Good evening!
New member here, and I would first like to say THANK YOU everyone for all of the knowledge I have gained from previous topics thus far!
I have some gardening experience, but decided for my first cannabis grow on auto White Widow as it was recommended for beginners like me. I have decided on all other materials: tent, pots, lighting, fans etc, but I’m stuck on soil and nutrients! To be honest, when I see these super long lists of soil/amendments, it overwhelms me. I’m looking for a fairly easy, mostly organic, intuitive indoor soil grow even though I know bottled nutes, PGRs, etc are all the rage these days. I would prefer the least amount of those items as possible with maybe some bloom nutrients if I absolutely must. I’m going for quality over quantity of buds , and I dont mind a slightly smaller yield for sake of simplicity. The less I have to deviate from what I normally do with my veggies and other plants, the better!
I am considering Sun Gold’s Black Gold Natural and Organic Soil Brand. It’s local and affordable. Will this soil last through vegetation phase at least nutrient-wise? Will it burn seedlings? At very least, I was just going to mix soil with compost, perlite and dolomite that I already have, and maybe add some mycorrhizal fungi for roots.Will this suffice for a decent first grow? Thanks for help! I cant wait to get started!
I strongly suggest getting a soil buffered for cannabis. Fox Farms, Roots Organics, Black Magic etc. If the soil you’ve chosen mentions “moisture control” or “feeds for x months” or time released nutrients then it may cause problems. Stay away from Miracle Grow whatever you do.
Your ideas on nutes are good. Many new growers overdo it, and with most soils you won’t need to add nutrients until you get near flowering. I use Fox Farm Happy Frog and never introduce nutes until 5 weeks after the last transplant.
Welcome to the forum!
If you want easy for your first grow look up Kind soil or others available termed super soil. It contains all the nutrients that the plant need to go through flower to harvest. Basically if using a 3 gallon pot which would be fine for Autos you would put 3Lbs (they sell Kind in 5 Lb bags) at the bottom 1/3 of container and then add your soil of choice like Fox Farm ocean forest or Roots Organic ROD (original) etc to fill the rest of the pot. If starting seeds in small container or in final pot you’ll want to use a low nutrient starter soil like Fox farms warrior light or others out there to get them started so you don’t cause issues when they are seedlings.
With Kind soil you just use dechlorinated water and make sure the PH of the water is between 6.2 and 7.0 and through the grow that’s all you need normally. No need to add any extra nutrients as the super soil (kind soil or others out there) have been designed to grow through harvest. Sometimes a grow may need some calcium or magnesium but that isn’t the norm some strains need more than others and also strong LED lights can cause the plants to need more but that’s about it.
Depending on how many plants your looking to grow will dictate how much of the super soil and the other soil you’ll need. A bag of FFOF or Roots organic at 1.5 cubic feet is enough to fill about 10 gallons of pots so using a super soil at bottom and then fill the rest with your cannabis friendly soil of your choice. Some soils have Myco already in it but I always add Myco into my seedling soil etc as well.
Basically as this is your first grow this will simplify things and as you learn more you can decide moving forward if you want to buy other nutrients and even mix up your own super soil for future grows.
Just some thought to consider as this also eliminates all the other requirements like water to run of checking PPM etc. just use dechlorinated water and adjust PH to that range and water her.
Fox farm ocean forest seems to be the one. Bought it compared it with a 50/50 mix and the results so far is pure fox farm soil. Check my post out for pics. Also with your experience any tips and advice is greatly appreciated.
Good evening and thanks for response!
This is the Black Gold soil I was initially considering. It doesnt mention anything about time release, moisture control, etc : edit: unauthorized link
The store also has Fox Farms Ocean Forest . I was just a little nervous about Fox Farms brand because of some of the reported issues with PH inconsistencies. What is your view on that? Thank you.
Thank you for your reply! Unfortunately none of the major retailers near me carry KIND. I will call the local nurseries and find out though.
Also regarding starter soil for seedlings, I already use Jiffy peat pellets for other plants. Would the peat pellets be ok for cannabis seedlings too? I’m starting with two 5-gallon fabric smart pots, so it is good to know that a bag of chosen soil should suffice.
I’m using my quantum board lights from Horticulture Lighting Group, so I’m thinking as you stated the plants may need some extra nutrients in flowering stage as those lights are pretty darn powerful even for my other plants. Again thanks for the help!
You’re better off with FF than you are using something not designed for cannabis. If you think PH is a problem with FF just wait until you use a soil not made for weed.
You really don’t need to add anything else as FFOF is considered fairly hot soil. As the plant gets larger then perhaps so but let the plant tell you what it wants.
To my knowledge I’ve only seen Kind Soil from their web site directly or from amazon. A quick google will get you there as I don’t think it’s sold elsewhere. There are other companies that make similar soils pre made like coast of Maine and a few others aside from making it yourself but there you’ll need to buy all the individual ingredients mix it up and let it “cook” first before it’s ready. Fox Farm and the like will get you only 4-5 weeks or so before having to add additional nutrients as the entire grow time is 20 plus weeks until harvest.
