Need some advice on my soil mix and starting a new crop after a complete failure

NugNewb

NugNewb

Well-Known Member
I have posted a few threads on here and love the advice I am getting. Hydroponics is not an option for me so this is what I was going to do. First of all I am going to grow some CBD - Strawberry Kush from King Seeds. I am going to start out with two in my 2.5' X 2.5' grow room set up secretively in my closet. I have a 4" fan venting air into a crawl space under the stairs with two 9" fans in the tent to help keep the air circulating. I purchased a brand new light, a Mars Hydro TS 1000W full spectrum light and what a difference from my less expensive Gixxer 1000W LED. Huge difference. I was going to transplant my seedlings, after starting them in straight happy frog soil in cups after 3 weeks straight into two 7 gallon air pots... The ones with the holes on the sides and on the bottom that air prune the roots for you. I have read so much good things about them I had to give them a go. I am going to place them on stands in a tray to collect the run off from those pots while in my grow room. My soil is going to be comprised of the following:

2 Cu. Feet Happy Frog Potting soil
2 solo cups of earth worm castings
3 solo cups of rinsed Perlite to include a 1.5" layer on the bottom of the air pot and a thin layer on top of the soil to help direct water straight down into the air pots.
8 quarts of Coco Coir to help make it a little more airy and draining well
1/2 tbs of Dolomite Lime per gallon of soil mix to keep it PH steady

I was also thinking of using the "Recharge" additive to my water along with the liquid nutrients (the fox farm trio) after the first 30 days and to start off at 1/2 strength and move up 1/4 strength every two weeks till full strength.

Does this sound like a good plan. I have cal mag but don't know how or if I should use it preventatively at like a low dose or just forget about it. I really want to tighten up my plan before I start and then make any necessary changes. Any advice would be appreciated. I was planning on using a Trelis net and supercropping the plants after fimming them at around week 4... Thanks again in advance for any advice I get....
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Don't add coco or lime. If you want to grow in coco then go all coco. If you want to grow in soil stick to a peat based mix. Keep it simple. No need to mix up some custom blend. Happy Frog already has lime and EWC so no need to add anymore. With the exception of the perlite I wouldn't add anything. In fact I've done complete grows in just bagged Happy Frog without adding anything and just moderate feedings every couple waterings. Turned out to be some happy healthy plants with good yields.
 
P

piratebug

Well-Known Member
If you are using Happy Frog, you had better cut it with at least 30% perlite or the plants root development will suffer greatly. Cannabis plants like airy soil / soilless, mixes. The less dense your soil / soilless mix is the better!
 
Merlin1147

Merlin1147

Well-Known Member
When you say your last grow was a complete failure, what exactly does that mean? I think you’d be better off using a well aerated commercial mix like Promix HP or add some perlite to a mix and see if you can grow some buds first. Later once you have the basics down, you can mess with custom soils.
 
J

Jumpin Jimmy

Well-Known Member
NugNewb said:
I have posted a few threads on here and love the advice I am getting. Hydroponics is not an option for me so this is what I was going to do. First of all I am going to grow some CBD - Strawberry Kush from King Seeds. I am going to start out with two in my 2.5' X 2.5' grow room set up secretively in my closet. I have a 4" fan venting air into a crawl space under the stairs with two 9" fans in the tent to help keep the air circulating. I purchased a brand new light, a Mars Hydro TS 1000W full spectrum light and what a difference from my less expensive Gixxer 1000W LED. Huge difference. I was going to transplant my seedlings, after starting them in straight happy frog soil in cups after 3 weeks straight into two 7 gallon air pots... The ones with the holes on the sides and on the bottom that air prune the roots for you. I have read so much good things about them I had to give them a go. I am going to place them on stands in a tray to collect the run off from those pots while in my grow room. My soil is going to be comprised of the following:

2 Cu. Feet Happy Frog Potting soil
2 solo cups of earth worm castings
3 solo cups of rinsed Perlite to include a 1.5" layer on the bottom of the air pot and a thin layer on top of the soil to help direct water straight down into the air pots.
8 quarts of Coco Coir to help make it a little more airy and draining well
1/2 tbs of Dolomite Lime per gallon of soil mix to keep it PH steady

I was also thinking of using the "Recharge" additive to my water along with the liquid nutrients (the fox farm trio) after the first 30 days and to start off at 1/2 strength and move up 1/4 strength every two weeks till full strength.

Does this sound like a good plan. I have cal mag but don't know how or if I should use it preventatively at like a low dose or just forget about it. I really want to tighten up my plan before I start and then make any necessary changes. Any advice would be appreciated. I was planning on using a Trelis net and supercropping the plants after fimming them at around week 4... Thanks again in advance for any advice I get....
Click to expand...
Skip the happy frog. Use ocean forest soil. Blend it with pro mix. 3 parts ocean forest to 2 parts promix. Add 5-10% perlit. Mix in a tablespoon of dolomite lime per gallon of soil. That will keep your ph in check. That’s solid and simple soil mix you can do. It sets you on track to success. Your plants will love it. When plants eventually require more nutes..simply use epsoma fertilizer. VEry good, reasonsbly priced and VERY effective. Epsoma grow liquid at 1/6 strength every watering and 1 teaspoon of epsoma plant tone every 1-2 waterings top dressed. Depending on how big of plants you grow and how big the pots are you may not need a lot of fert beyond what is In the ocean forest. For flower I just switch the top dressing from plant tone to bulb tone and the liquid changed from epsoma grow to epsoma bloom. Very good results. No need to check ph of anything. The ferts are very easy to use. JUst go low dose and adjust If need be
 
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