Hello guys, I’m a new a grower and I’ve done two runs successfully “photoperiod one and an auto), using potting soil and perlite mix with General hydroponics flora series, of course i had some issues along the way mostly PH imbalance issues but all went well.
Now im preparing for a new run “auto run”, Organic fertilizer to be used (Gaia green), and here i am on a cross road at the moment, should i use coco coir as a growing medium or potting soil, or i should mix my own soil ( 65% potting soil plus amendments and 35% mix of coco coir and perlite, as a general soil mix for autos as i researched online), this is my first organic grow and i want to grow some potent buds with respectful yield (for an auto run), yet i don’t wanna run across PH Imbalances or other bottled fertilizers issues, I would appreciate your thoughts and opinions to help me settle down on this issue.
Here were i live i don’t have much choices for soil, i can’t get my hands on most of soils growers prefer to grow herbs, we mostly have universal potting soil.
Im growing indoor using 5 gallon fabric pods, and R/O water.
This is the potting soil that i used for my last auto run
Not 100% sure but I think peat can cause ph issues. I’m running coco loco which is 45 coco 45 soil and the rest bat guano ect. 2 runs already and won’t use again. It is forgiving but I have treated it more like coco than soil especially when I hand watered. I’m in autopots at the moment but if I was to go back to hand watering I’d use 70coco 30perlite. Everyone had their own preferences but if you go coco and get bricks keep in mind there’s a process involved before use. That’s my 2 cents. Hope this helps. I can tag other members who have more experience if needed. Everyone in this forum is more knowledgeable than me.
@Brian384 thanks for the info, that explains why I always run into PH imbalances during my two runs, I didn’t know that peat can cause PH problems, I would appreciate if you could tag other members thanks again.
I know @dbrn32 or @OGIncognito are way more experienced than myself. Everyone here is more than happy to help and even these people mentioned know other members here that are familiar with your issues. So much free info and help here. Good luck.
Appreciate the tag @Brian384. I wouldn’t recommend mixing soil and coco as these 2 medium types have different PH requirements. Soil PH range would be 6.3-6.8 with 6.5 being ideal and coco at 5.8-6.2. When using synthetic fertilizer it’s important to feed or water to liberal run off, the run off helps rinse the salts away and from accumulating in the medium keeping a healthy root zone and the PH stable or in range. Organic grows require no run off but need the medium to remain moist to keep the microbial life alive. That bag soil you posted looks like it has time released fertilizer?? I would recommend following a few organic growers and their routine for top dressing organic nutrients and they’re watering routine
@OGIncognito, the thing is where i live (out of the States) we don’t have much of soil choices, it’s mainly peat potting soil mixture with slow release fertilizer, just like the bag i posted, to be honest i went and brought organic fertilizer because i don’t wanna worry to much about PH when watering, and now im indecisive about what growing medium to use considering the soil choices i have. Appreciate the info
More than likely there is someone around you making compost or worm casting. Get one or both of these and make your own soil. It may take time to do but if the end result will be better that’s what I would opt for.
I think in terms of ease I agree with OGIncognito and avoid mixing soil and coco. It seems like many struggle with doing this, especially newer growers. Which brings you to the point of just because something can be done doesn’t always mean it makes the most sense to do. In the same regard, I will say if looking to use organics a traditional soil grow probably makes the most sense. If you want to grow in coco then go straight coco or coco/perlite blend and use synthetics. The watering/feeding frequency can be expensive to keep up with. When coupled with the potential problems of cation exchange ratio of coco it just brings up a lot of potential issues that new grower should want to avoid. It’s just too easy to use a relatively inexpensive synthetic line with coco.
That bag medium appears very similar to Miracle Grow used here in the States for your typical yard or house plants and there’s several growers that use the MG with time released fertilizer to grow cannabis with great results. This may be your best route to take unless you have the time to frequent fertigate the coco… daily feeding using coco. I would recommend a slurry test on the bag medium just to get a starting PPM and PH but again with time released fertilizer this can go up and down the scale. It may be practical to use the bag medium and water to run off periodically testing the PPMs and PH and only feed once that gets down to around 800 PPMs, keep in mind that top dressing dry organic nutrients take approximately 2 weeks to be available for uptake
It’s good to know about these things before making any move then regret the outcome, to be honest i went with Gaia green nutrient line (4-4-4 all purpose, 2-8-4 power bloom, worm castings and Recharge by Real Growers)because i have seen Mr. Canucks grows use it along with the good reviews about it, i thought i can just mix it up (Gaia green nutrients) with the potting soil i have around (same as the pics i posted) so i can just have simple forgiving organic grow that doesn’t need much attention to ph, simply mix up the soil, plant ur seed and easily wait for the end. Which brings me to my question, can i mix up Gaia green amendments with the soil i have around and have a good organic run?, i appreciate your information.
@OGIncognito, i was thinking going with the soil i have plus giving Recharge by Real Growers and Molasses weekly until the need to top dress the soil, thats actually my best route, i don’t think i can get a slurry test around here, i will take my chances and go with the soil i have and do what u told me about frequently checking the runoff for the ph and ppms, would mixing up some amendments to the half or lower portion of the pod(which the soil already have slow time release fertilizer in it) and keep the upper portion as it is go well?
Do you have a PH and TDS pen, those would be used along with distilled water for a slurry test. I wouldn’t recommend the recharge or molasses for 6-8 weeks with soil that has time released fertilizer. The recharge actually has molasses in it but both aid in nutrient uptake and with that medium you could potentially burn/over feed the plants. Waiting for several weeks with watering to liberal run off will help release and expel a good bit of the fertilizer then start top dressing the Gaja nutrients 1/2 strength to start with. With that said it’s a guessing game without testing the run off PPMs before top dressing the nutrients
It’s very possible to take the soil from outside and make it great again it just takes dedication and the correct inputs. You can also make your own worm casting/compost. The quickest answer isn’t always the best. Also I am organic so no ph/ppm for me.
@OGIncognito i have a ph and ppm ben, so I should just put some of the soil ill be suing in a glass of distilled water and get the PH and ppms readings? Correct me if im mistaken
Take equals parts of the soil and distilled water…1/2 a cup will work. Stir the mix and let it rest for an hour or so, strain it through a coffee filter and test
I’m not familiar with the Gaia green stuff, sorry. But a good all purpose fertilizer will usually go a long way when used properly. The key with slow release stuff is make sure your soil and/or other ammendments will carry you until this can be broken down and is plant available. Then making sure your maintenance top dressings and such are provided in time before your available nutrients are used up. Some ammendments are plant available nearly immediately and others may take several months before they do any good for your plants.
I vaguely am familiar with this mixture supposedly in use by Mr Canuck. The reason I’m familiar is from others posting about issues when attempting to use. This could be from something like missing a critical step, or cheating the directions, or maybe it’s not as simple as implied. I’m not sure because I haven’t tried. The only place I use organics is in my vegetable garden and that is mostly down to earth and locally sourced products. I’m also a long way from what I would consider good at it. When I run into issues or have questions I typically go to Budbrother. For cannabis I use 70/30 coco/perlite blend and jacks hydroponic blend with calcium nitrate. I mix fertilizer often but $100 worth will easily last me 7-8 years or more. It’s just too easy as long coco is maintained properly.
