New to Soil/Organic

[willowgrow]

Hey all, so after taking a break from growing i've decided to step back in and setup another grow. My previous grow of two plants in DWC was a good learning experience but I want to try something different. I want to go with a soil grow this time and i figured why not go organic? After a little research i came up with a few questions:
- Will I be ok if using 100% FFOF from start-finish as long as I water regularly with PHd water?
- If not, what nutes should I look at buying?
- How often & how much should I water/feed them ?
- Should I mix FFOF w/ perlite or is it ready to go?

Thanks in advance!

 

[umbra]

Hey all, so after taking a break from growing i've decided to step back in and setup another grow. My previous grow of two plants in DWC was a good learning experience but I want to try something different. I want to go with a soil grow this time and i figured why not go organic? After a little research i came up with a few questions:
- Will I be ok if using 100% FFOF from start-finish as long as I water regularly with PHd water?
- If not, what nutes should I look at buying?
- How often & how much should I water/feed them ?
- Should I mix FFOF w/ perlite or is it ready to go?

Thanks in advance!

All good questions.
FFOF is good, definitely mix in more perlite. With FFOF, it will last your plants 2 to 3 weeks. Then some sort of fert will be needed. FF makes nutes for soil. They are not 100% organic, but pretty close. Start with 1/4 strength and increase to 100%. Then just follow the feeding schedule from FF. When to feed them, is a function of how fast they grow. Pick up container and feel it. If it feels light, feed 'em.

 

[krymphus]

or you could always check out subcools articles on his soil mixes, allows you to go the whole cycle without fertilizing, i like to use alfalfa meal from dr.earth its 4-2-4 and mix it about a tbs a gallon of dirt(i just made a post called krymphus' mix". If you want a more complete organic mixture the more variety the better but also the more costly, and you will not see that many differences in results compared to just throwing in what is in subcools soil mix. I personally liek to stay away from fox farms just because i like to save money so i buy cheaper base dirts like black gold, and whatever composted soil mix is cheap, then throw in som perlite and some organic nutrients to cover all the N-P-K values youll need as well as you Calcium, Magnesium, etc.

 

[umbra]

or you could always check out subcools articles on his soil mixes, allows you to go the whole cycle without fertilizing, i like to use alfalfa meal from dr.earth its 4-2-4 and mix it about a tbs a gallon of dirt(i just made a post called krymphus' mix". If you want a more complete organic mixture the more variety the better but also the more costly, and you will not see that many differences in results compared to just throwing in what is in subcools soil mix. I personally liek to stay away from fox farms just because i like to save money so i buy cheaper base dirts like black gold, and whatever composted soil mix is cheap, then throw in som perlite and some organic nutrients to cover all the N-P-K values youll need as well as you Calcium, Magnesium, etc.

Subcools supersoil works pretty good, but not what I would consider for a first timer. Just use the FFOF with perlite and grow big, big bloom, and tiger bloom and get a few grows under your belt. Then you get start mixing your own soil.

 

[Super Silver Haze]

worm castings wouldnt hurt.

 

[Mutt]

Subcools supersoil works pretty good, but not what I would consider for a first timer. Just use the FFOF with perlite and grow big, big bloom, and tiger bloom and get a few grows under your belt. Then you get start mixing your own soil.

:yeahthat: The thing with doing soil mixes and organic teas (what i consider true organic growing...Working with microbial life) Gets complicated esp. when it comes to trouble shooting. Plus a lot of the so called "golden rules" of growing such as soil PH, what to mix together what not to...how to deal with deficiencies, ect. Go out the window.

Go the easy way first. Your chances of getting a successful first harvest is to do what umbra said

 

[dirtyolsouth]

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

Yup... Keep it simple willow... FFOF is a great start and the FF nutes have been used for millions of successful grows....

Happy Growing!

 

[Alistair]

Yeah, I'm not quite sure how to understand the balancing act of organic growing. It really sounds complicated. However, something pure and basic, and as natural as organic growing, shouldn't be a brain stormer. Just the same, I get confused and don't have the confidence to try it. I like Umbra's advice. I might try it sometime. Just use the liquid fertilizers, and perhaps a ting boost of the granular FF nutes once in awhile for a boost.

My idea would be to use FFOF soil, all 3 FF liquid nutes, and added to this bat guano once a month. The bat guano would preclude the use of the FF high octane fertilizers. But, I find using small amounts (no bat guano) of the high potency FF nutes is sufficient for abundant flower and trichome production, with the added benefit of less need to leach monthly or flush before harvest.
Actually, this is just an idea of mine. I haven't necessarily carried this out in prcatice. However, lately, I've been giving very low doses of the FF high octane Cha Ching , along with the liquid nutes, in very late flowering. This way, it seems that the plant is being fed until the very end, with no need to flush. I call it a semi flush, a mere reduction in food in late flowering.

 

[Tater]

I'll vouch for subs super soil, its what I'm running on my next run and besides the back breaking labor of mixing it all not much else to it. He's done the "balancing act" for you. I've seen plenty of first time growers on other forums achieve great success by mixing the soil and then just adding water. Becareful to make sure your water is dechlorinated before you water them though, either get an RO system, or at least carbon filters, or if you don't have that get some stuff from the fish store that makes tap water safe for fish and use that on your water first.

 

[nvthis]

If you have access to OF, then you must be able to get HF. I actually prefer it and mixing the two is a win/win. And, if you want organic, look into the earth juice line out of Chico Ca. Good stuff maynard.

Subs SS... It has a few drawbacks. The biggest being that you can't just go to the garden shop and buy a bag (and, for the life of me, I can't figure out why someone hasn't jumped all over this yet:confused2: ...). You need access to the ingredients, you need to mix it, store it, cook it and all this at least a month or two before you even use it. Some folk do this every single grow.

 

[FUM]

Worms love Whole Wheat Bread. If you take a slice of bread, put it on your worm bed. The worms come running to chow-down. It's one way to move your worms when collecting your castings. Peace out

 

[Tater]

nvthis: why would you go through all that trouble every single grow? All you need to do is reamend what you already have and use it again. Only soil that has been destroyed by synthetics needs to be tossed.

 

[nvthis]

Hey Tater, I totally agree. I don't have to do it every grow. I just mix smaller batches. Unfortunately my situation dictates that I use fresh soil. I am already pushing my limit for storage and the storage space needed for reamending soil is enormous. It is definitely the way to go and i intend to do so at some point.

 

[Tater]

Ah, see I forget not everyone has a garage thats heated.