Soil stacking (concentrate at bottom, weaker at top)--is this a good plan, or am I on my way to a disaster again?

Grow Support Autoflowers
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Thought I’d check in BEFORE disaster this time, rather than in a panic after it has occurred.

I have had issues with starter pots and with starter soils that set me back. I’ve had good luck with Nature’s Living Soil autoflower concentrate.

Here is my plan. Please see diagram if it helps.

I will make the autoflower concentrate as instructed: In my case, this means 1.2 lbs of the concentrate mixed with Strawberry Fields (Fox Farms) and vermiculite. This is the bottom 1/3 of the 7 gallon pot, over a thin layer of perlite.

The middle 1/3 will be Strawberry Fields, Happy Frog, vermiculite, and maybe some Light Warrior?? (Fox Farms).

The top 1/3 will be Happy Frog, Light Warrior and vermiculite.

At the top, I’ll make a hole, then fill that hole with Light Warrior and will plant directly into that spot on
top and then cover the top with a layer of LW as well, and maybe some perlite over that.

Please let me know if there are any potential problems with this that I can solve now in the planning stage! I plan to plant on Monday, as the seeds have soaked 24 hours so far and have 48 hours to go. I keep soaking them for 72 hours even after they sprout a tap root.

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Here is my terrible diagram. I’d have been able to do it in text here better than draw it, in retrospect. Alas.

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Here is my tent! Crappy Vivosun tent, Mars Hydro SP 3000 (300 watt, good light!). I need grow tent help too obviously. My fans are 150 cfs or whatever, which I realize now is way overkill…

Help! Thanks in advance!

Sorry, suck at brevity, esp. when medicated (which is always now). I keep to myself. lulzzzz

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Roots grow down through your soil to the bottom of buckets and go out and circle back up sides… so theres really no point to it.mm they will grow right into the lower layer and back up and it could also leave un wanted nutes down into root zone during flower causing issues as well :+1::sunglasses:

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@fano_man Yeah, I was wondering about that, too… So it’s almost as if I’m just tossing all the above into a blender. If all else fails, and it is a useless jumble, will it still be an okay mix?

The concentrate I use advises mixing this way (for that first bottom 1/3 anyway, not for all this extra overthinking I’ve done). Haven’t had any nutrient burn doing it their way (and the rest just happy frog and vermiculite). But maybe you are right and I should just assume it is all one thing rather than layers.

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You dont wanna run vermiculite with happy frog it will hold to much water you would want to cut happy from with perlite I run happy frog and perlite 50 50 veg to flower works great…vermiculite more in a coco mix

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Yikes! Okay, thanks. Guess I will make a trip to Home Depot today. I have mostly been using vermiculite because it’s cheap! Will try to pick some up and switch back to 50/50 or so perlite/soil.

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Perlite is just as cheap if not cheaper …its essentially styrofoam balls… you get like half a cubic yard…which isn’t that much but mix atleast 30 percent by volume… if you do it by weight you’ll have like 10% happy frog and 90 % perlite

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@fano_man Okay, I got some, big old bag for $16. For whatever reason, it’s harder to find around here or online cheap, where as I could get a giant thing of vermiculite here for cheap. But this price isn’t bad either. Huge bag! Woo. Did not realize perlite and vermiculite behaved differently!

Am I okay otherwise? Even if we entertain my soil stacking fantasy, and assume it all just mixes together in reality, if I use plenty of perlite and no vermiculite, does it look okay besides being pointlessly complex?

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You’ll be better blending it all together and 30 to 40 % perlite… all foxfarm has perlite already you can get away with 30… yes vermiculite holds water in media that tends to dry out fast such as coco or strait perlite you can do a perlite vermiculite strait hydro run it will act as rockwool… but hydro rules… anyway not to confuse you I’m stoned finally hot my hands on some good buds… and perlite us essentially air pockets and promotes oxygen and airiness in other wise packs cloth soil …after a while soil compacts but perlite fights this… you can grow strait perlite but I dont think you would have good results strait vermiculite… dont quote me on the last part tho. @Myfriendis410 can you answer this bro… other wise yes you’ll be better off mixing all said ingredients together but strait happy frog in perlite is my favorite …no need to mix em… if anything you mix ocean forest with strawberry feilds for a good all round dirt but happy frog is this with more michrozae so it’s a no brainers for happy frog

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@fano_man Thanks, man. Got it. Well dang! What should I do with my Light Warrior and Strawberry Fields? I should have just stuck with HP! Can I just blend them in to stretch out the Happy Frog? In the future I won’t bother except for the basics. Learned my lessons.

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Yea i would definitely blend everything with perlite as well it stretches farther