Soil mix help please.....

2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
I want to weaken the strength of my soil as seedlings have a rough time in it. I have hated vermiculite and happy with the soils drainage so keeping perlite to a minimun. Coco seems to cause problems with potassium etc and acts differently to soil so bit wary of that.

Anyone ever have this problem of strong soil and what can i mix it with to bring down the high fert levels in it.

Hoping for some tried and tested methods here, thanks.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
I edging more towards perlite and somthing else just to cut the soil down by 20%/30%.

There is already enough peat and sand in the soil right out of the bag so not an option.

Coincidently for veg and flower soil i use seedling soil to weaken that just cant work out how to weaken the seedling soil.

Some say uk soils are not strong but damn im lucky if i even get to add ferts before harvest.

Im gona have to see what nuteless stuf the local hydro shop has as finding a unfertilized base medium is proving hard.

Thanks for the input :-)
 
That guy with no name

That guy with no name

Member
Oops I meant to say perlite.. Was thinking u said that's no good for you.. But yeah if you have a sensitive strain or just don't have an optimal pre mix available or want something even better than a pre mix u have to mix your own.. Just depends what your plants like.. Worm castings, bat guano, dolomite lime, peat, perlite, and vermeculite would be on my short list.. A lot of people will use straight coco coir too and feed only when plants show a def
 
GrowerGoneWild

GrowerGoneWild

Well-Known Member
I like using zen potting soil, good drainage, good for seedlings. I cut subcools super soil mix with zen, or use this as the top layer.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
My hardware shops soil is quite strong and feeds for weeks which is totally obvious to see just some plants crab up and show nute stress, claw and abnormal growth on dark green foliage.
I wish i had time to shop round and try a few premixes but i love my shop soil for everything else and handles any big fast growing veg seeds easily just not all my mj seeds. If i fertilize in the first three weeks its a total disaster and repot at three weeks anyway so i never need ferts and my plants are growing noticabally like every few hours.

Just wish it was a tad weaker and gave a bit more control as a grower. Any uk growers using B&Q or home base as well as west+ and westlands seedling soil would be great to here what you thought...
 
kang420

kang420

Well-Known Member
Heres my two cents on uk soils and which ive tried,

homebase john innes no.1 seedling compost and john innes no.2 potting-on compost

Both of these soils are the same the only difference is the picture on the bag, both soils are full of sand and i mean full, after adding water it turns into cement and roots cant grow, ive tried adding perlite but it still turns hard and kills plants within a week.

Bio-bizz Allmix

Ive used this soil in the past and had no problems but the last bag I got was so strong it burns anything it touches, my ppm meter is maxed out reading the runoff 3.6EC or 1800 ppm runoff with ro water, unuseable. ive seen people using the light mix and its still way too hot with young plants burning away.


Plagron royality mix

Same as biobizz only stronger nothing can survive in this soil its so hot. and I think they even stopped selling it as nothing can grow in it.


Westland with added john innes multi purpose compost

This soil is hot and needs a flush before planting to avoid burning your plants, be warned the ph of this soil can drop very low causeing purple/red stems and then calcium/mag problems followed by death of plant, my water is ro water 0ppm 6.0 ph and i add calmag plus to 0.3EC, i can work this soil but i need to ph my water to 8.0ph and my runoff will be very low like 4.3ph and 2.4EC, i dient realize the ph was so low but now ive stopped the leaves dieing at least.

Miracle grow expand n grow peat free


strange soil puffs up 5 times in volume when water is added, unable to get any results from it my plants just sat and died i think its too hot and unsuitable.


All soils ive tried are very hot and I cant find any in homebase or b&q that wont burn of kill, I am now trying coco as theres more control of ph and ppm, if I were to use soil I think id go with the westland and add perlite and give it a good flush with a high ph water before planting.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
kang420 said:
Heres my two cents on uk soils and which ive tried,

homebase john innes no.1 seedling compost and john innes no.2 potting-on compost

Both of these soils are the same the only difference is the picture on the bag, both soils are full of sand and i mean full, after adding water it turns into cement and roots cant grow, ive tried adding perlite but it still turns hard and kills plants within a week.

Bio-bizz Allmix

Ive used this soil in the past and had no problems but the last bag I got was so strong it burns anything it touches, my ppm meter is maxed out reading the runoff 3.6EC or 1800 ppm runoff with ro water, unuseable. ive seen people using the light mix and its still way too hot with young plants burning away.


Plagron royality mix

Same as biobizz only stronger nothing can survive in this soil its so hot. and I think they even stopped selling it as nothing can grow in it.


Westland with added john innes multi purpose compost

This soil is hot and needs a flush before planting to avoid burning your plants, be warned the ph of this soil can drop very low causeing purple/red stems and then calcium/mag problems followed by death of plant, my water is ro water 0ppm 6.0 ph and i add calmag plus to 0.3EC, i can work this soil but i need to ph my water to 8.0ph and my runoff will be very low like 4.3ph and 2.4EC, i dient realize the ph was so low but now ive stopped the leaves dieing at least.

Miracle grow expand n grow peat free


strange soil puffs up 5 times in volume when water is added, unable to get any results from it my plants just sat and died i think its too hot and unsuitable.


All soils ive tried are very hot and I cant find any in homebase or b&q that wont burn of kill, I am now trying coco as theres more control of ph and ppm, if I were to use soil I think id go with the westland and add perlite and give it a good flush with a high ph water before planting.
Click to expand...
Hey this is spot on and exactly what i find in the uk. I really thank you for taking the time to add such a detailed report and make me feel like im not alone.

Im on the way to my hydro shop to see what they offer and maybe snap a few pics if they let me.

Honestly im a great grower just struggle with hot seedling soil and only the strongest survive, which is great when i need a mother plant but useless when i need the whole pack to finish.

Im getting there but feel im going to end up with some coco or similar for my soil mix to weaken.

Seedling soil makes great veg soil just a bit hot for seedlings. Again your contribution is greatly appreciated and helpfull.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
Ok ive got a bag of unfertilised plagron coco. Woman says no problems adding it to soil upto 50%.

Anyone think this is ok? Like maybe ill give the seedling soil a good flush, cut with the coco and start a new batch of seeds see if it gives perfect seedlings and early veg.

Main thing is im getting closer to dialling the grow in...
 
budfarmer420

budfarmer420

Active Member
seeds were never meant to be started in potting soil. Go buy a 4 dollar bag of jiffy or MG seed starting mix. I usually transplant after about 10 days, sometimes sooner.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
Too late ive bought coco and intend to cut my soil upto 50%. Cant get my beans till weekend.
 
kang420

kang420

Well-Known Member
Heres another couple of cents for ya mate,

yesterday I flushed my westland soil again with hydro ph up, to 14ph to try raise the ph as leaves and stems are starting to die, my runoff afterward is still coming out at 4.0ph ph up wont raise the soil ph at all, so today I got garden lime in b&q and added 4 teaspoons to 2 liters of water and flushed with that, it makes the ph land on 7.0ph when added to water as its too late for me to add to the soil, anyway first time ever my runoff was 5.5 the garden lime works at correcting the soil ph, when the soil drys it should go higher to 6.5. if you are going soil again I would add some lime to it as a precaution unless your water is already high ph, that plant in westlands with added john innes after being flushed about 6 times is still 1.8 EC runoff very strong soil but this lime should finally break the ph problem as lockout was just around the cornor, as for adding coco to soil ive never done that it might make it lighter but id rather have perlite and lime in the mix also to weaken the soil a little and give it a good flush a day in advance before planting in it. goodluck with your new seeds I hope they dont burn.
 
RIKNSTEIN

RIKNSTEIN

Well-Known Member
Well I'll tell you what, I used to use subs supersoil also, and I've tried all types of things including my compost pile for my outdoor girls (it can smell like cow shit out there)...they both smell bad but are good soils...a lot of people will dispute it saying it doesn't have the right stuff (nutes and micros) but I use Miracle Grow straight out the bag (60%) mixed with MG perlite (40%) and water every 3rd day and my girls are fine.........
Here's subs supersoil and HIDs...........
Grow Rm 1.JPG
OG Rm 1.JPG
OG #18.JPG

AND here's my MG girls under CFLs.....
024.jpg
018.jpg
008.jpg
So yeah get some MG soil & perlite, save some money and grow some healthy girls...peace...
 
kang420

kang420

Well-Known Member
RIKNSTEIN said:
Well I'll tell you what, I used to use subs supersoil also, and I've tried all types of things including my compost pile for my outdoor girls (it can smell like cow shit out there)...they both smell bad but are good soils...a lot of people will dispute it saying it doesn't have the right stuff (nutes and micros) but I use Miracle Grow straight out the bag (60%) mixed with MG perlite (40%) and water every 3rd day and my girls are fine.........
Here's subs supersoil and HIDs...........
View attachment 3244437
View attachment 3244438
View attachment 3244439

AND here's my MG girls under CFLs.....
View attachment 3244440
View attachment 3244441
View attachment 3244442
So yeah get some MG soil & perlite, save some money and grow some healthy girls...peace...
Click to expand...


Just saying MG soil isient very helpful, are you talking about MG in the uk or the usa? theres about 20 different types of MG soil in the uk you will have to be more pacific, theres peat free ones expand n grow ones veg ones moisture control ones organic ones ect ect which are you talking about? we are prity sure the uk soils are alot hotter than the usa soils.
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
Ok i use to use the Westlands John Innes seedling and normal soil like yours and is easily available in the Uk.

Damn that stuff is hot and like you my runoff tests came in at 1.8 ec and ph 4 out of the bag. I use to add garden lime for better results and flush before use but i learnt to add lots of perlite and cut it 50/50 with seedling soil in the end which gave great results.

All uk growers say our soils are way to hot, if normal soik is 1.8 ec then im guessing the seedling is a good half that and and hence why we have problems in each stage.

I seek to rectify this soon and lets see if it dosent solve this problem once and for all.

Lots of perlite gave me better results but rootbound quicker and soil would go dry too quick and a bitch staying ontop of the watering.

I hope some coco and a touch of perlite will solve it then maybe get some soil mix ratios for the uk growers.

I dont expect much and couldnt get seeds till this weekend but everything else is set to go and hey if it works expect me to post the results and start seeing if others agree. Marijuana brings me many failures so if you dont hear nothing im back at the drawing board sob sob...
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
budfarmer420 said:
seeds were never meant to be started in potting soil. Go buy a 4 dollar bag of jiffy or MG seed starting mix. I usually transplant after about 10 days, sometimes sooner.
Click to expand...
Lightest soil here is seedling soil and the same where ever you buy its brand. Very available just very strong even to the point where you use it for veg and 50/50 for flower. Most growers here go hydro very quickly after trying soil and failing.

Im just starting to grow again after a few years break and had ok results with these soils before but now im aiming for absolutley stella results and high yeilds.

No one will touch mg here after all the bad press you yanks give it on RIU.... Its more bought by gardeners and outdoor veg growers, housewives etc
 
2Hearts

2Hearts

Well-Known Member
kang420 said:
Heres another couple of cents for ya mate,

yesterday I flushed my westland soil again with hydro ph up, to 14ph to try raise the ph as leaves and stems are starting to die, my runoff afterward is still coming out at 4.0ph ph up wont raise the soil ph at all, so today I got garden lime in b&q and added 4 teaspoons to 2 liters of water and flushed with that, it makes the ph land on 7.0ph when added to water as its too late for me to add to the soil, anyway first time ever my runoff was 5.5 the garden lime works at correcting the soil ph, when the soil drys it should go higher to 6.5. if you are going soil again I would add some lime to it as a precaution unless your water is already high ph, that plant in westlands with added john innes after being flushed about 6 times is still 1.8 EC runoff very strong soil but this lime should finally break the ph problem as lockout was just around the cornor, as for adding coco to soil ive never done that it might make it lighter but id rather have perlite and lime in the mix also to weaken the soil a little and give it a good flush a day in advance before planting in it. goodluck with your new seeds I hope they dont burn.
Click to expand...

Read my above thread on westlands soil, same probs. Forgot to mention i stoped testing ph and ec runoff and things were fine once i got soil mix right for flowering. The tests were wrong but i dont know why but rang company and confirmed ingredients id pulled of their data sherts and soil is well buffered to 6/6.5ph. Think the high fert level plus me adding ferts were a lot of the problem and they wash out too easy. I dont test runoff ever after that even though i have an ec/ph meter. Soil should buffer very well and ph is rarely the problem although this goes against what most say. I found the right soil mix was better results than worrying about runoff.
 
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