FFOF ( Fox Farms Ocean Forest ) made Simple - Autoflower

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Nice! I’d just finish them out with a week of molasses and water and just water until chop
I just brewed up some banana peels and molasses. Honestly looked good enough to drink myself.
I did notice the very top of my tallest cola has some tiny sugar leaves that don’t look so well. They’re yellow w/ burned tips and twisted around like a corkscrew. I assume it’s a little too much Tiger Bloom/Beastie Bloomz for it to handle. This last round I stepped it up to around 80% of what Fox Farms suggests in their feeding schedule.
My arm won’t have to be twisted to move away from the bottled nutes on my next run.
I guess I’ll see how fast these gals finish up and feed them accordingly.....but no more Tiger Bloom for me.
 
I really appreciate this thread. I haven't ever grown anything in my life and I was having a very rough time with even getting started before I came across this thread. I now have 2 plants that are approaching week 4 of growth and I couldn't be happier! I have some questions about adding nutes as I am on week 4 and the plants have started budding for about a week now. I have megacrop (v3 I think? It says 9-7-14 on the package) and sweet candy. Do I mix the megacrop with water now and pour it in or do I just sprinkle it on the soil? That question probably sounds dumb but I appreciate the insight anyone can offer. I added more ffof soil about a week ago when it started blooming. I just added it to the top of the soil. Is that enough or should I add the megacrop? I am so afraid I am going to mess them up now and they are doing so well! Also, if I do add the megacrop to water to feed the plant, would I adjust the ph to 6.3-6.5 after I add the megacrop or before? Should I be adding the sweet candy now too or just megacrop or just sweet candy (or neither if just adding ffof to the top is enough). I am sorry if these questions have been answered before, or if they sound dumb. I am just confused.
 

GarageGardener69

Well-Known Member
If it’s going good let it be. Do not add ferts yet. I’m running same set up and just top dressed my soil the other day. Plant will tell you when she’s hungry Any pics?
 

LewberDewber852

Well-Known Member
This thread was created to help those who seem to overthink the ease of use of this highly ammended bag soil. I see many growers both new and experienced seem to post “ issues “ when trying to run this medium.

I am merely showing a simple no frills method of container / bag grows for autos. Since feeding requirements will be for average 90 ( + or - ) day average for autoflower growth , this will fit it perfectly.

No multi bottle nonsense ... No special water requirements ( use tap ) ... No boosters


FFOF is one of the most complete “ off the shelf “ bagged medium one can by ..... ready to use alone.
Other growers I talked with , mentioned regional differences among stock.

Ingredients: Composted forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, Pacific Northwest sea-going fish emulsion, crab meal, shrimp meal, earthworm castings, sandy loam, perlite, bat guano, granite dust, Norwegian kelp, and oyster shell (for pH adjustment).

Medium is prebuffered to 6.3 .

View attachment 4395504

I will list 2 versions of soil setup .......

1. Plain FFOF soil run only
2. Pelletized dry nute ammended ( self feed )


Begin with the final container size you wish to run ...... I run 1 gallon SOG bags and 3/5 gallon plastic black or air pots ( air prune ). Smart bags will work also. You will be planting directly to pot. You can also grow a seedling in a solo with a seed starter mix and plant as plug into this medium too. But for this , I will show you that FFOF is not quite as hot to seedlings as some report.

You will NOT be feeding the seedling at all with outside Nutes. It will feed on its own from the medium only and will acclimate “ faster and easier “ than dropping more Nutes on top of this charged medium.

Water :

TAP
( whether allowed to vape off 24 hours or not ) it will work. No RO , distilled , holy water , unicorn sweat or other “ special “ water sources. Your ONLY REQUIREMENT is to PH correctly.
PH range for entire autoflower run : 6.3 to 6.5 ( No more No less ) .

Soil is pretty aerated on its own but works much better with added perlite. I tend to shoot for 25% minimum more by volume of medium used.

I am using a simple 1 gallon grow bag for a SOG grow of 9 plants for a tent I am running. However adjust your volume of perlite to container size you choose.

View attachment 4395521 View attachment 4395522

Your mix should resemble something like this ....

View attachment 4395524

This bag is half filled AND HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN RUN TWO DIFFERENT VARIATIONS.

1. Fill remainder with same mix .
2. Add a tablespoon of Dry Fertilizer ( Dr. Earth 5-5-5 or megacrop 1 tsp ).


When running FFOF solo .... I merely MIST this half fill with water to hydrate it , then cover fill to top.

For Dry Ammend : I am using Dr. Earth LIFE fertilizer ( 5-5-5 ) or Megacrop
This method is similar to Canucks grow method using dry fertilizer and coco grows he does with autoflowers.

Note : I found Dr. Earth LIFE at the 99¢ ( half off ) in 1 gallon bags ! .... needless to say I grabbed a few .
Dr. Earth Fruit and Veg and Flower Girl are both good options also.

For some LED grows : CalMag “ may “ be needed occasionally and will only need be added 1tsp per gallon of water before use.

View attachment 4395530 View attachment 4395531 View attachment 4395533
View attachment 4395541

FFOF by itself will carry an auto for weeks on its own ........ on water only. The pelletized feed will self charge and supplement myco as plant moves thru bloom. The alternate method is merely top dressing FFOF in those grows running bag FFOF only.

I do not flush or leach medium upon final weeks ..... I merely continue watering requirements.
NO FRILLS .

You will find the plants prefer feeding on its own terms instead of dumping a brew all over it .

Just keep your PH in range and you will see how well this bagged soil does.

Hope this helps. PEACE.
This does help!
Thanks and I am grateful you brought this into existence!
I have 2 questions if u wouldn’t mind,
1) Approximately how much water runoff while using this as a primary medium? I don’t wanna lose all the goodies in the soil.
2) Why is cal/mag recommended for “some led grows?
Sorry if u already answered these questions somewhere in this thread.
Thanks man.
 

El Duderino Yanez

Active Member
This does help!
Thanks and I am grateful you brought this into existence!
I have 2 questions if u wouldn’t mind,
1) Approximately how much water runoff while using this as a primary medium? I don’t wanna lose all the goodies in the soil.
2) Why is cal/mag recommended for “some led grows?
Sorry if u already answered these questions somewhere in this thread.
Thanks man.
yea, this thread really was a game changer for me as well…I’m no pro and don’t know the science too well but it’s just more common for plants under led’s to run into a cal/mag (not even sure which) deficiency vs. other types of lights. LED’s are still the way to go though IMO.
As far as runoff, you’ll hear a few different answers with as far as RO though I believe your on the right track in your thinking that you don’t wanna wash away your goodies, I think a lot of RO is more important for synthetic nutrients. I run just to a tiny bit of runoff so i know I’ve soaked the whole pot. Like I said, I’m still on my first run so I’m no pro but I hope that helps. :leaf:
 

LewberDewber852

Well-Known Member
Yea the reason I was asking is bc I’ve ran into issues on my last couple runs (indoors) and I think it’s related to poor watering habits while using this medium and not adding much for nutes.. watering to like 15percent runoff and letting em dry out too much in between.
Also just bought a blue lab pen which showed my well tap ph was 8.5 (cheapo one was giving me inconsistent results but in the 7-7.5 range)
Not sure what the exact TDS’s are but I plan to buy a water test kit and find out real soon.
 

Jdiesel87

Member
I'm still a bit new to organic growing but my understanding is that you want to maintain a constant level of moisture to promote healthy biological activity rather than the wet/dry cycles you might be familiar with. This also makes it very easy to overwater as it is a fine line between the right amount and too much. I have been having great results with Blumats, both indoors and outdoors, for maintaining the right amount of moisture in the soil.
 

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
So I wanna thank the main man for putting this info out there. I believe you’ve helped many and encouraged everyone to experiment and really plug in to the hobby.
I have a question….gonna be germinating a few beans here shortly and am gonna run a variation of this super simple method in my 3x6 space under a HLG 320 led. I intend on having FFOF as my base filling the bottom third of the pot. I want to add some dry amendments and didn’t know if they should be mixed in with the bottom 1/3 of OF or just sprinkled on top?? I was gonna use Gaia Green 4-4-4 at some suggested level.
After this I was gonna use Happy Frog w/ a bit of Light Warrior and worm castings. The seedling will start in a solo cup of all Light Warrior then transplanted into 3 or 5 gallon pots.
i forgot to mention that I’ll mix about 1/4 perlite with the entire concoction.
Im growing autos and was hoping this would take me well into flower, at which time I will top dress more OF & Gaia Green 2-8-4. The only liquid I’d use with my tap water is one of the bottled silica’s.
1. Does this sound like a plan that would work ?
And 2. Does the dry amendments need to be worked in with the OF or just sprinkled on top???
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated…..thanks everyone.
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
So I wanna thank the main man for putting this info out there. I believe you’ve helped many and encouraged everyone to experiment and really plug in to the hobby.
I have a question….gonna be germinating a few beans here shortly and am gonna run a variation of this super simple method in my 3x6 space under a HLG 320 led. I intend on having FFOF as my base filling the bottom third of the pot. I want to add some dry amendments and didn’t know if they should be mixed in with the bottom 1/3 of OF or just sprinkled on top?? I was gonna use Gaia Green 4-4-4 at some suggested level.
After this I was gonna use Happy Frog w/ a bit of Light Warrior and worm castings. The seedling will start in a solo cup of all Light Warrior then transplanted into 3 or 5 gallon pots.
i forgot to mention that I’ll mix about 1/4 perlite with the entire concoction.
Im growing autos and was hoping this would take me well into flower, at which time I will top dress more OF & Gaia Green 2-8-4. The only liquid I’d use with my tap water is one of the bottled silica’s.
1. Does this sound like a plan that would work ?
And 2. Does the dry amendments need to be worked in with the OF or just sprinkled on top???
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated…..thanks everyone.
Let the medium do the INTIAL feed alone - its pretty nute dense . Plants can sometimes get a little overwhelmed in the beginning but as long as you resist dumping MORE on it. They will acclimate.

Dry fertilizer in some of the later weeks can easily be used by “ scratching into “ top soil - then water. Here is where some overdose - so i try to use say 1-2 tsp per gallon or 2 gallon size containers. 5 gallon around 4 ( give or take ) but let the plant tell you what it can tolerate. Remember that the dry fertilizer needs some time to breakdown and doesn’t need “ weekly “ .

As far as bottom 1/3 for OF - that is fine with a MILD POTTING TOP FILL. Or you can run all OF but that will feed for weeks all by itself ( 4-5 weeks ) easy. Then you can recharge it with the dry.
 

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Let the medium do the INTIAL feed alone - its pretty nute dense . Plants can sometimes get a little overwhelmed in the beginning but as long as you resist dumping MORE on it. They will acclimate.

Dry fertilizer in some of the later weeks can easily be used by “ scratching into “ top soil - then water. Here is where some overdose - so i try to use say 1-2 tsp per gallon or 2 gallon size containers. 5 gallon around 4 ( give or take ) but let the plant tell you what it can tolerate. Remember that the dry fertilizer needs some time to breakdown and doesn’t need “ weekly “ .

As far as bottom 1/3 for OF - that is fine with a MILD POTTING TOP FILL. Or you can run all OF but that will feed for weeks all by itself ( 4-5 weeks ) easy. Then you can recharge it with the dry.
So no need to use the Gaia Green in the initial medium? Just top dress (w/ it and more OF) as needed, generally starting around week 3-4?
My current grow, which is never ending, was only OF….not even any perlite. I didn’t give them any nutes for the first 6 weeks and went ultra light when I did. I think they may have been happier if I’d fed a little earlier….before they actually looked hungry. That’s why I was thinking of a dry amendment top dress around Week 4…
Does that reasoning seem valid?
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
So no need to use the Gaia Green in the initial medium? Just top dress (w/ it and more OF) as needed, generally starting around week 3-4?
My current grow, which is never ending, was only OF….not even any perlite. I didn’t give them any nutes for the first 6 weeks and went ultra light when I did. I think they may have been happier if I’d fed a little earlier….before they actually looked hungry. That’s why I was thinking of a dry amendment top dress around Week 4…
Does that reasoning seem valid?
Your plants response will dictate the “ what and when “. Top dressing OF OR Making a tea ( instruction on bag ) will “ recharge “ your host medium fairly well …. Depending on how heavy a feeder your strains are but if you think about what top dressing really does - it adds exactly what those plants are “ used to “ feeding on. It also adds a recharge of the buffering that may decline over the weeks.

OF needs a few additions ( IMO ) to round it out better - Perlite / EWC for sure.
Most Dry Fert mixes have worked well with it as it needs refreshing -

Dr. Earth premium gold or homegrown ( flower girl for flower )
Megacrop ( may need calcium bump occasionally )
Happy Frog Fruit and Flower ( smells but good stuff )

Recipe 420 ‘ recharge ‘ dry fert and Ultra Bloom - which I am experimenting with and really like.
( which you can see - leaves plant very green and healthy. )

image.jpg
 

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Your plants response will dictate the “ what and when “. Top dressing OF OR Making a tea ( instruction on bag ) will “ recharge “ your host medium fairly well …. Depending on how heavy a feeder your strains are but if you think about what top dressing really does - it adds exactly what those plants are “ used to “ feeding on. It also adds a recharge of the buffering that may decline over the weeks.

OF needs a few additions ( IMO ) to round it out better - Perlite / EWC for sure.
Most Dry Fert mixes have worked well with it as it needs refreshing -

Dr. Earth premium gold or homegrown ( flower girl for flower )
Megacrop ( may need calcium bump occasionally )
Happy Frog Fruit and Flower ( smells but good stuff )

Recipe 420 ‘ recharge ‘ dry fert and Ultra Bloom - which I am experimenting with and really like.
( which you can see - leaves plant very green and healthy. )

View attachment 5088142
Looks good man!
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Never ran Gaia but find that Dr. Earth was the “ closest “ to that mix ( based on user input ).
So remember that when spending your moola.

I am gravitating more over to EB STONE over Fox Farm Ocean Forest as of late.
Their Recipe 420 soil mix is outstanding and plants seem much greener in health right from start.
They have a “ Hy-Por and Bhang mix “ potting that interest me and will do some comparisons in the future.

Here is Recipe 420 - I find this a superior soil compared to OF.

Look at the ingredients and you will see why. Seabird guano is a fantastic amendment for flower.

D491B990-53CA-45F1-BE63-9B72F36ED493.jpeg46CC30B3-176B-48C2-9CEE-E013B72B9992.jpeg
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Hearing that OF differs according to regions and local element sources - so there’s that BS.

Had to screen a few bags myself ( debris ) so to be honest I haven’t bought anymore but methods are same with EB.
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Here is an interesting piece of info …

Hy-Por mix is designed for more aeration and includes azomite ( trace minerals ) .

Bhang mix has Rice Hulls.

Not sure of any other retail that puts ingredients similar that cannabis growers actually can use.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Never ran Gaia but find that Dr. Earth was the “ closest “ to that mix ( based on user input ).
So remember that when spending your moola.

I am gravitating more over to EB STONE over Fox Farm Ocean Forest as of late.
Their Recipe 420 soil mix is outstanding and plants seem much greener in health right from start.
They have a “ Hy-Por and Bhang mix “ potting that interest me and will do some comparisons in the future.

Here is Recipe 420 - I find this a superior soil compared to OF.

Look at the ingredients and you will see why. Seabird guano is a fantastic amendment for flower.

View attachment 5088145View attachment 5088146
Looks like good stuff. That's cool they use pumice instead of perlite. I hope you reuse that stuff. How much more expensive it if than FFOF? I have all that stuff here and it's already in my soil, except the coco wasn't added since I'm trying not to mix them, and I don't have dolomite separate but it's in a box of shit that I started trying. I've heard mixed things about coco with peat, but your plants look really good.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Here is an interesting piece of info …

Hy-Por mix is designed for more aeration and includes azomite ( trace minerals ) .

Bhang mix has Rice Hulls.

Not sure of any other retail that puts ingredients similar that cannabis growers actually can use.
Oh, I've got rice hulls here too that I've mixed in and I also use it as mulch.
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
Also … since I haven’t updated this thread in awhile.….. use the Recipe 420 mix in solo starts - period.

I place a seed in a moist Rooter - bury it slightly and she is done .

No light feeds or other outside nutes.
 
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