Roots Organic Soil VS. Fox Farms Soil.

**justiceman** · 12-15-2009, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by durbanmistyman

any one else had a prob with the ph of thier roots organic soil. and i am also curious if anyone has used roots outdoor/large pot soil formulas: greenfields, formula 707. suppose hold more water and comes with less perlite

Haven't tried the outdoor formulas. I did have a slight ph problem at the start with the soil for indoors. I believe the roots soil probably comes with a higher fungi count because it has rock phosphate, soybean meal, and kelp. All of those help with fungi growth. They probably do that on purpose because I have heard it is much harder to grow and multiply fungi than it is bacteria.If you have a higher fungi to bacteria ratio your soil is more on the acidic side. If you have a higher bacteria ratio to fungi your soil is more on the basic side. Cannabis i believe likes close to a 1:1 ratio. That is why she likes a ph of 5.8 to 6.8. Ph is related to the microbiology in the soil. If your soil ph is to low I would first try to add a microbial tea with a ph of 6.0 to 6.5. Remember that molasses will help raise bacteria(and raise the ph) over time in a tea. Ofcourse a quick fix to ph is hydrated lime however. The lime would probably slowly affect your micro heard over time, but I would personally try a microbial tea first.

Good thing about ocean forest is it comes at an acceptable ph.

**durbanmistyman** · 12-15-2009, 04:48 PM

Thanks justice man any idea if part of the BMO line will in a tea will do instead of organisms xl? and how long should i wait after applying the tea to measure the ph of my soil?

**justiceman** · 12-15-2009, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by durbanmistyman

Thanks justice man any idea if part of the BMO line will in a tea will do instead of organisms xl? and how long should i wait after applying the tea to measure the ph of my soil?

Ya i mean you don't have to use XL you can just use anything that has microbial life in it. BMO says they have "endo and ecto bacteria" in their nutrients as well as tonic. I don't know how much life is in BMO. If you use a very light dose of Roots Buddha grow that should brew you a fine microbial tea. It's just Earth worm casting Bat guano, sea kelp, molasses, and humic acid i believe. It will have a bit more "nutrition" then just using xl though, but that's okay if it's light.

This is the upside of fox farms IMHO. It comes PH adjusted with the correct microbial life in it so you don't have to correct it yourself. My other theory is maybe if the soil sits to long certain microbes take over when there is an abundance of food for them.

**durbanmistyman** · 12-15-2009, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by justiceman

Ya i mean you don't have to use XL you can just use anything that has microbial life in it. BMO says they have "endo and ecto bacteria" in their nutrients as well as tonic. I don't know how much life is in BMO. If you use a very light dose of Roots Buddha grow that should brew you a fine microbial tea. It's just Earth worm casting Bat guano, sea kelp, molasses, and humic acid i believe. It will have a bit more "nutrition" then just using xl though, but that's okay if it's light.

This is the upside of fox farms IMHO. It comes PH adjusted with the correct microbial life in it so you don't have to correct it yourself. My other theory is maybe if the soil sits to long certain microbes take over when there is an abundance of food for them.

thanks jman il give it a try im trying to get everything in order b4 i germ any beans to put in this soil.

**RootsOrganicMan** · 01-08-2010, 09:37 PM

roots organic is the best imo

**crashcourse** · 01-10-2010, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by RootsOrganicMan

roots organic is the best imo

I was going to go with FFOF but i live on the east coast and i do not want any type wood(bark,wood chip) in my soil.Im going to have buy both and compare the two.

**the75bag** · 01-12-2010, 02:34 PM

i used ocean forest a couple of times but i switched to the 707 bag and it seems like a better base for clones and babies the ocean forest bag used to burn them a little but if you mix in some of the brown bag but for me and my organics so far the 707 is killer

**durbanmistyman** · 01-12-2010, 04:29 PM

im guna try the other roots organics for my next outdoor

**Arsenal420** · 03-01-2010, 11:28 PM

I've never used Fox farms, but I can say that Formula 707 is working great for my seedlings.

I'm just wondering if anyone amends it at all before the final transplant. I was thinking of adding a lil guano, perlite, maybe a few other things to help beef it up a lil more.

I just started using my BMO line with it. The SPT did wonders for my 3 week old strawberry haze.

**durbanmistyman** · 03-02-2010, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by Arsenal420

I've never used Fox farms, but I can say that Formula 707 is working great for my seedlings.

I'm just wondering if anyone amends it at all before the final transplant. I was thinking of adding a lil guano, perlite, maybe a few other things to help beef it up a lil more.

I just started using my BMO line with it. The SPT did wonders for my 3 week old strawberry haze.

yea my plants love the spt i havne used any of the other BMO line. i use iguana juice for base and rotate feeding and watering with spt half strength. cant wait to use the 707 in my outdoor autoflower grow this year