Fox Farm
- Thread starter Sunbiz1
- Start date
diamonddave
Active Member
thousands of growers use them with excellent results, they can't be THAT bad..
bkbbudz
New Member
For me, I like the FF soil. I am a K.I.S.S. kinda farmer and did not not want to go through all the guess work of making my own soil. With all the shtuff that I would have needed to add, guano, blood/bonemeal, etc etc. Too much guess work and probably a lot more costly then the Happy Frog I am used too. I don't use their entire line of products, actually just the soil. But it ain't broke so I ain't gonna fix it. Besides I only do 2 plants at a time so a bag of soil lasts a good 3 grows anyway.
ZipDriveX
Active Member
And that's what I'm all about!
mysunnyboy
Well-Known Member
dang what's with all the bad moods here lately. we are GROWING MARIJUANA for God's sake, should make us all smile
i use pro-mix and am happy to pay 15 a bag for it
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
Almost without exception, everyone here on this forum who has an honest to god pH problem in soil is using Ocean Forest. And in the relatively short time I've been here, I've seen a bunch of them. FFoF is hot, not well limed (If at all), and in general just seems more a pain in the ass than it's worth. Now the Happy Frog, I have no experience with, so I can't say, but given the standards of QC at Fox Farms, I believe I'll keep making my own.
Another problem I see that arises way too often is people using a "pre-nuted" soil, and feeding right off the bat. Why would someone want nutes in there anyway, if they are gonna be feeding off the rip?
It's just too easy to make your own soils starting out with a good basic potting mix. The Nursery near me sells "The Barn Blend", a house branded potting soil. pH balanced and everything. To that I add my Compost, EWC, Bio Char, Rabbit Poo, and any other amendments, and that's it!!
Since I started to re-use soil, I use a 50/50 mix of fresh and used, so that there is a colony of micro-beasties present. I mix it, and water with some carbs, and in 2 weeks, it's ready for plants!
Fox Farm can't come anywhere close to what I make, so I'm about as impressed with them as I am with Advanced Nutrients. Not at all!!
mysunnyboy
Well-Known Member
hey Jack 
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
I knew this would stir the pot...lol
Their products work just fine, at half strength of their labeled usage instructions. I see more problems here with FF products being utilized at manufacturer recommended levels than almost every other.
doc111
Well-Known Member
I question whether or not many of these people are actually having pH issues. I've used FF soils for over 3 years now and have NEVER had a single issue with pH. FFOF doesn't contain any lime, it DOES contain pulverized oyster shell which works as well as lime for pH control it just doesn't have enough (if any) Magnesium. It says right on the bags of soil NOT to feed for up to a month. I find that about 2-3 weeks in I need to start giving nutes. I realize that not everybody is going to have great success with EVERY product, and there are some I've seen recommended here that I couldn't grow a decent dandelion with, but everybody's circumstances are different. What works for you may not work for me or the next guy. Stick to what you know and dank is what you'll grow! lmfao!!!!!! (I honestly wasn't trying to be poetic, but I kinda like it!)
doc111
Well-Known Member
I use them full strength (not right off the bat of course) and haven't had any problems, even with notoriously finicky strains, like Blueberry and Hazes. I often wonder if people aren't mistaking deficiencies for nute burn.
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
'sup sunny! I cant PM you, but Dannyboy has my email. Hit me, OK? Tell him to check his yahoo mail, I sent him my real one.
mysunnyboy
Well-Known Member
i been wondern about you man, i will PM danny now
oh yeah, back to the soil...
oh yeah, back to the soil...
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
Very much like the hated MG products?
And you are right of course. But many of them tell me (therein lies the rub) that they in fact do have a soil pH variance. Huge diff between water and soil pH. And not very many seem capable of reading the directions!! LOL And that's not to say that they take into consideration the nutes added, or any number of other variables. I guess it just boils down to my intense dislike for over-hyped and over priced products.I question whether or not many of these people are actually having pH issues. I've used FF soils for over 3 years now and have NEVER had a single issue with pH. FFOF doesn't contain any lime, it DOES contain pulverized oyster shell which works as well as lime for pH control it just doesn't have enough (if any) Magnesium. It says right on the bags of soil NOT to feed for up to a month. I find that about 2-3 weeks in I need to start giving nutes. I realize that not everybody is going to have great success with EVERY product, and there are some I've seen recommended here that I couldn't grow a decent dandelion with, but everybody's circumstances are different. What works for you may not work for me or the next guy. Stick to what you know and dank is what you'll grow! lmfao!!!!!! (I honestly wasn't trying to be poetic, but I kinda like it!)
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
Most growers cannot come close to what you make, but they can do a few simple things to avoid problems.
1. Less is always better(and of course I'm speaking to all). These are weeds, not orchids.
2. Less expensive organic base soil mixes are readily available.
3. Less expensive amendments can be added with better results.
This isn't rocket science. There is a local FF sales rep that calls on gardening centers here, I do my best to keep them out b/c their shelves are already full of worm casings and mainly Epsoma products I don't want replaced.
doc111
Well-Known Member
I'm totally with you on the hype.
That said, many people are checking their pH by testing their runoff. That's not a very accurate way to measure pH, in fact I've used a VERY expensive soil pH tester and measured the runoff of the exact same soil with a VERY expensive digital meter (laboratory grade) and the pH of the runoff is almost always 2 points lower.
