multiple questions

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challeacewei

Active Member
I have only done one grow in my life and unfortunately was cut out because it was a partner grow and i thought the guy was actually my friend,but anyhow that made me stop reading and everything because i was pissed but now I have my growing addiction back in my head and I need some advice. I have done some posting on grasscity but this Organic section seems like a great community as well. Anyhow, On to the question!

1. I have a grow in mind but want your opinions. The grow I have in mind is to build a 5 by 5 foot box by 7 feet tall out of wood. I think that would be a good size for 4 plants in 5 gall pots with a 600w light. what do you guys think?

2.what ac and humidifier would be good for something that size?

3.i heard something of co2 packs that you put in water and they release co2. Anyone heard of theses?

4. To make a 2 cb foot soil using a 5 gall= 1 part(been a while since i last mixed and lost notes on last

1 part peat
1 part humus
1 part aeration
to that add: 2 cups lime
6 cups amendments
8 cups rock dust

Does that mix look right using a 30/30/30?
 
GOD HERE

GOD HERE

Well-Known Member
challeacewei said:
I have only done one grow in my life and unfortunately was cut out because it was a partner grow and i thought the guy was actually my friend,but anyhow that made me stop reading and everything because i was pissed but now I have my growing addiction back in my head and I need some advice. I have done some posting on grasscity but this Organic section seems like a great community as well. Anyhow, On to the question!

1. I have a grow in mind but want your opinions. The grow I have in mind is to build a 5 by 5 foot box by 7 feet tall out of wood. I think that would be a good size for 4 plants in 5 gall pots with a 600w light. what do you guys think?

2.what ac and humidifier would be good for something that size?

3.i heard something of co2 packs that you put in water and they release co2. Anyone heard of theses?

4. To make a 2 cb foot soil using a 5 gall= 1 part(been a while since i last mixed and lost notes on last

1 part peat
1 part humus
1 part aeration
to that add: 2 cups lime
6 cups amendments
8 cups rock dust

Does that mix look right using a 30/30/30?
Click to expand...
4. Or you could get a good organic soil and have the same results for a lot less work.
 
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challeacewei

Active Member
Well the problem with that is how do I know its a good organic soil. I live in southern cali, not exactly organic mecca. Not having to mix sounds amazing though hah. There is one good place which is a farm feed supply place which may have a viable option. I know I can mix a better batch though.
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
challeacewei said:
Well the problem with that is how do I know its a good organic soil. I live in southern cali, not exactly organic mecca. Not having to mix sounds amazing though hah. There is one good place which is a farm feed supply place which may have a viable option. I know I can mix a better batch though.
Click to expand...
It's a bit expensive to buy a bunch of amendments for such a small batch of soil. You'll end up with enough stuff to make 12 cf of soil and you're only doing 2 cf.

If you do end up going this route you could buy a 5lb box of something like "vegan mix" from Down to Earth which is a good all around organic input that has kelp meal, soybean meal, some good mineral sources (sul-po-mag I believe). I have a 25lb bag of it in my basement right now and have used it often with great results. You could get away with your base of peat-compost-aeration and then just amend with the vegan mix. There are plenty of weeds and plants that are pretty beneficial (and free) as well depending on where you live that you can mix in your soil, top dress with, or make teas/FPE's out of.

Here's a handy link that runs down some of the benefits of these various plants...

https://www.frenchgardening.com/tech.html?pid=3164873867231346
 
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challeacewei

Active Member
thanks for all the replies so far. I havent decided yet which way i am going but saving money is always good. I do have my alfalfa meal my kelp meal, and my tomato tone meal, still and like half a bag of earthworm castings, and some peat, but they are all like 5 months old and have been sitting outside. Do you think I need to worry about contamination from unwanted bugs? If i do mix ideally i would only spend money on some compost rock dust and peat, but i really wanted to throw some leaf mold and neem cake into the mix. stow, I like your idea of taking the base and mixing with the vegan mix. What do you think the vegan mix could use more of? If I was to amend the vegan mix and I wanted to use mix right away without "cooking", should i avoid amending with the neem or leaf mold?
 
st0wandgrow

st0wandgrow

Well-Known Member
challeacewei said:
thanks for all the replies so far. I havent decided yet which way i am going but saving money is always good. I do have my alfalfa meal my kelp meal, and my tomato tone meal, still and like half a bag of earthworm castings, and some peat, but they are all like 5 months old and have been sitting outside. Do you think I need to worry about contamination from unwanted bugs? If i do mix ideally i would only spend money on some compost rock dust and peat, but i really wanted to throw some leaf mold and neem cake into the mix. stow, I like your idea of taking the base and mixing with the vegan mix. What do you think the vegan mix could use more of? If I was to amend the vegan mix and I wanted to use mix right away without "cooking", should i avoid amending with the neem or leaf mold?
Click to expand...
The neem cake is kick ass. If you already have that I would definitely throw that in. You can add 1 cup per cf. The leaf mold is supposed to be great as well. I've never used it, but people that have been at this far longer than I have say it's great, so I'd have to believe it's the bees knees.

As far as not letting your soil sit, I wouldn't recommend it. Ideally you want to mix your soil, wet it down with a compost tea and let the microbes go to town on it for a good 6+ weeks before sticking a cut in there. Even at that your soil won't be at peak performance until the second time you use the soil ..... assuming you're going to recycle.

If you *have* to use the soil right away, you might be best giving the hydro store some of your cash and buying some organic liquid amendments to supplement what the soil won't be giving the plants for a while.

edit: I have no idea if your stuff that has been sitting outside is still OK to use. I'd hate to toss a response out there and give you bad advice.
 
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challeacewei

Active Member
Can a mod please move this to like general growing questions or something, I respect the organics section the most thats why i posted here but none of my setup questions have been answered, understandable though. I just didnt feel like making 2 different posts
 
Frosty125

Frosty125

Member
Dude u didnt need to make 1post all the answers u need are under the grow room and setup section. Plus you would be surprised what you can learn from a quick google search. Just read up
 
J

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
For small amounts of amendments, you might want to try truelivingorganics.com Apparently The Rev has started this site to assist others with getting the various amendments for small soil grows. The book - True Living Organics - is an easy and enjoyable read and there's lots of good info. I'm definitely not saying it's the only way but it's a way and I'd say a good one. I'm using his spikes and layers techniques with good results but don't use his exact soil mix...and I think karanja and neem meal are major kick ass....they really help keep the pests at bay and provide great nitrogen. The Rev didn't recommend that --- I learned that on here. I take a little knowledge here and a little there and try to pick my way through...and I had a great last grow and this one is looking even better. Reusing soil!!!

Oh...give a month and cook your soil...it's worth it.
 
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challeacewei

Active Member
Frosty, I wanted specific answers and opinions, I simply asked to move it so more people can see, and some of the questions I asked I did google search and just wanted more opinions, not a general answer that every knows. Sorry
 
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