Tutorial Organics for Beginners

[ReprobateMind]

Edit: Not helpful

 

[mountainoutlaw]

Hey as a professional live soil mixer, I approve this post (like I'm someone), but guys, keep it roughly as above and your good. Easy peasy

 

[Burn1]

What "left over" nutrients do you have?
Chloramine will not evaporate like chlorine. So, bubbling or leaving out in an open container will not get rid of the product. You can find five gallon jugs of drinking water cheap. Look at the label though to see if there is anything in there besides pure H2O.
Burn1

 

[Mars_Barz]

What "left over" nutrients do you have?
Chloramine will not evaporate like chlorine. So, bubbling or leaving out in an open container will not get rid of the product. You can find five gallon jugs of drinking water cheap. Look at the label though to see if there is anything in there besides pure H2O.
Burn1

Vitamin C (acetic acid) unbinds the chloramine molecule, iirc.

I have Alaska Fish Fertilizer and Gaia Green

 

[Mr Jay]

If you do not follow the original recipe, you will not get the same results. I have personally made soil mixes and then fed with alaska fish fert (in the water itself unsing the emulsion fish mix) with great results. You will be shocked at how fast the fish will pull down the PH of the water, you will end up very acidic.

I would not try to use citric acid in any part of my grow, you do you.

45 gallon smart pot, Organic super soil mix, watered with alaska fish in chloramine filled water. I still had to adjust the pH of the water and feed mix up as it averaged out at 4.5, you will have to test your water every single time you add feed to it.

strain is bruce banner #3

 

[Mars_Barz]

If you do not follow the original recipe, you will not get the same results. I have personally made soil mixes and then fed with alaska fish fert (in the water itself unsing the emulsion fish mix) with great results. You will be shocked at how fast the fish will pull down the PH of the water, you will end up very acidic.

I would not try to use citric acid in any part of my grow, you do you.

45 gallon smart pot, Organic super soil mix, watered with alaska fish in chloramine filled water. I still had to adjust the pH of the water and feed mix up as it averaged out at 4.5, you will have to test your water every single time you add feed to it.

strain is bruce banner #3

View attachment 19004216

I'm getting conflicting advice here. The poster above you said to use 'clean' water, you're saying my tap is fine??

If I go this route, I need to invest in a pen, eh? Can a $20 Vivosun suffice? Or would I be better to drop the $200 on a BlueLab?

The thing is, I don't really wanna 'follow a recipe,' I just want to simply create my own soil substrate that is free of cloth, rocks, pieces of plastic, insect eggs, etc. and do what I have been doing this whole time with the bags of soil I obtain from the shop soil: top dress it.

 

[Mr Jay]

You don't seem to want advice, you seem to want confirmation for your idea. I think top dressing is a bad idea and will be nowhere as effective as mixing nutrients into the soil and letting them cook off.

You do you.

 

[Mars_Barz]

You don't seem to want advice, you seem to want confirmation for your idea. I think top dressing is a bad idea and will be nowhere as effective as mixing nutrients into the soil and letting them cook off.

You do you.

Precisely this. I only have a very limited amount of space (2x4 tent) and nowhere to place a bin to make compost in

As such, where or how am I realistically supposed to mix up and store up to 110lbs. of material? And even if I could, doesn't it risk going bad if I don't use it in time? I'm only planning to grow two plants in 5gallon pots in the 2x4.

I really want to do organics though, I just paid $200 for what I'm presuming are quality seeds and I want to grow these things to their max potential and unlock the flavours and effects of the plant. Perhaps shelving the idea to 'make' my own substrate for the time being might be optimal. I'm having difficulties finding an actual 'organic' premixed substrate though.

Got any suggestions? I'm in Canada.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Precisely this. I only have a very limited amount of space (2x4 tent) and nowhere to place a bin to make compost in

As such, where or how am I realistically supposed to mix up and store up to 110lbs. of material? And even if I could, doesn't it risk going bad if I don't use it in time? I'm only planning to grow two plants in 5gallon pots in the 2x4.

I really want to do organics though, I just paid $200 for what I'm presuming are quality seeds and I want to grow these things to their max potential and unlock the flavours and effects of the plant. Perhaps shelving the idea to 'make' my own substrate for the time being might be optimal. I'm having difficulties finding an actual 'organic' premixed substrate though.

Got any suggestions? I'm in Canada.

You can start with the premixed bags of soil. That's what I did. Started with FFOF and after a few rounds of just top dressing I added some pumice and rice hulls to it. Been going for 5+ years now. I'm using mostly 15 gallon pots. I would advise you to do the same. 2 15 gal pots fit fine in a 2x4. At least the plastic pots and saucers I have.

 

[Mars_Barz]

You can start with the premixed bags of soil. That's what I did. Started with FFOF and after a few rounds of just top dressing I added some pumice and rice hulls to it. Been going for 5+ years now. I'm using mostly 15 gallon pots. I would advise you to do the same. 2 15 gal pots fit fine in a 2x4. At least the plastic pots and saucers I have.

Thanks, but I won't use Fox Farms.

 

[Mr Jay]

What are you here for? You're rejecting any advice you are getting and are not open to any suggestions.

 

[KIS]

Precisely this. I only have a very limited amount of space (2x4 tent) and nowhere to place a bin to make compost in

As such, where or how am I realistically supposed to mix up and store up to 110lbs. of material? And even if I could, doesn't it risk going bad if I don't use it in time? I'm only planning to grow two plants in 5gallon pots in the 2x4.

I really want to do organics though, I just paid $200 for what I'm presuming are quality seeds and I want to grow these things to their max potential and unlock the flavours and effects of the plant. Perhaps shelving the idea to 'make' my own substrate for the time being might be optimal. I'm having difficulties finding an actual 'organic' premixed substrate though.

Got any suggestions? I'm in Canada.

Black Swallow makes some quality soils, you might just want to go with something that's proven to get you started in organics vs experimenting with a bunch of amendments as you might not get the nutrient ratios correct.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Black Swallow makes some quality soils, you might just want to go with something that's proven to get you started in organics vs experimenting with a bunch of amendments as you might not get the nutrient ratios correct.

You mean like the KIS Mix Blended Soil,

Sorry couldn't help myself.

 

[KIS]

You mean like the KIS Mix Blended Soil,

Sorry couldn't help myself.

They have other mixes too. I am sure there are other companies in Canada, I'm just not as familiar with what the options are or how they perform.

It's really only because OP doesn't want to "follow a recipe" and wants to use amendments for top dressing. At least that's how I interpreted it.

 

[leetdood]

Hey @BurnOne looks like you're not around anymore but I've been using this as reference for like a dozen years. you're the man, thank you.

 

[growsjoe1]

@leetdood BurnOne is still around. He's has a new handle. You can hit his profile page---> Burn1

This thread changed the way I grew. There was so much information, but the first page was all I needed to begin my Organic addition.

@Burn1

peace joe

 

[leetdood]

@leetdood BurnOne is still around. He's has a new handle. You can hit his profile page---> Burn1

This thread changed the way I grew. There was so much information, but the first page was all I needed to begin my Organic addition.

@Burn1

peace joe

Thank you mate.

It just gave me a foundation to build off of. I took something like a 8 to 9 year break from growing because it was illegal and I thought I'd get my own property first to no longer risk random landlord or maintenance visits. But then it was legal and I realized it was what was missing from my life in a way... a passion I could pour hands on work into. So for the first 1 to 2 years and something like the last 3 to 4 years, I've been using nothing but peat, perlite, and castings. Always change up what I add or the brand (promix hp my favorite but I used a lot vpw 420 when it was stocked at the local grocery store.)

I started out with blood, bone, kelp meal and lime. Got gaia green power bloom. Got gypsum. Always used AN Nirvana to kick-start the organics. Then @farmerjoe420 sent me calcium nitrate 15 0 0, masterblend bloom 0 12 24, and agsil16h. Using this with epsom set me up for my synthetics but in the re used organic soil. So I'm still all over the place and learning and I definitely use my tools (apera ph60, hm digital ec meter) because I didn't know I was over feeding my plants up the wazoo.

But this was always my launching pad, and for years I'd tell people, I use lc's soilless mix.

Couldn't have done it without you @Burn1 Thanks mate. Still trying to reach my peak grow points consistently. But this is what you made.

 

[Mars_Barz]

Black Swallow makes some quality soils, you might just want to go with something that's proven to get you started in organics vs experimenting with a bunch of amendments as you might not get the nutrient ratios correct.

How much is it for shipping? I think I saw a bag of your product being sold on Amazon, for like $30 or $40. Except, they wanted $100+ for shipping alone (from Ontario)