Soil Debate - FoxFarm vs Roots

fb360

Active Member
Hey guys hows it going

I use both Fox Farm Ocean Forest and Roots Organic soil. Comparatively, Roots has more pearlite, and also drains quicker, while FoxFarm is a darker soil wiith less pearlite and holds onto water longer.
Which do you prefer? I have yet to test them, as I've had good results with both, however it would be good to know others opinions
 

crazyhazey

Well-Known Member
more aeration and drainage is usually better but ocean farm is rich so id add some to the soil. put a layer of perlite at the bottom of your pot for better drainage.
 

Ringsixty

Well-Known Member
winning combo for me is ffof and fabric pots.
if you choose fabric pots and ffof... do not add more perlite to you soil.
fabric pots dry out quickly.
 

medical/420

Active Member
I have used them both, ROOTS ORGANIC is JUNK, I have my high dollor plants in this SHITTY soil right now, junk junk junk, swicthing back to a mix of FFOF & HF. I feel sorry for the poor saps that buy any Roots Organic, (roots used to be good, but I think you would be better to use mirical grow instend.
 

1337hacker

Active Member
Honestly, either one is gonna be good. I have had similar yields and results with either one, the question is what else are you doing on top of it to support your soil's health, otherwise you might as well be growing with coco or some other soil-less media.

These days I don't spend my money on high priced soil. Experimenting with cheaper brands and self mixes , while focusing more on my rhizospheric health, has actually led me to higher yields. (I'm actually reusing my entire 20CUft bed of soil this run around and loving it)

One thing I can complain about with the roots soil is that water seems to run through it extremely quick when top feeding... When I use my watering wand on roots organic it digs holes in it even with the diffuser ; ;
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
both are good and as described by the OP. i cut my FFOF with perlite 2:1, roots need not be cut but could stand a little more perlite.

both companies have sold me some shitty bags with bugs, it is to be expected. adapt and overcome.

my new favorite though is roots greenlite. tons of perlite, not as hot, easier to control, a bit more expensive.
 

Kalyx

Active Member
I prefer Roots original potting soil. The aggregate is both perlite AND pumice and it has plenty for indoor. I love that it has coir AND peat for better structure. Plus roots has more rounded amendments added. Bugs are more of a (outdoor) storage issue IMO. Don't buy from middlemen who store bags outdoors for ANY period of time, and if you do, and end up with gnats or thrips, you might want to hate on the middleman not the producer of the mix. Also, FF products contain many thistles in their compost that will end up needing tweezed out of your hands after transplanting. Both these mixes work great in fabric pots right out of the bag, that is how I use them too. IMO FF products really benefit from the addition of equal parts perlite and coco. EWC never hurts too. I use these soils as the base (about 50%) of my NOTvegan mix for indoor gardening with many other amendments, but at work we will be using it straight out of the bag. I will keep all posted...
 

bertiswho

Active Member
I have used them both, ROOTS ORGANIC is JUNK, I have my high dollor plants in this SHITTY soil right now, junk junk junk, swicthing back to a mix of FFOF & HF. I feel sorry for the poor saps that buy any Roots Organic, (roots used to be good, but I think you would be better to use mirical grow instend.
I use roots and my stuff turns out spectacular. sorry to hear that.
 

Beeb Beebman

Active Member
I use roots and my stuff turns out spectacular. sorry to hear that.
Same. I've used both without any ill effects. With the ROOTS I was just able to feed a little bit earlier than my plants that went into FFOF. No real complaints about either.
 

HapaHaole

Well-Known Member
Thanks for starting this thread. I already got the soils for the next round and I was gonna do a side by side this time coming up so... I'll sub and keep coming back here.

*shakes head: dayum... you guys know what's up. :)
 

fb360

Active Member
Thanks for starting this thread. I already got the soils for the next round and I was gonna do a side by side this time coming up so... I'll sub and keep coming back here.

*shakes head: dayum... you guys know what's up. :)
No problem bongsmilie

It's good to hear everyones opinions, and we could all benefit from others experiences

I prefer Roots original potting soil. The aggregate is both perlite AND pumice and it has plenty for indoor. I love that it has coir AND peat for better structure. Plus roots has more rounded amendments added. Bugs are more of a (outdoor) storage issue IMO. Don't buy from middlemen who store bags outdoors for ANY period of time, and if you do, and end up with gnats or thrips, you might want to hate on the middleman not the producer of the mix. Also, FF products contain many thistles in their compost that will end up needing tweezed out of your hands after transplanting. Both these mixes work great in fabric pots right out of the bag, that is how I use them too. IMO FF products really benefit from the addition of equal parts perlite and coco. EWC never hurts too. I use these soils as the base (about 50%) of my NOTvegan mix for indoor gardening with many other amendments, but at work we will be using it straight out of the bag. I will keep all posted...
Thank you for the post! I'll be looking forward to viewing your side-by-side comparison
 

kinetic

Well-Known Member
I started using roots this year instead of the ffof. I'm quiet happy with it, I've used ffof in the past with no complaints. I use fabric pots so it does seem like I'm watering every other day with the roots. I personally don't mind watering a lot some people may. Good Luck!
 

bestbuds09

Well-Known Member
im another one that says roots organic is a very good bagged soil. ive used ffof but always had ph issues towards the end and my yield would not be the same. whit roots organic ive never had a ph issue and my yield was above average.

both are good but if you are using straight out of the bag i would stick with roots organic and not ffof.
 

Redbird1223

Active Member
never used fox farm before, but after using roots organics, you couldn't PAY me to use anything else.

before and afterIMG_20120208_083742.jpg IMG_20120318_175349.jpg

here are moreIMG_20120127_103750.jpgIMG_20120215_151110.jpgIMG_20120302_102604.jpgIMG_20120307_131444.jpg

im a cheap bastard, its not easy to get me to pay 17-20 bucks for a bag of dirt. if you love ms mary, dont play games
 

ziggaro

Active Member
Hey guys first time roots user here.. All my plants are showing signs of pH imbalance. I have tried using between 6-7 pH and no matter what my leaves are twisted and stems are purple! This is after being freshly transplanted and for the next few waterings. After being in the same pot and giving cal-mag it got better (probably because of the CA buffer), but I don't get why I have this problem every time I up-pot.

I used to use FFOF but have used Sunshine #4 for a while now and just picked up this soil because they were out of the #4. It drains awesome and feels great for texture but I think the soil is too acidic out of the bag.
I didn't like the consistency of FFOF but it is a workable soil. Needs to be lightened and picked through. Lots of big sticks and stuff.

Are you guys mixing dolomite with your Roots? I never had to do this with any other bag..
I just mixed some powdered dolomite in there, the bag said 2 TBS per 5 gallons of soil for containers so I followed that. If this helps I'll report back because I love the drainage and the fact that there are no clumps or sticks or anything that I've found.
 

Nullis

Moderator
I've used Roots Organic before, but typically use Ocean Forest with coco coir and dolomite lime added. Haven't used any Roots Organic in quite a while... was going to try it out again, but instead more recently transplanted into a mix of Ocean Forest and Happy Frog. I've also used Sunshine Adv. Mix #4 for seedlings and clones, and as a base for amending or mixing in with OF to make it lighter (and add myco). I do like the SSAM#4 for these purposes (it has no nutrients of its own but does have mycorrhizae).

I think it is important for people to understand the intrinsic differences between these mixes and the ingredients they contain. Also, try not to assume that any one of them is perfect straight out the bag for cannabis growing, or your specific needs, because really they're formulated for a wide variety of plants\uses.

The Roots Organic (original) comes with coco coir as a major ingredient, which sounds good because coir has a pH which is a bit less acidic than sphagnum peat does. As far as natural humus goes the RO just has earthworm castings and added humates from the leonardite... but otherwise seems like it has a limited micro-biology (there doesn't appear to be any added microbial inoculants). All in all the Roots Organic original potting mix is a soil-less medium.

Happy Frog is another soil-less mix. It has composted forest humus as well as earthworm castings, which basically means more microbes and greater bio-diversity. It is also inoculated with several species of mycorrhizal fungi, and has added humic acids derived from leonardite. It is quite a bit less 'hot' than Ocean Forest is, and contains oyster shell flour as well as dolomite limestone for pH adjustment.

Ocean Forest is more of a true potting soil, as it contains sandy loam. It also has forest humus and earthworm castings, along with a plethora of all natural\organic fertilizers that make it much richer than Happy Frog. Unlike HF it doesn't contain any mycorrhizal inoculants, but does have a lot of naturally present micro-organisms from the humus, castings and compost it contains. There is no dolomite lime in OF, only oyster shell flour for pH adjustment.

As I said, I usually add in coco coir to Ocean Forest myself (20-25%). If adding coir I might add in just a bit more chunky perlite. I don't like a lot of perlite in my mixes and really don't believe it is necessary to have so much. Sandy loam and castings help with aeration and drainage as well, and so would coco coir fibers. The problems I have with perlite are that it is entirely non-nutritive, doesn't hold water and has virtually zero CEC, so it doesn't hold onto nutrients either like humus, castings, sphagnum and coco coir do. I've also found that with too much perlite it can accumulate in pockets throughout the medium, creating dry spots where plant roots wont want to grow.

Most potting mixes\soils, especially Ocean Forest, I feel require additional pulverized dolomite limestone. Certainly for your final transplant I would recommend mixing in at least 1 tbsp of dolomite per gallon of mix, preferably even up to 2 tbsp\gal. If you have enough dolomite added to your mix you shouldn't encounter any pH-related issues nearing the end of your grow.
 

george xxx

Active Member
One thing I can complain about with the roots soil is that water seems to run through it extremely quick when top feeding... When I use my watering wand on roots organic it digs holes in it even with the diffuser ; ;
Its the coco they mix in it. I recently tried mixing coco with another soil mix. I have the same issue. Water will dig holes in it just slowly pouring water in from a cup.
 

hyroot

Well-Known Member
Roots hands down is my favorite. Plus its coco based. Works great for reusing too. Of course I amend and cook it for a month. Water does go through it fast but 20 min later the plant soaks the water back up. I top dress with ancient forest compost every 2 weeks. That actually helps retain moisture. I water every 4 to 5 days in 2 gal. Once a week in 5 gal.
 
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