Caling UK growers! Where to buy supplies.

[buddymate]

I get 90% of my grow stuff from this local place:

http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/1.html

Unbelievble range of stuff, they are a huge horticulural supply place and the pries are the best around, they make a whole range of their own feeds and composts, I use em. Teh ysell seaweed extract that is as good as any I;ve used for a firth the price of Maxicrop, I use the powdered version, pay a tenner for enough powder to make 220 litres of the stuff, and you can pay more than that for a 2.5 litre of Maxicrop these days.

Their wormcasts are good and cheap, and their other own brand ferts are all excellent quality. I've used their stuff for years and never feel the need to go near a hydro shop, their 90p coco bricks never need flushing, hard to beat a soil mix of 50% coco, 25 vermiculite and 25% wormcastings with 3-12-12 organics pellets and mycohorrizae added, then I water with molasses and seaweed and get great yields. I use 7 litre deep rose pots from kays, 21cm diameter but 35cm deep, 7 quid for 10 at kays, they have a huge range of pots of all types including poly plastic ones like thick bin liners that I love for outdoors, they go upto 70 litres I think.

A big tip for money saving - don't buy PK13-14 at the hydro shop, get a 800g box of Chempak Mono Potassium Phosphate for 4 quid and make your own, disolve the powder in water and you get PK13-14. A 800g box will last many years even if you go through 10 litres of PK in a year, which could run to over a hundred quid. If ya don't like using a chemical PK booster, then the age old standby is steamed bone meal for P (usually something like 3-30-0) and wood ash from the fireplace (someone always knows someone with a real fire! lol) that is high in K. While I like the idea of fully organic growing, a judicious application of mono potassium phosphate increases yield over anything you can do with organics so a hit of PK in mid flower isn't gonna hurt anyone as long as ya flush well at the end!

Chempak also do a powdered hydroponic nutrient that works as good as Ionic or ny other basic hydro nute and it's again about 4 quid for an 800g box, had some stupendous yields with Chempak nutes in DWC back in the day.

Chempak liquid worm Humus is as good as the expensive brands and about a third the price. Same with their Fish Emulsion, half the price of Biobizz Fish Mix.

Other thing about Kays is they sell just about ever chemical and organic thing you can imagine in cheap bulk powdered form dirt cheap, you can get calcified seaweed, lime, kieserite, kainit, bonemeal, fishmeal, seaweed meal, rock dust and loads more in 3kg, 10kg and 25kg bags and all are as cheap as you can get. They have a full range of 3, 10 and 25 kilo bags of chemicals ferts like mono potassium phosphate and ammonium phosphate dirt cheap too.

Hydro shops and canna specific products are a big ripoff, you can get everything you need to grow great weed from regular horticulture places for a fraction of the price.

Excellent place but just gone into administration mate

 

[MrQueue]

Anybody used GBK-Shop on ebay for lights?

 

[mowgly]

http://www.hydrohobby.co.uk/ Highly recommend

Not in my part of the country but I've been using them since around 2004 and never had a problem with them. Prices are good and delivery is very quick.

http://www.defenders.co.uk - Great for pest control

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk - Offer a wide range of things ranging from air-stones , pumps , RO units and everything wet

http://www.screwfix.com/ - Everything from screws, thermostats for homemade fan controllers, plumping for your hydro, electrical so your house dont burn and they're delivery is very quick too. Unless you're in the 'trade' this is one of the cheapest places to pick up the above mentioned.

http://www.ebay.co.uk - Actually a great place to buy all your environmental needs. Fans and ducting, especially acoutsic ducting can be got very cheap through ebay- Worth a look.

Guvnor

hydrohobby i agree great shop great price and friendly
near coventry

 

[indifferent]

Excellent place but just gone into administration mate

I'm really gutted about this, I used them for years, unbeatable prices and sold things you simply can't get elsewhere. Thank god I still have a full 350g of powdered seaweed extract, enough to make 233 litres.

I often pick up things cheap at the local garden centres, they often have 'everything 50p' baskets with piles of bottles of stuff with damaged labels etc. Picked up 4 bottles of Agralan Revive for 50p today and two small bottles of some organic houseplant feed (couldn't read the maker's name on the damaged labels) that is 5-2-2, those were 50p each too. I was just about to order some fish emulsion which is also 5-2-2 cos I need a high nitrogen nute, so I saved a bunch. They also had sticky traps for 50p a packet so I grabbed a few of those too.

Few weeks ago I picked up a 2.5 litre bottle of Westland organic liquid feed for 3.99 reduced from 9.99, it's 2-1-4 and seems to be doing a nice job as an early flower fert, I add molasses, chempak liquid worm humus and liquid seaweed extract.

I noticed a box of Chempak Orchid Bloom in the garden centre today, I think it was 3-15-15 which sounds ideal for late bloom, a kilo box for under a fiver and would last years, if I wasn't all organic these days I definitely wouldn't be buying expensive canna specific nutes, I'd be using Chempak powders, after all, there is bugger all difference between them and the expensive stuff in bottles, they have many different NPK products, all with the essential 7 trace elements and they also sell calcium, magnesium, sequestered race elements, everything ya need.

 

[VerdantGreen]

hey indifferent gardendirect.co.uk does seaweed meal and lots of other obscure additives - probably not as cheep but...

 

[DocLeaf]

Seabird Guano... http://www.belfastindoorgardening.com/plagron-guano-peru-3kg-p-317.html

Top banana thanks for the link

Ideally we want UK sea bird guano ,, the fuel costs are lower / thus the product would be more ecological

 

[thepureskunk]

Help support your local growshop.. the soil mixes are usually worth the extra pennies,, just remember to haggle dem prices down! :friends:

Hey,

I'm sorry but you shouldn't have to haggle prices down. Shops should just put their best price on the label. Would you expect to haggle at Tesco's etc??

I've been using grow shops for years and they all suck for over inflated prices. The other day was another prime example..

I only ever buy soil from my local grow shop but the other day i was after a grow tent for use as a vegging cab. I had done my research online first and had seen a couple going for the 80-90 pound mark. I've been to this shop for years and i asked the dude for a price. He got out the catalogue and i pointed out the one i wanted. He then got another sheet of paper and then wrote £149.99 on it... I told him the price was a joke.. He then had another look at a piece of paper and then wrote down £104.99..a £45 difference!!!

I told him what i thought and will order online. These shops want our business but will try and rip you off whenever possible. If i was a newb and handed him £149.99 then he would have took my money laughing his head off. If i could get the soil online i would...BUT...the soil is the only thing i cant get elsewhere.

Rant over!!

Thanks for all the various links...been most useful.

Take care all and happy growing, TPS

 

[VerdantGreen]

holland and barret have a 'buy one get second half price' promotion on atm - go and stock up on meridian blackstrap organic molasses
- make sure you get the one that says blackstrap.

also their satay broad beans are my favorite snack food ever

V.

 

[indifferent]

I have two days off work tomorrow and I'm off to buy some grow supplies, I shall not be going anywhere near a hydro store tho, my shopping list is something like this:

Jaggery Goor (raw, unprocessed solidified sugar cane juice) - ASDA
Agave Syrup - ASDA (gonna experiemnt with this as an alternative to Molasses after a tip from a Dr of Horticultural Science I met, it's 3-4x as expensive though)
Crude Blackstrap Molasses - local Healthfood shop, 1.29 for 681g, Healthrite brand
Aspirin - ASDA, 19p a box, it's salicylic acid, supposed to trigger stress reaction in plants without imparting any stress, it's thought to be one of the key components in Canna Boost
Brewer's Yeast - Wilkinsons (for producing CO2)
Bag of Sugar - ASDA (whichever is the cheapest brand, for mixing with Yeast to make CO2)
Kelp Powder - local healthfood shop (250g is about a fiver, plants absolutely love Kelp)
Bat Guano (Caveman's brand) - Oxfam

That little lot will cost me under £20, so ya see how much can be saved if you avoid the rip-off canna targeted products sold in hydro stores.

I have been searching for a UK source of cheap fulvic acid, preferably powdered, anyone know where to find it? I'm also on the lookout for a local supplier for wormcastings after Kays went tits-up.

Anyone found any other types of seabird guano for sale other than that Plagron stuff? I live next to the beach and there are loads of seabird nesting sites, maybe I can go collect my own? I already use chicken manure, which I think does help with flavour, but it has too much N for flowering, hence I use bat guano. I wish Oxfam would stock both types of Caveman's Guano, not just the Nigh N one.

 

[george j warner]

i use a local shop for most things but growell or 3 counties for cheaper options

 

[Hurley]

 

[Strangely]

Aspirin - ASDA, 19p a box, it's salicylic acid, supposed to trigger stress reaction in plants without imparting any stress, it's thought to be one of the key components in Canna Boost

hmmm interesting...

Anyone know a good 'normal' online store to buy both red and blue spectrum suitable cfls (20W-30W)? Tesco have some cheap 20Wers but they just say 'soft white' with no spectrum info.

 

[Blimey]

I'm very impressed with the results I'm getting with this product against spider mites.

£2 for 800ml at Wyevales.

 

[strass]

Anyone ordered from 3 counties lately? I placed an order 7 days ago and its still not shipped and they are not returning my emails.

 

[VerdantGreen]

im pretty excited to try this product, been looking for fulvic and humic acid in the UK for a while now. this might be the our version of Liquid Karma

http://www.lbsgardenwarehouse.co.uk/Medwyns-Liquid-Gold-PRDR-26024510/

this site also good for large pots, bulk perlite and other stuff....

 

[TheBudFather]

Top banana thanks for the link

Ideally we want UK sea bird guano ,, the fuel costs are lower / thus the product would be more ecological

I'm sure Belfast is in the UK..? I know what you mean... Mainland UK, I searched & searched & searched but could not find anything on the net... BelfastHydro was the only place stocking seabird guano, and MY GOD does this stuff stink like pure EVIL

holland and barret have a 'buy one get second half price' promotion on atm - go and stock up on meridian blackstrap organic molasses
- make sure you get the one that says blackstrap.

also their satay broad beans are my favorite snack food ever

V.

I always get my Molasses from Holland & Barret... I noticed that only the main Holland & Barret in the city center sells the Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses (green label).
I have my nan eating this stuff every morning on her cereal. its amazing stuff.

 

[Strangely]

Anyone seen all the scam stuff about HG Hydro? I was about to order a load of stuff from them, searched on Google and the below link came up high so had a read. Anyone had good/bad experiences from these guys? I'm thinking I should stick to the usual suspects hydro site wise...

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2055

 

[V1AAA]

i wont be using 3c anymore

i bought a few bits and pieces from there recently

i paid for my stuff. got them to bag it up.

the sales guy handed me a bag which as i picked it up split and broke. the 5 litre bottle hit the floor and cracked.

i asked them to replace it, and they refused. made a big stink about it.

then a few days later took a load of ballasts back which were faulty (brand new i might add)

and i got a shit load of abuse about my attitude. what attitude????????????????

they are lucky i dont burn the shop down with them in it. i am a nice guy unless pushed the wrong way.

and i have took them over £20k's worth of custom in the last year. it wasnt my money, but more helping people out. them as a business, and others just trying to do their thing

 

[smokinweedgi]

great thread i think a lot of growers are getting ripped off with overpriced products especially some nutrient prices

 

[speedemon]

hydrohobby i agree great shop great price and friendly
near coventry

I also agree with this statement I have always used these people and you accumilate points with every order which gives a good discount on the next order you place also super quick delivery.
Shops I would not go near is Grotec as they advertise a lot of stock that they dont actually have in stock? and the wait can be up to 2 months HG Hydroponics as per all the scam warnings as well as the "to cheap to be true prices"