir to reduce the number of waterings....Its an improvement over straight drain to waste but same principles.....Like always, let your mix dry out btwn waterings...not dusty dry but damp....this promotes healthy roots....Straight coco or something like straight vermiculite have the same water holding abilities and is TOO WET...the perlite substantially loosens the mix and keeps it root friendly.....Its critical to have a loose airy mix when growing soilless...The internal reservoir will keep them drinking....you quickly learn the watering frequency with your 1st crop...as they grow, watering gets more frequent....As far as nutes, I noticed right away that calmag was in your list....If your using the proper nutrients in the proper ratios, ALL OTHER addatives are not needed....there is a huge market with lots of pretty bottles and the manufactures want you to think your plants will be sub-par without their product...TOTAL BS....I use the DynaGro products....they make foliage pro for growing and DynaBloom for flowering...the foliage pro is designed for cannabis and has increased Calcium and magnesium, IN THE PROPER RATIOS, so even if your using R.O. water its complete...they have a DynaGro but lacks the adjusted calmag....THESE are the only 2 bottles you will ever need....ANY experienced grower will attest to the fact that all the additives out are useless and wont improve anything if you start with the right nutrient and use it properly....I wont even use 2 or 3 part solutions with a base nutrient because better single use formulas exist....Why buy a base, veg, bloom and micro bottles when you can buy a COMPLETE mix...One bottle for veg and one for flower, that makes things VERY SIMPLE....AND its cost less than most brand names...a set of TDS and pH meters can be bought for under $30-$40...I've seen cheapo sets for under $20 and their fine to get you going...Low tech items....keep the TDS moderate, pH in check, and allow your mix to dry btwn watering and your growing....It really IS that easy with basic soiless hydro...I'm sure you will get PLENTY of help along the way here...And most of all, have fun with it!!!!.....YT

 

All additives are definitely not useless. I’m not a bottled mute guy but some are necessary. If your not adding silica (strong flexible stems) humic acid (increased nutrient uptake), or have cal mag on hand (when growing in coco), you’re missing out. If not using Drip Clean, you’ll run the risk of salt buildup and lockout or deficiencies arise, usually at the worst times. And if not adding a pk boost during Flower, the plants aren’t reaching their full potential. NEVER LET THE COCO DRY OUT!!! watering every other day as a seedling to let the roots search and expand is fine but multiple waterings brings fresh oxygen and nutrients and provides the real benefit of this system. If your coco dries, it will burn plants from salt concentration.

 

This was more for the OP @Yankeetransplant. As he was considering a setup similar to mine and I didn’t want him to confuse the two, although similar, but very different systems.