Is my outdoor grow plan good enough? new grower HELP:(

Hi guys. I live in southern Ontario and here in canada we can grow 4 plants max. I've grown before, however this time ive picked up some gorilla skittlez and they are known to produce 1000-2000 grams per plant. My plan is to start the seedlngs in solo cups indoors this week using PROMIX HP (soilless mix) (Also wondering if it needs cal mag), then transplant (still in pro mix) to 600W HPS (all i have for veg) in 3 gallon pots. until around May 20th. then transplant to 20 gallon out door. So I have a couple questions, first, does this look like a good plan, can i get around atleast a pound a plant, seeing as id be vegging for 4 months? Also, does pro mix hp need a constant source of CAL MAG? Also, I have power well water water here, its really clean, and and the the PH is around 6.3? Do I get that PH up down supplement? If so, what should my water PH level be at? What should the PH of the promix be at? And finally, can I use pro mix HP then when I transplant to outdoors 20 gallon, can I use organic soil in the 20 gallon? Should i flush the pro mix hp before transplant in that case? I know its alot of questions but someone please help!

Starting so early I would go from solo cup, to 6 inch, pots, then to three gallons. Only reason being I have had root bound issues when they are in 2-3 gallon pots for awhile.

MidwestGorilla219 said:

Starting so early I would go from solo cup, to 6 inch, pots, then to three gallons. Only reason being I have had root bound issues when they are in 2-3 gallon pots for awhile.

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I see, so its very much possible to get 1-4 pounds with this method and starting this early? Also what can you tell me about PH

1-2 pounds in my opinion, if you want more go with a bigger pot before you transplant outdoors. It's all about the beginning veg growth. I add a half cup of dolomite lime and oyster shell powder to my soil and it works, that's about all I can tell you about ph because I honestly never checked mine.

Promix HP is technically soilless so keep that in mind you'll have to constantly be feeding your plants. As far as Ph goes don't worry too much about it just yet as there's buffers in the soil.

Other than that sounds like a good plan but be prepared to mess it up your first few times. Just keep reading and you should do fine .

Hashishh said:

Promix HP is technically soilless so keep that in mind you'll have to constantly be feeding your plants. As far as Ph goes don't worry too much about it just yet as there's buffers in the soil.

Other than that sounds like a good plan but be prepared to mess it up your first few times. Just keep reading and you should do fine .

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how often should I be giving it CAL/MAG?

MidwestGorilla219 said:

1-2 pounds in my opinion, if you want more go with a bigger pot before you transplant outdoors. It's all about the beginning veg growth. I add a half cup of dolomite lime and oyster shell powder to my soil and it works, that's about all I can tell you about ph because I honestly never checked mine.

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Thanks! and you add dolomite lime and oyster shell powder to what kind of soil? Promix? or organic?

basedgod324 said:

how often should I be giving it CAL/MAG?

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I did every other water but I was using tap. It all depends what's in your well water.

basedgod324 said:

Thanks! and you add dolomite lime and oyster shell powder to what kind of soil? Promix? or organic?

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Organic

I’m also in SWO. Last year was one of the coldest I’ve remembered, especially in the spring. The corn was not knee high in July either. Just general consensus around the neighbourhood is that anyone that stayed in pots got small buds and lousy yield. I figure this is due to the soil temp following the air temp at night. If you plant in the ground it will keep the roots warmer and their environment stable into December here! This year is shaping up completely different and my grass is already greening.

I know people that grow 15 week sativa varieties around here, but in the ground and never covered, etc.

A neighbour group that went all out with some monster trees on multiple properties grew a lot of fruity sweet “new” strains and had the worst time with mold, hermies, bugs, and floppy stems. They finished a Barney’s Farm Acupulco Gold around mid November last year that looked and tasted 100x better than everything else they grew.

Try some teas they really get the terpenes flowing.

I don’t cover as I want the UV to sterilize my plants everyday from fungal pathogens, and I want the barn swallows/wild turkeys to eat all the damn bugs.

Another thing worth mentioning is the sand. Everybody on these sites talks about digging a huge hole and filling it up with organic potting soil mixes. If you are on sandy ground all the bugs and mice/rats will be moving in, maybe a ground hog if you’re not so lucky. I find planted straight into good, clean, natural soil with any added organics either top dressed or buried deep to keep the oxygen up around the roots is much safer.

I pulled four pounds last year but fresh tasty clean outdoor is such a hit in our house that I need to up that to about twenty just to be safe lol. I’ve been eating quite a bit of it. Most goes to hash and oil.

If you’re on supplied water (ie. the government’s water) you can get a copy of the yearly report which should include calcium/magnesium/sodium/fluoride, etc. These are available online by searching the municipalities name + water report.

If you are on well water take it to petsmart they will test it with a strip which will show GH/KH, this can tell you enough to make a decision about cal mag. You can also purchase these tests there.

I have sodium issues in my well so I use RO, remineralized with hardwood ash, dolomite lime, epsom and co2. Then it goes into the fish tanks or the 400 gallon tropical fish pond outdoors before it goes to the garden.

If anyone is curious about remineralizing water with CO2 this is how to do it:

Water sitting in an open jug will attract CO2, if you put an aerator in it will drive CO2 out very efficiently. That means if you use a bubbler it will take forever.

So you take an open 5 gallon jug of ro water, add 1/2 tsp each (may actually use a lot more depending what you want to make) hardwood ash, dolomite lime, and Epsom salts. Dump it into the jug and the CO2 in the water will convert the potassium hydroxide and ca/mg oxides into bicarbonate salts. This will provide general hardness and buffering. A tds meter and some ph strips will tell a lot

You can also make natural potassium bicarbonate spray for powdery mildew treatment that contains ca/mg and traces. All you need is hardwood ash, water, CO2 and a filter. I used to generate CO2 and do this under slight pressure because it happens so fast, and it was fun, but ultimately I am lazy and cheap so I just let it sit. It only takes a day to come up to equilibrium.

Because the plants can use everything in the water you do not need to flush salts nearly as much. I bottom water and flush once every month. It’s sodium, edta, chlorides, fluorides, etc. that cause toxic salt accumulation.

Aquarists tend to think that the minerals keep dissolving but they do not. When I do this with straight dolomite lime it stops around 180 ppm. Balanced. Which by the way is a fantastic place to keep most fish. Would be no different than limestone, rain and time.

Since it's only 4 plants, I would cook up a bag of super soil and mix it 50 50 with your promixhp.

My yard plants are never pure BX/HP because they get bigger and one good wind and it'll topple over if it doesn't have a good grounding.

If you're outdoor, pots can only hold you back. They dry out fast, heat up, ... so many issues. In the heat, you'll have to water twice a day.