FF Ocean Forest...

[Six]

anyone every use the fox farm ocean forest brand before?..the guy at the hydroponics store says to amend it with some perlite but darn...this stuff looks pretty premo right out of the bag....any experience or insight to this particular soil would be much appreciated...

 

[UKgirl420]

if you look on the gj section you will find that a lot of members do

 

[PencilHead]

Some here say step on it with perlite, etc--they find it hot on seedlings and clones. I use it straight and through 2 grows and a half, I've never had any problems with it right outta the bag. Don't nute for the first couple or three weeks at least though--it is indeed premo stuff right outta the bag.

 

[tcbud]

I used it right out of the bag. Some strains find it kinda over nutriented and cause nute burn (last years Mango in particular). I didnt add nutes till the seedlings were about a month old and in gallon containers. I have tried Fox Farms Potting Mix (this year) and find it is better suited to seedlings, no nute burn.

Good luck to you....

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Some here say step on it with perlite, etc--they find it hot on seedlings and clones. I use it straight and through 2 grows and a half, I've never had any problems with it right outta the bag. Don't nute for the first couple or three weeks at least though--it is indeed premo stuff right outta the bag.

Primo stuff, indeed!

FFOF is premium stuff and although it has some perlite included it does still tend to compact and get a bit too dense for your roots over time during the grow, slowing down good drainage. This especially happens when doing long flowering sativa grow cycles. It is a hot, nutrient-rich mix but you don't add Perlite to 'step on' it... You add perlite for drainage.

To cut the strength of FFOF for seedlings you'd do much better to use something like Light Warrior or ProMix BX soiless mixes without nutes and blend either of those products with FFOF 50/50 for a great seedling mix. If you use FFOF to grow your seedlings in you'll often have some slight nute burn issues. Clones rarely have problems with FFOF full strength because they are genetically as developed as the mother the clone was taken from and can be fed much more aggressively. You won't need any nutes in the FFOF soil for some time. I used FFOF and I don't fertilize at all in veg mode because all the nutrition that the plants need are built into the soil with organic soil amendments. I veg for about 5-6 weeks and only feed at the end of vegging with a 'transition' fertilizer before putting them into 12/12.

Perlite is used to improved drainage and give your roots much improved aeration throughout the substrate. I use it at a 3:1 or 4:1 with Foxfarm's 'chunky' perlite. The chunky stuff has lots of large irregular sized pieces that make the soil less dense for aeration. Normal perlite is good to use too but the chunky stuff is much better for aeration. A nice 2-3" layer of Perlite in the base of your pots really helps drainage too.

Also, Perlite costs ($35/4 cubic ft) less than half of what soil does ($25/1.5 cubic ft.). Besides being great for your substrate it can stretch out your soil supply if you use 20-25% perlite and that will stetch out your dollars too!

This isn't to say that FFOF can't be used straight out of the bag with decent results but few things are so good in life that they can't be improved and chunky Perlite is FFOF's best friend!

Happy Growing!

 

[mrkingford]

I use FFOF and like stated prior i noticed it does get a bit compact when watering so i mixed my FFOF with 1/3 perlite on the top 3-4 inches only for the baby roots to grow more easily.

 

[astrobud]

im with ph on this one, i use it right out of the bag w/ no problems. i have 6 new babies 1 1/2 weeks old, doing fine, well one nortern lights showed a little burn but has gone away

 

[Six]

Well, mixed about 10% perlite to it and transplanted all my babies into FF ocean forest today...i hope they like it because this is round #2 and im about 3 weeks into it...6 struggling clones and 4 seedlings...i hope FF gives them a turn for the better...

the girls from round #1 are about ready to come out of the closet in a week or two...i saw the first sign of maturity today...i found one trich that is turnin amber and the little round ball on top is gone...time to flush em...almost time to reep the rewards...:watchplant: