Roots Organic Soil VS. Fox Farms Soil.

durbanmistyman said:

yea my plants love the spt i havne used any of the other BMO line. i use iguana juice for base and rotate feeding and watering with spt half strength. cant wait to use the 707 in my outdoor autoflower grow this year

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oh yea and i was thinking of adding subcools super soil to the botom half of my holes and then straight 707 or reg roots with perlite in top half.

This Purple Erkle clone (see attached) was from my last batch grown in straight Aurora Roots Organics Natural and Organic until bloom. During early bloom I added some Advanced Nutrients Overdrive to bulk them up a little.

Folks, this was my first grow ever and I used only CFLs for lighting. Advice is always appreciated.

The next batch I have going are Dead Man Walking clones and they are currently vegging in Fox Farm Ocean Forest mixed with a couple of extra scoops of perlite from Lowes. I noticed both Aurora Roots Organics Natural and Organic and Fox Farm Ocean Forest both come with perlite in them already but the Fox Farm Ocean Forest did not seem to have quite as much as the Aurora did which is fine with me because I don't mind buying a huge 3.5 cubic foot bag of Thermo-O-Rock perlite from Lowes for 15 dollars and just mixing in the amount I want. The Fox Farm Ocean Forest does seem to have a bit more bark than the Aurora Roots Organics does but the clones currently in veg appear very healthy and dark green so far. The Dead Man Walking Clones are about 1 month into veg.

I have been using the Fox Farm Big Grow and Big Bloom additives for nutrients. When they start flowering I plan to also begin adding the Fox Farm Tiger Bloom as shown on the growth chart on their website.

Fox Farm tends to be a few bucks cheaper in my neck of the woods which is why I chose to try it out this time although I had nothing but good luck with the Aurora.

They both appear to be great soils and I don't think you will be dissapointed with either one.

so while there is an active thread on roots organic... i'd like to post a question..
Is it ok to start seedlings in roots .. I'm not quite sure of what happend to my seedlings but .. they started off decent .. then yellowed as they got bigger .. i gave them nutes about the 2nd week. and it showed some burn but also got some of the leaves greener.
my quesion is .. is roots organic too hot for seedlings .. I was using FF HF which i loved .. but somwhere along the line (maybe because the soil got older) it seemed to be way more acidic then my last grow. Never had a problem like this with yellowing seedlings.. any input??

Where is none of the above???

Make your own for a lot cheaper and a better quality imo.

Foxfarms OF soil is mainly peat... and you pay almost 25 bucks a bag.

google LC's mix and follow it EXACTLY, including the powdered dolomite lime. Better then both by a long shot.

Not trying to offend anyone here that uses these products by the way, I just have had my best results for a lot cheaper mixing my own.

ataxia said:

so while there is an active thread on roots organic... i'd like to post a question..
Is it ok to start seedlings in roots .. I'm not quite sure of what happend to my seedlings but .. they started off decent .. then yellowed as they got bigger .. i gave them nutes about the 2nd week. and it showed some burn but also got some of the leaves greener.
my quesion is .. is roots organic too hot for seedlings .. I was using FF HF which i loved .. but somwhere along the line (maybe because the soil got older) it seemed to be way more acidic then my last grow. Never had a problem like this with yellowing seedlings.. any input??

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It's not a starter mix, so yeah it's too hot.

These were grown in a 50/50 mix of Ocean Forest & Happy Frog, with a cup of bat guano & Dolomite lime thrown in!

I did a side by side with Ocean Forest & Happy Frog & didn't see any difference, but I like what they both have in them. So I mix the two.

Works great for me, inside or out!

Peace
jj

doublejj said:

These were grown in a 50/50 mix of Ocean Forest & Happy Frog, with a cup of bat guano & Dolomite lime thrown in!

I did a side by side with Ocean Forest & Happy Frog & didn't see any difference, but I like what they both have in them. So I mix the two.

Works great for me, inside or out!

Peace
jj

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Nice looking!

I so wish I could grow outside again.

Anyone use Bio-Bizz I use it and it is the shit! I also use FFHF and like that too have not tried Roots yet but I will but Bio-Bizz All-Mix is killer shit with nutes for 2 months in a 1 gal bag wont burn either

Ive run into a problem and im hoping some people can chime in with what im doing wrong with Roots Organic Soil.

In my current and previous grows I've found it necessary to use high amounts of pH+ to correct the soil runoff pH to 6.5.

I just started a new grow with 9 sites, using 2 bags of the 1.5cu.ft Roots Organic Soil Bags. Over the course of tonight ive used roughly 150ml of pH up and 20 gallons of water to get the runoff pH to read 6.7.

I did this after finding that my recently purchased clones were starting to show signs of a unidentified deficiency (pics attached). I immediately suspected that the ph of the soil was off so I flushed with an initial 10 gallons of RO water pH'd to 7. Runoff was 5.7, indicating to me that the ph was probably even lower than 5.7. Several flushes later I finally ended up at 6.7.

Is this an alright solution to the pH problem for this soil? Since Ive corrected the pH do I need to be concerned with bacteria/fungi balance or is that only with regards to organic pH correction?

I will be using Cutting Edge Solutions nutes for this grow - does that present any problems?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

Roots Organic soil is one step above MG.

Roots Organic soil is one step above MG.

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Now let's not be ridiculous..a good grower is a good grower regardless of the name brands. The pictures, as beautiful as they are, prove nothing. There are too many variables involved to make a concrete determination. I do know Fox Farms have made their way into the local nursery center in my town. MG is WAY down on the list, whether you like RO or FF.

my quesion is .. is roots organic too hot for seedlings ..

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Try the Roots 707..much milder and you can ammend with some dry nutes for great results.

Roots 707 was made to compete with FFOF. Good Luck 707

I just looked at your thread comparing the two...am i missing something here? In all your pics, especially #7, the pot clearly marked "Red Dwarf, R.O. looks bigger, branchier, healthier, and all around happier. The minor light green towards the end of the pic set is simply you not giving the nitrophile cannabis enough of what it was asking for. Check you tech before you make bold statements like that. I like your little nutrient line up, by the way. Did they pose for you? It DOES say HUMBOLT so it MUST be perfect for cannabis. Just messin witcha. But your pics do say it ALL, I will give you that, just not exactly what you thought they were saying.

I will take more pictures soon and you can see what why I make Bold Statements. Everything that grew in RO is small buds, streched out, and slow growing. The "minor light green towards the end of the pic set is simply you not giving the nitrophile cannabis enough of what it was asking for" Is just your over thinking. That's a bad habit you know. And Yes I showed my nutes in a line up, just went Organic and am proud.
"Pictures says it all" ~ Which plants would you pick if you pick for yourself? Now think about which soil they grew in.

P.S. i love you said:

I just looked at your thread comparing the two...am i missing something here? In all your pics, especially #7, the pot clearly marked "Red Dwarf, R.O. looks bigger, branchier, healthier, and all around happier. The minor light green towards the end of the pic set is simply you not giving the nitrophile cannabis enough of what it was asking for. Check you tech before you make bold statements like that. I like your little nutrient line up, by the way. Did they pose for you? It DOES say HUMBOLT so it MUST be perfect for cannabis. Just messin witcha. But your pics do say it ALL, I will give you that, just not exactly what you thought they were saying.

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The "minor light green towards the end of the pic set is simply you not giving the nitrophile cannabis enough of what it was asking for" Is just your over thinking.

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Oh, then do tell what it IS then? Speaking of bad habits, "Pics says it all", is a phrase that perhaps you "under thought" Pictures don't "says" nothing. Perhaps you should master grammar and sentence structure before you delve into the complicated world of real organic gardening.

And Yes I showed my nutes in a line up, just went Organic and am proud.

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See, this is what I mean. You "just went organic" yet you have the definitive "pics says all" signature? I myself "just went organic about 15 years ago, and I'm learning new stuff all the time. LOOK at your own pictures!

"Pictures says it all" ~ Which plants would you pick if you pick for yourself? Now think about which soil they grew in.

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Uh, the ones that look....

bigger, branchier, healthier, and all around happier.

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No offense, but NEITHER look all that hot, honestly. And that's OK, because as you stated yourself, you are "new to organics"
Anyone can make "Bold Statements" (capitalizing makes it even BOLDER!) But when the photographic evidence disproves the very point your trying to make, then it becomes moot. Even if the OF pics looked like something outta the magazines, it STILL proves nothing. And with your glamour shots photo shoot starring your "Organic" ARSEnal, you prove that you still have a long way to go. So, hey, you proved something, right? Can't take that from you! Roots is a no brainer for me, but the fact is, I'll use anything I have at hand and still get pretty much the same results. Six dollar a bag Gardener and Bloome, Blue Ribbon it what I'm rockin' now! Roots, FF, and all the rest just want their hands as deep into our pockets as they can get them, because they know they can. When an amateur grower puts a signature thread touting the superiority of a name brand product, and does it with the kind of conviction you'd see Sunday morning in the Bible Belt, then you KNOW the marketing department has done it's job. Don't be so emotional, were just growing plants here. Shouldn't you be studying anyways?

Yeah man ummm I don't need proper grammar to learn simple organics and all that other bashing stuff, well I stopped reading it, waste of time. But I did see that you told some grower do not use FFOF and go with Roots organics, lol Your cute.
I must be pretty good at growing organic, first harvest dried and trimmed up today, a simple auto in FFOF, guess my weight ?

P.S. i love you said:

Oh, then do tell what it IS then? Speaking of bad habits, "Pics says it all", is a phrase that perhaps you "under thought" Pictures don't "says" nothing. Perhaps you should master grammar and sentence structure before you delve into the complicated world of real organic gardening. See, this is what I mean. You "just went organic" yet you have the definitive "pics says all" signature? I myself "just went organic about 15 years ago, and I'm learning new stuff all the time. LOOK at your own pictures! Uh, the ones that look.... No offense, but NEITHER look all that hot, honestly. And that's OK, because as you stated yourself, you are "new to organics"
Anyone can make "Bold Statements" (capitalizing makes it even BOLDER!) But when the photographic evidence disproves the very point your trying to make, then it becomes moot. Even if the OF pics looked like something outta the magazines, it STILL proves nothing. And with your glamour shots photo shoot starring your "Organic" ARSEnal, you prove that you still have a long way to go. So, hey, you proved something, right? Can't take that from you! Roots is a no brainer for me, but the fact is, I'll use anything I have at hand and still get pretty much the same results. Six dollar a bag Gardener and Bloome, Blue Ribbon it what I'm rockin' now! Roots, FF, and all the rest just want their hands as deep into our pockets as they can get them, because they know they can. When an amateur grower puts a signature thread touting the superiority of a name brand product, and does it with the kind of conviction you'd see Sunday morning in the Bible Belt, then you KNOW the marketing department has done it's job. Don't be so emotional, were just growing plants here. Shouldn't you be studying anyways?

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Hilarious!

plaguedog said:

Where is none of the above???

Make your own for a lot cheaper and a better quality imo.

Foxfarms OF soil is mainly peat... and you pay almost 25 bucks a bag.

google LC's mix and follow it EXACTLY, including the powdered dolomite lime. Better then both by a long shot.

Not trying to offend anyone here that uses these products by the way, I just have had my best results for a lot cheaper mixing my own.

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Yeah, that ^^^^^^^^^^

BTW, to a couple of other posters with pH problems with various soils. Powdered Dolomite Lime is the answer to your problems.

I have not seen a bagged soil yet, regardless of cost, that had adequate amounts of either lime or perlite.

Wet

I don't care to pay for soil and get lots of perlite or sticks like RO soil.
I don't mind adding my own perlite to FFOF.
FFOF is only 15$ a bag, don't know where Plague is paying 25 $ and full of peat moss????