Newbie trying to go organic

HowardWCampbell

New Member
I'm working on my first grow here, and after a lot of reading I'm going to try going organic. Right now I have several seedlings started, most of them in Fafard organic potting mix. They seem to be doing pretty well right now, but I want to make sure I'm giving them the right nutes once they start vegging.

I have some Super Plant Tonic on the way, along with worm castings, bat guano, and chicken manure. They're all made by Blue Mountain Organics. Here's some info on them:

"You are buying one Super Plant Tonic, SUPER PACK - it includes (1) large bottle of Super Plant Tonic, (1) pound of all Organic Worm Castings, (1) pound of Granulated Chicken Manure (NPK 5-3-2.5) it's low odor and ORMI listed, plus (1) pound of High Phosphorus Bat Guano (NPK 0-7-0) it is also ORMI listed"

I'm also getting dolomite lime, and probably some molasses.

I plan on making a 1/4 strength tea with the tonic, castings, guano, and chicken manure throughout the veg cycle. For flowering, I'll use 1/4 strength tonic, castings, guano, and molasses.

Should this keep my plants healthy? What should I do different? How/when should I add the lime? This is my first grow, and any advice is appreciated.

PS- My soil pH is 6.6, and I'm using dechlorinated water with a pH of 6.8
 

ISmokePotBecauseItsCool

Well-Known Member
With all those ingredients, you might as well make this :https://www.rollitup.org/subcools-old-school-organics/44686-subcools-super-soil.html and not have to worry about nutes
Also, BMO was a good choice, im using their SPT and have their Grow It Green and Flower Power on the way
What are you growing in? Or is it outdoor? If its indoor what kinda lights?
I am still on my first organic grow myself, decided after lots of reading that organic was the best way to go for taste and quality

EDIT: If you want to learn about organics, Subcools Oldschool Organics has tons of great info, Subcool has some incredible posts there, as does OhSoGreen
 

halzey68

Well-Known Member
i use FoxFarm ocean forest soil and it has enough nutrients for the first month so be careful not to burn your babies.
 

rolla8

Well-Known Member
Ocean Forest is not 100% organic, nor does it claim to be. It IS 100% all-natural, meaning that there are no chemicals in it. But "organic" it is not. I love it though... you just can't find a better out-of-the-bag soil for growing ganja :-D
 

HowardWCampbell

New Member
ISmokePot,
It's indoors. My veg/seedling chamber is a rubbermaid tub with 6x26w 6500k cfls. This weekend I'm building my flowering cabinet with a 150w hps and 3 or 4 26w 2700k cfls. The new cabinet is about 5.5 sq ft. I'll probably add more lights as my budget allows, but I want to see how hot what I have is going to get.

OhSoGreen's posts are the main reason I'm trying BMO, and I'm trying to read up on subcool's stuff this weekend.

Thanks for all the advice so far.
 

HowardWCampbell

New Member
I tried to get foxfarm soil, but my local foxfarm dealer doesn't carry any of their soil. Fafard was their only organic potting mix. I can't find much info about them online, but what little I've seen has been good. After about a week of using it I've been pretty happy, but I may need to do something to improve drainage a little. It seems to hold moisture a little longer than I'd like. I may try foxfarm someday, I just don't want to pay $25 to have it shipped to me. I'd also like to stay as organic as possible.
 

rolla8

Well-Known Member
I tried to get foxfarm soil, but my local foxfarm dealer doesn't carry any of their soil. Fafard was their only organic potting mix. I can't find much info about them online, but what little I've seen has been good. After about a week of using it I've been pretty happy, but I may need to do something to improve drainage a little. It seems to hold moisture a little longer than I'd like. I may try foxfarm someday, I just don't want to pay $25 to have it shipped to me. I'd also like to stay as organic as possible.
I don't blame ya for not wanting to pay to ship soil. I did that once and it was a huge mistake. The shipping cost me more than the damn soil did! Fortunately, I found a great hydroponics shop about 15min from my house that carries the entire FoxFarm product line. FoxFarm does make two other soil mixes that are organic; "Happy Frog" and their "Original" organic planting mix. I haven't used either of them because I love Ocean Forest so much, but I've heard good things about Happy Frog from several users on this board, and a bag of Happy Frog contains 1/2cu.ft. more soil than a bag of Ocean Forest for the same price. So, if you get the chance sometime, maybe you want to give it a shot.

However, if you're happy with the results obtained using the Fafard mix, I say stick with it. If you think it would be a good idea to improve the drainage of the Fafard mix, you can add a 20%-25% cut of chunky perlite; For every 4-5 scoops of soil, mix in one scoop of perlite. That will improve the drainage. You could also try coconut coir or FoxFarms Light Warrior instead of perlite if you'd like. Another trick to improve drainage is to put about 2"-3" of Hydroton pebbles on the bottoms of all your containers, then fill the containers with your soil mix.
 

Ohsogreen

Well-Known Member
Should this keep my plants healthy? What should I do different? How/when should I add the lime? This is my first grow, and any advice is appreciated.
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HowardWCampbell...... Yes, those ferts/amendments will definately keep your plants happy and healthy. Your choice to start low and build as you go, is a plan that will work.
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The dolomite lime, should only be applied once a month, as per the label (for your soil volume) unless your soil pH drops to 6 or under.
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Rolla8's suggestion to add perlite is a good one, 15-20 percent (by volume) can help allot. I'd go with that.
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It sounds like you're off to a good start and headed in the right direction.
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Keep it Real ... Organic.... & I also recommend Subcools threads in his sub-forum - especially Canopy Management......it's excellent.....
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HowardWCampbell

New Member
Is there anything wrong with mg perlite? It's the only brand I've seen available locally.

Thanks everybody for the help. Everyone on this forum has just been so incredibly helpful.
 

ISmokePotBecauseItsCool

Well-Known Member
Ive heard MG perlite has nutes in it
I would avoid anything from MG at all costs, even their organics
I have a similar setup to yours, 6 26w 6500k's and then that 150w hps and 2700k cfls for flower
Its my first time, so if I just make it to harvest ill be happy
 

ISmokePotBecauseItsCool

Well-Known Member
They are still young. I have 3 seedlings from bagseed about a month old and 3 Indicas that were given to me about a month old and very sick/nute burned, so the last several weeks I have spent trying to get them healthy again....this is my first grow so I was not quite ready to handle sick plants, it took me a bit to get them looking better.
I just recently got my HPS and havent flowered yet so I dunno how well it will work, but have been very happy with the CFL's for veg
I am grwing in a small closet, my usable space is like 3x2x5
Of my 6 plants im hoping to get 2 maybe 3 healthy girls
 
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