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foxfarm ocean forest

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ITI CHUSS IVI

Member
I started some seedlings in foxfarm ocean forest soil under a 400W HPS. I've only given them water for the first two weeks and they are doing well. I just have a few questions: Can I start giving them nutrients and is it safe to start using CO2? I have six plants going in a 6ft. x 3ft. area. I also have another 400W HPS ready to be hooked up which would make 800W of HPS. Would that be too much or would i just get better yields with the proper ventilation. Each plant is in a 3 gallon pot. Please advise...
 
SEEDYNONO

SEEDYNONO

Active member
Veteran
i wouldn't feed seedlings anything until 2 to 3 weeks has passed. the ocean forest is no joke.. it will burn seedlings sometimes if the strain is sensitive. you should be okay at 2 weeks just start with a 1/4 strength dose.

you are fine to start co2.

don't use 800w if you can't vent properly for 800w.. that's your call.
 
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H

Hunt4Hazez

Member
Never too much light if you are willing to take care of it and keep it safe, Might wanna keep plants within a 4x3 area, and definitly use ventilation, 800w's of hps can get pretty hot.

Give them nutes when they are kicked into flower (try to use good ones). What strain is it? This has alot to due with veg time. Also if you are new, dont try to drench the whole pot with water unless the roots are deep enough yet and the soil will get over saturated.

If you plan on vegging 5-8 weeks you might need a light dose of veg ferts.
 
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ITI CHUSS IVI

Member
I think i could probably vent the room no problem. Its in the basement and the door can be kept open. I have 2 super silver haze, 1 ultra skunk, 1 somango, 1 blueberry, and 1 goo. The avg. temp in the room is 72 degrees F. I only give them an avg. amount of water each day, not drenching at all because the roots are nowhere near the bottom of the pots. I just don't think i could get really thick nugs with only 400W of HPS for six plants. I've never properly used CO2, but now I have an emitter and I've heard it makes all the difference. Would it be safe to add another 400W if I can keep the temp around 72 degrees once they start flowering and the coverage area needs to be increased?
 
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SEEDYNONO

SEEDYNONO

Active member
Veteran
with co2.. you understand you want to keep temps around 80-85 for optimal conditions, right? you also need good circulation inside the room whether you have exhausting fans venting or not.. this helps keep the co2 from settling near the floor instead of dispersing and being used by the plants.
 
G

Guest

I would use the extra fixture,and if you really have a co2 setup where you can sustain 1200 PPM or better you want your temps at the canopy to be 85 degrees.You should always start in small 4 inch pots and transplant up as the plant grows,there's a number of reasons for this.If I let a plant veg a month without food she'd be a starvin marvin,I wouldnt do that to my girls and I use ocean forest all the way through.I start feeding half strength around 3 weeks,I'll veg around 6 weeks usually with seedplants.Co2 is normally reserved for the flower room,its not not needed in veg for the most part if you have decent conditions.
 
H

Hunt4Hazez

Member
IMO co2 is a big waste of energy, money and time , especially if you dont have a sealed room with AC. If you already have it setup, thats great...

Just get the right nutes, and be careful how you take care of your plants.

There should be plenty of co2 in the air. How tall are your plants right now on average?

Goodluck.

READ THIS!​

... Edit: How many gallons of soil do you get per bag of FFOF, and how much are they each... Any bulk discounts??

Thanks alot :joint: :chin:
 
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Where'sMyBud?

Where'sMyBud?

Member
Hey ITI-

I've never used CO2 before, so I cannot give you advice about that.

However, in regards to Ocean Forest, SEEDYNONO is right. In my experience, seedlings and clones do not need additional ferts for at least 3 weeks into veg in Ocean Forest. I mix OF with 30% perlite to increase drainage and lessen the density of soil, so that when it drys out the roots have more ability to grow, in search for water.

I use General Hydroponics FloraNova series nutes, which are one part and I feed seedlings and clones starting at week 4 of veg under a 400W MH, vented in a cabinet with a 6" Vortex inline through a custom made 36" tall carbon scrubber. With ambient room temps under 75F, I do not need air conditioning to keep cabinet temps under 75F. Right now with the weather by me, my night time temps are at a nice 65F - hoping for some nice purpling to occur in a few weeks when the weather gets even colder.

Anyway, ventilation is the key to success, IMHO. If you add that second 400W HPS, you better double your ventilation cfm's at minimum. Make sure your temps are 7F or under.

Also, spend $20 or so and buy a MH coversion bulb for you HPS if you are vegging, you'll see better results.
 
minds_I

minds_I

Active member
Veteran
Hello all,

Are the plants in three gallon pots now?

If so- you will not need to feed them for a month easy- maybe longer. Its going to take some time for hte plant to fill the pot with roots- in the mean time just give plain water as there is still plenty of nutes in teh soil.

minds_I
 
G

Guest

If I had seedlings in 3 gallon pots,I'd transplant them to the proper sized container for starters.Leave them in those 3 gallon pots and the roots will grow along the sides and out the drainholes leaving a big empty space of unused soil in the middle.Then there's the issiue of how much and how often do I water with a tiny plant in a big pot?I wouldnt have a clue myself.When the plant is in the proper sized container for its size,it tell you when it needs water or a transplant,no guessing involved
 
m.steelers

m.steelers

Enlightened
Veteran
Skeletor is on the money. As long as you have good ventilation CO2 really only needs to be used in flowering (lights on). You will save a lot of money this way and also limit those pesky tank refills.
 
I

ITI CHUSS IVI

Member
I really appreciate all the recommendations guys. I have the plants in the 3 gallon pots for about 15 days now and they are growing pretty well. I don't know if I feel safe about taking them out and putting them in smaller containers. I am just getting the CO2 system set up and still have a lot to learn about it. I don't know if I can sustain 1200 PPM, but I would like to see what kind of results i can get this time around with the CO2. I've had about 4 harvests indoors, never with that bad of a turn out, but I know i still have a lot to learn. I can try and get some pics tonight and post them up so you have a better idea of whats going on.

BTW Hunt FFOF is about $30 per bag USD
 
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ITI CHUSS IVI

Member
here is a pic from day 15


PA250049.jpg
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V

vonforne

Hunt4Hazez said:
IMO co2 is a big waste of energy, money and time , especially if you dont have a sealed room with AC. If you already have it setup, thats great...

Just get the right nutes, and be careful how you take care of your plants.

There should be plenty of co2 in the air. How tall are your plants right now on average?

Goodluck.

READ THIS!​

... Edit: How many gallons of soil do you get per bag of FFOF, and how much are they each... Any bulk discounts??

Thanks alot :joint: :chin:
Click to expand...

About 12 gallons without adding anything like perlite, castings ect. When I started my mix I poured it out in a 5 gallon bucket. I got 2 and about 1/3 to 1/2 5 gallon buckets, around there.
 
E

Erin Kerrik

Member
Here's my FFOF experience from my two grows:

Both times, they ran out of N, and when it happened, it happened fast. First grow, with 100% OF, I probably overfed and was using Tiger Bloom during flowering (N of 2) ... got a N deficiency.

This time, I started with OF + 30% perlite and 15% vermiculite. Only feeding was with 1/4 strength Fish-Mix and 1/4 strength Grow Big at 3 weeks. Two days after transplanting w/ThriveAlive (a bit of N), 8/9 plants showed N def on lower leaves.

Maybe it's not the soil, but me ... anyway, next time, I'll try 1/4 strength in every watering. Or 1/2 strengh every-other.
 
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ITI CHUSS IVI

Member
yeah I have a chart that I'll be following from advanced nutrients. i know they will need nitrogen, but like most are telling me and my general impression is that i really don't need any nutes for at least another week or 2. I'll be following the chart for all the information regarding strength of the mixes.
 
SEEDYNONO

SEEDYNONO

Active member
Veteran
my conclusion is most problems with ffof come with overferting and overwatering. the plants simply do not show the deficiencys if you use ferts sparingly and only when the plant can't get the stuff from the soil already. also keeping them drenched in water will definetely cause them to be finicky. remember you don't always have to drench the soil and let it go completely dry.. you can also just give them small amounts of water more often (but not too often you still want to let them dry in between!) and that helps. add more damn holes to your pots too people to let the oxygen get up in there easier! most pots don't have enough.

keep the soil as loose as possible when planting.. waterings compact it plenty over time.. and use the chunky perlite its much better than the small stuff. and you should have beautiful growth.

less is definetely more and i'd say most of the time you are better off giving the plant extra room to stretch its roots in flower (transplant to a large pot right before the 12/12 switch) and just using regular water than you would be trying to feed it a lot of ferts. liquid ferts will cause problems if you don't use them right! and even small amounts can be devistating to sensative plants.. remember even if you think your liquid ferts are organic they are absorbed into the plants much faster than the plant has been used to 'pulling' the nutes out of the soil.. so you can't count on the 'organics is slow-release and won't burn' bs.

trust me keep it simple and let the soil do the work its got plenty of good stuff in there to keep plants from going all N def. in flowering if your pot is large enough and you don't lock up the N!
 
G

Guest

This is why i love this site. So much helpful info from all the right ppl in the know. I feel like family here. Anyways I was wondering if just using the FFOF soil alone with regular cycles of watering would be enough. I dont want to add all these different nutes to an already nutrient enriched soil. Is the soil by itself enough to grow from veg to flower? Also is c02 really nessessary if i have a nice strong fan blowing through my grow room which is 4x4x6 plus a cieling vent drawing the hot air out? I was gonna get a c02 system but decided to do my first grow without it and then save enough money for a c02 moniter and controller for my 2nd grow. What do u guys think? I will have pics posted once i recieve my light and fan in the mail and finish building my grow room for all to critique. Thx
P.S My fan is a 265cfm Dayton exhaust fan
 
SEEDYNONO

SEEDYNONO

Active member
Veteran
well if you follow good transplanting guidlelines.. lets say start in 16 oz cups.. go to 6" pots or 1/2 gal growbags like i use.. then go to 1 gal. then 2 or 3 and then before you flower go into something extra big like a 5 gal bucket and give the plant a week to get its roots venturing out into that new outer layer of soil. that way you just added a huge amount of fresh soil for the plant to 'eat' from that wasn't already being depleted of its nutes during the veg time. since you add more soil.. you add more nutes.

i would say that if you have a rootbound plant or something close or try to flower without any ferts you would probably have problems.

just think about what's actually happening with the whole process.

i went from feeding 1/4 to 1/2 strength pbp and lk (so like 8ml to 15ml per gallon of each) to just using a capfull (~5ml) of one or the other every third and fourth watering and i noticed i had a lot less problems with the lower doses. when i was using 1/2 strength i had yellow dying leaves.. burnt tips on other leaves.. wilting leaves near the bottom.. some brownish spotting on some leaves.. basically what looks like a bunch of deficiencies all at once. of course i kept feeding them nutes thinking they needed them.. i am almost CERTAIN that it was the nutes that were causing the problems!

if you ever have what looks like deficiencies but also what looks like nute burn on the tips i'd say there is a good chance its just build-up/burn that is in turn locking out the nutes and causing def.
 
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