Fox Farm Killing Micro Life In My Soil

catmando

catmando

Well-Known Member
This year was my first grow and im preparing for next year

i used tiger bloom and big bloom for flowering and my plants produced wonderfuly. i got one pound per plant

i also used mollasses to feed my micro heard. but tiger bloom is not truly organic so did using it kill all my little beasties in the soil?

I was looking into finding a fully organic nutrient line but id hate to change and have my plants end up poorer than this year.

they grew fantasticaly and yielded amazingly and produced the best smoke ive ever experienced

so should i just stick with the non organic fox farms nutes or should i find a fully organic line?

i keep thinking of the old saying "if it aint broke, dont fix it"

Stick with what worked this year? or try something new?
 
TruenoAE86coupe

TruenoAE86coupe

Moderator
Unless you put in something to specifically kill the microbes in the soil (hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, etc) they will be fine.
I believe you are confused on what organic means. Just because its not organic does not mean that it is sterile, and even if it is it will most likely not kill anything living in the soil.
 
catmando

catmando

Well-Known Member
okay, i read some post (possibly another site) that tiger bloom contains salts that kill microbes
 
ohmy

ohmy

Well-Known Member
thats why ya flush to lose the salt build ups... I am using fox farm nutes my self for inside. not a lot of feed back from people for some reason. Kinda wish i went a diffrent way,but for now i will use em up and move on to something else someday when i get time to read up
 
farmerjoe420

farmerjoe420

Well-Known Member
if think if it did it probably didnt do any where near the damage you think to the soil life. it takes a long time of using synthetics and not regulary adding organic matter to the soil for it to become unhealthy and drasticly impact soil life. if your worried about it, mix in castings before planting and then innoculate it with compost tea and then a few times during the season to keep the microbe populations high.
 
catmando

catmando

Well-Known Member
okay cool, im just trying to maximize the potential of my plants and soil

i added the molasses to feed the little buggers and i hoped i didnt kill em off with the tb

i think ill go with the foxfarms tiger and big bloom next year too i had super results from it
 
farmerjoe420

farmerjoe420

Well-Known Member
are you growing in the ground or containers?? im assuming the ground and if thats the case, you should use dry amendments to your soil and then use your choice of fertilizers as needed thats if you want to go totally natural.
 
catmando

catmando

Well-Known Member
im planning on doing a "super soil" of sorts

im not gonna use the exact ingredients but close

i just dont believe you can go the whole grow without adding more fert.
 
HigherGround

HigherGround

Active Member
The fox farm is not creating the best environment for your bennys but, will create one that works. There organic grow big is there saving grace for there line and I would extend that thru your flower. I've used there line with great results also but inoculated thru out to compensate. Fox farm is like junk food for your plants but, who's to say that's not what they want.
 
K

kamut

Active Member
I think there are gentler, more organic things out there than Tiger Bloom. But, if you're getting a pound per plant, you might want to do EXACTLY what you did this year again next year, since you are doing well. It's hard not to tweak to try to keep improving things. I have been a FF liquid nute user for a long time and I am trying to do a quasi super soil thing and try to use mostly water, and just supplement with the FF nutes if needed, or in a foliar feeding emergency or something.
 
elduece

elduece

Active Member
I'm curious on how can anyone determine if microlife is being killed off in the soil the first place without submitting a real soil analysis or the use of specialized equipment.
 
LT1RX7 Drifter

LT1RX7 Drifter

Active Member
who cares just add microbes ever now and then as per directions you should be golden as long as there are not any other issues causing undue stress
 
alonefarmer420

alonefarmer420

Active Member
iv used the whole ff trio + the water soluble trio never had any problems ever. i used it with sunshine mix #4 soiless and never had any bad effects or burning.
 
Cooter@666

Cooter@666

Well-Known Member
I've brew'd up buckets of the FF trio, the teas always foam up nice....make a tea with them and see for yourself
 
HigherGround

HigherGround

Active Member
You can test brix levels at home with a tester. I've found that the more you feed you your soil life the higher the brix. Earth juice is a supplement programs that consintraits on feeding soil life. Very high brix levels. Bio canna and roots organic also just to name a few. You can also look thru a microscope. If you need help sourcing info check out microbeorganic.com. They guy on there sells the equipment needed to check how much your adding at what not. And explanes how to do so in detail scientifically. Very cool site, tons of scientifically proven methods.
 
OSG

OSG

Member
Catmando..... If you're using FF, and you like the yield and taste of your bud, more power to you.
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Does FF kill off beneficial bacteria and fungi ? Yes it can. A real issues to consider is your soil volume, when doing a organic / chem combo grow.
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If you grow in 3 to 5 gallon pots, then the beneficials can bounce back from a light kill off. Having more soil, provides more of a buffer zone, and slows drastic swings.
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Also feeding low, slow and steady helps alot to. If you're growing in pots smaller than 3 gallons per plant, you'll most likely kill off almost all your beneficials before you finish the grow, if you don't add them back in.
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To counteract the kill off, try adding some compost tea, or beneficials from products like Plant Success, Roots Oregonism XL or Super Plant Tonic, every other week, to keep the tribe doing their thing in the roots zone. Some help from the little guys, is better than none at all.....
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Hope that helps.....
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.
 
catmando

catmando

Well-Known Member
thanks for all the input

i am growing in the soil in holes about 4 feet wide by 3 feet deep

i figure since i did well with ff this year i might as well stick with what worked again next year too

or possibly a side by side test with a fully organic line

any suggestions on which organic line of nutes to use?
im not interested in any boosters, sweeteners, or snake oils

just need a good organic bloom nutrient
 
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