Need some Organic guidance, what to choose?

Hi all,

Thinking about getting into an organic grow here soon, have experience with hydro but wanted to try going all-organic in soil or another medium.

---What is a good grow medium to use?
I've heard good things about coco coir, but not sure how it is used. Do I just use coco chunks in place of soil?? Is coco better than soil? As for soil, I've heard good things about the Fox Farm Ocean Forest... would I need to mix anything with it to give it increased drainage?

---What are good organic nutrients to use?
I was eye-balling the General Organics GO Box... seems like a complete little kit of nutrients and additives for starting an organic grow, and it's only $30. Does anyone have any experience in using this? Did you find it complete, or have to add additional products? Aside from the GO Box, what other organic nutrients do you like?

Anyway, just looking for some exploratory information before I jump in. I appreciate any feedback given. Thanks in advance!!!

Cheers,
Mr. Bond

Mr. Bond, below is Danny Danko's mix, it's not the most exact soil recipe as you will see but I like this mix quite a bit. It's easy and cheap enough to make and gives good results, you won't run into issues of deficiencies, at least I haven't. I used to make my mix using Pro mix but switched over to Canadian sphag as it is way cheaper and so far my results are just as good as they were with the pro mix. You can also check out the post from Subcool. He has what looks to be an awesome soil recipe but it takes some time to cook and get it right from what I can gather.

I have heard good and bad stories about FFOF but have never used it myself, it's pricey.

Danny Danko’s Magic Organic Mix for 5-gallon Buckets
3 parts Canadian sphagnum peat mix, coco coir or Pro-Mix
1 part large chunky perlite
1 part worm castings
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup of dolomite lime
1/3 cup of Peruvian seabird guano
1/4 cup Epsom salts
Mix it all together and soak it all down for at least a day or two before you plan to use it to get all the contents blended up and oxygenated. It should be wet throughout but not over-saturated.
The first few waterings should be done with plain water as the fresh planting mix is fairly “hot” (nutrient-rich). Let water sit out for at least 24 hours to evaporate chlorine that will kill off your beneficial microbes. Airstones at the bottom of the bucket with an air pump will speed up this process as well.

From then on, use compost teas and diluted liquid seaweed throughout growth and add some high-phosphorus bat guano tea during flowering. No need to flush towards the end, simply use milder tea for the last two weeks of flowering. Some natural yellowing will occur on fan leaves but this is a good thing as nitrogen is leaching out of the plant’s cells.

Hope this helps you decide on what to do.

how about using coco?

del66666 said:

how about using coco?

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If you're asking me, I'm not sure never tried the stuff. I think the only real purpose of the pro mix, coco or sphag is to retain water, act as a filler and to buffer all the nutes that are in the mix.

i use coco straight as it is.....can water as often as you like.......been doing 12-12 from seed and pulling 2-4 oz dry per plant.....

Going organic for the first time, keep it simple. Use a nice soil like fox farm ocean forest or even better is Pro mix. it is full i say full of micro beaties. Read the label and see . Ok so now u have soil, next is nutrients. Any organic nutrient will get u going. I used Humboldts Naturals first run, now i am using Canna products. Seeing which i prefer. Now also i suggest u get a NPK and a micro nutrient like " Bio Genesis " http://www.thefind.com/beauty/browse-biogenesis-mineral-matrix ~~~~and also i really like the Synergy. Ok those are great and will help u get every thing u need beside the NPK.
Last and so important, u need to use a tea compost once a week to build up your micro life in soil. i just buy mine for $1.75 a gallon at local nursery/hydro .

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the feedback!!! I appreciate it.

The clone that I have now is already in FF Ocean Forest, so I think I might stick with that for this grow. My local shops do not have Pro mix unfortunately. I do want some additional beneficials in my soil though, and I want some decent drainage, so I'm thinking of doing like 1/3 FF Ocean Forest as a base, 1/3 General Organics Ancient Forest EWC for bennies, and 1/3 coco coir for drainage. I will also be supplementing with Heisenberg's great formula for EWC/beneficial tea. How does this sound to some of you more experienced organic folk?

GoldenGanja I would check out that Bio-Genesis but it is not sold in California...

Thanks again all!

Mr. Bond

I would suggest you find room for 25% Worm Castings in what ever mix you use. Worm Castings will auto adjust you soil Ph, help keep bugs away and give your plants a great boost will all the good stuff in it. It will also boost your microbe army, water once a week with 1/2 tbs molasses per gallon of water. Never use lime and never Dolmite as it has about 25x the mag your plants need.

SunShine = ProMix

Thanks woodsman, I wasn't aware the EWC would help auto-adjust the pH. Wonderful. I love using the worm castings anyway, even in hydro, it works awesome.

Good advice!

mr. bond

I made that same transition from chem hydro to organic and never looked back. This next grow I've decided to go with Subcool's Super Soil. See the subforum of this Organic Forum. Good support structure of people very familiar with the soil as well as Subcools genetics. So I looked at is as a safe bet. It's been around for years, used by thousands and is organic

TJames said:

I made that same transition from chem hydro to organic and never looked back. This next grow I've decided to go with Subcool's Super Soil. See the subforum of this Organic Forum. Good support structure of people very familiar with the soil as well as Subcools genetics. So I looked at is as a safe bet. It's been around for years, used by thousands and is organic

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Thanks for your input TJames. Yes I was looking at Subcool's Super Soil as well, mentioned by vapekush, it looks and sounds awesome. I can't wait to try it. Although I currently only have 1 plant in soil, and like 18 in hydro... when I get more soil plants I'm def going to try the Super Soil. Thanks for dropping by mate.

Cheers,
mr. bond

I enjoyed researching different soils, but my current grow soil is lacking and Subcool's seemed like the safest landing pad. Good luck!

Watch out! You'll end up ditching Hydroponics if you're not careful!! LOL. If you're stateside (which I assume you are) look at the Espoma line of organic ferts. The Plant Tone is a great veg nute, supplement that with a top dressing of bone meal or teas (kelp) for flowering, the Bulb Tone is a great flowering nute if you grow out clones. Just up the N with teas while you veg them. That Danko soil mix or the SubCool mix will do ya right.

I foresee a hydroponics system for sale in the near future. Any takers?

Jack Harer said:

That Danko soil mix or the SubCool mix will do ya right.

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I sure hope so!