Alternative To Fox Farm Soil

[RobFromTX]

G&B is OK.

One option is to just hike into the woods, find some soil that smells right,
and carry some home.

Then add a small amount of supplements.

Thanks for the suggestion! I grew a few outdoor when i was younger. Unfortunatley here in south texas the soil is extremely alkaline. Id also be worried about importing a potential bug problem as well. Not much "woods" left down here anymore either. Sad to say

 

[Three Berries]

G&B is OK.

One option is to just hike into the woods, find some soil that smells right,
and carry some home.

Then add a small amount of supplements.

I have Happy Frogs down at the pond and i see a big bushy tailed Red Fox at least once a day there too.

 

[pop_rocks]

Im looking for a good alternative bag soil that is available online ready to use. Ive been using FFOF since I started growing but the quality has suffered. Im getting fed up with my seedlings getting burned and weird insect invasions. If anyone knows of a better source for soil then please share. I dont mind paying a little more

if its just the little guys giving you trouble, amend the ffof with something
i would often use old soil but flush it out so any nuts are gone, you could also use peat to smooth out the taste
happy frog is good too and i had a friend here who would knock out great grows in it time after time
/his was indoors
in interested in the importing local soil thoe
some of the best weed i ever smoked came from tx hill country back in the day
if you do use native soil, cook it off first
get your soil in a mound and then put a plastic tarp over it
leave it out in the sun for at least a few days but that is usually good enough to kill any pathogens like bugs
/i do this for my bag soil as well
kick ass brother and grow the best weed you ahve ever smoked!

 

[flylowgethigh]

Look into the BAS version 3.0 for ready-made soil. To me soil that smells right clogs my sinuses from all the bacteria in it.

 

[Hempy McNoodle]

I like roots organic 707 blend when I can find it.

 

[Redrum92]

Ocean Forest is hot as hell. That is a widely known, consistent feature. It is not for seedlings. Happy Frog is amazing for seedlings/early veg. Ocean Forest is amazing for late veg/flower. Every tool has its use; you could hammer in a nail with a screwdriver handle, but I wouldn't. I'm a big fan of Fox Farm, but I will admit I'm far from a pro.

 

[Creeperpark]

What is not widely known is people who burn their plants with Ocean Forest don't know how to use it correctly. Ocean Forest doesn't add unnecessary amendments to burn plants because that would be ridiculous. Ocean Forest has a lot of water-soluble amendments added to the composted forest humus to feed the plants over an extended amount of time. If you add too much water to the growing media or over-water the mix, you will release the extra nutrients and burn the roots. IF you don't overwater the growing media you will have enough nutrients to last 6 weeks in a 1 gallon or small #5 container. IF fertiliser is added before the amendments break down you will burn your plants. Use only pure water for the first 4 to 6 weeks. The general NPK of Fox Farms Ocean Forest (NPK ratio of 4-1-1)

 

[goingrey]

What is not widely known is people who burn their plants with Ocean Forest don't know how to use it correctly. Ocean Forest doesn't add unnecessary amendments to burn plants because that would be ridiculous. Ocean Forest has a lot of water-soluble amendments added to the composted forest humus to feed the plants over an extended amount of time. If you add too much water to the growing media or over-water the mix, you will release the extra nutrients and burn the roots. IF you don't overwater the growing media you will have enough nutrients to last 6 weeks in a 1 gallon or small #5 container. IF fertiliser is added before the amendments break down you will burn your plants. Use only pure water for the first 4 to 6 weeks. The general NPK of Fox Farms Ocean Forest (NPK ratio of 4-1-1)

In the people's defense, this is not what FoxFarm says:

Our most popular potting soil, Ocean Forest® is a powerhouse blend of aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, bat guano, fish emulsion, and crab meal.

How To Use:
CONTAINER GARDENS:
Fill container with soil 1 inch (2.5 cm) below top edge of the pot.
Water thoroughly after planting.
For best results, feed your plants with FoxFarm fertilizer products during growth and bloom seasons.

 

[Creeperpark]

The main ingredient in Fox Farms is composted forest humus which has a pH of around neutral 7. The added amendments drop the pH lower when pure water is added to the growing media. If you overwater, you can burn the plants from a too low of a pH or if you add their fertilizer too early. As time goes by,(4 to 6 weeks) the organic amendments will be depleted and the pH will start to rise back to 7. That's when you add fertilizer to Fox Farms and that will drop the pH back to a suitable range. Fox Farms is a super mix unless given bad water management.

 

[Creeperpark]

In the people's defense, this is not what FoxFarm says:

Our most popular potting soil, Ocean Forest® is a powerhouse blend of aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, bat guano, fish emulsion, and crab meal.

How To Use:
CONTAINER GARDENS:
Fill container with soil 1 inch (2.5 cm) below top edge of the pot.
Water thoroughly after planting.
For best results, feed your plants with FoxFarm fertilizer products during growth and bloom seasons.

Your right friend they like when people fuck up their shit and burn the hell out of their plants. How many millions of dollars do you think they made from people fucking up the plants, after buying both mixes OF and HF and their nutrient line. That stuff was on everybody's shelf at one time or another. Everybody I know has fucked up using FOX FARMs at some time in their growing experience.

Very stupid informational statement.
For best results, feed your plants with FoxFarm fertilizer products during growth and bloom seasons. Dangerous general information and is misleading, and where most people fuck up.

 

[Creeperpark]

I'm for the growers and that's why I'm sharing how to use Fox Farm and get super buds from using it. Don't follow Fox Farms charts are you will burn the plants. Here are some photo's of the plants above using Fox Farms Ocean Forest. These plant's seeds were sprouted in Ocean Forest

 

[xet]

Backyard dirt, sand, and a $10 walmart aquarium pump to make activated aerated compost tea

 

[Creeperpark]

I do recommend using Fox Farms but not using their feeding instructions. It's a top-notch mix, but you have to be careful using it. Only pure water for the first 4 to 6 weeks before starting feeding. When you start the feeding use only 1/3 to 1/2 of their recommendations, to begin with. I don;'t use their fertilizer line, I use Gen Hydro Flora series, 3-part fertilizer. I use Fox Farms soil mix with a lot of different plants and have good results because it lasts. .

 

[Three Berries]

In the people's defense, this is not what FoxFarm says:

Our most popular potting soil, Ocean Forest® is a powerhouse blend of aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, bat guano, fish emulsion, and crab meal.

How To Use:
CONTAINER GARDENS:
Fill container with soil 1 inch (2.5 cm) below top edge of the pot.
Water thoroughly after planting.
For best results, feed your plants with FoxFarm fertilizer products during growth and bloom seasons.

But Your Honor!

 

[Three Berries]

Just bought a bag of Ocean Forest. Been using Happy Frog. Was going use it for the first transplant into 1 gal containers.

 

[Creeperpark]

Ocean Forest is a very lightweight mix and it's very easy to overwater. Why? Because the lightweight particles will fool you into thinking the mix has no water when it does. The particles in Ocean Forest do not sponge to saturation like peat or coco mixes do because of the main ingredient. Instead, the main ingredient "forest humus" the particles become water coated leaving the water on the outside of the aggregate and not on the inside. It's Mother Nature's way of keeping the forests from high levels of water saturation. Never saturate the Ocean Forest to run off and weigh your dixie cups to learn the water needs. . .

 

[Three Berries]

I add perlite to the Happy Frog Fox Farm soil. 20% last time. A bit too much. But this eliminates the over saturation problem. Right now in full veg waiting for a trim I have to set the pots in the run off to keep them properly hydrated. The opposite of what the flowering and trimmed plants need, but their pH is in the basement...

 

[Petrochemical]

Our Process — Vermont Compost Company

We craft our living compost and compost-based potting soil from the best possible ingredients, supporting soil health and providing long-lasting fertility to organic growers.

vermontcompost.com

Fort vee
20quarts per plant already amended and shouldnt need a feed until plants fill substrate with roots...then simply grab a bag of compost plus from same place and top dress feed as needed. Use the mediums forever....just dont over feed or knock the substrates balance out of whack and your gtg

 

[blondie]

Coast of Maine is what I usually use. It’s heavy and requires perlite. Also they have a line of nutes, though I never tried. I am going to be switching to fox farms though Soon. I think enough people use fox farms and have great success with it. My plan is veg with happy frog, transplant into ocean forest for flower.

Natural Soils and Compost for Happier, Greener Plants

Coast of Maine offers our own natural, high-quality blends of soils and compost for vegetables, flowers, herbs, trees, shrubs, and more! View our stock here.

coastofmaine.com

 

[Icemud]

Ive used:
Ocean Forrest ( a little hot for seedlings and young clones)
Happy Frog
Vitality (really good organic soil)
Formula 420 (really like this soil)
Promix HP

All of them I liked, the main one I like is Promix HP because its kind of nutrient "null" so I can build the soil the way I would like. If you are looking for a good straight out of the bag, no amendments, Vitality and Formula 420 are good.