Promix recipe somewhat similar to fox farm ocean forest??

[Relentless]

Alright Im being forced to switch from fox farm ocean forest to something else and I dont want to go with coco or hyro so I figured why not promix, I can usually find it at most feed stores..

So, lets see some of the simpler but effective pro-mix recipes..

Thanks!!

 

[bigshrimp]

Isn't promix just overpriced peat moss? I get my peat for like $ 8 for 2.2 cuft.

That being said you can just replace peat with promix 1:1 in any recipe out there.

 

[LilMan72003]

Depends which Pro mix product you get but it is SPM cut with perlite, starter nutrient, and wetting agent.

I believe superior yields over FFOF can be achieved using a base soil mix composed of Pro mix, compost, and choice of aeration component (perlite, pumice, lava rock). Whether or not you want to supply micro/macro via soil or feeding is up to you.

 

[dank.frank]

Relentless - cut a full bale 3.8 cu ft bale of Pro Mix Bx with 2 bag EWC and 2 bags of soil - or say 20 gallons of compost, etc. for your base medium. From there you can amend with organics or can use any variety of nutrients...

That recipe makes about 60++ gallons



dank.Frank

 

[bigshrimp]

Just sayin, if your gonna mix it up yourself why spend money on convience.

 

[dank.frank]

??? Not sure what you mean, convenience - to what degree? That's a vague post?

Some things are more available than others - the OP asked for a simple Pro Mix recipe - not for the topic to be a debate thread...

But Pro-Mix is not just "peat moss", actually, there are many various "pro-mix" products. It's more a brand name than a singular product...first of all.

The mix most I know use is Bx - and even it has been steadily changed over the years, generally towards improvement.

Bx is 75-85% sphagnum peat, chunky perlite, vermiculite, dolomite and calcitic limestone, wetting agent, glomus intraradices...

their newest version also includes bacillus pumilus, strain gha-180...

Now is it the same as going to the local hardware store and buying a $10 bale of peat moss - NO - it is not.

Can you / is it possible to build a better medium, ultimately, in time, by starting with a $10 bale of peat moss - yes, eventually, given the right inputs...sure.

But - the OP just asked for a quick Pro-Mix recipe...



dank.Frank

 

[dank.frank]

But personally, I'm eyeballing the ProMix HP-CC...I think a bale of that blended with a couple bags of EWC (25#), a couple bags of dirt (1.5 cu ft), with some 10g additional aeration like permatil - would be a very interesting medium to play with.



dank.Frank

 

[bigshrimp]

Yeah i agree with you pro mix is "more" than just SPM. But if your going to take promix and then take your time to add aeration, liming, and humus it would be cheaper and equal labor to just get SPM and ammmend. The levels of "beneficials" pro mix are pretty sad. Wetting agent = soap. lime = lime.

Pro mix's value is in its convience - in that you can just drop it in a pot and go. When you take that and spend your own time and labor to mix in more of what they already did, that when you are losing money, time, and labor. does that make sense?

Sorry that my post offended the OP so much.

 

[dank.frank]

Pro-Mix by default does not need any additional lime - it is already in their mix. Wetting agent = a yucca extract.

I'd personally have to see your test results stating that the levels of beneficials are pretty sad. I assume you are making this statement from a very subjective perspective... rather than from a laboratory analysis.

As far as what you have to "add" to Pro-Mix - I'm still not sure I follow. If your TIME is worth even say $20 an hour - and it takes you an hour to mix in perlite, lime, yucca, etc into a bale of regular peat - is it any cheaper then???

Your protest against buying Pro-Mix vs buying SPM + all the additional inputs - doesn't really make any sense to me? I don't see your point, outside of stating your own personal preference...

I know for a fact - 1/2 bale of Pro-Mix, 1 bag FFOF,1/2 bag EWC, 1c blood meal, 1c bone meal, 1c oyster shell flower - will outperform most of every complex organic mix on here.

Can you make better than that? Certainly. I have and do. BUT - does that simple basic mix WORK - yes. Very well. For anyone looking to get their feet wet in organics - it is a GREAT starting place. You can go to the store...buy...come home and blend. Easy as can be. Don't really even have to compost it - just mix and plant.

I don't really understand how buying SPM is any different than buying Pro-Mix, from the "moral" aspect of things - which is what you seem to be getting at BigShrimp???

Perhaps you should review my older posts...I amend with 22 various inputs. Make my own base mediums, etc... check the sticky in Stank Bros forum.



dank.Frank

 

[bigshrimp]

I've spent some time in the stank bro forums, but mostly in your berry and blue threads. Ill go check your mixes. Really your right, its a fine recipe and if it helps people grow better weed and grow organic good. My initial post was just an interjection of my opinion, and didn't address the OP's question.

But no, this is not a moral argument.

If you are going to mix it yourself, why pay more? I can't put it more simply.

 

[dank.frank]

Got ya - for me - oddly enough, it is actually a bit cheaper to buy pro-mix vs blending it simply due to the location and availability of certain things. Not many gardeners around me of ANY kind - let alone of the indoor variety.



dank.Frank

 

[EclipseFour20]

Been down the peat vs ProMix BX route and the problem one will have is PH and lack of consistency. Promix BX PH is steady eddie 6.2...whereas Peat will range 5-7. It takes a bit of effort (PH test, then apply lime, wait a few days then retest...then add more lime, wait and retest) to raise the peat PH from 5 to 6.5+.

Our crop performs poorly when soil PH is below 6...but thrives when PH is 6.5-7.

Now I squeak when I walk (super frugal) and IMHO, having to battle soil PH issues so I can save $12 is not worth it (I pay $30 for ProMix BX...and paid $18 for a bale of peat--same size). That "substitute peat for ProMix BX" lesson/experience taught me more about "soil PH" than I wanted to learn--not to mention the quality/quantity problem with locked up plants (soil PH below 6).

That said, let me make this analogy--if I were going to be a professional baker, would I be better off purchasing a "premixed" cake mix and "amend it" (add chocolate)...or making my "cake mix" from raw ingredients (flour, sugar, milk, eggs, butter, baking soda, chocolate, etc)?

So...is ProMix BX a "premixed" cake mix? Not really. It does contain Sphagnum Peat Moss, Perlite, Vermiculite, Calcitic Limestone, Dolomitic Limestone, sprinkling of Micro & Macro nutrients and a Wetting Agent...but there is no significant amount of fertility/nutrition, no guanos, no EWC, no compost, no clay, no bark, no silica...etc.

Now...one ugly truth that many forget: Breakdown of organic components in packaged grow mixes (like Foxfarms). Since most organic ferts will fully decompose/breakdown after 70 days of application (moistened)...one has to wonder how much fertility is really available (not decomposed) in "packaged grow mixes" (like Foxfarms)?

Said differently, if one were to compare the available nutes/ferts in bags produced 1 month ago, 6 months ago and 12 months ago...which one would have the greatest amount? And which one the least? Yep...how much of the nutrients are lost (broken down, consumed, decomposed) while the bag is on the shelf? Whereas the stuff on my shelf (blood meal, bone meal, bat guanos, etc), as long as they remain dry, are fully available now, 6 months from now, 1 year from now--without any loss.

Cheers!

HAH...my first "4:20 am" post....gonna be a great day today!

 

[OrganicOzarks]

If you are close to a Home Depot or Lowe's you can get a bale of peat moss for less than $10.

Also if you are amending, and recycling then the starting PH should not matter, as it is going to fluctuate, and then settle in a steady range.

Kind of like real soil that is worked on the organic farm.

I believe Microbeman has posted about his soils PH always stabilizing at 6.4ish(could be wrong on the number, please forgive as this is a marijuana site ) with the correct amount of compost added.

I will add that using promix, and amending it is a step in the right direction to be free from pre-made soils.

 

[one.sixoneeight]

Relentless - cut a full bale 4.3 cu ft bale of Pro Mix Bx with 2 bag EWC and 2 bags of soil - or say 20 gallons of compost, etc. for your base medium. From there you can amend with organics or can use any variety of nutrients...

That recipe makes about 60++ gallons



dank.Frank

Are there really 4.3 cf bales now, or is this a typo?

 

[EclipseFour20]

ProMix BX is 3.8 cuft compressed and will expand to a "minimum of" 7 cuft.

See pdf for ProMix BX tech data.

Cheers!

 

[one.sixoneeight]

An easier piece of info to use imo....one bale of promix expands out to approximately 45 gallons.

 

[dank.frank]

Yes, 1618 - that is correct. I edited my post - thank you for catching that. Not sure why I typed it out wrong...lol.



dank.Frank

 

[godsgift402]

Could I get by using promix HP an just adding earthworm casting an feeding with teas.

 

[dank.frank]

sure.



dank.Frank

 

[Midgar06]

Ive used 1/2 promix, 1/4 ewc, 1/4 rice hulls, and amended with bone meal, blood meal, glacial rock dust. Mix it up and wet it with 5ml/g of liquid katma and molasses once a week. Let it sit for a few weeks and its ready to go. Use guano teas for nutes. Worked great in my summer garden this year.