So, good morning. I feel like I got a bit sucked in, and I kinda feel like an asshole having fucked with BudmanTX pretty hard. Eh. You're probably a great fella that - well - we got off on the wrong foot maybe, but really, sometimes being a smart-ass isn't all it's cracked up to be - so, yeah. Sorry for being such a dick, in an "ongoing fashion."
I don't know if many here knew Bushy Old(er) Grower, but he was a morning guy (like me) - and a Buddhist - and very much in love, and loved BY his wife, Mrs. Bushy. We used to chat and chant over coffee in the morning, years ago, and I am so grateful for the time I had being able to watch how he interacted with people - because it'd be kinda nice to be more like that "when I grow up."
He had a soil recipe he shared with TONS of brand new growers, for INDOOR use. (And if using soil of your own indoors, don't let the wife stop you. You need to BAKE that which was once outdoors, becasue taking soil indoors is - un-natural in the first place - and trying to make plants grow where they're not supposed to grow . . . well, maybe you sere my point)
There I go, digressing at will . . .
Right - so - the soil recipe for newbs - or - for those that prefer "uncomplicated.":
Equal parts (by volume) of ----> Miracle Grow (or ANY high quality INDOOR (sterile) potting mix (whatever is on sale, and QUALITY) -----> perlite & -----> vermiculite.
Add (I *THINK* but this is where I MAY have it wrong - it's been a lot of years) 2 cups of bone meal and 2 cups of blood meal per cubic foot of finished mix. Let it "cook" for a minimum of 30 days, 60 or 90 is a better, (so plan ahead), and there needs to be *just enough* moisture in it that it's not getting "bone dry" anywhere throughout while it's "cooking" or "curing," whatever term you prefer. It DOES help speed up the process and give a good nutrient-rich soil that plants can immediately access if you turn it on a regular basis. More is actually better there, just watch that you don't dry out 100%.
That above was roughly Bushy's approach to "Set it and forget it."
That said, however, he did also teach people to start their seedlings in something like 16oz solo cups with nips around the bottom edge to allow for fast draining, A.) to make the veg area more productive and B.) to allow them to start to bind the roots a little, because this DOES force the plant to "Shift it's growth" from the root mass to the foliage, and this is where you get a good "First topping" whether just a plain "mainline" type topping, or is doing "FIM." (Which stands for, "Fuck - I MISSED") (A FIM done well can produce at least FOUR colas, OR shoots that will be further topped, which is AMAZING for doing large scrogs where plant-counts matter.)
After the plant has been topped, and the roots starting to bind, it really causes the nodes at the top-site to get traction and shoot new growth pretty damned fast - because the plant really CAN'T focus as much on root growth.
Once the new leaders start to shoot up fast, this is where you do the 1st transplant into - well - the next pot size depends on how big a grow space/light you have to work with, but this is likely a 1 gallon (trade size) to a 3 gallon (trade size) pot. Plant gets more room for roots, and the top WILL STALL, but remain healthy, and that's because it's kicking hard growing root mass again. Bigger roots - bigger fruits. (For very SMALL grow spaces, this is where you're also going to flip to flower about a week after the x-plant)
The next x-plant goes just like the 1st, if you have the space - and will likely be anything from a 5 gallon bucket on up to, 10, 15 or "more gallon pot." This is typically the "final move," and again, there needs to be at least a week for the plant to re-acclimate before inducing flowering, but you can veg longer if it's a big jump in size and you're growing huge plants to keep plant counts down to "comply" with "something." (Or just to make caring for your garden simpler - because watering one or two is easier than watering a SOG with lot's of smaller pots that - eventually pretty well makes certain pots harder to other ingredientsget at, and makes working under AND over the canopy - look, my back is fuckered. Leaning over for a long period reaching WAY out to work is very painful for some of us.)
Everything else - at least for the first few runs - is water only. If the strain you're running is finishing with too much nutes and requiring crazy amounts of flushing - use less in your soil. If you want to try some "additional nutrients" as you get a few grows under your belt, just remember to reduce either the blood, or the bone accordingly. It teaches people how to change a mix SLOWLY and OBSERVE, which in turn teaches people what seems to work "a little better" each time they grow this medicinal plant to provide healing for themselves, and it's geared to help people have success on their very FIRST grow. That is SO important - because failing miserably right off the hop is not an experience that encourages most the believe they will have a great 2nd grow, does it?
Now, outdoors, there's absolutely NO REASON to sterilize - as that soil is going to remain where old Ma Nature intended it to. OUTDOORS! lol Soil is kinda like water. in nature, it's fine, becasue it is in nature, and always moving. inside a container, AND put in a place where there is no wind, (and so wind has to be artificially added), and no rain, (so water has to be added), and no light, (so light has to be added), is fighting an up-hill battle, because that is a "STAGNANT ENVIRONMENT," ladies and gentlemen.
Those that MUST grow indoors, are having to get a plant to do something ENTIRELY UNNATURAL for that living "thing." (Being)
Yup. We're pretty smart as a human race, but I'm not sure we're an entirely wise people.
At will again
- I digress
I digress.
I know that it sucks - it's a G.D. MESS!
Don't get annoyed,
'cause it's me that
is me,
and
I can't escape,
and hide near a tree! Welllll - meybe to pee.
Yeah - RIGHT. I NEVER get a vacation from it!
Ah, well, there it is. Fuck it - I like me anyhow - sick sense of humor and all. At least I don't glitter my balls.
As far as the OP's offerings and comments, (which is where this actually started), here's the really f'ed up part. Where growing indoors, (instead of my garden where there are veggies and herbs and grasses and shit - literally - horse shit and a couple odd bales of spoiled hay that will make horses sick - because - myco stuff isn't good to chow on), I DEFINATELY don't pay $80 for a 5 gallon bucket. I'm still laughing every time I hear you sayin', "Yeah, enjoy THAT SHIT!" I'm fucking DYING over here LMAO as I type. That statement alone is worth 25 times the price of admission!
clem - I mean,
@mudballs, I hope you made a lot of children, man - cause, you are very much on point, unless . . . you don't want . . . wel, it's just that - you seem REALLY OLD and shit, sir! Do you want me to get your lawn-chair and blanket out of the car for you? I'd buy you a beer, but perhaps Ensure would be a better idea. <<<ducks>>>
