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hi guyz...
I'm trying to find bogs'(mostly) organic
soil recipe with no luck.I thought for sure
it would be a sticky,but i guess not.Can
sumone point me to a thread tells explicitly
how to make his mix?
look at BOG's profile, and click on 'all threads started by BOG'...
careful, some seeds/seedlings don't like it.
here you go...
"BOG SPEAKS ONLINE Tutorial...Part 1...Organic Mix and Feeding.
I am sick of seeing the learn to grow button at SeedsDirect directing people to Overgrow instead of right here.
With this in mind I begin this sticky thread and here it shall stay for the rest of my life. For those confused by all the different methods here are the basics according to me.
BOG's Organic Feeding and soil mix
Some people think I have some special secrets but this mix and the organic ferts I use is no secret. Here we go...
At Wal-mart Expert "perfect mix" soil with added perlite 15% and 1 cup of blood meal and 1 cup bone meal per 1 cu. ft. bag of soil.
Pure Blend Grow and Pure Blend Bloom. Foxfarm Bigbloom 1 time in early flower. Superthrive 1 time in early flower. Earth Juice Bloom for mid to late flowering.
Lime is optional depending on your water ph. If your water is alkaline (7.0 or higher) don't add the lime.
This link will show you a hardy just cut plant that was grown using my simplest method.
Contrary to some misinformation Blood meal and Bone meal are entirely organic.
CAUTION!!! RICH MIX KILLS BABIES!
Seedlings might die in this mix.
Just use potting soil and perlite for first two weeks in a small pot is my advise.
Some may realize that the feeding formula soil isn't entirely organic. It has a little osmocote in it which I added to my soil long ago. The amount of feed in the feeding soil is really just a bit strong for seedlings so I use it.
I use other organic supplements and one non organic supplement. Superthrive is used in my method once in early flowering to promote lots of growth while budsites are still being formed.
I use Pure Blend (not Pro) both veg and bloom formulas. In early flower I treat one time with Foxfarm Bigbloom and in mid to late flower I like Earth juice Bloom.
I would be glad to detail the amounts and how often but I think many people overfeed in the early stages.
Your PH in soil should be maintained between 6.0 and 6.6. Cannabis is an acid loving plant and in this range nutrient uptake is optimized. I really see no reason to feed in the seedling stage but I do use the feeding wal-mart soil so I do feed them some. A few osmocote balls won't hurt as long as they aren't touching the seedling itself. With seedlings PH and moisture level are the most critical needs.
OK, let's get started. Since my method is the simplest many people assume that there must be better methods. If I believed that I would change my method. My method is cheap to use and easy to learn. That's why I promote my BOG Method for new growers. Learn your Basics and maintain the beginners mind which is open to learning. I still learn things you know.
So I recommend starting in small pots but why? Many growers say, "why not just Plant the seed in a 5 gallon bucket"?
IMHO a seedling doesn't grow much until it has rooted its pot. Often my strains like to root first and do you know how long it takes for a tiny plant to grow roots in a big pot? Too long. I think growth rates are enhanced by doing 2 transplants. I generally start in a 32 oz pots but 16 oz cups will do.
Take care to mix more perlite in the bottom 1/3 of the small pots for drainage and aeration. The bottom third of the cup or pot should be 50/50 perlite and soil. The upper 2/3 can be just potting soil with a little perlite or none. Don't overwater! I can't emphasize enough that people always tend to overwater seedlings. Wait until the surface looks dry and the pot feels light but don't allow wilting from getting too dry. Maintaining the proper moisture level is crucial to preventing stalling and stunting in early growth.
Let me show you some youngsters happy under a 4 ft floro at about 9 days old. This sort of light costs under 20 dollars including the tubes I recommend if on a budget. If you have the money get the power twists but they are 20 bucks each.
I find GE kitchen and Bath tubes to work fine...almost as good and better than most grow tubes in dep't stores. Any floro will work in veg until the plant gets too big. Keep growing tips about 2 inches from the tubes.
Lots of lights helps but in veg you would be surprised how little light is actually needed. As a general rule I say 40-50 watts per square foot of flowering space. Another general rule is when your hand starts to feel heat as you move it toward the bulb is as close as the plant should get. You can get pretty close to a 400 but it depends on airflow. Seedlings should be about 18 inches or more from a 400.
People who use higher lighting per sq foot are probably using cooled lights and hydro method with co2 supplementation and it pays off for them. I use a little co2 to help yields in flowering but I don't find more light to make much difference given my method.
This thread is mainly about feeding however. After feeding the first time at half strength you may see great growth. Often this results forces new growers to want to do it too much. It works ok for awhile until a build up occurs or PH falls out of the desirable range. Feeds are acidic in general...water is usually more neutral to alkaline so you can balance ph just by feeding and watering.
From the 2nd feeding on at weekly intervals I use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water of Pure Blend Grow. I generally veg about 7 weeks so its just a 3-4 more times after the first. I use a gallon to water about 4 plants when I feed. This stays the same until a week into flowering and sex is established. That's when I do my last transplant into 3-4 gallon pots.
24 days vegging sour bubble seedlings in 2 gallon pots now...
Plants in soil root first and then grow as it roots some more.
You can see from the previous set of pics how the small plants transplanted from cups into 2 gallon pots look for about a week as they root. The smaller ones on the floor have had an extra week and have more than doubled in height. This is the "shoot" you wish to repeat. It happens once in the cups and then once after each transplant.
I must at this point emphasize "timing". Like the commercial with the guy running through the toll booth gate and then throwing his money too late. I love that one...
By understanding the time needed to root a new pot you can time a lot of ferts for when the "shoot" happens. You will learn to expect this and to anticipate when it will occur.
I have stated earlier that I wait until a week into flower to transplant but this Bogglegum showed sex in veg so I took 3 clones and did the transplant early. Now I have the luxury of letting it root before going to flower. It takes a couple weeks to root a 4 gallon pot.
When I transplanted the Bogglegum plant it got fresh mix and Foxfarm Bigbloom. This is a flowering supplement famous for many years.(it has guano) I use 2/3 cup of it to a gallon of water and I give half a gallon to a plant the size of that Bogglegum as that is a 4 gallon pot. Now I continue to feed pure blend grow as it waits to root and then go to flower. I will give it a last Pure blend grow feeding the day I move it to flowering.
If done properly, and it will be, the plant will start the "shoot" just as it enters flower. This is one of the fine points so get this right my friends. My big yields aren't just nutrient or light dependent... Remember that Timing and Healthy Roots are Extremely Important to good yields.
I will get that Bogglegum plant to yield 5.5 oz. and I feel bigger plants are less work than a lot of little ones. BOG Method also means Bigger individual plants to save labor.
In hydro the attraction is the short and fast veg times. Why do you suppose that is true? The answer is the small root system.
Put a plant in the smallest cube and you will get it rooted fastest. Some plants grow too big in hydro for their root systems and that doesn't work out as good as the Bucket system (DWC) in which you quickly grow a huge mop sized rootball. That's why DWC yields so well but to get those yields you do need to grow an adequate root system.
Transplanting is a lot of work. That's why fewer bigger plants are my preference.
Clones apply just the same as seed plants of course. A clone allowed to root more will definately do better and timing the "shoot" will increase yields for either.
Now let me procede to flowering. I often top my plants once to make them grow bigger and bushier but I don't do any pruning in flower. I think topping or taking clones is fine in veg but that you should let a plant veg a minimum of 10 days and preferably 2 weeks after cloning or topping.
That Bogglegum plant could flower now but I may let it get big just to impress the kids. When I does go to flowering it will veg a week there and start flowering. Once I see many hairs/small buds I do the superthrive treatment. Ya know the small bottles are available at Home Depot now for cheaps?
Get a small bottle (about 6 bucks) and use one tiny capful (1/4 teaspoon?) to a gallon of water and water plant normally once. I guess a gallon of this could treat 3 plants. Use it right away.
Now we also switch our weekly feedlings to Pure Blend Bloom which has reduced nitrogen by 50%. Same amount. 1 teaspoon per gallon, water normally with this once a week. Some do it twice a week but watch out for build up if you do."
This is from a Heads magazine article i had laying around.
The Bog Mix:
1. Seedlings mix: 16-10-10 (approx) feeding potting soil or just plain soil with 25% perlite added, no additives!
2.Plantlets & Flowering mix: Same feeding potting soil or regular potting soil.Add to a medium sized bag (20 liter), 1.5 cups bone and 1.5 cups blood meal. Add 20% perlite (slightly less then seedling mix). If your water is acidic you may wish to add 1 cup of dolomite lime, but this is optional and since my water is neutral, i no longer add any lime.
3. Flowering mix: A little less perlite-the amount varies with the type of soil. Too much drainage will be a problem in the flowering stage, so 15% perlite is enough for the final transplant.When making your flowering mix a little more bone meal is desireable and a little less blood meal than needed in vegetative stage. The mix,however,works well for either. Pretty simple,but not complete by any means. Of course any medium must be adequately supplemented and i prefer organic nutes from Pure Blend, Fox Farm, and Earth Juice. Feeding frequently at a weak strength (1 or 2 times a week) seems to help keep the PH balanced and avoids burning. I do not recommend feeding any more frequently then every other watering.
That was part of a article in Heads magazine, Vol. 4 Issue 8 entitled "Bog Speaks! Grow secrets from the swamp."
I would say go a little lighter on the nute side of things then what he recommends, just to make sure u dont do any burning. I'd also add 2 TBL of dolomite lime to every gallon of mix just to be on the safe side, it will help buffer the PH..and give your plants some nice mid term release cal and mag. -Opt