Fert questions

[the natural]

alright so everything for my indoor grow is setup, and the clones will be here in two days. I have a soil mixture of ocean forest and light warrior, and will be supplemently with bio bizz ferts. I have their feeding chart, and pretty much all the products listed, however I am unsure if I should go and use their dosages or should I dilute it a little more so I don't burn. Anyone with previous experience with these nutes let me know.

Also I need to know of a more strict watering regiment than the lift the pot method. In my last grow I could never accurately determine how often to water with this method so I just started letting them get really dry and then watering. Leaves just drooped and it hurt my yields.

Next round I will be going for the moonshine mix definately I just need a replacement for black gold since it isn't carried in my area at all and the closest place they do is over a 10 hour drive so... need a suggestion in what to fill that gap with. Any help with any of these problems is much appreciated.

OG refugee... much love since 2002

 

[3BM]

Hey Natural:

I have no experience with modern Bio-Bizz ferts but suggest starting at half strength for little guys and working up as they grow. Experiment to find what works ... for example, give 3 clones 1/4 str, 3 clones 1/2 str, and 3 clones 3/4 str. Let this play out until they all exibit new growth. After that you know forever. I used bio bizz products years ago, but their formulas were different then. Typically, I fed half str or less, but Im a less is more kinda guy.

The difficulty of a strict watering regimine is that when to water depends on how well soil retains water, and how much your plants drink. A regimine may work for some strains and some soils, but not for others. Once again, just experiment to find out. Water a plant, then wait until it wilts and count the number of days. Also, note how the pot feels and make this "too dry" in your mind. Then start watering one day before it would wilt. Early in a plants life they drink less. In veg dont over water, in flower dont under water. Soil volume also impacts watering, the greater the soil volume the more water it holds. You can buy a watering probe. These thin tools reach deep into soil without disturbing roots and will accurately test soil hydration. Use this tool and feel the container weight and the soil's condition. Pretty soon you should be able to predict the meter's readings. You can also just stick your finger in the dirt. If it feels dry down an inch or so, water.

Black gold All organic potting soil contains: Peat, EW cast, Perlite, Pumice. Any organic peat-based potting soil would work as a substitute. Just use another bag of FFOF (or their planting mix) and supplement with lots of perlite.

Hope that helps.

3BM

 

[the natural]

That helps a lot actually. SO I can subsititute the BG for just another bag of ocean forest or planting mix? Don't add pumice or anything?

alright I will see how these first two weeks go with the little girls.

One more question however is the moonshine mans mix too strong to add ferts. I have been reading this stuff since the good old days of OG, but I never got any response on whether or adding more ferts would lock out nutes or not. I would rather go with a low maintanence mix so I don't have to add ferts. Although I do already own all of the bio bizz product line.

So I guess what I really want to know is should I not make the mix and just stick with the two bag mix I spoke of earlier, or should I say screw it and just make the mix and not bother with the already purchased nutes. I have done grows before with EJ products so I know how measuring and all that goes, but just plain ph adjusted water would be a lot less of a hassle.

 

[the natural]

I just found this soil it is available where I am ... http://www.sungro.com/products_displayRetailProduct.php?product_id=19&brand_id=8

Could I substitute this for the black gold, I am just not sure about adding one more bag of FFOF I think it will be to rich then and might burn out some of my clones.

It is OMRI ceritfied.

 

[3BM]

Hey Nat:

Sunshine mix is Peat, perlite, and lime much like Pro-Mix. Pro-mix also contains myco. Add EWC to sunshine mix to match the BG. I might just get Pro-mix HP or BX if available and use that with some EWC and added perlite. Moonshine man does not advocate extra feedings for his mix, but recently has claimed to feed once at transplant and once at the midpoint of flowering. Here is a similiarly rich mix, with some feeding suggestions:

Per 50gal
- 2 bags potting soil (quality organic soil like FF, Garden Magic, Shultz's, etc)
- 2 bags Mush Comp./Worm cast (or if not, black kow manure is fine)
- 10 gal Peat (about 1/3 of a bale, I recommend ProMix BX)
- 10-15 gal Perlite (lots and lots, wear a mask and wet to reduce dust)
- 6 cups N source (Mex. guano and Alf meal)
- 6 cups P source (Indon. guano and Rock Phosphate)
- 6 cups K source (Kelp meal and Green sand)

Water this mix and let sit 2-4 weeks, then test the pH. Add more lime to raise the pH, and Black peat (a composted form of peat) to lower it. This concentation of nutes in the dirt will provide a balanced base of slow release nutrients to the plants, while still allowing soluble nutrients to supplement as needed. Do not feed every watering, instead feed once a week during heavy growth. Feed at transplant, then not again for 2 weeks.

Both this mix and moonshine man's mix are intended for mature veg and flowering plants. Clones and seedlings would do better in something like this:

50% peat (promix, sunshine mix, etc)
25% perlite
25% vermiculite

Use plain water mostly, and feed solubles as needed.

3BM

 

[the natural]

I have sat down and figured out my mix so I am going with:

1.5 bags of ocean forest
1 bag planting mix
1 bag light warrior
--> maybe a half bag of that sunshine mix since it is really light stuff
7 - 8 gal of some chunky perlite, 10 gal if I still can't find chunky perlite
1 cup of peace of mind fruit and flower

Should I throw in a half or full bag of EWC into the mix to make it more hearty.

I am not sure about the coco brick I can get it in my area but I am not sure where this will really help my roots out can anyone explain this to me or is it just like have chunky perlite?

I already have some fish mix coincedently. Advanced Nutrients aren't available in my area so I will either whip up some guanos myself when the time comes or just check out how they are doing. I am not sure how necessary this is but we will see.

I also wanted to know if anyone can point me in the direction of a good sugar/ carb additive, that isn't carbo load from AN. I wanted to try it out on a few of the gals.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[3BM]

Hey Nat:

FFOF and PM both contain castings I think. Adding more will enrich the mix and add a boost of N. It certainly wont hurt. Moonshine man uses the coco fiber to lighten the medium. Adding more perlite would serve a similiar purpose, as would sand, wood fiber, or vermiculite. Coco fiber breaks down quickly and will need to be added again to any remixed soil.

Commercial carb products are typically derived from molasses. I get a pint of "blackstrap molasses" from the gorcery/health store for less than 3$US. Molasses is about a 1-0-5, and contains Fe, Mg, and Ca. It contains a complete range of simple and comples sugars and is an excellent food for microorganisms. Hope that helps.

3BM