fox farms ocean forest advice needed.

[TOMMYCHONG89]

i finally located a good hydro store and purchased some fox farms ocean forest and thought i would get a little advice on mix ratios and additives i might need to add to better the medium before using. does anyone know what i might need to add to this medium? how much perlite should i add? i will be in 1 gal pots until flower then i switch to 5 gals for flower thanks in advance,

 

[jmansweed]

Hey Tommy,

I think FFOF has some pearlite in it already - I would make sure theres lots. At least 30% to 40% pearlite IMO. Some may recommend more. You'll get lots of feedback on this I'm sure. Lots of FFOF users here. It's a solid medium......good luck

 

[pcduck]

I run mine 2:1 with 2 parts ffof to 1 part perlite.

I would transplant 2 weeks before switching to 12/12

I would add nothing to the soil, if you add any organic material to the soil you need it to cook once again. After about 30 days I would begin feeding with teas or nutes.

 

[HipsterDoofus]

I use it Ocean Forest as is, no mixing anything into it. Just remember that Ocean Forest is for established plants. It's too hot by itself for seedling. Use Light Warrior for starting seeds.

 

[TOMMYCHONG89]

what about dolomite or lime? i put some of the soil in a container approx 40 perlite 60 ffof and my ph is testing roughly 7.5ish

 

[pcduck]

What are you using to test pH?

That seems mighty high for ffof as they use calcium for a buffer.

 

[jmansweed]

So before you worry too much about pH consider what your trying to accomplish. With FFOF your goal is building soil life. This soil life will regulate your pH. With a solid foundation of soil - IMO only mess with your pH if you need to identify issues. Once a plant begins to grow roots they interact with this soil life and the ecological system you create has regulatory abilities. I have allot of information on pH and organics. In fact I've been working on an article about this exact subject. If you would like more info feel free to private message me.

Powdered Dolomite is not a bad idea - a few tablespoons per 5 gallon bucket should help.

 

[TOMMYCHONG89]

the phenol red drops is the only thing i have to test ph currently, i plan on buying a meter next week. i spent alot on soil and nutes this week lol.

 

[pcduck]

What nutes are you using?

 

[Hushpuppy]

I wouldn't worry too much about soil PH either as I have found that the runoff is not an accurate reading of the soil PH. I just make sure that my water and/or nute solution is at the right level of 6.5-6.8 before adding it to my plant. I also agree with maintaining the microbe herd when running in soil. I personally would add a soil innoculant like ZHO as it adds another level of microbe life which is best for maintaining PH and feeding the plant.

However a lot of people do like Duck said, and allow the plant to deplete the soil then switch to either organic tea or chem nutes to finish. Its a matter of personal choice so the direction is up to you. I would definitely add some lime though regardless of which way you go.

 

[Rosebud]

For another opinion... I have used ffof for years. I didn't start adding nutes till week four. I never ph anything. Now i do my own soil and use all the old ffof as the base. I do add mycorrhizae as ffof doesn't have any. I thought it had enough perlite. Good luck on a good grow!

 

[skullcandy]

i used it just the way it is i do no it has nutes so i believe straight water for the first five weeks then start with the nutrent like grow big or whatever nutrient you are useing. mine are pretty health and only got some slight yellow tips when i added a nutrient that has a 9-59-8- on npk needless to say i will not be useing that again i did use grow big with just 2 tbs per gallon and my plant went back too green . happy growing :icon_smile:

 

[OldDaddyFedder]

i used it just the way it is i do no it has nutes so i believe straight water for the first five weeks then start with the nutrent like grow big or whatever nutrient you are useing. mine are pretty health and only got some slight yellow tips when i added a nutrient that has a 9-59-8- on npk needless to say i will not be useing that again i did use grow big with just 2 tbs per gallon and my plant went back too green . happy growing :icon_smile:

Second that-About what I did-waited 4 weeks and used gh 3-part. Not bad results, but next time I'm adding microzea and cutting the FFOF 50/50 with light warrior.

:48:

ODF

 

[pcduck]

Second that-About what I did-waited 4 weeks and used gh 3-part. Not bad results, but next time I'm adding microzea and cutting the FFOF 50/50 with light warrior.

:48:

ODF

If you meant mycorrhizal, the synthetic salts in the GH3 will kill the mycorrhizal colony when/if the media dries out to much. I would either stick to organics or synthetics nutes but not both.jmo