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1st try *true organics* I hope - This is what I am ordering today/tomorrow if approve

Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
Hi everyone. I am giving this a go again. My first grow ever was faux organic and used a horrible product with a name i won't ever mention in this forum ~again~. It also died due to A/C breaking, and then sewage backup. So, like White Snake said: "Here we go again on my own...."

This is what I am ordering today if the majority of respondents agree. I will adjust accordingly and humbly with whatever advice I am given.

This is all from worms way:

1 - Espoma Dried Blood
1 - Espoma Greensand
1 - Happy Frog High Phosphorus
1 - Happy Frog Steamed Bone meal
1 - Myco Maximum (1lb)
6 - FF Ocean Forest Potting Soil
1 - 4 Cu.F of Perlite
24 - #3 Smart pots
* I have to get lime from someplace else as I only see pelletized at Worms Way.
==========================

I pretty much followed the organics guide for beginners, as overhwhelming as it looks at start, one can cobble away at in an hour or so.

If you are curious about the space It is: 4x6 / 8 or maybe 5x8 (it can be any size within 10x12 that I can appropriately light).

I am going for a vertical with 2 tiers of plants from sitting atop cinder block and plank risers - i guess that is called colliseum style. :D

Currently the strain is undecided. I am split between:

- Northern Lights (For ease of grow)
- TrainWreck (for personal taste)
- AK47 (obvious reason of wanting to become one with the couch)

Recommendations for a good hearty strain for a foolish noob girl is always appreciated.

Thanks in advance, peace.:thank you:
 
C

CT Guy

I'll let others comment on your ingredients, but two things that were glaringly missing for me were:

Seaweed/kelp and EWC
 
I

Iron_Lion

You have a lot of ingredients, not sure why you need half of them.

Ocean Forest is a good start, add 50% light warrior and you're in business.

Must haves
5lb bag of EWC
1 bag kelp meal
1 bag indonesian bat guano
1 bottle molasses


those 6 things can take you from start to finish.

P.S light warrior is already innoculated with bacteria so you dont need another product to do that.
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
T
Iron_Lion said:
You have a lot of ingredients, not sure why you need half of them.

Ocean Forest is a good start, add 50% light warrior and you're in business.

Must haves
5lb bag of EWC
1 bag kelp meal
1 bag indonesian bat guano
1 bottle molasses


those 6 things can take you from start to finish.

P.S light warrior is already innoculated with bacteria so you dont need another product to do that.
Click to expand...

Right on! Thank you for the advice. I have updated my shopping cart to include the kelp meal and indo bat guano. I cannot find Molasses there. Can I use the molasses from the store off the shelf?

What is EWC?

Once i know that, I can finalize the order. The price is rather scary.

Not looking forward to ordering the lights.
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
I just found a local nursery -not hydro store- that carries all the Fox Farm things i need. This literally knocks $80 usd off the shipping - Hooray for google.
 
C

CT Guy

Kirsten,

I'd go back and read some of the threads relating to Fox Farm and problems people have had. Never tried it myself. Most people on here make their own soil mixes from local ingredients. Might save you some time and money to read the stickies above that have a few soil mixes that have been used countless times by growers in this forum.

EWC = earthworm castings. It's going to make a huge difference in the quality of your soil mix. Not all of it is created the same though, you'll want to find out some info about your local source. Ultimately the best thing is to start a small worm bin and make your own. You'll have a healthy way of recycling your food waste into "black gold" :)
 
C

CT Guy

Maybe someone can offer a quick comparison of major soil mix brands (Roots, Fox Farm, Etc...). I've only made my own mixes for my veggies.

Clackamas Coot would be a good source of info. Might be worth your time to contact him if you can.

Cheers,
CT
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
CT Guy said:
Kirsten,

I'd go back and read some of the threads relating to Fox Farm and problems people have had. Never tried it myself. Most people on here make their own soil mixes from local ingredients. Might save you some time and money to read the stickies above that have a few soil mixes that have been used countless times by growers in this forum.

EWC = earthworm castings. It's going to make a huge difference in the quality of your soil mix. Not all of it is created the same though, you'll want to find out some info about your local source. Ultimately the best thing is to start a small worm bin and make your own. You'll have a healthy way of recycling your food waste into "black gold" :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and info, I appreciate it.

I have lurked here in one form or another since 2008. It is a lot to digest, especially when once you arrive your ideas, after reading, must be changed/evolved. I have countless links of soil mixes, that have saved and have event mix ideas to friends that you yourself posted a while back that was a 3 part Fox Farm mix of Ocean, Light Warrior, and Light Warrior Potting (i think) and you said all it required was an occassional tea. Which is pretty cool.

Because of my living situation and not having a vehicle - and of course the issue of funds many deal with - I want to try for a water only feeding organic soil mix which occassionally requires additives like mollasses, etc..if possible. I am extremely manic quite often, so measuring can be pretty annoying and kind of like - pour it out and start again, repeatedly thing happening. But I will whatever I need to assure I have some pretty, and healthy girls in the end.

The Organics for Begginners thread is pretty amazing actually. Considering I had never really read it with any understanding until recently. Thanks in large to a lot of coaxing from posts other members made recommending people digest that info.

I still have an appointment this evening at the local nursery, they asked I come in later after some large deliveries. I will see about local EWC's and talk to them about the quality of the Fox Farms soil in this part of the country as opposed to the differences i know which happen on the East and West, so it will be interesting to find out where mine comes from.

I guess I should get some defensive things and expect gnats and other visitors in the soil.

I appreciate your help CT, and yes, Clackamass does amass a mass of info, and yes, i just wanted to say mass a lot. :D

Thank you again!:thank you:
 
I

Iron_Lion

Fox Farm Ocean forest might not be perfect but its quick and easy and produces very nice results. Mixing it with light warrior it pretty much contains everything you could ask for in a quality soil mix.

Making your own soil might be better but it takes tweaking, gotta shop around for all the ingredients and it takes time measuring and mixing.

I personally mix my ocean forest with 1 bag light warrior and 1 bag fox farm planting mix and I can basically run a full flowering cycle with little more than giving tea twice and a top dressing of 1- tbs ind bat guano, 1-2 tbs kelp meal and 1-2 tbs ewc. this system yields good too I usually get about a lb from my 600 even with a few low yielding plants in the mix.
 
O

optimal

Member
i would go with the good old moonshine mix....

search "moonshine mix"

pretty much gets ya more than half way thur, maybe add some cal/mag, & some budswel tea later in flowering with a little mollasses.
 
C

Carl Carlson

I don't understand why more people, especially beginners, don't just use the Espoma organic tone products or Mater Magic, or Lowes Garden Club organic all purpose or Chickety Doo-Doo or any of the other too numerous to mention pre-mixed organic fertilizers that tell you exactly how much to use in each container.

Well I don't mind paying a little extra for someone else to do the work. Mixing fertilizers and amendments in particular, specifically for containers from scratch is not an exact process.

And if you want buy a pre-mixed soil and save some money on the Fox Farms, look for Fafard FOF 30 or Fafard Organic Potting mix. They're probably half the price by volume and both very good products.
 
actech

actech

Member
earth juice soil

earth juice soil

try AMAZON BLOOM soil from earth juice. this shit is the bomb! added perlite and i have given my girls nothing but water and they are on day 60 (40 days veg and 20 days 12/12). great soil and cheaper than FFOF for me. didnt burn seedlings either. this is my new soil from now on.
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
Carl Carlson said:
I don't understand why more people, especially beginners, don't just use the Espoma organic tone products or Mater Magic, or Lowes Garden Club organic all purpose or Chickety Doo-Doo or any of the other too numerous to mention pre-mixed organic fertilizers that tell you exactly how much to use in each container.

Well I don't mind paying a little extra for someone else to do the work. Mixing fertilizers and amendments in particular, specifically for containers from scratch is not an exact process.

And if you want buy a pre-mixed soil and save some money on the Fox Farms, look for Fafard FOF 30 or Fafard Organic Potting mix. They're probably half the price by volume and both very good products.
Click to expand...

Buying a premixed soil really is counterproductive to my needs. What i 'need', is to learn the proper way, and not to put off learning today what i would just have to learn to tomorrow if i am going to be a successful home cultivator of a quality end product that makes me happy to sit on my couch with company and enjoy because I will know it is the fruit of my hard earned labor and new knowledge.

If i buy a premix and grow, then do i buy a pre-mix for the next grow, or when? My goal is not to just do a jack-and-the-beanstalk where i toss some seeds down and am just happy they sprouted, I really wish to involved myself deeper into the learning process and understanding what it is each element/amendment i am adding to the soil is contributing to the end result and how.

This is really really exciting. I want to get my hands dirty and learn properly and if that means a few financial faux pas slip-ups mistakes, etc. Well I will just pick myself, adapt and overcome, after all failing is not a sign of a failure - it is not getting up to try again however that is. I will be trying lots :D

So i guess really, i want to be a hobbyist, not a beginner forever...maybe i should have just put that as the first reply and erased all the other ramble-on.:blowbubbles::laughing:
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
Hi everyone,

here are some updates:

For light blocking I am using: 2, 6mil black/white plastic covers, and a double layer of light blocking curtain. You cant see that is all nailed along the sides. I just used the tape because I am paranoid android girl.

I check outside and there is no light escaping the room and in the day, not a sliver of light penetrating, not even from the sides, top, or bottom.

The vent for the A/C is directly under the window with a floor register, which is perfect and the flow is incredibly strong and very cold.


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Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
The things I purchased so far:

3- FF Ocean Forest
3- FF Planting Mix
4- FF Light Warrior
1- 4cu chunky perlite
1- Happy Frog Steamed Bone meal
1- Algamin Kelp meal
1- Espoma Dried blood
1- EsposGrow
1- Greensand
1- 15lb bag Earth Worm Jim Castings
1- Indonesian Bat Guano
1- Hi-Brix 14oz (for Molasses)
32 -#3 Smart pots (extras for just in case)

----------------

All those items were ordered and paid for and are on their way.
(The Fox Farms stuff I got local; can you imagine the shipping of 10 bags of that stuff??)

I think I got everything recommend. Thank you!

I will be posting updates as I move forward doing this-and-that to prepare the room.
 
lokes

lokes

~Pollinator~
Veteran
Kirsten, I can't PM you yet but go check your wall under "My IC". Left some good info there for yah.

And make sure you cover that carpet with plywood.
 
E

EatMoGrass

Member
That ChicketyDoo-Doo brand that was mentioned is a local company here and when they first went into business the founder was interviewed in a local newspaper here. If I can remember correctly from when that interview was published 3+years ago the founder seemed to be braging that his chicken shit comes from one of the largest chicken farms around, with something like a million plus chickens.

Knowing that a chicken farm raising that amount of birds absolutly couldn't be organic or even free-range has kept me from using that locally sourced product.

I also stay away from the blood/bone meals. I have been trying out Clackamas Coots mineral mix and seed meals along with Dramatic fish hydroslate, wiggle worm castings, and Purple Cow activated compost(All three are local companies).

My girls seem to be doing better than ever thanks to the wealth of info provided by the members in this fourm.
 
Kirsten

Kirsten

Member
Here are the strains I have chosen and are en-route or already in my possession:

- AK47
- Carnival
- Pure AK
- A-Train
- Cheese Wreck
- Northern Lights
 
M

MrFista

Active member
Veteran
"I want to get my hands dirty and learn properly and if that means a few financial faux pas slip-ups mistakes, etc. Well I will just pick myself, adapt and overcome, after all failing is not a sign of a failure - it is not getting up to try again however that is."

Exactly. Enjoy the ride.
 
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