ffof perlite mix?

i am new to this and started a grow to practice for the seeds iordered. my practice grow is from random seeds i had laying around some over 5 years old. 12 of 12 germed by just putting them in a glass of water.

i then just put dirt in a cup and let them chill for a week or 2 watering them way too much i sure. leared alot since then.

now i have about 7 plants that are in good shape but growing very slow. i drove the 1 hr trip to get a few bags of ffof due to all the reading i did. i also bought a few bags of perlite to mix also due to the reading i have done.

i have seen everything from 20% to 50/50 mixes in the forums. so what should i really use?

i want to transplant these plants as soon as possible. i just dont want to make a mistake.

side note i have been using something called espoma garden tone as my source of nutes. i have fed them 2 times now and have not seen a difference. should i change to something else?

i did pick up tiger bloom yest. its all they had of the 3 i have read about. cant wait to see this stuff work come flower time!


thanks for reading.

The perlite issue is a matter of great contention.

In my view FFOF has plenty of perlite just the way it is and needs no more. If I was to to mix 20% of anything into OF it would be quality coco coir or, maybe a bit of vermiculite.

High quality coco coir helps keep the soil moist as well as aerated. Through experience and research I have learned that too much perlite can potentially cause problems in soil. Perlite doesn't absorb water or nutrients. One problem is that too much perlite can lead to it collecting and forming pockets which are essentially of air in the containers. Roots wont grow into these spaces. In general too much perlite means the media is growing to dry out faster: more perlite = more frequent watering. Some growers actually prefer this. Personally I'd rather water less frequently at first, while still ensuring there is always enough moisture in the soil. Then, simply adjust the watering frequency as the roots grow into the container (thus resulting in more frequent watering).

Perlite has no cation exchange capacity, doesn't provide any nutrients. It is basically dead space in the mix, 10-15% is adequate (chunky\mixed perlite).

I wont bore you with the technical description at this time but materials like coco coir, sphagnum, humus\compost (both are in potting soil), and vermiculite have this ability to hold onto and accumulate nutrients (like a magnet) which is independent of their water-holding characteristics. The tendency is referred to as CEC and materials like humus and compost (organic matter) typically have higher CEC. This allows the soil to retain specific nutrients that the plants needs, such that they remain plant available but resistant to leaching.

Espoma products like Garden Tone are fine to use, and shouldn't be used with soils that have tons of perlite anyways.The key with these products is to mix it in prior to planting. Most of the nutrients are available over long-term, and need to be broken down to be released. It takes a couple weeks to really see results from using if there was slow growth due to lack of nutrients. Otherwise it depends what you're expecting the product to do... you can't make Cannabis grow any faster by giving it too much nutrients.

Do a side by side to see what works best for you. I did that starting out. One with straight FFOF, one with 50/50 OF/Light warrior & one with 25% perlite/75% FFOF. I found the two amended ones grew much faster, (1.5x-2x as fast as the one with straight FFOF) all same strain from clone. I think the roots were able to dig around much quicker/easier in the two amended ones. Not for sure tho.

My conclusion, less watering with straight FFOF, but slower growth as well. Best of luck regardless man. Just experiment, that's how to learn.