Seasoned Opinion Sought

BluntMoniker said:

@Gentlemencorpse has you going in the right direction. All very good advice.

Being someone who is in Lpwes/Home Depot just about every day of my life, I gsruntee you can find what you need, to put together a decent soil mix, if they dont have a good one ready for ya.

I havent personally used the Organic Miracle Grow, so I cant RECOMMEND it, but like GC said, it looks pretty good regardless of the Miracle Grow stigma.

If you dont want to use the Miracle Grow, you could just buy topsoil, organic compost, and perlite. Do about 25% topsoil, 25% perlite, 50% compost, and you have a decent base to start with. You could add a few handfuls of earthworm castings as well.

This will get you started, and provide you with s bit of a nutrient buffer.. but you will still need to fertilize throughout your grow, as this mix only provides basic necessities, as opposed to being a "super soil" that only needs water start to finish.

If you want to go organic, I use Biobizz nutrients, but megacrop is also highly recommended around this site, and I myself am waiting for it to come back in stock so I can try it. Megacrop isnt "organic" technically, its "vegan"... but I'm sure it's close enough (from a omnivore's POV lol)

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duly noted!

Im on the path to "the ultimate budget set-up and equipment" so i want to ask, to buy individual bags of all the right medium ingredients cheaper as opposed to a single bag already mixed?

I

Durkee13 said:

Ok so to move to a new pot (larger) and into the Happy Frog potting soil I just got.

Is my plant ready or strong enough for this move?
Do I need to keep the old medium around the roots or let the soil dry so I can shake off the soil and transplant that way?
Once it is transplanted, what measures are needed to be taken to ensure it survives the stress?

Aaaal a first for me and Ive struggled thus far and Id really like to NOT fuck this up!!

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Yes, your plant is ready to move and in fact needs to be moved before it starves in that coco mix. Some of the medium will fall off but you don't need to shake it off or anything. When I up pot I like to put the stem between my middle and ring finger on one hand and turn the pot almost all the way over so gravity does most of the work. If it doesn't come right out you just squeeze the or tap the bottom of the planter with your other hand. You DO NOT want to pull on the stem. Then just move it to it's new home.

In the new pot I usually put a few inches of soil then move the plant and existing medium on top of it, then fill around the edges and top it off. It's a lot easier then filling the new pot and trying to make a hole in it, which usually results in a big mess. Also, make sure the new pot is ready for the plant before you remove the plant from it's old home. May seem obvious, but I've actually done that before so I figured it bears mentioning.

Water it as soon as it's in it's new home then leave it alone until it needs water again.

I tried to find a video for you but I hate YouTube.

Durkee13 said:

duly noted!

Im on the path to "the ultimate budget set-up and equipment" so i want to ask, to buy individual bags of all the right medium ingredients cheaper as opposed to a single bag already mixed?

I

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Yes, the only downside is you often need to buy things in a larger quantity then you would need for just one or two plants, so the upfront investment can seem like it's more. But per cubic foot it's definitely less.

Gentlemencorpse said:

Yes, your plant is ready to move and in fact needs to be moved before it starves in that coco mix. Some of the medium will fall off but you don't need to shake it off or anything. When I up pot I like to put the stem between my middle and ring finger on one hand and turn the pot almost all the way over so gravity does most of the work. If it doesn't come right out you just squeeze the or tap the bottom of the planter with your other hand. You DO NOT want to pull on the stem. Then just move it to it's new home.

In the new pot I usually put a few inches of soil then move the plant and existing medium on top of it, then fill around the edges and top it off. It's a lot easier then filling the new pot and trying to make a hole in it, which usually results in a big mess. Also, make sure the new pot is ready for the plant before you remove the plant from it's old home. May seem obvious, but I've actually done that before so I figured it bears mentioning.

Water it as soon as it's in it's new home then leave it alone until it needs water again.

I tried to find a video for you but I hate YouTube.

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Alright dude, your my new mentor! You've given me the best advice since I started this thread!

Ok I totally understand your method, my mom works for the city growing in a greenhouse raising plants to put in parks and buisnesses... she mentioned the same way.

So the pot its currently in is 4.5" wide at the top, and 3.5" deep. How much bigger should I go?

Mind you this is a mystery bag seed from some mids...

Durkee13 said:

Alright dude, your my new mentor! You've given me the best advice since I started this thread!

Ok I totally understand your method, my mom works for the city growing in a greenhouse raising plants to put in parks and buisnesses... she mentioned the same way.

So the pot its currently in is 4.5" wide at the top, and 3.5" deep. How much bigger should I go?

Mind you this is a mystery bag seed from some mids...

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These are the pot sizes and types I have...the top left smallest pot is what the plant is currently residing...
What size up should I go to based on the sizes I have available?

Durkee13 said:

What soil would be a good organic medium to transfer into? All I have on hand is that miricle grow potting soil. Im trying to grow this sole plant without any additives, nutes or otherwise (other than what provided in the soil/medium) Its really a learning experiment with this one, to figure out the cycles of growth before i start medding with its chemistry!
but id like to keep this plant alive at least till harvest or until it is discovered its a male.

BTW, this is just from a bag of mids Ive collected...no specific strain, breeder or no otherwise form of identification

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If you want to grow without adding anything, you will likely need to grow in a super soil of some sort. Consult your local grow shop.
You will get by with happy frog for some time but eventually it will use up all the nutrients. Perhaps consider organic amendments? Smells like shit but works great!

JoeBlow5823 said:

If you want to grow without adding anything, you will likely need to grow in a super soil of some sort. Consult your local grow shop.
You will get by with happy frog for some time but eventually it will use up all the nutrients. Perhaps consider organic amendments? Smells like shit but works great!View attachment 4552132

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Naa, the way I look at it, the plant will grow if you toss the seed in an old backyard flowerpot full of wet dirt and not pay no mind to it and it can grow damn near 6 feet! I've seen it!
Point is, I'm not growing this first one for a plentiful harvest at all...just to learn how it grows on its own.
I have 3 others bout 4 days old I'm gonna tweak with nutes and all that.
This is like a fun experiment, I'm gonna be an awesome grower...it runs in my family! Lol

Durkee13 said:

duly noted!

Im on the path to "the ultimate budget set-up and equipment" so i want to ask, to buy individual bags of all the right medium ingredients cheaper as opposed to a single bag already mixed?

I

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Again GC hit it on the head. It's more expensive to build your own soil, in that you need to buy multiple ingredients to actually build the soil.. but the quantity is larger so its cheaper per pot.

But that's if it's absolutely necessary to build your own organic potting mix. If you can find a decent pre-made organic mix, you'll be fine. The point is moreso to get the plant into an easier medium (soil instead of coco) and get it fed.

Durkee13 said:

Naa, the way I look at it, the plant will grow if you toss the seed in an old backyard flowerpot full of wet dirt and not pay no mind to it and it can grow damn near 6 feet! I've seen it!
Point is, I'm not growing this first one for a plentiful harvest at all...just to learn how it grows on its own.
I have 3 others bout 4 days old I'm gonna tweak with nutes and all that.
This is like a fun experiment, I'm gonna be an awesome grower...it runs in my family! Lol

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Ive seen plenty of massive plants that yielded a bunch of shit weed too. Getting some premium potting soil and using dry organic amendments in order to go from ok weed to amazing weed is well worth it in my book. Were talking about maybe 10$ per plant here. Spend a lot more than that in electric. Not to mention the better the medicine, the less of it you have to grow. I dont know about you but ive got a lot of severe pain that i cant do anything about especially with the pandemic. Spending a few extra bucks to have everything reach its full potential is well worth it.

Durkee13 said:

Naa, the way I look at it, the plant will grow if you toss the seed in an old backyard flowerpot full of wet dirt and not pay no mind to it and it can grow damn near 6 feet! I've seen it!
Point is, I'm not growing this first one for a plentiful harvest at all...just to learn how it grows on its own.
I have 3 others bout 4 days old I'm gonna tweak with nutes and all that.
This is like a fun experiment, I'm gonna be an awesome grower...it runs in my family! Lol

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No doubt man! @JoeBlow5823 isn't wrong though, happy frog isn't going to feed the plant forever. But you don't really need any additional nutes. Just throw a couple handfuls of the fox farms soil on top every month or so and you'll get there. Probably won't get the biggest plants the fastest but you'll get some bud off it.

That 6 ft plant in a backyard pot probably rooted through the holes in the bottom of the pot to get some of nature's sweet sweet loving. Your plants in a much more sterile environment, it will need a helping hand along the way. Fortunately, each time you up-pot you'll be feeding it with that soil.

Durkee13 said:

These are the pot sizes and types I have...the top left smallest pot is what the plant is currently residing...
What size up should I go to based on the sizes I have available?

Click to expand...

I'd go to that second largest size for now. Give it a few weeks there, see how it does then move it to it's final pot. But at this point we're getting more into personal preference than anything else.

BluntMoniker said:

Again GC hit it on the head. It's more expensive to build your own soil, in that you need to buy multiple ingredients to actually build the soil.. but the quantity is larger so its cheaper per pot.

But that's if it's absolutely necessary to build your own organic potting mix. If you can find a decent pre-made organic mix, you'll be fine. The point is moreso to get the plant into an easier medium (soil instead of coco) and get it fed.

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I suppose I should point out my intentions in my grow set up what with all this great advice so it may help curve your input:
I live in Indiana, where all bordering states it is legal to use and or grow cannabis, be it for recreational or medical, yet i still reside where all this is illegal. I hope to learn to grow and get it to where I can grow on demand. Grow quickly, efficiently and with yields that will be on a level comparable to the growers that supply the dispensaries such as in michigan. Once indiana mirrors the surrounding states, however long it takes, (Im 44 y/o, I still got some time to get it figured out!) I want to become...somehow...a commercial grower, a supplier for various legal cannabis dispensaries here in my home state.
UNTIL it becomes legal, im only intending to grow a couple, plants at a time, very trial and error. any results/yields that are deemed worthy to smoke, i'll surely handle that and maybe distribute my bounty amongst friends and a very discounted price. There will always be at least one plant under the lights in my tent (rn its 36"x36"x71"). they will be cycled through until i find a sativa plant. I want the longer skinny leaves and not the shorter, fatter leaves of the Indica.
I prefer sativa over indica, I dont like the couch potato strains, I dig the clean your house and fuck like a jack rabbit strains! lmao!

In a nuttshell the above rant is what my grow "dreams" are, my budget is very limited and so is my power and water resources which falls under the financial budget limitations. I just spent $16 on a big bag of Happy Frog Organic Potting Soil, I'll have to see how long this bag lasts me and how the plant responds to it...if goin the route of mixing my own helps give me a longer term supply than I'll have to look to you guys for some tips on that.
If this takes off and my little "gro-dream" comes true, soil will be consumed pretty regularly...so per your advice it may just be beneficial to start learning a good mix formula...hell by then maybe my mixture is so good tried and true I can sell that and call it "Durkee Organic Cannabis Blend"!!
OK, Im talkin shit now, morning buzz is up and runnin!

Durkee13 said:

I suppose I should point out my intentions in my grow set up what with all this great advice so it may help curve your input:
I live in Indiana, where all bordering states it is legal to use and or grow cannabis, be it for recreational or medical, yet i still reside where all this is illegal. I hope to learn to grow and get it to where I can grow on demand. Grow quickly, efficiently and with yields that will be on a level comparable to the growers that supply the dispensaries such as in michigan. Once indiana mirrors the surrounding states, however long it takes, (Im 44 y/o, I still got some time to get it figured out!) I want to become...somehow...a commercial grower, a supplier for various legal cannabis dispensaries here in my home state.

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Trust me, I sympathize and mirror your dreams almost exactly. In fact, I think a LOT of growers, wouldlove to be able to make a legal living off of their passion as a commercial grower.

I'm in a deep red state, likely to be one of the very last in the country (if ever) to allow recreational use. But I've been looking into the fall semester at our local community college to take some courses in agri/horticulture, so I can gain the more scientific knowledge needed to become a "master grower", aside from just personal experience on a small scale.

Just be smart, be patient, and keep working towards your dream.. you'll get there

Gentlemencorpse said:

No doubt man! @JoeBlow5823 isn't wrong though, happy frog isn't going to feed the plant forever. But you don't really need any additional nutes. Just throw a couple handfuls of the fox farms soil on top every month or so and you'll get there. Probably won't get the biggest plants the fastest but you'll get some bud off it.

That 6 ft plant in a backyard pot probably rooted through the holes in the bottom of the pot to get some of nature's sweet sweet loving. Your plants in a much more sterile environment, it will need a helping hand along the way. Fortunately, each time you up-pot you'll be feeding it with that soil.



I'd go to that second largest size for now. Give it a few weeks there, see how it does then move it to it's final pot. But at this point we're getting more into personal preference than anything else.

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OK, this question is for my own reference, but happy frog and fox farms...what are their differences? Would fox farms soil would have been the over all better choice?

I honestly never looked at ingredients on the bag, i cant name all the shit thats in it I simply got it because it was on hand and available and Ive heard the name SEVERAL times on forums, youtube how-to's, etc Same with fox farm, I really want to try the black gold stuff, but that has to be ordered and I needed somethin like right then, so I already knew it was decent to use...now talkin to you guys Im hoping to refine my current soil for what I want to do with the first batch of plants.

BTW GC I did transplant that last night...(into the very pot you suggested) think i pooped a little bit doing so, lmao it didnt go smoothly AT ALL I swore I killed it, fell sideways into the new pot...it was too deep and i didnt have enough soil in the bottom, the soil ball fell away immediately and I can hear the (really looked good btw) screaming in pain! My girl had to help me prop the skinny ass stem back up and all that.
I dont know if it was a good thing, but was never mentioned last night, but my light timer had shut the lights off for the night before I put the plant freshly transplanted and watered thoroughly in there...I thought that would not help things...but this morning I peeked in and she was sittin there "reachin for the sun". So at least as of now she made the switch. I'll take a pic when my girl gets up, I gotta go through our bedroom to get to my grow room upstairs, and you can see if theres any early signs of death showing or ways I may be able to prevent it.

BluntMoniker said:

Trust me, I sympathize and mirror your dreams almost exactly. In fact, I think a LOT of growers, wouldlove to be able to make a legal living off of their passion as a commercial grower.

I'm in a deep red state, likely to be one of the very last in the country (if ever) to allow recreational use. But I've been looking into the fall semester at our local community college to take some courses in agri/horticulture, so I can gain the more scientific knowledge needed to become a "master grower", aside from just personal experience on a small scale.

Just be smart, be patient, and keep working towards your dream.. you'll get there

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Thats a really, really good idea bro! I wonder how much of what we would learn in a school course like that, that could directly relate to Cannabis though? My mom grows (flowers, decorative plants at parks and recreation dept for the city I live in, and surprisingly not much could apply to cannabis that ive discovered thus far)

Durkee13 said:

OK, this question is for my own reference, but happy frog and fox farms...what are their differences? Would fox farms soil would have been the over all better choice?

I honestly never looked at ingredients on the bag, i cant name all the shit thats in it I simply got it because it was on hand and available and Ive heard the name SEVERAL times on forums, youtube how-to's, etc Same with fox farm, I really want to try the black gold stuff, but that has to be ordered and I needed somethin like right then, so I already knew it was decent to use...now talkin to you guys Im hoping to refine my current soil for what I want to do with the first batch of plants.

BTW GC I did transplant that last night...(into the very pot you suggested) think i pooped a little bit doing so, lmao it didnt go smoothly AT ALL I swore I killed it, fell sideways into the new pot...it was too deep and i didnt have enough soil in the bottom, the soil ball fell away immediately and I can hear the (really looked good btw) screaming in pain! My girl had to help me prop the skinny ass stem back up and all that.
I dont know if it was a good thing, but was never mentioned last night, but my light timer had shut the lights off for the night before I put the plant freshly transplanted and watered thoroughly in there...I thought that would not help things...but this morning I peeked in and she was sittin there "reachin for the sun". So at least as of now she made the switch. I'll take a pic when my girl gets up, I gotta go through our bedroom to get to my grow room upstairs, and you can see if theres any early signs of death showing or ways I may be able to prevent it.

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Sorry, but your transplanting story definitely made me chuckle. They're resilient little plants though, I'm sure she'll be fine.

Sorry for the confusion, Happy Frog is a Fox Farms product. Fox Farms is just the brand and Happy Frog is the specific product. It's good stuff! Their other popular product is called Ocean Forest and it's a little hotter (has more nutrients) so it feeds the plants a bit longer but used properly Happy Frog will work just as well.

Gentlemencorpse said:

Sorry, but your transplanting story definitely made me chuckle. They're resilient little plants though, I'm sure she'll be fine.

Sorry for the confusion, Happy Frog is a Fox Farms product. Fox Farms is just the brand and Happy Frog is the specific product. It's good stuff! Their other popular product is called Ocean Forest and it's a little hotter (has more nutrients) so it feeds the plants a bit longer but used properly Happy Frog will work just as well.

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Here she is with a new pair of britches on...thoughts?
the leafs were drooping when i peeked on her before i crashed for the night

She looks good. Just make sure you let her dry out completely before watering again.

Gentlemencorpse said:

She looks good. Just make sure you let her dry out completely before watering again.

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Yea it wasnt very moist when i went to put it in the new pot, so once i had it in there and filled it in with the Happy Frog, gently watered it mainly around the outside of the pot, but all the same until it started to come out the bottom...what my green-thumb mother always said, "till it pees".
I turned my humidifier down to possibly make the plant draw its water from the soil rather from transpiration to help dry it out...not sure if that will actually work but thats how I think!

I been keeping my grow environment at 75-78 degrees F, and the RH at around 55-62%
Now im at 45-50% RH

Durkee13 said:

Thats a really, really good idea bro! I wonder how much of what we would learn in a school course like that, that could directly relate to Cannabis though? My mom grows (flowers, decorative plants at parks and recreation dept for the city I live in, and surprisingly not much could apply to cannabis that ive discovered thus far)

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It's less about the marijuana itself.. moreso the biology behind how different plants survive/thrive and how to control/maintain a commercial sized indoor garden.

I feel like, not only will that give me a wider knowledge base of plant biology in general, which would carry over to marijuana in differing ways, but having a degree in fields directly associated with a commercial growing operation just looks good on a resume.

I think like this... if I have a multi million dollar investment in a grow operation, and I'm hiring for a grow master... im a lot more likely to hire a college educated botonist with a background in marijuana growing, than I am to hire a guy with no education, who's only background is personal experience growing only pot.

I could be wrong though, but an education cant ever hurt

BluntMoniker said:

It's less about the marijuana itself.. moreso the biology behind how different plants survive/thrive and how to control/maintain a commercial sized indoor garden.

I feel like, not only will that give me a wider knowledge base of plant biology in general, which would carry over to marijuana in differing ways, but having a degree in fields directly associated with a commercial growing operation just looks good on a resume.

I think like this... if I have a multi million dollar investment in a grow operation, and I'm hiring for a grow master... im a lot more likely to hire a college educated botonist with a background in marijuana growing, than I am to hire a guy with no education, who's only background is personal experience growing only pot.

I could be wrong though, but an education cant ever hurt

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Makes perfect sense...inspiring even!