I need to head to the grow shop to get some more soil. I been using Royal Gold Kings mix. Since switching to it I have noticed the plants seem to run out of food faster than my old soil mix but I do like this kings mix. I have been using Sensi 2 part liquid nutrients (one veg one bloom) but I am ready to try something new. Since I am going to the grow store now I thought I would get some new nutrients.
The idea of just top dressing a few times and then only water sounds glorious. And as I understand it, things like gia green are organic where my sensi is synthetic.
I was thinking I could use this Kings mix for the first 2-3 weeks, then hopefully add some dry amendments. Came up with some questions
How often do I need to add amendments? I plan to veg for 2-3 months from seed germination then flip to flower
I will need some for veg and then some for bloom right? How often do I need to add in bloom?
Do I also need to add worm castings? If so how often?
Can I get away with adding nothing else?
Can you recommend a brand or two for dry amendments as I am not sure what they carry at the grow shop?
Tell me where my thinking is all wrong. I am just trying to get away from mixing different nutrients and having three different sprayers (one veg nutes, one bloom nutes and one just water). I got the impression that my choice of nutrients is far from the preferred. I just got what the hydro store guy told me to try. I now go to a different grow store so I will ask them their opinion too but hearing some opinions from OG that isnât trying to sell me something sounds great. Also, the grow guys are nice but it always seems i am interrupting a smoke session in the back room when I visit (i can smell it and they all come out from the back haha).
Thanks I know there is a lot more to this but at some point i gotta jump in and get started. I am not trying to buy 12 different things and make my own mix, YET. Until I am ready for that I was hoping to start with a premade amendment so I can have a basis to learn/start from.
You can do a complete grow with dry ferts, you only need to add worm castings during your initial mix, also add dolomite to the mix. I also would start with a base of promix bx or similar, that way you know exactly what is in your mix and how strong it is. You need blood meal and bone meal.
I am just kinda of giving you the basics here it will take some time to figure out your veg mix and flower mix. Keep some fish ferts around in case you need to supplement some with a veg fertilizerâŚ
As stated above reading will help alot and trial and will happen. But you will end with some awesome smoke in the end
First off, kudos on making your decision to go organic!
There is indeed a lot to learn, many rabbit holes to fall down.
I think your headed in the right direction.
I do not have personal experience with Gia Green but Iâve heard really good things.
I personally use BAS craft blend for my re amends and top dressings.
I also use the entire KNF regimen along with some JADAM.
The key to top dressing is to stay in front of it. If you wait too long your nutrients wonât get broken down in time for the plants to uptake the nutrients it wants.
For vegging 2-3 months Iâd think a top dress every 3-4 weeks would be good. You will also want worms and some beneficials to help break down the amendments.
A soil inoculant like rootwise is also a good idea to get some micro biology going faster.
A good compost is a must, homemade is preferred as well as worm castings. If you have great compost you donât absolutely need EWC but it adds diversity and a ton of beneficial mites etc.
Hey glad to hear your making the switch. Nothing better than just plain tap/dehumidifier water for the whole grow. I will top water in some Neptuneâs once or twice a grow but thatâs not even every grow.
All you need really is the Gaia green all purpose and power bloom. Top dressing is all about the size of your plant relative to your pot size.
Big plant smaller pot = top dressing more often
Smaller plant compared to pot you might not even have to top dress in veg.
In bloom I top dress usually every 2 weeks up to about week 6 or 7 depending on how long the strain goes and how itâs looking. Alot of the dry amendments wonât be broken down from the last top dress but I recycle my soil so it will be in the next batch when I reuse it.
If a plant is already kinda big going into flower and has been in the pot for more than like 3-4 weeks I would top dress first day of flower with justcthe all purpose then at 2 weeks 50/50 all purpose/power bloom, by your last couple top dressing it should be all power bloom.
If you donât give at least 50 percent all purpose top dress in first couple weeks you might end up with yellowing early like 3-4 weeks.
Sometimes I just give all purpose for first top dress as they really need lots of N during first 3 weeks of flower.
Hope that helps.
Any questions feel free to ask, Iâm glad to help if I can
I would also check out the post below for some great Natural Farming info/recipes.
I would also head over to check out @CrunchBerries post below.
Sub Irrigation Planters (SIP) are a low maintenance Natural way to grow healthy large beautiful plants. Once setup right you just pay attention to what the plant tells you and enjoy your budsâŚ
Have you thought about compost teas
When I was totally organic I used them weekly
They can be made cheaply using new soil and worm castings and Black strap molasses ( which is a must and itâs in just about anything bottled ) ,bat Guano and sea bird guano ( bird poop great for flowering )
Plus other amendments depending on whether your in veg or bloom ( bone meal , blood meal rock dust )
They can act as fertilizer and at the same time benefit soil life which is fundamental for root development and nutrients up take
Also after you flush out your plant it will replace all the good stuff you washed away
I got some supplies⌠here is my new plan for the next round of seedlings.
After germ place in solo cups with just Royal Gold Kings mix soil.
After around 2 weeks transfer to 1 gallon pots with Kings mix, 1 cup worm castings, 1 tablespoon of Gia Green all purpose (4-4-4). Add 1 tbs every three weeks (per gallon).
After they out grow the 1 gallon move them to 3 or 5 gallon pots depending on space (final pots). The final pots will be kings mix with 1 cup worm castings per gallon and 1 tablespoon of gia green all purpose per gallon. Top dress every 2-3 weeks with all purpose gia green.
Flower - 2 table spoons gia green power bloom, top dress per gallon and 1 cup worm castings per gallon (can i top dress with worm castings? needed?).
Week 3 flower top dress 2 tablespoons power bloom per gallon
Week 6 flower top dress 2 tablespoons power bloom per gallon
I also got some roots organic cal mag for when needed, So far out of 40 plants I have only had one that I knew for sure was deficient in cal/mag (but i am a noob).
Let me know how this sounds and open to any suggestions as this is the first time using dry amendments and first time trying to go organic.
when you âtop soilâ water you medium first THEN apply your top soil)
Here some names of companies that offer âsample packsâ running from $10.00 to $25.00 (Lotus Nutrients / Elemental Nutrients / Dyna-Gro ?Neptune Harvest and for enzyme -SLF-100)
looking at descriptions and ingredients of all that stuffâŚ
Kings Mix looks pretty light in general. if it were me, I would mix in two cups of castings, and two TBSP of 444/gal as a base/veg mix, and start there. after a while, youâll do a lot of this this by feel.
for flower, just more of the same mix above with some power bloom added.
yes, you can use castings in your top-dress.
square pots are always a good idea, especially if you have space issues.
size always matters. donât try blooming a twenty gallon bush in a five-gallon pot! as above, so below.
plan ahead for fungus gnats. just assume theyâll show up. itâs not a big deal.
watering Is very important. consider trying one plant in a basic SIP. down the road, blumats.
I have a compost bin started 2 months ago. However, I was warned not to use my compost mix as a noob because it âwonât be rightâ. I have been watching videos on compost bins and what to add and when. Lots of conflicting info out there. I have compost piles in the corner of my yard that I have been adding yard waste only for like 6 years. The new compost bin i have is a tumbler that I put mostly coffee grounds, cannabis leaves, banana peels, and a little bit of veggie tops and stuff from cooking.
I wouldnât really just assume itâs going to be wrong. The only thing I would worry about is the grass clippings⌠you donât want any roundup or fungicides to get in there.
You could always send some off to Logan LABs and have it tested. If you have a lot, like it sounds like you do after 6 years, it would prob make sense.
Also, you could run the compost thru a worm bin.
Also very important that it is done and not still getting hot before using.
Most of my current plants that I used synthetics on will continue to get synthetics but new plants and seedlings will get organics. I was curious tho⌠what would be the down side to giving organics to a plant that was getting synthetics? I am considering giving a couple organics at this point just to see what happens.
You are definitely headed in the right direction. 5 cups of EWC for every 5g pot at 3 week intervals seems excessive, or expensive if not homemade. Maybe double the Gaia Green input so 2tbs GG to 4tbs EWC.
I mix the ingredients B4 top dress. I do like 3 cups EWC 1 cup Craft Blend 1cup 0-10-10 in a freezer bag and shake it up. Add a cup to pots 10g or bigger maybe 1/3 cup for smaller pots. Organics saves time and money.
Happy Harvests!
