Ok guys after reading for weeks I have put together a soil mix, and would like to know what some of the experienced folks here think of it.

(5) Parts Jungle Growth top soil with fertilizer 0.16-0.06-0.08
(1) Parts composted cow manure 0.5-0.5-0.5
(4) Parts perlite

Each plant in a five gallon bucket

Mixed in each five gallons of soil is the following

(1) Cup bone meal 6-9-0
(½) Cup blood meal 12-0-0
(1) Cup Plant-Tone 5-3-3

I intend to have a total of nine plants under a 400w mh light during veg and will change over to a 400w hps for flower.

My intent is to give each plant ½ cup of water daily as a base and adjust the water as needed. I do not intend on giving any other fertilizers unless you guys think it is necessary.

Is this all sufficient or am I making major mistakes.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Read Subcool's Super Soil thread in his subform, if you intend on growing in soil this hot. You need a buffer zone or you will fry your roots.
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Frequent waterings will work against you. Mary only spreads her roots as far as it takes to get food & water. If you water daily, you will stunt root growth.
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Keep it Real.... reasonable....

That’s pretty cool stuff.

What should I do (add subtract what in what amounts) to get it right for growing with the stuff that I have.

I guess what I am saying is I have all of this stuff (unmixed) what ratios should I use and is there anything I should add.

My seedlings are ready now!

You should always try to start out with a good seed starting soil.. you can get some down at Lowes or Home DePot.

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http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-o-g-250w.html

personally i would start the plants out in your plain bagged soil then once theyre established transplant into the larger buckets. as Ohsogreen said, you'll need to buffer them with a layer of plain soil on top of the hotter soil so the plant can adjust to it.

same with the watering. you want bigger, less frequent watering to promote root growth.

i dont think your ratios are too hot, but that also depends on the strain you're growing. some like less nutes, some more. obviously its better to have not enough than too much, worse case you end up adding more during flower.

i'd also suggest adding some mycorrihizae into your mix. then as subcool does, mix all your ingredients together, add non-chlorinated water, and let it all break down for a few weeks. again, ideally this happens while your plants are growing in the non-ferted soil in 1gal pots.


hope it all works out

Thanks guys.

I think the buffering is a simple yet genius way to gradually increase ferts as roots reach the more fertile soil.

The only thing that I don’t have an accurate measure of is the bone and blood meal. The only mixing instructions I have with the container applies to an outdoor garden area.
I did read somewhere to mix 2 table spoons per gallon of mix, that being said, the blood would be a little light and the bone a little strong.

I did read also that the older the plant gets the more nutes it can absorb.
1. Does it make sense to cut my ferts in half, and add ferts later if needed?
2. How do I know that the plant is getting everything that it needs?
3. plan-tone claims that it is a complete fert and gives all the nutes that a plant needs throughout a grow season. Could I use only the plan-tone with added mycorrihizae as the bag recommends (1part to 25 parts mix witch would be three cups per five gallon of mix.
4. We all know that perlite is inert and used fore aeration and drainage. Do I include this in my ratios when calculating required nutes in soil, or do I calculate my ratios of nutes based on soil alone and then add the perlite for aeration. Based on my understanding, witch is minuscule; it seems that I am figuring too much nutes because of the perlite.

I will say this. There is almost too much info to filter through on the internet. It seems that if you ask ten people the same question that you get twenty different answers.