Starting my 2nd grow, I have 2 white widow X Big Bud, both have sprouted although one was a little burned from being too close to the heat. Seems to be coming back, new leaves look good.
Last grow was AK7 auto in hydro, was okay but I may have harvested a little early, nice cerebral buzz.
This grow I am trying soil. Due to a lack of resources I am using black gold (not rated very high ) and mixing it 50/50 with vermiculite.
I am growing in 3gal buckets with GH Flora series. Light is 400watt MH for veg and 400w HPS for flowering.
For water I fill a 5gal bucket and run an air stone for a couple of days then adjust the PH add nuets and follow the directions.
Anyone see any obvious problems? I know I will possibly find a few along the way.
And away we go SG

nice---sounds like u are well on ur way---only thing i would do right now is amend the soil---very inexpensive source of amendments are available from a feed store---all sorts of organic goodies to pump up the nutes in ur soil

Thanks OG are we talking like bat guano and such???

absolutely---read the black gold bag to see if it is a stronger mix for veg or flower---alfalfa meal, soy meal, green sand, kelp meal, bat and or sea bird guano, bone meal, all have different nutrient values---focus on the stage of ur plant when amending---straight bag soil for the seedling/clone----heavy nitrogen for vegging--- transitioning into higher value phosphorus for flower development and finally higher values of potassium for flowers maturing and ripening

there are a number of soil mixes listed on the site here---as u look thru them u will decide what works best for u---cool thing about soil is it is a living medium to grow in all the organisms have a symbiotic relationship

WoW thanks , I wil start my reserch.

Good luck Granpa.

That sure is a lot of vermiculite.
Your soil may hold to much water with that much vermiculite.

I use perlite

I agree on the vermiculite--it holds too much water for cannabis. Why are you limited to Black Gold soil? Can you get perlite?

Also when you mix nutes you should mix the nutes first and then pH. The nutes will affect the pH of the water, so if you pH first, your pH will be off after you add nutes.

as a hydro grower can i ask why you are going to soil?

Quote: smokingranpa wrote in post #1

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Last grow was AK7 auto in hydro, was okay but I may have harvested a little early, nice cerebral buzz.

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and when people are asking for help, they usually are lacking the 'experience' , so a 'basic' guide line helps some from pulling their crops too early.


peace ~

It's not "basically wrong", but thank you for your very warm and thoughtful sentiment.



And what's up with your avatar, . . . . . . are you angry or something? lol


take a pull on this cubby

Good Morning M/C went to bed early and missed all these posts.
I am using black gold because it was all I could find locally? As for vermiculite, things I read seem to indicate that it was similar to perlite? That’s why these sites are so important; keep us newbie’s on track.
I like hydro but I was doing DWC and if doing more than 1 plant it gets pretty cumbersome changing out water every week. I am planning on looking into building a reservoir system. I have seen some posts on build plans and will be researching them as soon as these ladies get into full swing.
So good to hear all the advice, I will cut the mix of vermic. To soil down to ¼ and yes I should mix the neuts then check the PH. Its amazing how many little things you have to keep track of but as you grow I suppose they become 2nd nature and then you can finesse the fine points.
I do appreciate all the input and I will digest it all and see how the garden grows.
If any one knows where I can find plans for a reservoir hydro system would be appreciated.
Thanks again SG

Quick note, hadn't opened the vermic so I am returning it for a bag of perlite. Thanks for that info, i just looked on line and see what a big difference there is between the two.
Another lesson LOL.

DIY is the way to go. I have built all my systems. Ill be watchen. green mojo

This system you can build yourself if you are a diy'er.

Good pics Bro.

Good call on exchanging the vermiculite for perlite. However, I also think that you need to be looking at adding other amendments to the soil as well. IMO, lime should be used with all soil grows. Are you in the US? Do you have any home improvement stores like HD or Lowe's around? Both of these should have better soil choices than Black Gold. And they carry soil amendments like bone meal, blood meal, lime, etc. If you are in any kind of rural area (and I figure you might be if your shopping options are that limited), you can generally find compost, aged manure, worm castings, and other wonderful natural stuff to add to your base soil. Remember that the soil is what provides all the nutrients to the plants in an organic grow--start with the best that you are able, even if it involves some sacrifices.

After growing both organic and hydro, I have to say that I do not agree with the Weatherman. The taste, smell, and high from hydro can be ever bit as good as organic. I doubt that there is 1 person in a thousand that could detect any taste difference after a proper cure. Also, every plant should be taken when it is ready. There is no one best flowering time--every strains has its own window. For instance an Indica that normally goes 7 weeks would be ruined if flowered for 10 weeks. In a similar vein, a long flowering sativa wouldn't be ready. This is one reason that I like to use known genetics--you know what to expect. Examining the trichs with a microscope is, IMO, the only way to tell if a plant is ready for harvest.

Like cubby mentioned, there are a lot of diys on places like You Tube if you are wanting to do a recirculating DWC.