Was going to use a 55 gal barrel and setup a pump and timer and irrigation hose.
I dont know soil. Well hell I dont know coco either.
You will be going through a ton of nutrients and water with an outdoor setup. Make a soil that will give you lots of water retention if youāre running things outside. I just made a soil using Buildasoil.com LOS 3.0 nutrient and mineral kit, along with local compost and peat. Cost me around $200 for about 9 cu ft of soil. Filled two 30 gallon bags to the top. This setup will be water only for the most part, with a few top dresses through the run. This will avoid having to mix your nutrients every day, feeding them multiple times. day, phing every nute mix. In the long run, itās a lot cheaper and easier than buying nutrient bottles all summer long. Then for your next run, you reamend the soil and plant right next to your old plant. Keep using that soil.
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I run 321 in coco with no problems, but I wouldnāt do coco outdoors. Itās best in a recirculating system where you donāt waste nutes from the runoff.
Thatās interesting. I run nothing beyond the 321 mix in pure RO and have no calcium problems.
Weird, the only time I had gnats was when I accidentally grabbed a bag of Coco Loco, but thatās because I was running my normal 3 waterings per day and Coco Loco is more like soil and needs more time between to dry out. Then again, I also run sterile so that eliminates most of my problems right up front.
And actually, speaking of sterile ā thatās probably why I donāt have calcium problems as well. I run HTH Pool Shock (calcium hypochlorite) which breaks down into calcium.
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Good point about the pool shock. I wasnāt using it, because my res refills were frequent enough not to need itā¦ but it might have actually helped. Funny things is that I use it now in hydro, but donāt need the extra calcium. Go figure. 
All the coco bricks I had tons of gnat eggs. I gave them to my wife to use for her vegetables and now theyāre all over her tent.
Coco has some really compelling features for growing indoor, and I didnāt have too many issues with the 321 formula. I mostly encountered problems at every turn when I tried to make adjustments to the formula, and sometimes had issues with N sensitive sativas in flower. Heavy feeders were usually ok, but I felt there was not a lot of wiggle room in the formula to make adjustments to individual nutrients. Since K antagonizes Ca,Mg and Ca is tied to N through calcium nitrate, thereās just not much I could do without causing Ca deficiency.
As a side note, I had horrible nitrogen issues using masterblend with coco. On paper, it has lower N, but itās a lot more NH4+, which does not seem to react the same way as NO3- in the medium. Coco holds onto the positive ions, and my guess is that it causes some buildup that can be detrimental in flower. Or perhaps it is doing something weird to the root zone pH. I suspect that the best adjustment to the 321 formula for N sensitive plants is to use CalPrime, because it reduces the NH4 and N by a little overall.
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Alrightā¦point taken. But dont I need to pH my water anyways in soil? Where ill be growing has 6.7pH water but doesnt soil require 6.5?
I was going to use a pH doser. Im sure theres a way to reclaim run off. But dont alot of people do DTW coco? I thought DTW was preferred over recirculating
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My first grow was outdoor coco. 
Learning curve for sure. Proper Feeding, EC, and PH are key.
I was using GH then.
Have use MC 1 part.
Now using Jacks with success.
Glad to help where I can. 
Iām still working my way thru this readā¦
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Hi All,
Ive seen numerous grow logs using Jackās and Iām thinking of switching. Tired of paying ridiculous prices for bottles of nutrients that I burn through in a cycle.
Few questions about the 321 program and Jackās in general.
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How do you store your nutrients? Iām looking at a 25lbs bags of A and B, that should last atleast two years. Worried about long term storage when not in use. Do you guys seal your nutrients in containers? Or is folding the bag in a dark spot sufficient?
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Epsom Salt.
I am trying to find an affordable bulk bag of this on Amazon (in canada) are there any brands you recommend.
Iām new to this, been running Advanced Nutrients and GH since I started.
Thank you all for your help and insights.
BAMMER
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For storage, I keep the bulk double bagged in 5gallon buckets.
I assume it will absorb moisture. (Megacrop 1part sure didā¦ Learned my lesson)
I use Jacks with my coco.
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Iām running plant prod I just roll the bag shut and set a piece of 2x4 to keep it closed . Hasnāt been a issue yet sits by the mix tank .
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Definitely worth the switch. I switched from Megacrop which I had issues with (v1 and v2).
I store mine in ziplock freezer bags and havenāt had any issues and itās stored in my grow room which has high humidity. Itās lasted me close to a year so far. Iāve had a lot of MC turn to nasty sludge.
You can get epsom salt for very cheap at shoppers drug mart but any brand should be fine.
I got mine from @AquaTerra store https://www.gardentech.ca/product-category/nutrients/dry-nutrients/ Was the only place I could find Jackās in Canada.
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I have the 25# bags as well, they just sit open on the lung room floor. The A and Epsom will clump up slightly, but itās easy enough to break up with your hands and itās just like new. The B doesnāt seem to clump up at all though.
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I get Jacks local, otherwise I would be trying the Megacrop 2-Part.
A close copy of Jacks 5-12-26 formula.
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The 2 part MC part A is not bad and doesnātā absorb moisture since no CalNit in it. I left one open by accident for a week in the shop and it was still dry and super dusty. I just threw out the 1 part MC bad liek 5kg as forgot to close it and it turned into a clump lol
The Jacks same thing no clumping.
MC 1 part does the same thing as MaxiGrow and MaxiBloom did.
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Iām on my second 25lb bag of Jacks, 1st bag of cal-nit so Iāve been using it for awhile.
I roll up the top of the bag like a bag of chips and throw a big binder clip on it then chuck it on the shop floor in the corner. I live in a low humidity area - itās not a problem, in higher humidity areas ??
Cal-nit is the same.
Epsom salts I just buy locally at the drug store - it cheaper, just make sure its pure. Epsom seems to attract a bit more moisture but not to bad, just make sure itās resealed.
I do run closer to 3.6-1-1 than 3.6-2-1, then adjust the EC to my target in my DTW (coco) system but I also grown things like hot peppers in there so Iām not afraid to add a splash of cal-mag as needed.
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Thanks for all the insights!
Placing my order tonight, cant wait to give this a go on my next round.
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Hey there everyone, thanks for all the info above!
Storage of salt fertilizers is just like storage of table salt. If it clumps up where you live, then you ought to try and keep it in a drier environment. I live close to the gulf so salt fertilizers are always pulling water out of the air and clumping. I apply fertilizer for a living so I have lots of experience.
They are oxidizers as well so they will rust the shit out of metal, keep that in mind for storage. Keep Nitrates and fuels separated! Elemental sulfur is also flammable, however I rarely see any pot growers with any 90% sulfur. That is a nice tool for outdoor in basic pH soils, it can leech salts and raise pH. Sulfur toxicity is rarely an issue.
I am about to try DWC indoors for the first time. Already have my jacks. Water comes out the tap at 7.2 pH and 6-700 ppm. Mostly Carbonates. I purchased a small RO system but from the research I have done I can just leave out the epsom or some of it. Should I spend the 50 bucks sending a sample off for analysis at JR Peters? Or just start around 1.4EC in veg (700ppm of part a/b) and raise until things look right? How about adjusting my pH? These will be in 5gal buckets under LED.
Thanks!
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Hi all,
Few quick questions.
I have been reading about mixing stock solutions of Jackās at 100:1 strength.
When doing this do you actually mix the parts together or would you have a separate bottle for each at 100:1 strength?
Thanks for all your insights!
Bammer
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I mix as I go.
I havent heard of that. Iām on my first grow using jacks
You will want to keep the 2 concentrates separate.
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I run Masterblend keeping my PH to 5.5 to under 6
Masterblend 4-18-38 along with added 15-5-0 magnesium sulfate, added Epsom salt - my plant are good to go. some time ago i was viewing YTVās and ran across āMPHgardenerā and his conversation just made sense - hook line and sinker ever since thenā¦
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