Oh, I see. I don't use chems all organic so no salt build up, but I did not think CeC really mattered as much in soil. I know it's huge in CoCo.
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FoxFarm Ocean Forest issue
- Thread starter pheed
- Start date
Oh, I see. I don't use chems all organic so no salt build up, but I did not think CeC really mattered as much in soil. I know it's huge in CoCo.
Then why are you buying bagged potting soil? Wouldn't be easier to start from scratch and not wash/rinse/leach/flush the "charged" grow medium? Think of all the goodness that is going down the drain...not to mention the extra effort and dollars required.
How is buying premixed and then remixing it again...after washing of course, an efficient and cost effective way to garden? WTF?
SamsonsRiddle
Active member
i don't think you get it tim. my synthetic nutes are too strong out of the bottle so i pour out half my bottle and fill it with water. it makes it easier to measure my nutes without having to worry about all that concentration messing me up.
maybe i could just use less nutes and more water, but i don't like extra work or wasting money. wait......
St. Phatty
Active member
I had 3 rolling garbage cans full of dirt from 2016 outdoor grow.
Really poured it on at the end, guano tea almost every day.
The soil got washed sort of accidentally. I just didn't get around to doing anything with the soil right after harvest.
Too busy doing product testing
So it sat outside in the rain & got thoroughly rinsed.
So it got washed because ... I am lazy or just had other things to do.
Anyway, I topped it off with compost feedstock (banana peels, coffee grounds, etc.) and am now about to add some redworms (to help with the soil) and oak leaves (to protect the worms from the cold).
Also added chicken manure & some hay.
Was planning to re-supplement (bat guano & bone meal for phosphorus, wood ash for potassium).
Last year the cans had homemade soil mix on the bottom,
and FFOX on top, 1 full bag per can.
Me too. Not sure why i've never seen the "hot" aspect of ffof on my seeds, having heard about it from numerous posts. Not once. I do have to add to my final soil and lime has helped with problems similar to issue in pics. I've resolved in my mind that because i cut the ffof for the seeds with 25% perlite, and perhaps those experiencing burn are not?, that's why they see burn?
Sorry for the confusion. I buy "composts" "worm castings" as well as make my own. But with nearly 90,000 trees that are organic many times stuff is too hot.
So we often have to wash it a bit and add gypsum to where we know it will no longer be a problem.
.
So we often have to wash it a bit and add gypsum to where we know it will no longer be a problem.
.
If you buy bagged soil and it the EC is too high to support life you have no other choice. Sadly the quality control on most bagged soil means it is entirely possible you get a bad bag...
I just had a bag of FFOF that killed my plants in a few days, EC maxed out on my pen...
Hmmm....isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result?
Or that other dumb saying--fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
In my gardening world, "consistency" is key to my success. That means I do not use products with "unknown" qualities--it helps avoid a lot of extra work/head ache/expenses and....most important "disappointments". Nothing is more disheartening than working your ass off...only to be rewarded with a "failure".
GreenThumb2U2
New member
in Answering the thread question, I think it's not your soil, its:
If i had a guess:
Nov 18 give it bloom(more Phosphorus)
dec. 15 and dec 21 to much cal mag (try 5ML and space days out try dec 8)
dec. 26 to much bloom (slow P and more K) and stop with the 1tb rhizotonic
jan2 and jan 4 to much epsom salt(only one day and half as much day in a foliar spray) but then again you do not need any more Mag (and no foliar spray in flowering stage)
my overall guess:
-there is a slight Nitrogen deficiency(need N) but lower you N in flowering (even stop N at end)
-Ph you water to Zink and iron and sulfur (about 6.1 PH)
-some kind of nutrient lock out. What are you using to PH your water?
-to much cal mag and its locking out something.
-Potassium - Too much sodium (Na) displaces K, causing a K deficiency. Sources of high salinity are: baking soda (sodium bicarbonate "pH-up"), too much manure, and the use of water-softening filters (which should not be used). If the problem is Na, flush the soil. K can get locked up from too much Ca
-phosphorus deficiency and/or/maybe do to PH or overdoce of something causing some lockout
Tip:
-More potassium in late flowering
-Phosphorus (more in earlier flowering and less in late flowering)
And:
It is Normal for yellowing
If i had a guess:
Nov 18 give it bloom(more Phosphorus)
dec. 15 and dec 21 to much cal mag (try 5ML and space days out try dec 8)
dec. 26 to much bloom (slow P and more K) and stop with the 1tb rhizotonic
jan2 and jan 4 to much epsom salt(only one day and half as much day in a foliar spray) but then again you do not need any more Mag (and no foliar spray in flowering stage)
my overall guess:
-there is a slight Nitrogen deficiency(need N) but lower you N in flowering (even stop N at end)
-Ph you water to Zink and iron and sulfur (about 6.1 PH)
-some kind of nutrient lock out. What are you using to PH your water?
-to much cal mag and its locking out something.
-Potassium - Too much sodium (Na) displaces K, causing a K deficiency. Sources of high salinity are: baking soda (sodium bicarbonate "pH-up"), too much manure, and the use of water-softening filters (which should not be used). If the problem is Na, flush the soil. K can get locked up from too much Ca
-phosphorus deficiency and/or/maybe do to PH or overdoce of something causing some lockout
Tip:
-More potassium in late flowering
-Phosphorus (more in earlier flowering and less in late flowering)
And:
It is Normal for yellowing
I just began using FFOF and my seedling has a bright yellow spot in the center. I've never had problems with seedlings, ever. But I've always used a soil/coco mix so this entirely different and I haven't grown in straight soil in 4 or 5 years.
I'll have to look at my picture chart of nutrient deficiencies/build up. Anyone else start their seedlings in FFOF? Am I doing something wrong using it for seedlings?
I'll have to look at my picture chart of nutrient deficiencies/build up. Anyone else start their seedlings in FFOF? Am I doing something wrong using it for seedlings?
7thson
Member
I use it all the time...Never had a problem but I need to make my own.
Ruskointhehouse
Member
I use earth juice with ffof and have never had any problems - I dont like the bark in it though... gonna switch to another soil that my local grow store recommended that doesnt have bark. My seeds love ffof and thrive in it - it makes seeds happy 
Takes about 20-30 days for my girls to strip nutes from the soil from fresh transplant - also I use earth juice so no worries on plant burn 
Takes about 20-30 days for my girls to strip nutes from the soil from fresh transplant - also I use earth juice so no worries on plant burn Ruskointhehouse
Member
Are you adding nutes to the seeds? This soil has everything seeds need - they pop for me in ffof pretty fast I pop in a solo cup and transplant when it uses up the nutes - so you shouldnt add nutes to a seeded plant for a while when you need nutes transplant
Hey my advice would to give them a small amount of cards like a 1/4 tsp of flora liscious or a 1/2 tsp of blackstrap molasses. These arent nutes just sugars and you should see a diff. In a week. I havent read all of the thread so idk if you have already tried this. And remember to watch the new growth and not yhe damaged leaves for the new growth is what you want to be healthy. Theres nothing that can reverse the damage already do to the hurt leaves. 
slowrider
New member
Are the carbonates/bicarbonates coming from the water you think? If so, seems like RO should help.
FluxCherry
Active member
I honestly dislike Fox farms product since they stopped being organic and started using sources materials. Sadly my boss loves the stuff. I personally know it has bug issues. Any main stream company that makes bulk and stores it improperly will give you issues Each batch is slightly different. I used it on clones and seedlings without burning. I even feed it salts like I would rockwool. Other times it's a little to hot. I use coco coir perlite mix now for bigger pots. Mixing the fox farm. It doesn't drail well over time if not mixed. Can definitely cause some dry spots. Takes forever to feed it be cause it dosn't flow well. So much not have much oxygen. I had good experiences with .05 % h202 additions to my FFOF larger pots. Definitely helped. It's not the same as it once was.
