eastcoastjoe
Well-known member
i always had good results when i used the bx. i see others say they prefer hp but i never used it. always had nice fast growing plants when using pro mix
-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
Promix-Your Opinion as a Medium
- Thread starter alaskalive
- Start date
alaskalive
Member
#Cannavore...
Those plants look so happy and alive!!! OMG..
Man, bet you could grow some awesome tomatoes too!!!
Nothing like a going out into the garden on a warm summer morning.. picking a big ole red tomato, biting into it and having all the juices squirt everywhere... I miss those days! Thanks for your photos.. I would try LED lights but so many people say so many of the LEDs for sale are junk.. that there are good ones but one would have to know what to get!
So, never spent any money on one! What do you recommend for LED lighting.. brand, model.. bulbs? If you have time to tell me.. love to know what YOU know works!
Those plants look so happy and alive!!! OMG..
Man, bet you could grow some awesome tomatoes too!!!
Nothing like a going out into the garden on a warm summer morning.. picking a big ole red tomato, biting into it and having all the juices squirt everywhere... I miss those days! Thanks for your photos.. I would try LED lights but so many people say so many of the LEDs for sale are junk.. that there are good ones but one would have to know what to get!
So, never spent any money on one! What do you recommend for LED lighting.. brand, model.. bulbs? If you have time to tell me.. love to know what YOU know works!
This
Damn good advise when mixing ANY dry amendment or mix
FWIW a drop or two of liquid dish detergent makes a decent wetting agent if your peat or coco is bone dry
Thanks man I haven't been growing long. Always learning
Ive been using the same LED for a few years now and its finally starting to crap out on me. Thinking about upping my game to hps... The upfront cost of LED's are just too much for me at the moment.
Ive been using a lighthouse hydro/black star uv unit to be specific. They've made a bunch of newer models since ive purchased mine so I don't really know what's out there any more haha.
Yep a couple drops of Dr bronners and you're good to go!
And agree with the mask. I used to mix my bone dry peat in an open container.... Later in the day I'd go to blow my nose and my snot would be black lol.
alaskalive
Member
Since I am using Promix bx as a medium. I am trying to learn about using the TDS meter.
I swear I read somewhere that PPM should stay around 200. This includes having in what ever nutrients are in the water...
Well, I am thinking if I go by the directions on the Canna A & B my solution would be like 1500 TDS quick...
If I am causing anyone out there to laugh at me.. well, lol, I am glad.. everyone needs a good laugh.
At any rate, anyone want to attempt to take a stab at explaining a good target goal for the TDS when using Canna A-B and that darn 13/14.. I forget the name of it... Thanks for any effort you extend. Not wasting your time if you explain.
I swear I read somewhere that PPM should stay around 200. This includes having in what ever nutrients are in the water...
Well, I am thinking if I go by the directions on the Canna A & B my solution would be like 1500 TDS quick...
If I am causing anyone out there to laugh at me.. well, lol, I am glad.. everyone needs a good laugh.
At any rate, anyone want to attempt to take a stab at explaining a good target goal for the TDS when using Canna A-B and that darn 13/14.. I forget the name of it... Thanks for any effort you extend. Not wasting your time if you explain.
I feed every watering and water every 4 days with %15-%20 run off.
You want more aeration than that - typically the ratio for organic soil is equal parts peat moss - aeration amendment (perlite in this case) - compost/ewc.
Peat is great for building soil with because of it's high cation exchange capacity, it holds nutrients very well which is why I use it in no-till pots.
Check out this peat moss vs. coco coir study conducted by Utah State, it's pretty interesting!
You can make life a lot easier if you mix in organic amendments to let the plant choose when to uptake, rather than measuring out bottled nutrients every other day. Water-only recipes make too much sense IMO not to practice.... I grew these plants in a water-only soil mix with pro mix bx as 1/3 of the mix. It was equal parts peat, rice hulls, and compost:
More frequent waterings are better than less frequent, drenching that drowns the roots out. What's your soil mix like? You may need to add more aeration, or simply water less so you see only 5%-10% run off come out of the bottom
see above post ^
From my experiences with pro mix to obtain explosive growth the mix needs to dry out a bit, of course not bone dry to the point where the plants wilt. Good aeration is a must I mix in a bag of Mothers Earth Chunky Perlite size 3 or 4 with every 3.8 bale of BX, I also add Wiggle Worm EWC 1 or 2 bags depending on the strain and thats it. I like to control every phase of the feeding process while feeding and building the micro herd.
Picking the plants up daily is the best way to know when its time to water/feed the plants will talk to you. It is much worse to water too soon and to drown the roots. Just my 2 cents.
Picking the plants up daily is the best way to know when its time to water/feed the plants will talk to you. It is much worse to water too soon and to drown the roots. Just my 2 cents.
Pro Mix BX/Mother Earth Chunky Perlite/Wiggle Worm EWC soil mix
Pro Mix BX/Mother Earth Chunky Perlite/Wiggle Worm EWC soil mix
Pro Mix BX/Mother Earth Chunky Perlite/Wiggle Worm EWC soil mix
IMHO the purpose and use of each aggregate should be fully understood...take perlite.
Why do we add perlite to grow medium used for container plants? Most common answer is "to increase aeration"....but to what number or percentage? 10%, 25%, 50%?
According to a Rutgers bulletin:
"An ideal medium should drain rapidly following
irrigation and contain 10% (by volume) or more air
space after draining (Table 2). Oxygen stress conditions
are likely to develop at values lower than 10%. At the
same time, on a volume basis, the medium should
contain at least 50% water and available water should be
at least 30%. Wet weight (or volume weight) is another
important physical property, particularly when large
plant containers are being handled in a nursery setting.
Although it varies considerably, depending on the
components used in the mix, a value between 70 and 90
lb./cu. ft. is usually acceptable."
Rutgers published two bulletins regarding air/water porosity for container growing...they are worthy of a read, as they instruct you how to measure your own porosity levels. You may be surprised of the results of your own test.
Fundamentals of Container Media Management: Part I http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=fs812
Fundamentals of Container Media Management, Part 2, Measuring Physical Properties http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=fs881
IMHO, the right ratio of a given aggregate is more important than if it is included or not. Too much of anything is no bueno.
I found 15% air porosity and 60-65% water porosity works perfect for me. Bark, calcined clay and Fossil Shell Flour (foodgrade DE) help me keep the "available water" way over 30%...nice! By volume, compared to the other aggregates/inputs I include in my custom grow medium (peat based)...perlite is about 18% of my grow medium...same for bark.
Why do we add perlite to grow medium used for container plants? Most common answer is "to increase aeration"....but to what number or percentage? 10%, 25%, 50%?
According to a Rutgers bulletin:
"An ideal medium should drain rapidly following
irrigation and contain 10% (by volume) or more air
space after draining (Table 2). Oxygen stress conditions
are likely to develop at values lower than 10%. At the
same time, on a volume basis, the medium should
contain at least 50% water and available water should be
at least 30%. Wet weight (or volume weight) is another
important physical property, particularly when large
plant containers are being handled in a nursery setting.
Although it varies considerably, depending on the
components used in the mix, a value between 70 and 90
lb./cu. ft. is usually acceptable."
Rutgers published two bulletins regarding air/water porosity for container growing...they are worthy of a read, as they instruct you how to measure your own porosity levels. You may be surprised of the results of your own test.
Fundamentals of Container Media Management: Part I http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=fs812
Fundamentals of Container Media Management, Part 2, Measuring Physical Properties http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=fs881
IMHO, the right ratio of a given aggregate is more important than if it is included or not. Too much of anything is no bueno.
I found 15% air porosity and 60-65% water porosity works perfect for me. Bark, calcined clay and Fossil Shell Flour (foodgrade DE) help me keep the "available water" way over 30%...nice! By volume, compared to the other aggregates/inputs I include in my custom grow medium (peat based)...perlite is about 18% of my grow medium...same for bark.
>Check out this peat moss vs. coco coir study conducted by Utah State, it's pretty interesting!
TM,
Please stop posting this. It is one of the most bogus studies ever. Done around 2004 or 5.
When I make the switch to No Till, I'll be using peat, but there are all kinds of things wrong with the study, starting with not pre-flushing the coir. Never once using nutes that allow for differences in the needs of coir and peat. e.g. no Mg.
The only thing this "study" proves is that coir and peat have different needs, and that if you give coir peat nutes, it won't perform well. This so called study is just bad information. Thanks. -granger
TM,
Please stop posting this. It is one of the most bogus studies ever. Done around 2004 or 5.
When I make the switch to No Till, I'll be using peat, but there are all kinds of things wrong with the study, starting with not pre-flushing the coir. Never once using nutes that allow for differences in the needs of coir and peat. e.g. no Mg.
The only thing this "study" proves is that coir and peat have different needs, and that if you give coir peat nutes, it won't perform well. This so called study is just bad information. Thanks. -granger
So true, for anyone to cite that study as a proof of peats superiority is misleading.
Last edited:
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one Granger, CEC is huge in not only soil but especially no-till, and peat having a far higher exchange capacity than coir makes the study more then credible IMO. Everytime someone (who thinks coir is superior) reads this study they change their mind afterwards once they learn the characteristics of each medium. I don't see how there's any bad info in here... maybe I need to read it again to understand what you're trying to say
TM,
"Everytime?" I didn't change my mind. I saw thru the fallacies of their methods. As I said, when I make the switch to no till, I'll be using peat. But if I were going to go with chem nutes, I'd grow with coco. I would fertilize coco with what coco needs, not with what peat needs. I would fertilize peat with what peat needs, not with what coco needs. That's why that so called study is so bogus. They didn't flush the coco, they fed coco with what peat needs. -granger
"Everytime?" I didn't change my mind. I saw thru the fallacies of their methods. As I said, when I make the switch to no till, I'll be using peat. But if I were going to go with chem nutes, I'd grow with coco. I would fertilize coco with what coco needs, not with what peat needs. I would fertilize peat with what peat needs, not with what coco needs. That's why that so called study is so bogus. They didn't flush the coco, they fed coco with what peat needs. -granger
I wasn't referring to you, I was referring to growers I've shown the study to that were using coco for their soil mixes.
Perhaps the study should state that peat is the best medium to use in an organic soil setting, rather than simply saying which one is "better"
Perhaps the study should state that peat is the best medium to use in an organic soil setting, rather than simply saying which one is "better"
There's nothing organic about that study at all. You've given yourself the best advice so far (the same I gave you the last time you posted it), re-read it.
No one is going to argue the CEC of coir is higher than peat, hence why most of us use it in organic mixes. I and many others also add coir to reap additional benefits (perched water table, greater air holding capacity). If CEC were everything, we'd all be using vermiculite. Can't imagine how well that would go over in the PNW. There's usually a reason people choose to use what they do, other than simple ignorance.
BX already has perlite, hence why he wouldn't be using the 1:1:1 ratio.
Cheers for the links EF420.
No one is going to argue the CEC of coir is higher than peat, hence why most of us use it in organic mixes. I and many others also add coir to reap additional benefits (perched water table, greater air holding capacity). If CEC were everything, we'd all be using vermiculite. Can't imagine how well that would go over in the PNW. There's usually a reason people choose to use what they do, other than simple ignorance.
BX already has perlite, hence why he wouldn't be using the 1:1:1 ratio.
Cheers for the links EF420.
Better than high cec top soil? Better than natures method? I am not so sure.
