question about soil mixture

[EsC420PoT]

Ok, I believe i'v asked this once before, but believe me when I say i'v looked everywhere for the post...And then soon thought, meybe i'm just stoned and never posted this before? Ne ways, here it is. Ok, so i'm growing soil for my first "Partnership" grow, and i'm curious if it's necessary to mix a bunch of stuff in to my Fox Farm Ocean Forest blend. And if so, what should i mix and the percentages? As far as the ppl i'v talked with (as well as the hydro store guy) They tell me that all I need to do is use this soil, and after about 2 weeks, start adding nutrients to your watering, and from there on out water with nutrient water? Is this going to work good? Because i can't help but read all these people doing crazy *** soil mixes with perlite and worm castings and whatnot. I'm curious is it even worth it? And if so what should i mix in with my ocean forest fox farm? BTW I use Super Natural Brand Grow Terra (came very highly recommended from the hydro store, and have used it with good results in hydro. (fyi I bought the soil version of the super natural nutrients, I'm not using hydro nutes for soil lol) Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[BackWoodsDrifter]

Sorry friend cant be helpin ya gots my own brand and mixture and cant get this here fancy fox farm stuff I be livin. Ifin yu were startin out fresh never to buy before could recommend some good stuff mixed workin great fur me. Good luck partner hopin yur trails all end well.

BWD

 

[Wetdog]

There is a 2 page thread 1 or 2 pages back on this very thing.

I roll my own and have never bought a bagged mix, so I can't comment.

I DO know that my mix is way beyond anything that you can get in a store, regardless of cost. Cheaper too.

Wet

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

The purpose of super soils like nv's is so that the soil feeds the plants the entire grow and you do not have to add other nutes, just water.

I have just started my first batch of the stuff.

 

[Old_SSSC_Guy]

I always amend FF soils with either perlite or FF 'Soil Conditioner' (good stuff) at the rate of 1 part per 4 parts soil. It stops compacting and hard pan of FF soils, which can be rather fine in grade so they get really dense over time. Adding the extra part gives really good drainage and aeration.

Tried the Ocean Forest stuff and it burned my plants - but know that lots of other folks use it all the time without problem. I stick with FF Happy Frog and the above mix and never had anything to complain about.

 

[EsC420PoT]

The purpose of super soils like nv's is so that the soil feeds the plants the entire grow and you do not have to add other nutes, just water.

I have just started my first batch of the stuff.

HEY HEMP! long time no msg! Ya i hear ya, but I don't mind watering them with nutrients. But, if i can do anything to the soil that can benefit my potency or yield, then i wanna know! lol. What you mean by that last part>started a batch of FF soil plants?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

:ciao: Hi!

Not FF, I started a batch of nv's super soil. It has about 15 ingredients that have to be mixed and allowed to "cook". I am hoping to be able to transplant the seedlings I have going into party cups today. I figure that by the time they get big enough to transplant again the super soil will be done. This is my first foray into dirt in many many years and my first into organics. So I feel like a complete newbie.

 

[ston-loc]

Started a batch of NV's super soil is what she was saying I believe....

Doh, she beat me to it

 

[EsC420PoT]

:ciao: Hi!

Not FF, I started a batch of nv's super soil. It has about 15 ingredients that have to be mixed and allowed to "cook". I am hoping to be able to transplant the seedlings I have going into party cups today. I figure that by the time they get big enough to transplant again the super soil will be done. This is my first foray into dirt in many many years and my first into organics. So I feel like a complete newbie.

Lol right on, well I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that

LOL and funny ston-loc.

Welp I'm going to be gettin all the FF soil and everthing tomorrow. Leme know what you think I should mix in with it and what measurements. Otherwise, I guess i'll be going with plain FF and watering with nutes after the first couple weeks.

 

[getnasty]

Hey bud,

FFOF has a lot of the ingredients mixed into it that you read about in those threads, but not in the same quantities, and not ALL of those ingredients are in FFOF. But what I'm saying is that amending FFOF to create a basic soil mix for planting is very simple, because it already has some of those things in it. As stated already, perlite is what you're looking for. It aerates your roots, giving them more oxygen, and prevents the soil from compacting, thereby reducing your drainage capabilities.

What I did was mix, as recommended above, 3 parts FFOF to one part perlite. And, twice, while I'm filling the bag, I'll pack the soil down lightly and add a scattered layer of dolomite lime (keeps the pH level of your soil balanced). I'm using makeshift smart pots (fabric grocery bags) with this soil mixture, and I'm watering every 2 days. The soil stays moist for an adequate amount of time, and also has just the right amount of drainage. Never have to worry about overwatering.

 

[getnasty]

Oh, and also, I was warned pretty extensively by many seasoned growers on these forums, not to use nutes until approximately the 5th or 6th week of vegetation, or to start a week before you flip them over to 12/12. People here have told me that watering with nutes before then could quite possibly cause more harm than good, because FFOF is supposed to contain enough nutrients for the vegetative period.

 

[EsC420PoT]

awesome. Well i plan on only vegging for 4-41/2 weeks... Unless the strain i get needs longer. But awesome getnasty!! This is exactly what i was looking for! I'll do this same mixture, and only use nutes for the flowering.

Also, another quick question, is for at first with clones, i planned on putting em in 1 gall buckets to start. Would this be efficient? And to how long after should i transplant and into what size bucket to be transplanted into? I can't remember something like, add a gallon per month?? Thanks

 

[The Silver Bullet Special]

I don't mean to hi-jack this thread it seems to have gone dark though. What nutes are you guys using and how often do you apply it to your soil; like once a week or every other feeding or every feeding? I did all my homework on hydro and know nothing about soil feeding and it looks as though I will be going with soil because of heat problems with my attic when I get things up and going for my first grow ever. Sorry for the nooby question and I havnt been able to find much about adding nutes to the soil; and the differences between organic and non organic; as in do I need to flush non organic and how does not flushing actually effect flavor when smoking?

 

[Hushpuppy]

The thing to remember with nutrients is organic uses unchelated (raw) materials and has microbes in the mix or in the soil in order to "chelate"(or process) the raw materials into nutrients that the plant can take in. Nonorganic uses man-made nutrients that are manufactured from raw materials so that it is already "chelated" and will be available to the plant as soon as it hits the soil.

Any time you use soil where you are ammending it with bat guano, worm castings, green sand, etc. these are raw materials in nature and they cannot be absorbed by the plants in their present form. For them to be absorbed, they have to be broken down into smaller molecules. That is done by the microbes in the soil. This is the same process as when people make compost piles (or mulch piles) in their yards and throw all grades of organic materials (like grass clippings, egg shells, coffee grounds, and vegetable waste) into the pile. Over time the worms, fungus, and other microbes decompose this material into a rich soil.

Some people like to use soil that is basically unammended with any extra nutrient materials so that they can ammend it themselves or just use "chelated" nonorganic nutes to feed the plants (manually as is done in most hydro setups). One of the newer techniques is to start out in organic soil that is either home-made or store-bought, but then the plants are fed manually with a home-made or commercially made "nutrient tea".

The feeding schedules and techniques for the different setups will vary greatly with peoples' individual grows (even for grows that are almost identical). All techniques applied to grows have to be customized to that specific grow so that it fits with the environmental factors, grow methods, and personal prefferences.

 

[The Silver Bullet Special]

So basically I get a soil thats already good to go like FFOF or something along those lines and then I could still use GH's Flora 3 part series for feeding the plant onces deficiencies start showing (or start feeding before hand) and adjust to flowering when the time comes? Also does adding dolomite lime bring the ph to a good range in soil and keep it there through the whole process. I've been tryin to learn a crash course in soil growing the past 2-3 days (been stuf on hydro research too much work at the moment)

 

[pcduck]

FFoF has enough organic matter to feed your plants for 30 days or so. After that you will either need to feed the soil or feed the plant. You can begin feeding the plant using GH3 after 30 days or so if that is the route you are going to take. I feed the soil with teas and molasses after 30 days.

I always amend my soils with dolomite lime. Besides stabilizing the pH it is also a good source of Mg and Cal.

 

[The Silver Bullet Special]

Okay cool thanks, about how much do you use per parts of soil? I'm not sure how true it is but I've read that the molasses and/or sugar helps yield and tric formation as well as flavor of the buds?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Okay cool thanks, about how much do you use per parts of soil? I'm not sure how true it is but I've read that the molasses and/or sugar helps yield and tric formation as well as flavor of the buds?

There is debate about the benefits of molasses...pretty much it simply helps the microorganisms in organic grows. I never had any better results in hydro using any of the "sugar products" that were supposed to increase yield/tric formation. What you water with will not impart flavor to your buds.

I am growing organic using NV's supersoil. I do not have to really add nutes at all, although I do treat the girls to a little molasses and nutrient teas every once in a while.

 

[The Silver Bullet Special]

I searched it and is this the mix (I would have quoted his post but not sure how it works yet not enough time to play with the features of the site)

18cf organic soil or Pro mix or the like
2cf rice hulls
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, soybean meal
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, alfalfa meal
10lb's bone meal
18 cups Dolomite lime
4lb's epsom
6lb's rock phosphate
5lb's Azomite
1c humic acid
6lb's kelp meal
6lb's green sand
8lb's Bio-tone/Plant-tone(depot)

and is there a cook time for it? (nvm it was explained in the thread above haha)

 

[pcduck]

and is there a cook time for it?

I let mine cook for 30 days.