North country organics ?
- Thread starter Zbud94
- Start date
I don't see why not, especially if you can source it locally and avoid shipping costs. The NPK isn't crazy and while some of the ingredients *I* generally avoid, I see nothing that is a "run far away" deal breaker.
Bear in mind you will need to source a couple of things for the mix. Lime comes to mind first, for pH buffering, but that is easily sourced at HD or Lowes where Dolomite lime is ~$4.50/40lb bag. Very cheap and VERY important for keeping the pH buffered throughout the grow. Many use Oyster shell flour, but that is very expensive in comparison due to shipping and doesn't buffer the pH any better. Agricultural lime is a direct equivalent of OSF and can usually be sourced locally.
Kelp meal will almost certainly need to be ordered online, unless you are very lucky with a local, well stocked, Feed & Seed store. Kelp meal is pretty much my #1 'must have' item to have around. Even if you just snag a 5# bag, keep some handy.
I source all my amendments individually, but still keep a large bag of Espoma Tomato Tone around for spot work and when I'm being lazy. Sourcing amendments takes time and $$$ and using a dry (NO BOTTLES!), complete organic fertilizer like Espoma or pro go makes life simple as you source stuff.
You should be fine with using it.
Wet
Bear in mind you will need to source a couple of things for the mix. Lime comes to mind first, for pH buffering, but that is easily sourced at HD or Lowes where Dolomite lime is ~$4.50/40lb bag. Very cheap and VERY important for keeping the pH buffered throughout the grow. Many use Oyster shell flour, but that is very expensive in comparison due to shipping and doesn't buffer the pH any better. Agricultural lime is a direct equivalent of OSF and can usually be sourced locally.
Kelp meal will almost certainly need to be ordered online, unless you are very lucky with a local, well stocked, Feed & Seed store. Kelp meal is pretty much my #1 'must have' item to have around. Even if you just snag a 5# bag, keep some handy.
I source all my amendments individually, but still keep a large bag of Espoma Tomato Tone around for spot work and when I'm being lazy. Sourcing amendments takes time and $$$ and using a dry (NO BOTTLES!), complete organic fertilizer like Espoma or pro go makes life simple as you source stuff.
You should be fine with using it.
Wet
stoned-monkey
Well-Known Member
should work, only problem is you cant be sure exactly what they are using. its says " vegetable protein meals ( SUCH AS....)"so if like @Wetdog you must have kelp or you have must have ingredient like alfalfa or crab meal this product wouldn't let you sleep at night, well I wouldn't anyway. another thing that I would wonder is the effect on pH because something like cottonseed meal tends to be very acidic.
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Zbud94
Well-Known Member
Okay so here’s the deal I got (10) 3.8 cu ft bags of peat I then have 200 gallons of compost, 2 big bags of perlite a big bag of lime. would like to add a 50# bag of the pro grow to get everything working with a nice base mix. I was then going to use the botanicare Growilla grow + bud and use botanicare pure blend pro , also will be adding compost teas and foliar sprays. Do you think the 50 pound bag of pro grow will make any difference ? Thanks
stoned-monkey
Well-Known Member
Yes
You are going to need more perlite, VOE here.
Over the years I found that it takes most, if not all, of a 4cf bag of perlite to properly aerate a fully expanded 3.8cf bale of peat moss. I also aerate @40% perlite. With the dry amendments, seed meals, composts and such that old 1/3 aeration ratio just doesn't cut it. Your mix will simply be too dense and poorly aerated.
Finding this out AFTER you've mixed up several hundred gallons, or worse, after a poor harvest due to inadequate aeration is really not something you want to learn from experience. Especially when it's so easily prevented at the git go.
Wet
Over the years I found that it takes most, if not all, of a 4cf bag of perlite to properly aerate a fully expanded 3.8cf bale of peat moss. I also aerate @40% perlite. With the dry amendments, seed meals, composts and such that old 1/3 aeration ratio just doesn't cut it. Your mix will simply be too dense and poorly aerated.
Finding this out AFTER you've mixed up several hundred gallons, or worse, after a poor harvest due to inadequate aeration is really not something you want to learn from experience. Especially when it's so easily prevented at the git go.
Wet
Zbud94
Well-Known Member
I can grab another 4cu ft of peat. I’m going to start mixing tomorrow ill keep ya updated