for $17 for 1.5 cubic feet and after reading the ingredient list right next to the ingredient list of ocean forest It seems to me that they are pretty close to the same ingredients. So my question is has anyone used the 420 mix and if so is it comparable in quality because it’s less than half the price of the ocean forest ,and only .5 cubic foot less. Also I do plan on amending it a bit before adding it to my pots just like I would for the ocean forest. What if anything would you guys recommend using as amendments for the 420 mix or should I just bite the bullet and keep using the ocean forest? Thanks guys in advance for all the help OG is amazing I love this platform and everyone contributing to making this the best grow community online!
I used it for some veggies last year and liked the results. It’s a little more dense than ocean forest, but you can just cut it w/ a little perlite or pumice. They make their own dry amendments (veg & bloom) to top dress through the cycle, or just use whatever you’ve been using. Not good for starting seeds.
Definitely recommended at that price difference, do not pay $40 for 2CF of ocean forest… lol.
Bags of FFOF are upwards of $32 here throughout the season.
But when I gotta buy some, I’ll always do it around now or later(end of season).
I can usually get a discounted price of $15-18 a bag. But several years ago I got the last remaining 22 bags of the last pallet for 12ea at a local home/garden/ranch store. I just ran out last year, lol.
Maybe shop around more at end of season? Pallet pricing? If ya got a way to store it.
I used that indoor one time and it almost killed all my plants , I had to repot them in ocean forest removing as much of the 420 mix as possible.
What I got was not broken down enough and was prone to water logging.
Id recomend ordering ocean forest online or find a way to make soil before using that stuff.
It seems to work for some but it was like poison to my garden.
I would buy Kellogg blue ribbon blend and add in some worm casting if you want a cheaper option that won’t kill roots.
Miracle grows organic raised bed soil mixed with peat moss or sunshine mix is also a better option.
I grow a lot of veggie starts and have played around with soil and cost efficiency quite a bit…
A yard of good topsoil , some peat, perlite and dry amendments mixed to the need is hard to beat.
Ain’t that the truth I actually started looking around online last night and was seeing it much closer to that 16 to 21 price that I can totally afford and justify paying the 40 bucks at the local co-op just was the first I saw and I guess I jumped to conclusions. Thanks for the thoughts!
Yes this is my end goal it just seems like a lot of upfront cost to buy everything and I’m working on a pretty tight budget with this grow. However just out of curiosity what would you recommend adding to the soil to amend and make it into something that would be a comparable organic mix to the FFOF? thanks again I truly appreciate all the input.
Thanks man this is what my heart and head were screaming at me . I just couldn’t justify 40 bucks for 2 cubic feet, luckily it’s looking like I can get it online for much less like 17/21 bucks so I’m planning on doing that. The ocean forest has been really great and i really like how much life is in it from an organic stand point seeing all those little bugs or mites or whatever they are warms my little green heart!
I used to grow in FFOF and mixed with Happy Frog. The results were fine and worked well for me at the time. Since I am growing more plants these days when I first started I found watering all of them took up quite a bit of time as it would take time for the water to seep into the soil instead of running out of the sides from the fabric pots. Also didn’t enjoy the very minor infestation of fungus gnats which didn’t harm the plants but would find them creeping out during waterings.
I switch to just Promix HP and honestly love the move. I can dump a half gallon of water in less than 60 secs and don’t need to worry about the water leaking out. Down side is I am using nutrients/fertilizer during each watering. Happy to see you are trying out different mediums and would encourage trying a soilless medium sometime. You might like the change!
Down to earth or Dr Earth are 2 popular choices for dry amendments. You could go with the all purpose and bloom at first instead of buying 10 different amendments. The more common amendments will be in those 2 and then if you want you can slowly add single inputs as you go so the upfront cost would not be as high.
. I just couldn’t justify 40 bucks for 2 cubic feet, luckily it’s looking like I can get it online for much less like 17/21 bucks so I’m planning on doing that. The ocean forest has been really great and i really like how much life is in it from an organic stand point seeing all those little bugs or mites or whatever they are warms my little green heart! 