FoxFarm's oceanforest vs Roots Organic

[oxalic32]

Ocean Forest® Potting Soil
Good Things From the Earth and Sea
The ultimate potting soil—everything your plants need, in one bag. Ocean Forest® is a powerhouse blend of premium earthworm castings, bat guano, and Pacific Northwest sea-going fish and crab meal. Composted forest humus, sandy loam, and sphagnum peat moss give Ocean Forest® its light, aerated texture. Start with Ocean Forest® and watch your plants come alive!

Garden tip: Perfect for containers and ready to use right out of the bag. Ocean Forest® is pH adjusted at 6.3 to 6.8 to allow for optimum fertilizer uptake. There’s no need for nitrogen fertilizers at first; instead try an organic blend like FoxFarm Big Bloom™ Liquid Plant Food to encourage strong branching and a sturdy, healthy growth habit.

Roots Organics Potting Soil

A truly exceptional ready-to-use coco fiber-based potting soil. We begin with a base of the highest quality coco fiber/Coir on the planet which is repeatedly washed for an incredibly low EC, and composted for over twenty-four months, and is specially blended with extra long fibers. This soil is amended with only the highest quality organic ingredients including bat guano, premium earth worm castings, fish bone meal, feather meal, green sand, mycorrihzae, glacial rock dust, soybean meal, humic acid, and many more. Already blended with correct proportions of perlite and pumice for excellent drainage and a vigorous root system, Roots Organics potting soil encourages healthier plants and better yields. Comes in a heavy-duty, ready-to-grow, 1.5 cu ft/10 gal, camoflauge print bag; simply poke holes in the bottom, cut off the top, and plant.

I know a grower claiming Roots beats the shit out of oceanforest. He said ocean forest has a peat moss base and roots has a coco coir base.

How do you guys think the two compare? It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison using clones.

 

[oxalic32]

Didnt realize i posted this in indoor grows. probably belongs in organic soil. Had too many tabs opened .

 

[Retardo Motabon]

I cant speak for the FFOF, but I thought the soil texture of the roots medium was well, not that good. THe roots medium cracked and hardened horribly at the surface when dry, not what i like to see.
I watched a side by side with the roots medium and plants grown start to end in light warrior seed starting mix and the LW totally blew the roots grow away. that person and I both played around with their extreme serene product as well, i wouldnt buy it again. This is just one opinion of these products but an honest one.
RM

 

[Moldy Dreads]

A couple hydro store owners said the opposite, that FFOF can't be topped, my issue with hydro store owners is that they will sell what they get better commissions and margins off, so I'm really not sure. Funny thing is I bought 2 bags of FFOF and ran short for my recent transplant before flower. So I ran to a local store that was out of FFOF but had Roots Organic. I bought one bag and used it to top off all my plants, and they are doing great, so I've had excellent results with them both so far! The R.O. seems to hold alot of moisture..

 

[oxalic32]

Roots Organic has mycorrhizae. Could definitely help start the plant off nice.

Retardo Motabon have you worked with coir based medium before?

A mycorrhiza (Greek for fungus roots coined by Frank, 1885[1]; typically seen in the plural forms mycorrhizae or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (generally mutualistic, but occasionally weakly pathogenic) association between a fungus and the roots of a plant.[2] In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus may colonize the roots of a host plant, either intracellularly or extracellularly. They are an important part of soil life. This mutualistic association provides the fungus with relatively constant and direct access to mono- or dimeric carbohydrates, such as glucose and sucrose produced by the plant in photosynthesis.[3] The carbohydrates are translocated from their source location (usually leaves) to the root tissues and then to the fungal partners. In return, the plant gains the use of the mycelium's very large surface area to absorb water and mineral nutrients from the soil, thus improving the mineral absorption capabilities of the plant roots.[4] Plant roots alone may be incapable of taking up phosphate ions that are immobilized, for example, in soils with a basic pH. The mycelium of the mycorrhizal fungus can, however, access these phosphorus sources, and make them available to the plants they colonize.[5] The mechanisms of increased absorption are both physical and chemical. Mycorrhizal mycelia are much smaller in diameter than the smallest root, and can explore a greater volume of soil, providing a larger surface area for absorption. Also, the cell membrane chemistry of fungi is different from that of plants. Mycorrhizae are especially beneficial for the plant partner in nutrient-poor soils.
Mycorrhizal plants are often more resistant to diseases, such as those caused by microbial soil-borne pathogens, and are also more resistant to the effects of drought. These effects are perhaps due to the improved water and mineral uptake in mycorrhizal plants.
Mycorrhizae form a mutualistic relationship with the roots of most plant species (and while only a small proportion of all species has been examined, 95% of these plant families are predominantly mycorrhizal).[6]
Plants grown in sterile soils and growth media often perform poorly without the addition of spores or hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi to colonise the plant roots and aid in the uptake of soil mineral nutrients.[7] The absence of mycorrhizal fungi can also slow plant growth in early succession or on degraded landscapes.[8]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza#cite_note-Jeffries-7

WikiPedia

 

[Retardo Motabon]

Yes i have, but only on a very limited basis. I was using straight coco.
From what I have learned of soils in soil science and other areas of horticulture, when i first held some roots soil in my hand, my first thought was that the texture was just plain wrong. then I watched my friends sided by side progress and they had alot more probs with the roots soil.
I gave it a shot on a plant myself and had issues with oxygen levels and root growth. When uppotting plants in this stuff it didnt maintain the rootballs, they just fell apart.
I tested the soil for nutes measuring the runoff and the readings were around 4000ppms!!!! Uhhh not good! Well I hat to bash a company but I wasnt impressed.
RM

 

[BerndV]

There is an interesting article in the High Times 2009 Grow Guide starting on page 86 that describes an apparently effective super soil mix. The author, who developed his mix over the course of fifteen years, cites Roots Organic potting soil as an ideal base soil. He also describes a 2:1 mix of FFOF and Light Warrior as a "pretty good base-soil mix." By itself, he claims that FFOF will often burn plants and has the wrong ratio of nutrients.

 

[Retardo Motabon]

Fox farms ocean forest soil shows an average ppm of 3000-3500ppms out of the bag. Roots is substantially hotter.
I'd recommend the LW/ffof combo just to lower the ppms and lighten the soil.
LW has a starting ppm level of 400-500ppms and is very light.
Personally i think going that way would be spending unnecesary $ considering the $20 per 1- 1 1/2ft3 cost.
Personally I dont care for FFOF either. I've had better results mixing pro mix with mycco's with vermiblend or adding my own organic amendments.
Much cheaper and eually effective.
If one is to purchase the Roots soil mix i would recommend lightening it up with a good amount of perlite as well as adding some more coco, peat, or some vermiculite to the mix. I would also make sure to avoid adding more nutes to the mix for a good while due to how hot it is. However, if the soil is lightened as previously mentioned the soil will be less hot and allow some leeway to add teas and such as you go.
RM

 

[bluntt]

Fox farms ocean forest soil shows an average ppm of 3000-3500ppms out of the bag.
RM

3000-3500ppm???????That cant be right any indoor plant will burn with that amout

 

[hopeful]

I've heard ffof is very hot and will burn more sensitive plants. I'm wondering about happy frog and how that compares. Anyone have the ppm on that one?

 

[Retardo Motabon]

i thought the same thing about the ppm's! I triple tested, after getting those numbers to be sure. If nothing else, its food for thought regarding measuring pH and ppm's in your mix before planting so you know what your working with.
I haven't heard positive things about happy frog, even the dro store said the same in a quiet voice. I havent tried it myself though.
RM