Knowing your Soil

[jaspabs]

hey guys i just want to ask to give me some tips to how do i choose a GOOD SOIL because im planning to plant on my own this week.. any suggestion?? thanks a lot guys

 

[mr cheese]

how about you read the countless threads on this subject!! aint hard to use the search button my friend!

 

[pinecone]

hey guys i just want to ask to give me some tips to how do i choose a GOOD SOIL because im planning to plant on my own this week.. any suggestion?? thanks a lot guys

I'll give you two options that have worked well for me. Option #1 is to make your own soil(less) mix. There are two good recopies in the first post of "Organics for Beginners" thread. I currently use first recipe (LC #1) with the Bongaloid's Guano Mix (also referenced in the post). Had I to do over again I might consider something like Hygromite as a perlite replacement. It is more expensive, but has some advantages over perlite, including increased durability.

"Organics for Beginners" - https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=944063

Option #2 is to buy some ready to grow soil from a garden center or hydro shop. I used Fox Farms Ocean Forest (FFOF) for a long time with great success, but I would not recommend it for seedlings.

The advantage of making your own mix is fresher earthworm castings (EWC) and more control over the amount of other ingredients. Both types of soil can be recycled indefinitely with re-amending so you don't need to buy fresh every run.

Pine

 

[jaspabs]

this is so helpful.. ill try it later thank you very much!!

 

[mtbazz]

To be honest, if this is your first time growing I'd suggest buying a soil that is ready to use, you can usually make it through a veg cycle without any extra feedings this way...I am currently using Roots Organics with good very good results.

Going this route if your new to this can save alot of time, expense and headaches...

 

[pinecone]

Going this route if your new to this can save alot of time, expense and headaches...

I agree with the time and possibly the total expense, but not with the headaches. If you are trying to create your own recipe you might have some issues, but recipes that 1000s of growers have used successfully will not give you any headaches that you wouldn't of had with a bagged mix. One a cubic foot basis making your own soil mix should be cheaper, but for a small grow you may end up with more than you need and, thus, greater total expense.

If you just want to grow a couple of plants in 4-gallon (or smaller) pots then grab a bag of soil for $15-$20. If you are planning on setting up a perpetual 400 or 1000w garden then you are probably better of making your own. In either case, re-use the stuff so that you don't have to go out and buy more.

Pine

 

[Krshna]

When I made my soil for the first time instead of messing with a ton of amendments (you'll find there are so many options) I decided to buy a dr. earth organic tomato, veg, + herb fert as my only nutrient amendment. It has fish bone meal, feather meal, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, soft rock phosphate, fish meal, potassium sulfate, and seaweed extract. It saved me a lot of money, and made the process less daunting at first. It also has a bunch of soil microbes and mycorrhizae added already. worked very well for me and took some of the guess work out of the process. good luck!

 

[habeeb]

well what options do you have around you, aas all need cut different and sorts

I'll try and help

-canna bio terra - very light, and if you want to add nutes to this, as this stuff is very light in nutes
-FFOF, cut with half pro-mix, add lime. this is the heaviest nute soil besides flower power I've heard
-roots organic - you straight from the bag if you want, medium nutes, needs no perlite.

clones- half happy frog ( brown bag ) half pro-mix.. will last two weeks or outgrow your pot before you need to add nutes


anything is enhanced by adding earth worm castings, and some lime, but lime they say you want to "cook" it so leave it at least 2 weeks if you add lime. I do light at 1/2 tbsp per gallon


I love bio terra as I like to run out faster of N in soil and replace it then have to much for flowering. I like roots next followed by FFOF.