Autflower, Foxfarms Ocean Forest, Happy Frog and Nature's Living Soil Autoflower

[DjBradenburg]

Hi everyone!

I've done a lot of googling and searching these threads on this forum. Currently, I'm preparing to start 4 Barney's Farm Auto Pineapple Express seeds under an SF-2000. I was turned onto Nature's Living Soil Autoflower pack and had some questions on usage with other soils.

I jumped when I saw Ocean Forest without doing much research because I grew it years ago(dumb, I know). I read that it would be too hot for these auto's to do the NLS soil recipe in just FFOF so I bought Happy Frog as well. Now I have Happy Frog and Ocean Forest and I'm wondering if I can combine the too. Obviously I'd be experimenting because I haven't seen a grow do 50/50 FFOF/HF with the NLS but most of the grows I have seen with just happy frog and NLS have run out of nutrients during flowering stage. Also, I bought Cal-Mag, Recharge, and Mammoth P due to the deficiencies in the Happy Frog grows I've seen.

My main question is this. Should I layer the very top with just Happy Frog, and layer the bottom two thirds with NLS and a mix of happy frog and ocean forest? This seems to be the best way to go in my mind, but then again, I'm in the Newbie Central. I really appreciate the help and this forum has been absolutely amazing!

 

[Budzbuddha]

Keep things simple with autos .... no fancy feeding , no fancy bottle Nutes , no flushing.

Autos just need to be happy for about 90 days ( approximately) of life .... that’s it .

All the autos I grow are done on bagged blends only ... water only grows.
FFOF “ can “ be a little rough on some strains / seedlings but they out grow it , as long as you do not dump more shit on top.

1. You can use FFOF in bottom 1/3 of container as “ hotter soil base “ , then top fill container with a milder soil like HF or similar.
Look at light warrior ( highly myco charged ) perfect for boosting rootmass.

2. Or BLEND both FFOF / HF for a simple “ one and done “ mix.

3. Or Fill container fully with FFOF , scoop out “ solo cup “ size pocket at top ..... fill that with a seedling mix ( light warrior / ancient forest / HF / Dr. Earth veg soil or similar ) ... plant seed in that “ sandbox “ area . Let it do it’s thing.

4. Or Run either HF or FFOF completely in container . Good longer lasting mix for regular photo strains . Add more perlite . Add more myco to keep the entire container running on all cylinders. Perfect for large pot containers and long veg times. You can even seed top soil with white clover to supplement nitrogen naturally.

I mod my FFOF with 20% + or - of extra perlite ( #4 or chunk ) , scoop of Great White myco , 10% EWC earth worm castings ....
All in container used . Water at 6.5 ( non chlorinated ) to keep myco alive and go have a beer.

Feeding is ridiculously easy ., when necessary.
Add scoop o FFOF on top , water in ........ simple.

 

[quirk]

That sounds like an excellent soil mix. I use a similar mix with layering as well, with good results.

 

[DjBradenburg]

Thanks so much for the responses! And thanks for the detailed explanation Budzbuddha!

I think what I'll do is mix NLS throughout and only put the bottom third with Ocean Forest, then Happy frog on the upper 2/3. I don't want to get too complicated with my first grow and I already have some organic nutrients I can use as well just in case of common deficiencies, and I feel like I need the experience.

Seriously I really appreciate the help everyone!

 

[DjBradenburg]

Do you think if I used the solo cup method with just happy frog, I could do the entire rest with NLS and 50/50 HF FFOF? Would it be too hot?

 

[Bosgrower]

Do you think if I used the solo cup method with just happy frog, I could do the entire rest with NLS and 50/50 HF FFOF? Would it be too hot?

These are autos, right? They really don't seem to like transplanting/repotting. You might want to consider filling your pot with whatever medium you decide on and use a solo cup as a form to make a HF pocket at the top where you can plant the seed or put a Rapid Rooter.

 

[DjBradenburg]

These are autos, right? They really don't seem to like transplanting/repotting. You might want to consider filling your pot with whatever medium you decide on and use a solo cup as a form to make a HF pocket at the top where you can plant the seed or put a Rapid Rooter.

Oh no, I agree with you!. When I say solo cup method(It's probably not the actual name) I mean to just create a solo cup sized hole in the top center and only fill that with HappyFrog, then put the seed there. Then the rest of it will just be 50/50 HF/OF and NLS.

 

[DjBradenburg]

And yes, they're just auto's. Specifically Barney's Farm Auto Pineapple Express

 

[Rogerlodge]

Keep things simple with autos .... no fancy feeding , no fancy bottle Nutes , no flushing.

Autos just need to be happy for about 90 days ( approximately) of life .... that’s it .

All the autos I grow are done on bagged blends only ... water only grows.
FFOF “ can “ be a little rough on some strains / seedlings but they out grow it , as long as you do not dump more shit on top.

1. You can use FFOF in bottom 1/3 of container as “ hotter soil base “ , then top fill container with a milder soil like HF or similar.
Look at light warrior ( highly myco charged ) perfect for boosting rootmass.

2. Or BLEND both FFOF / HF for a simple “ one and done “ mix.

3. Or Fill container fully with FFOF , scoop out “ solo cup “ size pocket at top ..... fill that with a seedling mix ( light warrior / ancient forest / HF / Dr. Earth veg soil or similar ) ... plant seed in that “ sandbox “ area . Let it do it’s thing.

4. Or Run either HF or FFOF completely in container . Good longer lasting mix for regular photo strains . Add more perlite . Add more myco to keep the entire container running on all cylinders. Perfect for large pot containers and long veg times. You can even seed top soil with white clover to supplement nitrogen naturally.

I mod my FFOF with 20% + or - of extra perlite ( #4 or chunk ) , scoop of Great White myco , 10% EWC earth worm castings ....
All in container used . Water at 6.5 ( non chlorinated ) to keep myco alive and go have a beer.

Feeding is ridiculously easy ., when necessary.
Add scoop o FFOF on top , water in ........ simple.

View attachment 4545333View attachment 4545334View attachment 4545335

thanks for this. Im new at this and dont fully understand your post. What is HF?

i planted 1/3 of 50% espoma organic potting soil 50% NLS. i have plants now 8 weeks in and they seem healthy. early on I overwatered many times, used tap water(7ph) and stunted the two of them. Should i add anything to these plants?

I am about to plants a handful of new plants with espoma and NLS. What recommendation do you have for Other nutrients in my starting soil, ratios of NLS/espoma(ie. bottom 1/3 or throughout all the soil....) of NLS What recommendations do you have during the plant lifecycle?

 

[Pharmer B]

"...3. Or Fill container fully with FFOF , scoop out “ solo cup “ size pocket at top ..... fill that with a seedling mix ( light warrior / ancient forest / HF / Dr. Earth veg soil or similar ) ... plant seed in that “ sandbox “ area . Let it do it’s thing..."-Budzbuddah

You just answered the question I was going to ask as a brand new forum member, and brand new grower still in the research phase.

I appreciate this post because I was thinking with all the debates on Ffof "heat" and HF use to start seedlings, why couldn't a person just scoop out a rootball-sized hole in the permanent autoflower container filled with OF and backfill with the HF?

Learning of FFLW was cool, so I suppose you can still scoop out a hole and fill with LW? Is this a correct assumption? I appreciate the wealth of knowledge on the board, and look forward to learning and sharing lessons-learned. Thanks for having me y'all!

 

[Budzbuddha]

Ffof isnt a magical mix , it just needs to be tempered sometimes. 70/30 or 50/50 or pretty much any ratio should work. Plant just needs to become “ acclimated “ to it for awhile before adding any other amendments. Seedlings plant directly in FFOF can burn upfront sometimes but they will work thru it.

Tip : Add EWC to any of your mixes.

Potassium seems to fall off a cliff after about 3-4 week of flower so amending mix is recommended.
I have added “ seabird guano “ to correct by scratching into top soil during that stage.

I say experiment anyways.