what is the right soil mix???

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winnn420

Well-Known Member
Hello,

I need to transfer a few of my plants from my hydro set-up to pots because I have too many plants for the size of my tray (3x3).

Can someone please tell me the correct soil mix to use. I'm going to the store today to get some pots & everything I need. I know I've heard vermiculite & perilite but I'm sure there were other things that I can't remember.

So basically what I need is a list of what I need to buy (including the best type or brand of soil) and I need to know what ratio to mix of each ingredient. Thanks alot for any help!!!
 
jackinthebox

jackinthebox

Well-Known Member
Well if you have access to good soil then I would say get

Fox farms ocean forest
Worm Castings
Perlite

Do a mix of like... 5 parts ocean forest 2 parts perlite, 1 part wormcastings.

However if you dont have that, then just grab some Organic Miracle grow, and add perlite to it.
 
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winnn420

Well-Known Member
Hey whats up Jack,

Shit, I just got back from the hydro shop & he said I shouldn't mix perilite with the fox farm ocen forest soil I bought. So you say I should use perilite? That doesn't surprise me because almost every soil grower I've seen on this site uses it. They have perilite at home depot right??? what about worm castings, does it makes a big difference and do they also have it at home depot because the hydro shop is much further from my house then home depot...lol

Thanks alot for the help jack!!

I went with the 3 gallon pots, they should be big enough
 

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Picasso345

Picasso345

Well-Known Member
Yep, HD has both of those. Watch out for the Miracle Grow perlite though as it has time release ferts, they just have to juice everything I guess, lol.

And I don't like the Miracle Grow Organic because they always seem to come with a load of gnats in there too.

Having more or less perlite isn't the end of the world, but I would go with 60% Foxfarms, 20% perlite, 20% worm castings. If you have some lime I would add a handful of that too. Or if you see a small box of lime at the store, but I wouldn't buy a big bag of it, you'll be fine. (it is like a bag of cement mix - heavy).

Good luck.
 
outrunu

outrunu

Well-Known Member
Man this thread just ruined my buzz...Started with mg organic can't get ff here, then mixed in mg perlite ... I'm reading and jump up and sure as hell that perlite is 4/1/6 not too awful bad, but the fleas comment has me scared.:neutral:
 
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Snake

Active Member
outrunu said:
Man this thread just ruined my buzz...Started with mg organic can't get ff here, then mixed in mg perlite ... I'm reading and jump up and sure as hell that perlite is 4/1/6 not too awful bad, but the fleas comment has me scared.:neutral:
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Yeah ... watch out for the fungus gnats in any commercial soil. I've found them in both Schultz Pro potting mix and Sta-Green container mix. Apparently the eggs lay dormant, then a week or two after you get going with the seedlings, watering, etc. the little bastards are everywhere.

If you can't sterilize the soil in an oven (not practical for a few 3 gal pots) then prepare the final pots you'll transplant in a couple of weeks before you need them. I use 3 parts soil (I like Fafard potting soil with no nutes) to 1 part perlite to 1 part vermiculite, and add a handful of fine dolimite lime per 3-gal pot. Drench each pot with water (no nutes) and let them sit for a few days to a week. Then get something with BTi in it (eg. Gnatrol is good... or something similar). Mix about twice the recommended strength and drench the soil mix with it twice (4-5 days apart), to kill the fungas gnat larvae. Check to make sure there are no gnats flying around the pots or crawling on the top of the soil before transplanting. If there are, repeat the BTi process.

(P.S. BTi is "bacillus thuringiensis, subspecies israelensis" and you can also find this in many pond mosquito pellets or mosquito larvae killers ... just make sure you get the "subspecies israelensis" as there are other forms of this that won't kill the fungus gnat larvae).

-Snake
 
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mattdmsk

Active Member
yo your growing dro thats some sick shit....you think you could do me a favor and describe and or draw your set up for it so i could try it?? or do i need special seeds? just let me kno regardless
 
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winnn420

Well-Known Member
Picasso345 said:
Wow, you are looking good. Great problem to have that you needed more space!
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thanks alot, this is my first grow ever so I really don't have a clue what I'm doing. Everyone told me not to have too many plants in a 3x3 tray since they were gonna double to tripple in size when flowering, but I had to learn the hard way. And these are only on the 4th day of flowering so I can imagine how many more I'm gonna need to transplant...lol

Here are some pic I took last night.
1st pic is skunk#11 - 4th day of flower
2nd pic is trainwreck - 4th day of flower
3rd pic is white widow - 4th day of flower
4th pic is a close up of the top of the widow
 

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outrunu

outrunu

Well-Known Member
Snake said:
Yeah ... watch out for the fungus gnats in any commercial soil. I've found them in both Schultz Pro potting mix and Sta-Green container mix. Apparently the eggs lay dormant, then a week or two after you get going with the seedlings, watering, etc. the little bastards are everywhere.

If you can't sterilize the soil in an oven (not practical for a few 3 gal pots) then prepare the final pots you'll transplant in a couple of weeks before you need them. I use 3 parts soil (I like Fafard potting soil with no nutes) to 1 part perlite to 1 part vermiculite, and add a handful of fine dolimite lime per 3-gal pot. Drench each pot with water (no nutes) and let them sit for a few days to a week. Then get something with BTi in it (eg. Gnatrol is good... or something similar). Mix about twice the recommended strength and drench the soil mix with it twice (4-5 days apart), to kill the fungas gnat larvae. Check to make sure there are no gnats flying around the pots or crawling on the top of the soil before transplanting. If there are, repeat the BTi process.

(P.S. BTi is "bacillus thuringiensis, subspecies israelensis" and you can also find this in many pond mosquito pellets or mosquito larvae killers ... just make sure you get the "subspecies israelensis" as there are other forms of this that won't kill the fungus gnat larvae).

-Snake
Click to expand...
Thanks for all of the info!!!:hump::joint:
 
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winnn420

Well-Known Member
lol..best signiture I've seen outrunu

I'm so amused when people write: anything I say is fictional or for entertainment purposes or for novelty purposes or my pics are pulled from the internet or blah blah blah blah!!

NO DISCLAIMER YOU TYPE IS GOING TO HELP YOU WHEN THE LAW IS KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR, OR BREAKING IT DOWN!!!
 
W

winnn420

Well-Known Member
mattdmsk said:
yo your growing dro thats some sick shit....you think you could do me a favor and describe and or draw your set up for it so i could try it?? or do i need special seeds? just let me kno regardless
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Well first off, this is my first grow ever so I'm not sure I'm the person you want to get growing tips from but I'll try.

No you don't use any special seeds for hydro.

I have a 3' x 3' hydro tray over a 20 gallon reservior (if you don't have access to a hydroponics supply shop: Botanicare - Plant Energy Products ). I'm using rockwool for my medium which seems to work well & it's easy to use. There's a submersible pump in the reservior that pumps water up to flood the tray and feeds the plants (twice a day 15 minute flood each time works good for me), and there's a drian hose that goes back into the reservior. There's also an airstone in the reservior hooked to an air pump that runs 24hrs a day. I have a 400watt MH light for vegging and a 400watt HPS for flowering (again if you don't have access to a hydro shop: Hydrofarm - Grow Lights, Hydroponics and More! ). I also have 4 105watt CFL bulbs that I'm using for side light. I use Co2 but you don't absolutely need it to grow.

To get started, you need the tray & reservior (don't spend the $$ on the stand for the tray, use cement blocks), air pump & airstone (run 24hrs), water pump, fittings & hoses, nutrients (I use a mix of Flora Nova, Floralicious & Kool Bloom which are all made by General Hydroponics), at least a 400watt light if you go with a 3' x 3' tray (I should have gone with a 600watt), PH meter to test you water PH daily (should be 5.5 to 6.5), PPM (parts per million) meter to check the nutrient level in the water, Rockwool or other growing medium, and a good fan to circulate & exhaust the hot air in the room. You will need a timer for your water pump and a seperate timer for your lights. I run my exhaust fan on a 3rd timer so I can shut it off when my Co2 turns on (which is also on it's own timer...4 total) but if you're not using Co2, you'll only need 2 timers.

I think thats enough to get you started, if you have any questions you can ask me and I'll try to answer them. I'm sure I'm forgeting something, I just can't go in my room right now to look around since my lights are out...lol

Good Luck!!
 
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