Some help with making the ideal soiless mix please

Kongbuds

Kongbuds

Member
I am in the process of starting my second grow. My first grow was a few years back using potting soil and Cfls. Started out with 7 plants and ended up with 2 females. I tried to transplant them into a DIY bubbleponics system I made which of course almost killed them. I then transplanted back into soil and they survived. I ended up with about 6.5 grams of dried and cured buds. It was decent smoke but not at all what I was shooting for.

So now a few years later(and much more knowledge under my cap) I am starting another grow. I will be using a soiless mix consisting of peat and perlite as my base medium. My question is, how much of each should I mix? What are the best amendments to use(guano, blood and bone meal, kelp, lime, etc...) and how much of each do I mix into my base?

I am using a 6'x3'x6' grow box with 3 gallon pots(10 plants total). As far as lighting goes its Cfls again for this grow as I can not afford an hid set up yet(although I know full well hids are much more efficient for growing cannabis than Cfls are). So again, I am looking for an approximate estimate of how much of each ingredient I need to mix together for 10, 3 gallon pots. Also I plan to germinate in rock wool cubes and then transplant into soiless mix. Is this a good idea instead of germing in paper towels or tissue paper?

Any info is much appreciated!
 
drolove

drolove

Well-Known Member
i would do a 50/50 mix of perlite and peat moss. add the right amount of lime to get the PH your looking for and let the nutes i choose to the feeding.
 
Silicity

Silicity

Well-Known Member
coco and perilite at a 70/30 ratio has given me the healthiest growth possible and ive given 5 gallons of water to a plant and it is practically impossible to over water.

Also some people claim that coco holds onto salts well so doing a flush every 3-4 weeks wont hurt, and you also dont need 3x the water to flush more like 2x.

Also amending with some dolomitic lime (powder) will help stabilize ph and wont allow fluctuations as greatly than without and youll have less of a chance with ph issues.
 
D

DR.greenopolis

New Member
Kongbuds said:
I am in the process of starting my second grow. My first grow was a few years back using potting soil and Cfls. Started out with 7 plants and ended up with 2 females. I tried to transplant them into a DIY bubbleponics system I made which of course almost killed them. I then transplanted back into soil and they survived. I ended up with about 6.5 grams of dried and cured buds. It was decent smoke but not at all what I was shooting for.

So now a few years later(and much more knowledge under my cap) I am starting another grow. I will be using a soiless mix consisting of peat and perlite as my base medium. My question is, how much of each should I mix? What are the best amendments to use(guano, blood and bone meal, kelp, lime, etc...) and how much of each do I mix into my base?

I am using a 6'x3'x6' grow box with 3 gallon pots(10 plants total). As far as lighting goes its Cfls again for this grow as I can not afford an hid set up yet(although I know full well hids are much more efficient for growing cannabis than Cfls are). So again, I am looking for an approximate estimate of how much of each ingredient I need to mix together for 10, 3 gallon pots. Also I plan to germinate in rock wool cubes and then transplant into soiless mix. Is this a good idea instead of germing in paper towels or tissue paper?

Any info is much appreciated!
Click to expand...

why did you give up on DWC? its by far easier than soil.I germinate my seeds before I put them in grow blocks so you know which seeds are good and bad without the wait.put them in a towel and on a plate and another plate on top so no light gets in and stick them on the fridge for a day or 2 and keep them moist not soaked.I dont use soil unless its outdoors but I know that foxfarm makes a great soiless mix and its cheap.hydro stores that are good always carry it.If you want to mix yourself there are TONS of recipes on the net.Im sure somone else on here can help with the soil question.I say go DWC :) of course im biased though as I like great yield with little effort
 
Kongbuds

Kongbuds

Member
Thanks for the info guys! Dro, I'm def thinking a 50/50 mix is the way to go. I'm just trying to figure out wether to amend my mix before hand(and approximately how much for 10, 3 gal pots) with guano's, diff types of meals, etc. or to just using lime for ph and feeding with organic liquid nutes. I will be starting a journal soon. I am trying to get my hands on a good camera though to take some good pics along the way.
 
Silicity

Silicity

Well-Known Member
keep it simple dude, if this is your first grow dont go out and start buying shit cause of a post on the internet. dont amend soils if you dont know what your doing as you may create hotspots and do more damage then good.

you should just buy a premixed soil and work your way up with experience.
 
drolove

drolove

Well-Known Member
Kongbuds said:
Thanks for the info guys! Dro, I'm def thinking a 50/50 mix is the way to go. I'm just trying to figure out wether to amend my mix before hand(and approximately how much for 10, 3 gal pots) with guano's, diff types of meals, etc. or to just using lime for ph and feeding with organic liquid nutes. I will be starting a journal soon. I am trying to get my hands on a good camera though to take some good pics along the way.
Click to expand...
i like a 50/50 mix cause 1. gives plenty of airation and almost impossible to over water, 2. i have to water a little more often but i like to be around the plants so i find this as a upside, and 3. perlite is CHEAP! and since your using more of it you save soil or what ever your mixing with.
 
Kongbuds

Kongbuds

Member
Silicity said:
keep it simple dude, if this is your first grow dont go out and start buying shit cause of a post on the internet. dont amend soils if you dont know what your doing as you may create hotspots and do more damage then good.

you should just buy a premixed soil and work your way up with experience.
Click to expand...
Yea, I'm definately trying to kiss. This is my second grow so I don't have very much experience. I'm going with a soiless mix because of the pretty much neutral ph(adding a little lime of course to raise my peat ph a little) and for the excellent water retention and drainage. Also, I am on a strict budget for this grow hence why I'm useing Cfls and a simple(and very cheap!) peat/perlite base. I'm just looking for more info about amending my mix(as in how much of each ingredient for my particular set up) and feeding with organic nutes.
 
Kongbuds

Kongbuds

Member
drolove said:
i like a 50/50 mix cause 1. gives plenty of airation and almost impossible to over water, 2. i have to water a little more often but i like to be around the plants so i find this as a upside, and 3. perlite is CHEAP! and since your using more of it you save soil or what ever your mixing with.
Click to expand...
No doubt man. I like the fact that peat and coco are very forgiving to new growers. At least from what I gather anyway. And the main reasoning for going with peat/perlite is because it's CHEAP!
 
toronjadeoro

toronjadeoro

Well-Known Member
I'm amidst my first grow, but I can tell you without a doubt that I've had tremendous success with LC's Soilless Mix #2. Found all of the following on RIU, but here it is with all credit due to LC and other responders:

LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soilless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soilless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

I used Sunshine Mix #4 and amended the above recipe by adding 3 parts coco coir, 1 tsp bat guano and 1 tsp mycorrhizae powder per gallon. I used this mix for germination and then used LC's Organic Food Source Recipe #1 (an organic super soil, basically) below for the 3 gallon pots. Technically, you will not need to add any more nutrients at all throughout your grow. Keep in mind that the recipe below is what you add PER GALLON of LC's Soilless Mix #2 that you will have already mixed above:

RECIPE #1
1 tablespoon Blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons Bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
or Maxi-crop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
(OPTIONAL) 1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potassium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.

Again, I amended this slightly, because I did not have access to all of the ingredients. Also, you have to mix the ingredients super well, wet them and turn them over for at least a month before using them. It's kind of like curing; it gives the soil web and mycorrhizae a chance to activate.

I've had a great experience with this formula. So far I've only harvested the Shaman (Tangerine Dream and Super Lemon Haze on deck), but I have never in my life tasted smoother, more delicious smoke. Granted, my whole life I'd been at the mercy of dealers who likely prioritize profit above quality, but it's just a world of difference.

I'm a newbie, needless to say, but you'll find a lot of great information doing a search for LC's Mixes and super soil mixes here at RIU.
Good luck!
 
Kongbuds

Kongbuds

Member
toronjadeoro said:
I'm amidst my first grow, but I can tell you without a doubt that I've had tremendous success with LC's Soilless Mix #2. Found all of the following on RIU, but here it is with all credit due to LC and other responders:

LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soilless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soilless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

I used Sunshine Mix #4 and amended the above recipe by adding 3 parts coco coir, 1 tsp bat guano and 1 tsp mycorrhizae powder per gallon. I used this mix for germination and then used LC's Organic Food Source Recipe #1 (an organic super soil, basically) below for the 3 gallon pots. Technically, you will not need to add any more nutrients at all throughout your grow. Keep in mind that the recipe below is what you add PER GALLON of LC's Soilless Mix #2 that you will have already mixed above:

RECIPE #1
1 tablespoon Blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons Bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
or Maxi-crop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
(OPTIONAL) 1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potassium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.

Again, I amended this slightly, because I did not have access to all of the ingredients. Also, you have to mix the ingredients super well, wet them and turn them over for at least a month before using them. It's kind of like curing; it gives the soil web and mycorrhizae a chance to activate.

I've had a great experience with this formula. So far I've only harvested the Shaman (Tangerine Dream and Super Lemon Haze on deck), but I have never in my life tasted smoother, more delicious smoke. Granted, my whole life I'd been at the mercy of dealers who likely prioritize profit above quality, but it's just a world of difference.

I'm a newbie, needless to say, but you'll find a lot of great information doing a search for LC's Mixes and super soil mixes here at RIU.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks Toron! This is very helpful. I think I'll apply most of this to my mix.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top