Greetings fellow blazers and blazettes!
Today, I will be sharing my first legitimate grow experience with you.
First and foremost, all of my measurements are approximate, so don't freak out about PERFECTION.
I was fortunate enough to have a friend who also grows, so he gave me a couple of seeds to work with. I've dreamt of growing my own plants for years, but never had the capital nor space to grow. Now that I'm fortunate enough to realize my passion, I'd like to share with you all.
So let's begin, shall we?
Seeds:
1. 2 Aurora Indica phenoA
2. 3 Aurora Indica phenoB
3. Bonus: 1 Ice
Equipment:
1. 7-Band LED 256w light from HTG
2. 5'x4'x2' Tent
3. Airstone and pump
4. 5-gal bucket
5. pH meter (electronic)
6. SuperThrive (optional/experimental)
7. 6 1-gal pots
8. 6 small containers
9. Heating mat
10. Outlet timer
Soil:
I don't have a local hydro shop, so I couldn't get "premium" soils such as Roots and Foxfarm. Instead, I improvised with different soils from local garden nurseries. Surprisingly, the soils I bought were actually very, very nice quality. Both soils contained many of the ingredients found in Roots and Foxfarm.
1. 1 bag of 2 cu. ft. of base soil
2. 1 bag of mushroom compost
3. Perlite (enough to match 1 part perlite to 2 parts of the soil mixes)
4. Blood meal, Bone meal, Bat guano (the 3 B's)
5. Earthworm castings, Greensand, Azomite, Epsom salt, Kelp meal, Dolomite (sweet lime)
6. MYCORRHIZAE
7. Extras: Molasses, pH down
For the soil, I am going to be splitting the base soil mixture into 2 parts. One will be for the SuperSoil mixture (1/4 of bag), and one will be for the filler/potting soil (3/4 of bag).
*****
Preparation for SuperSoil:
I used the same measurements Subcool uses for his SuperSoil. His recipe calls for 8 bags of base soil. I'm only using 1 bag, so just divide all of his measurements by 8 (just in case if you're bad with arithmetic). However, be VERY careful with measurements. I accidentally added the wrong ratio of nutrients and ruined the first batch.
1. Mix 2 parts base soil to 1 part perlite and 1/2 - 1 part mushroom compost; (1/2 cu ft soil + 1/4 cu ft perlite + 1/8 - 1/4 cu ft compost)
2. Add Blood, Bone, and Guano
3. Add Earthworm castings, Greensand, Azomite, Epsom salt, Kelp meal, Dolomite (REMEMBER: DO NOT OVER DO IT)
** I decided to leave out the Myco for now, since the spores aren't affective unless they're contacting the roots.
** Subcool calls for a "cooking" time of 30 days, so that all or most of the nutrients and additives are broken down and active.
Preparation for Filler/Potting Soil:
1. Mix 2 parts base soil to 1 part perlite and 1/2 - 1 part mushroom compost; (1 1/2 cu ft soil + 3/4 cu ft perlite + 3/8 - 3/4 cu ft compost)
** It'll probably be a good idea to load this soil up with as much bacteria as possible. You can do this by adding kelp meal or whatever that contains "good" or beneficial bacteria.
Today, I will be sharing my first legitimate grow experience with you.
First and foremost, all of my measurements are approximate, so don't freak out about PERFECTION.
I was fortunate enough to have a friend who also grows, so he gave me a couple of seeds to work with. I've dreamt of growing my own plants for years, but never had the capital nor space to grow. Now that I'm fortunate enough to realize my passion, I'd like to share with you all.
So let's begin, shall we?
Seeds:
1. 2 Aurora Indica phenoA
2. 3 Aurora Indica phenoB
3. Bonus: 1 Ice
Equipment:
1. 7-Band LED 256w light from HTG
2. 5'x4'x2' Tent
3. Airstone and pump
4. 5-gal bucket
5. pH meter (electronic)
6. SuperThrive (optional/experimental)
7. 6 1-gal pots
8. 6 small containers
9. Heating mat
10. Outlet timer
Soil:
I don't have a local hydro shop, so I couldn't get "premium" soils such as Roots and Foxfarm. Instead, I improvised with different soils from local garden nurseries. Surprisingly, the soils I bought were actually very, very nice quality. Both soils contained many of the ingredients found in Roots and Foxfarm.
1. 1 bag of 2 cu. ft. of base soil
2. 1 bag of mushroom compost
3. Perlite (enough to match 1 part perlite to 2 parts of the soil mixes)
4. Blood meal, Bone meal, Bat guano (the 3 B's)
5. Earthworm castings, Greensand, Azomite, Epsom salt, Kelp meal, Dolomite (sweet lime)
6. MYCORRHIZAE
7. Extras: Molasses, pH down
For the soil, I am going to be splitting the base soil mixture into 2 parts. One will be for the SuperSoil mixture (1/4 of bag), and one will be for the filler/potting soil (3/4 of bag).
*****
Preparation for SuperSoil:
I used the same measurements Subcool uses for his SuperSoil. His recipe calls for 8 bags of base soil. I'm only using 1 bag, so just divide all of his measurements by 8 (just in case if you're bad with arithmetic). However, be VERY careful with measurements. I accidentally added the wrong ratio of nutrients and ruined the first batch.
1. Mix 2 parts base soil to 1 part perlite and 1/2 - 1 part mushroom compost; (1/2 cu ft soil + 1/4 cu ft perlite + 1/8 - 1/4 cu ft compost)
2. Add Blood, Bone, and Guano
3. Add Earthworm castings, Greensand, Azomite, Epsom salt, Kelp meal, Dolomite (REMEMBER: DO NOT OVER DO IT)
** I decided to leave out the Myco for now, since the spores aren't affective unless they're contacting the roots.
** Subcool calls for a "cooking" time of 30 days, so that all or most of the nutrients and additives are broken down and active.
Preparation for Filler/Potting Soil:
1. Mix 2 parts base soil to 1 part perlite and 1/2 - 1 part mushroom compost; (1 1/2 cu ft soil + 3/4 cu ft perlite + 3/8 - 3/4 cu ft compost)
** It'll probably be a good idea to load this soil up with as much bacteria as possible. You can do this by adding kelp meal or whatever that contains "good" or beneficial bacteria.