Maxsea questions for an outdoor noob.

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
so I've been searching through the threads in the outdoor section for a while now because I'm thinking about diving right in. a couple things have come up as far as things i don't know much about. I've done dirt for a few years so I'm pretty good with the basics of soil. the local nursery has a greenhouse blend that they sell that has peat, oyster shell, kelp, compost, guano, sand, epsom salts, copper, pearlite, and other stuff already blended into it. basically just what i was going to amend it with. one grow store told me that id have problems with fungus gnats and root aphids. are they just trying to get me to buy from them? i don't know but for less than a thousand dollars for 20 yards I'm going with the premixed option right off the bat and maybe next season ill mix my own. any opinions welcome...bake it in the sun? idk, noob and all.
my next question is about the fertilizer. if you clicked this thread id assume some of ya have used maxsea before and have an idea on how to use it well. the soil is according to the guy on the phone with the dirt, good for about six months without needing nutrients. I'm guessing ill start using them after about two months at small doses. my plan was to just use the maxsea all purpose 16 16 16 at whatever dose i see that the plants need. theres also a bloom side and an acid loving plant mix. its about 130 bucks for a 20 pound vat of the dry powder. any idea how many gallons thats good for? anyway, theres a green house going up and raised beds in the future. i don't really know how many square feet the beds are going to be nor what the hell I'm doing....well sorta lol. any help is appreciated, thanks once again RIU.
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
ahhhh, portland outdoor.

i would just dig holes about 3' wide and 3' deep, backfill them with a mix of roots organic with compost and other goodies. the nursery mix should work fine though. portland has soil so nice you can just plant right into the topsoil though.

you'll need a shitload of maxsea outdoors. in july and august and september, i would water 5 gallons at a time per plant almost 3 times a week. one feeding for 6 plants would exhaust $15 worth of maxsea.

call me if you have a shit ton of questions. portland outdoor is easy though, at least until late september when the rains come. then it is all mold control eradication and mitigation. you'll need a good sprayer and lots of BT and neem as well.
 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
ahhhh, portland outdoor.

i would just dig holes about 3' wide and 3' deep, backfill them with a mix of roots organic with compost and other goodies. the nursery mix should work fine though. portland has soil so nice you can just plant right into the topsoil though.

you'll need a shitload of maxsea outdoors. in july and august and september, i would water 5 gallons at a time per plant almost 3 times a week. one feeding for 6 plants would exhaust $15 worth of maxsea.

call me if you have a shit ton of questions. portland outdoor is easy though, at least until late september when the rains come. then it is all mold control eradication and mitigation. you'll need a good sprayer and lots of BT and neem as well.
got a mosquito fogger... check. ill try and call you tomorrow or the next day if i can.
 

kkhhaadd

Member
I'm considering using Osmocote, it will supply for a long time. But it seems people in America prefer organics.
 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
I'm considering using Osmocote, it will supply for a long time. But it seems people in America prefer organics.
any idea why? does it keep the soil in better shape for longer? idk, maxsea seems like its just popular with the growers in cali so i figured it would be a good choice.
 

calicocalyx

Well-Known Member
Under a thousand for 20 yards is a great deal. I'm getting soil out of Eugene, lane forest products. Think it's around 700 for 10 yards but it's hot so I'm letting it sit for a month or so before plants go into it. Haven't used Maxsea but lots of growers like it. I think the PNW tends to not get hot enough or freeze enough to kill off bugs, but you should be able to tell if it's composted enough and/or likely to harbor bugs. Might be worth listening to the grow shop guys, but they are salespeople. My shop guarantees to beat any price on products, so I typically call around and haggle a little bit. Every shop gives a 20% discount when you get an account so aim for more than that. I supplement with 50 gallon drums of botanicare, any extra goes to the indoor.
 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
Under a thousand for 20 yards is a great deal. I'm getting soil out of Eugene, lane forest products. Think it's around 700 for 10 yards but it's hot so I'm letting it sit for a month or so before plants go into it. Haven't used Maxsea but lots of growers like it. I think the PNW tends to not get hot enough or freeze enough to kill off bugs, but you should be able to tell if it's composted enough and/or likely to harbor bugs. Might be worth listening to the grow shop guys, but they are salespeople. My shop guarantees to beat any price on products, so I typically call around and haggle a little bit. Every shop gives a 20% discount when you get an account so aim for more than that. I supplement with 50 gallon drums of botanicare, any extra goes to the indoor.
im picking up what your throwing down about the not getting cold enough thing. thats what they said too. I'm thinking about just getting a big tub of mosquito crumbles and sprinkling it on the dirt for the gnats. i still think it would be way cheaper handling the bugs as they come...because they will regardless outside, than buy from the hydro shop guys.
 

calicocalyx

Well-Known Member
I agree on the bugs, but have heard some horror stories with root aphids, and southern oregon got hit with symphylids from a small local new dirt company, last year. Bagged dirt can bring in bugs too, specifically thrips and fungus gnats, both of which can be addressed quickly. I go with the forest products because they've been around long enough and cater to the local growers anyway. They have huge piles of hot dirt so probably not an issue with bugs. I'm gonna let it sit and get rained on and be covered for a month before hand, probably make some beneficial teas and pour through early on. There is also a product I think it's called Waste Away, it's for breaking down organic matter and I might pour some of that in, bacteria mostly.
 

charles lewis

Well-Known Member
Maxsea is a great cheap fertilizer to use, BUT YOU BETTER ADD SOME CAL/MG WITH EVERY FEEDING! Or have a very good supply of amendments in the soil. Maxsea grows them ladies very quickly. Without cal/mg you WILL run into problems when bloom season comes.
 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
Maxsea is a great cheap fertilizer to use, BUT YOU BETTER ADD SOME CAL/MG WITH EVERY FEEDING! Or have a very good supply of amendments in the soil. Maxsea grows them ladies very quickly. Without cal/mg you WILL run into problems when bloom season comes.
Ok, thanks, gotcha. plants love calmag lol
 

UncleBuck

Well-Known Member
i didn't want to start a thread about my backyard projects until they were all complete. here is how to build stairs into a slope though. easy stuff.

 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
Maxsea is a great cheap fertilizer to use, BUT YOU BETTER ADD SOME CAL/MG WITH EVERY FEEDING! Or have a very good supply of amendments in the soil. Maxsea grows them ladies very quickly. Without cal/mg you WILL run into problems when bloom season comes.
How many cups or weight of maxsea do you use per 100 gallons and what kind do you use? All purpose, bloom, or acid loving? I was planning on useing all purpose 16-16-16 all the way and then some teas.
 

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
i didn't want to start a thread about my backyard projects until they were all complete. here is how to build stairs into a slope though. easy stuff.

thanks man, they look great, especially with the portland rains :lol: i just got 20 pumpkins in dirt to germinate. Im going to use the hole method you told me about for them too.
 

charles lewis

Well-Known Member
How many cups or weight of maxsea do you use per 100 gallons and what kind do you use? All purpose, bloom, or acid loving? I was planning on useing all purpose 16-16-16 all the way and then some teas.
I have a 300gal tank. I used about two jars each feeding last year. Thats about 1 tbls
 
Top