Compost tea vs foxfarm pros and cons

stiffnuts12

stiffnuts12

Well-Known Member
Trying to get a bigger better grow higher yeild. Would like to know everyones input. Would like to know what works the best.
 
OrganicGorilla

OrganicGorilla

Well-Known Member
Start off your grow with FoxFarm Ocean Forrest soil, and give your plants Compost Teas, Kelp/Guano Teas in flower. Best of both worlds.
 
stiffnuts12

stiffnuts12

Well-Known Member
So no tea in veg? Lol kinda new to this going into mh 3rd grow. Im doing a seaweed/fish fertilizer tea. I can change it up just seeing whats out there
 
OrganicGorilla

OrganicGorilla

Well-Known Member
EWC is another form of compost. It’s actaully the best compost you can use. It’s Earth Worm Casting.
In flower, use a High Phosphorus Guano like Bat or Seabird Guano along with a few EWC/Kelp Teas.
 
Indacouch

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
I had to switch from FFOF soil after years of using it with awesome results. I started getting odd deficiencies without changing a thing. Long story short after trying to figure it out. I found out Fox Farms opened another facility and they use a slightly different mix do to location. Depending where your located you receive from the new facility. I grew some awesome flowers using FFOF and the trio. Taught me lots about feeding. I switched to roots organic 707 soil and the problem vanished. I even ran FFOF the last two years along side the 707. Same shit happend in the FFOF. If I didn't ammend with lime or use Epsom salts or cal mag I was guaranteed deficiency issues. I'm not going to fix an already expensive soil so that it works for me. I've got several large green houses so soil is a big $$$$ item each year. I have been playing around with reusing my soils and even no till in my experimental green house. So far things have done great. I'll have to see good results for several grows before I commit though. Just be watching and ready for this issue.


I do still use BIG BLOOM. The only organic of the trio. I get a smoking deal on huge amounts from my local wholesaler though.

GL
 
stiffnuts12

stiffnuts12

Well-Known Member
I use the ffof but the nutrients by foxfarm i have a hard time with i burn my leaves. i even use a ppm meter. Thats why im looking into the tea.
 
eLite_gRowr

eLite_gRowr

Active Member
When I used to run FFOF and FF trio I ran 70%FFOF and 30% happy frog and ran the trio at 100% this eliminated the burnt tips and grew some pretty damn good buds.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Its hard to compare nutrients with compost tea because they are do very different things. While most forms of compost contain some NPK value the main reason to bubble up a tea is to maintain populations of soil microbes and keep them actively decomposing the nutrients in your mix in order for the plants root systems to absorb it all. Active soil is alive. Nutrients...bottled synthetic nutrients that is....are needed in the absence of active soil microbes as they are already soluble and ready for direct uptake by the roots.
That's not to say you cannot use both nutrients and compost teas but most bottled nutes are made up of dissolved salts that can harm the soil microbes. This is why most organic growers opt for using fertilizers and dry soil amendments in addition to compost teas to maintain their plants. There are also soluble fertilizers like liquid fish that can be used in place of nutrients that work well with compost teas to keep your soil active and your plants green and happy. Big bloom is organic and safe for living soil grows but that's the only bottle from the FF line that is.
stiffnuts12 said:
I use the ffof but the nutrients by foxfarm i have a hard time with i burn my leaves. i even use a ppm meter. Thats why im looking into the tea.
Click to expand...
Best thing you can do is go get a big bag of worm castings or start your own composting worm bin. Earth worm castings will keep your plants happy and healthy with minimal effort. Using the feeding chart with the FF trio usually results in burnt tips; go half strength or less or better yet use fertilizers, compost, and clean water and ditch the nutes altogether.
 
Indacouch

Indacouch

Well-Known Member
stiffnuts12 said:
I use the ffof but the nutrients by foxfarm i have a hard time with i burn my leaves. i even use a ppm meter. Thats why im looking into the tea.
Click to expand...
Richard Drysift said:
Its hard to compare nutrients with compost tea because they are do very different things. While most forms of compost contain some NPK value the main reason to bubble up a tea is to maintain populations of soil microbes and keep them actively decomposing the nutrients in your mix in order for the plants root systems to absorb it all. Active soil is alive. Nutrients...bottled synthetic nutrients that is....are needed in the absence of active soil microbes as they are already soluble and ready for direct uptake by the roots.
That's not to say you cannot use both nutrients and compost teas but most bottled nutes are made up of dissolved salts that can harm the soil microbes. This is why most organic growers opt for using fertilizers and dry soil amendments in addition to compost teas to maintain their plants. There are also soluble fertilizers like liquid fish that can be used in place of nutrients that work well with compost teas to keep your soil active and your plants green and happy. Big bloom is organic and safe for living soil grows but that's the only bottle from the FF line that is.

Best thing you can do is go get a big bag of worm castings or start your own composting worm bin. Earth worm castings will keep your plants happy and healthy with minimal effort. Using the feeding chart with the FF trio usually results in burnt tips; go half strength or less or better yet use fertilizers, compost, and clean water and ditch the nutes altogether.
Click to expand...
This is good info when using the FF trio. I would run the Grow Big and the Tiger Bloom nutes at 1/4 strength and bump up to 1/2 if necessary and it was usually enough to sustain healthy happy plants with no burn. Those two are seriously strong. The Big Bloom isn't going to hurt anything. I use it at suggested general feeding with great results. These companies suggest these high feedings because they want you to use up these nutrients as fast as possible so you buy more.
 
stiffnuts12

stiffnuts12

Well-Known Member
Ya my first grow was all bad lol. I cooked my buds. So i ended up getting a ppm meter and my last grow was way healthier but still had burnt ends. I seen ppl talking about the tea and them saying it takes out all the ph and ppm bullshit. I dont mind it all but at the end of the day i want a great smell and big buds With no burn
 
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