Ive been growing for close to a year now. Only ever ran soil. No experience whatsoever with anything HYDRO, baby steps as they say. The reason is simple, soil growing is so much more forgiving than hydro. Perfect for beginners if you ask me. Lord knows I made my share of noobie nonsense mistakes and a forgiving medium is pretty much what saved me. Let me share how far Ive come along with all of you.5 items on my listromix HP-Shrimp compost soil enhancer-Myke growth supplement with micorrhize-Bat guano GROW-Bat guano BLOOMI prepare my mixture in a 58L plastic storage bin with a lid. I fill it up about 3/4 of the way with PROMIX HP, say 45L. Then I add 10-12 cups of Shrimp compost and thoroughly mix it all in and make sure to break up all the clumps. Once that is all nicely blended, I add 2 cups of Bat guano GROW and 1/2-3/4 cup of Myke growth supplement with micorrhize and continue to blend it all together. VOILA! Premium veg stage soil mix.When TRANSPLANTING during EARLY VEG stage, I follow up with nothing but a gallon of 24hr tap water with 4 drops Super Thrive and 6-12ml Seaweeds, properly pH'd to 6.4-6.5. I use this for 2 feedings, the one at transplant and the one following. From then on, back to my feeding regiment as usual. In MATURE VEG stage, say from 6" to X"gal pots, I feed the mentioned mixture only once at time of transplant then I go back to my feeding regiment as usual.FINAL TRANSPLANTBloom stage is relatively similar. Same 45L of PROMIX and 10-12 cups of Shrimp compost, only this time 3-4 cups of Bat guano BLOOM. I follow this up with a transition week feeding, then on to my flowering regiment.MY REGIMENTSAll values are ml/gal. My local city tap water is one thing, yours is another.*BE SURE TO PROPERLY ADJUST YOUR pH*18/6 Light ScheduleVEGI run Botanicare nutes with a few suppliments by other manufacturers. They work for me and I love them. List of products are as follows: Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Grow, CalMag+, Liquid Karma. I also add NutriPlus Seaweeds.week 1: 7.5ml PBP Grow+2ml CalMag+5ml Liquid Karma+4ml Seaweedsweek 2: 10ml PBP Grow+ 5mlCalMag+10ml Liquid Karma+8ml Seaweedsweeks 3,4,5,etc: 15ml PBP Grow+6ml CalMag+10ml Liquid Karma+12ml SeaweedsTransition WeekFirst week of 12/12 light schedule.Transition regiment: 7.5ml PBP Grow+7.5ml PBP Bloom SOIL+7mlCalMag+7ml Liquid KarmaFlowering Stage (12/12 light schedule until harvest)Here is where spending a little extra $$$ comes into play. You personally may find it excessive or unnecessary, but I DONT. Bloom Nute list Botanicare: PBP Bloom SOIL, CalMag+, Liquid Karma, Hydroplex.Advanced Nutrients: Bud Candy, Big Bud PowderOther: Bat Guano Bloom 2-17-0, Bloom Boost crystals 0-50-30(generic version of Grotek`s Monster Bloom)Week 1: 20ml PBP Bloom SOIL+7ml CalMag+5ml L-K+5ml Hydroplex+2 tbsp Bat guano BLOOM+0.9gr Bloom Boost crystals+8ml Bud CandyWeek 2: 20ml PBP Bloom SOIL+7ml CalMag+5ml L-K+5ml Hydroplex +3 tbsp Bat guano Bloom+0.9gr Bloom Boost crystals+8ml Bud CandyWeeks 3,4,5: 25ml PBP Bloom SOIL+7mlCalMag+5ml L-K+3tbsp Bat guano BLOOM+1gr Bloom Boost crystals+8ml Bud CandyWeeks 6,7,8 or longer: 25ml PBP Bloom SOIL+7mlCalMag+5ml L-K+3tbsp Bat guano BLOOM+1gr Big Bud Powder+8ml Bud Candy*FINAL TWO WEEKS OF FLOWERING STAGE MUST BE RESERVED FOR FLUSHING WITH NOTHING BUT PROPERLY pH ADJUSTED WATER*This is how Ive been rolling up to date. My style MAY or MAY NOT be for you. I know it works. I know Im more than happy with my harvests. Now you can be too!Peace,JJb /monthly_2011_03/DSC00171.JPG.d4cdf3bcce62c713bdc9f7f4a74ea408.JPG /monthly_2011_03/DSC00177.JPG.93151794253d450472080478d32827cf.JPG /monthly_2011_03/DSC00172.JPG.d4ebdd7dcc3060f752f98ab810bae063.JPG /monthly_2011_03/DSC00175.JPG.8f29e8a14f0924a45152059363ee41b5.JPG /monthly_2011_03/DSC00173.JPG.b2c9f76d47811056c5944117ed605f20.JPG
Not quite Not as much as you might think CC. No more than 3 feedings a week@ 1 hour per feeding...and that includes prep and watering. Now who cant spare 3 separate hours a week?!? As far as transplanting goes, I never have more than about 6-9 plants to deal with at a time. Veg cab contents stay small, so I never deal with anything larger than 6" pots until the current flowering cycle finishes. Thats when I move 6-9 plants from my 2x2x4 Veg cab to my 3x5x6.5 bud tent and go either 3 or 5 gal to finish in. The most important thing Ive learned about soil/organic growing is this: The key is to create the ideal living condition for all the MICROBES AND BACTERIA to ALLOW for maximum absorption and uptake and not simply just load up your solution and dump. Peace, JJb asssit:
I love growing in soil outdoors..... But I can't wait to finish my last few soil plants that are in flower and start doing all hydro. It's soooo much cleaner and easier indoors. Less labor intensive preparations. Not knocking soil growing in any way. Looks like you've put together a pretty balanced soil mix and nute regimen. I will say that your plants do generally look very healthy. :good job: asssit:
