Now for the dirt

kinetic

Well-Known Member
I like Roots Organic myself, going to give bumper crop by coast of maine a run this year as well.
 

bmeat

New Member
i like this thread. giving me a lot of new ideas becuase i need some more potting soil soon.

im considering buying straight coco if i cant mix with compost and not feed as frequently as people say i have to
 

toronjadeoro

Well-Known Member
Consider making a super soil. You'll save yourself a lot of money, you'll know exactly what goes into it, and you won't have to worry about feeding schedules or buying extra nutes. Do a search here on the forum for LC's Mix or consider the ingredients in the expensive soils mentioned here and replicate their formulas. I made a base soil heavily inspired by LC's Mix using Sunshine Mix #4:

  1. 6 parts Sunshine Mix #4
  2. 3 parts coco coir
  3. 2 parts perlite
  4. 2 parts earthworm castings
  5. 2 Tablespoons per gallon dolomitic lime
  6. 1/3 part bat guano
  7. 1 teaspoon Mycorrhizae powder per gallon

Then I made a super soil mix using the above recipe as the base for it:
(per 1 gallon of Recipe above)

  1. 1 Tablespoon Blood Meal
  2. 2 Tablespoons Bone Meal
  3. 10 Tablespoons Worm Castings
  4. 2 Tablespoons Bat Guano
  5. 2 teaspoons Mycorrhizae powder
  6. 2 Tablespoons Diatomaceous Earth
  7. 2 Tablespoons Azomite
  8. Powdered seaweed
  9. 1Tablespoon Epsom Salts

Again, I give all credit to LCs Mix for the inspiration (these recipes closely resemble his formula which you should read), and I also was inspired by Subcool's super soil which is some other important reading if you go this route.

Good luck!
 

Adjorr

Well-Known Member
cant get foxfarm in canada so im going to be using SeaSoil container gardening mix myself. its a nice high nitrogen soil
 

dunkin73

Well-Known Member
Has anyone started seedlings in FFOF? If so, how did they grow? Any burn from this soil to the seedlings? I just started seedlings in FFOF, two popped within two days after a 12 hour soak in a cup of water. In red solo cups to start. Let me know, thanks!!
 

MOAB420

Member
Has anyone started seedlings in FFOF? If so, how did they grow? Any burn from this soil to the seedlings? I just started seedlings in FFOF, two popped within two days after a 12 hour soak in a cup of water. In red solo cups to start. Let me know, thanks!!
FFOF burned my new seedlings. I started using half FFOF and half MG Seedling Starter with wonderful success. Once they are rooted and healthy I switch to straight FFOF.
 

GandalfdaGreen

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone. I have used FF OF a bunch in the past. Now that I am a ph freak I have a question. I know FF claims OF is ph adjusted and all. I know its always been on the acidic side from reading through RIU. My water going in was adjusted to 6.7 intentionally to help bring up the ph of OF up a touch. I have heard many times that its ph is around 6.2-6.3. I have never measured the ph of run off water before. When I did it today it was 5.8. What should I do? How much lime per gallon should I add to the FF to get it from 5.8 to 6.5? I watered the soil and I am going to let it sit for a few days. Should I mix it into the FF or sprinkle on top and water again with ph adjusted water. I watered a gallon for every gallon of FF in the containers. My seedlings have very strong root systems at this point. Thanks for the help. Things are going so well that I dont want to screw anything up.
I have been reading up a bunch and it looks like I'll try adding 2tbls per gallon of dol lime per gallon of FFOF. Sound right?
 

Excise It

Well-Known Member
I myself you greenworld promix vpw 30...my plants (critical kush) love it. it drains well, has some dolomite limestone to help with ph, lots of perlite, and even vermiculite. I swear by it
 

DemonTrich

Well-Known Member
gandolf, you ever find an answer to the FFOF ph problem? im running FFOF also, and keep reading about using powdered dolomite lime (1.5 cups per 1.5cu' ffof). i uppotted my seedlings in FFLW, then 2 weeks later top dressed the planters with FFOF and they LOVE IT!!!!!! doubled in size in 7 days.
 

inhaleindica

Well-Known Member
Fox farm, Roots Organics, Empire Builder by sanctuary soil. All work great! Roots organics is much better choice for the price and for seedlings. Foxfarm Ocean Forest and Empire Builder is great for transplanting well started veg plants. I always go back for Roots Organics because of the price and the quality of my end result is similar anyways. I use Pro-Mix and love it. I am about to do a side by side with Roots organics and Pro-Mix. Promix retains water longer than roots organics. I want to see if more frequent waterings make any difference.
 

inhaleindica

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone. I have used FF OF a bunch in the past. Now that I am a ph freak I have a question. I know FF claims OF is ph adjusted and all. I know its always been on the acidic side from reading through RIU. My water going in was adjusted to 6.7 intentionally to help bring up the ph of OF up a touch. I have heard many times that its ph is around 6.2-6.3. I have never measured the ph of run off water before. When I did it today it was 5.8. What should I do? How much lime per gallon should I add to the FF to get it from 5.8 to 6.5? I watered the soil and I am going to let it sit for a few days. Should I mix it into the FF or sprinkle on top and water again with ph adjusted water. I watered a gallon for every gallon of FF in the containers. My seedlings have very strong root systems at this point. Thanks for the help. Things are going so well that I dont want to screw anything up.
I have been reading up a bunch and it looks like I'll try adding 2tbls per gallon of dol lime per gallon of FFOF. Sound right?
about 2 table spoons of dolomite lime per gallon is sufficient. Usually I put in 1 cup of dolomite lime per bag. Don't worry too much about the run off they will be low at the beginning and adjust from there. I don't really worry about ph anymore these days with soil. I try to keep the water that is going in ph between 6.2 to 7 that's it. If your plants look strong and healthy why try to mess with it? If it is not broken, why try to fix it?
 

hbbum

Well-Known Member
I use ffof and the only time I worried about run off pH was when I did a flushing to remove some salt issues. Otherwise just made sure to put 6.5-6.8 water in and let the soil take care of the rest.

Only growing from clones, so don't know about seedlings.
 
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