Using bio live and 707 for first time little help.

Minirex

Well-Known Member
I've got a 1.5 cubic foot bag of ocean for sitting there and also a 1.5 bag of Happy Frog now I know the ocean force is kind of hot to you don't want to put babies in that without cutting it down the Happy Frog I think it's a little lighter I was actually thinking of using all of that together 707 the ocean Forest the Happy Frog dumping in 2 tablespoons per gallon of soil of the Bio live kelp meal ,high nite bat guano, worm castings,azamite and dolomite lime watered in with molasses and seaweed. Now if I'm starting with small bushes like that is that mixture going to be too hot with no cook time. Assuming that I'm using the right amount of kelp meal bat guano
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
I was only going to start with a single plant maybe to just to check the mixture make sure it wasn't too hot
 

Tlarss

Well-Known Member
I grew in this mix for years.

1/3 ocean Forrest
1/3 happy frog
1/3 bu’s compost
A healthy amount of perlite
A table spoon per gallon of biolive
1 gallon pots 30 day veg...transplanted to 5 gallons for flower...top dress with earthworm castings/compost kelp meal fish bone meal and biolive 2 weeks into flower and watered with recharge and mammoth P

I had a lot of success with this simple mix for a long time. Switched over to a coots style living soil a few harvests ago.

I started getting some really inconsistent bags of fox farms soil and bu’s compost so I decided to make a change.
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice helps a lot. It's funny that you mention about the inconsistency from Fox Farm and your compost because that was what drove me away from organic and the beginning 25 plus years ago. I was actually working in the only hydroponics store in my state this is back in the Dark Ages and most of us were using promix with heavy perlite and worm castings and bat guano. Almost all at once I had 95% of my plants drop dead. I had about 5% that made it. I lost quite a few phenotypes. Now this was strange enough considering that I had complete consistency in my feeding and my soils and never ever encountered anything like this. certainly not anything to that degree. But customer started coming in complaining of almost The Identical thing that were using promix and those worm castings that was the thing that everybody had in common. So I tested the runoff from the soil of the plants that it died and the pH was at like 2.5 to 3.0. So I went back and tested the Pro mix and some of the bags of worm castings to see where this giant dropping pH came from and I was never able to come up with any concrete evidence you feel like it had to be the promix somehow because you're not adding in enough worm castings you would think to drop the pH. Significantly. But that was my first lesson in the fact that you don't know what you're getting in those bags unless you check it. You'd like to think that you can count on a name. In this day and age it doesn't seem like you can count on much of anything. Meaning good companies go bad. Bad company's go good from one day to the next you never know who's going to have a good item for sale or crap regardless of the field that you're in. I think even more so when you're dealing with something like soils and amendments.
 

PurpleGlurple

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the advice helps a lot. It's funny that you mention about the inconsistency from Fox Farm and your compost because that was what drove me away from organic and the beginning 25 plus years ago. I was actually working in the only hydroponics store in my state this is back in the Dark Ages and most of us were using promix with heavy perlite and worm castings and bat guano. Almost all at once I had 95% of my plants drop dead. I had about 5% that made it. I lost quite a few phenotypes. Now this was strange enough considering that I had complete consistency in my feeding and my soils and never ever encountered anything like this. certainly not anything to that degree. But customer started coming in complaining of almost The Identical thing that were using promix and those worm castings that was the thing that everybody had in common. So I tested the runoff from the soil of the plants that it died and the pH was at like 2.5 to 3.0. So I went back and tested the Pro mix and some of the bags of worm castings to see where this giant dropping pH came from and I was never able to come up with any concrete evidence you feel like it had to be the promix somehow because you're not adding in enough worm castings you would think to drop the pH. Significantly. But that was my first lesson in the fact that you don't know what you're getting in those bags unless you check it. You'd like to think that you can count on a name. In this day and age it doesn't seem like you can count on much of anything. Meaning good companies go bad. Bad company's go good from one day to the next you never know who's going to have a good item for sale or crap regardless of the field that you're in. I think even more so when you're dealing with something like soils and amendments.

The reasons why 95% of your plants died is because the bacteria broke down all the worm castings and bat poop at the same time making all the organic fertilizer available to the plant. The massive bacteria bloom also created the acids as a result of eating carbohydrates and organics.

You have to be highly experienced in organic mixes in order to pull these recipes off correctly. I would recommend adding small amounts of organic fertilizers one at a time. Even when I do this I still run into problems..
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
You're not understanding I have been using that recipe for 10 years along with a bunch of other highly experienced customers we all lost our plants at the same time and I can guarantee you it wasn't from any stupidity on our parts something. If it just happened to me or if it happened one other person okay but it happened to everyone at the same time. So thanks but you're wrong
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
and just so that you understand further the recipe was 1 bale of promix extra perlite and a bag a 20lb bag of worm castings or maybe are maybe two 20 lb bags mixed into the Pro mix. And then as part of my liquid nutrient regime I was using foxfarm Big Bloom in small amounts during bloom it wasn't an organic mixture.
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
However it scared me away from organics .I felt safer starting with a blank slate a soiless mix and feeding liquid nutes that I felt I could count on for consistency.that has proved to be the case.I'm going to mix up a few 2.5 gallon containers and let the plants tell me the story.if all go well I'll dial in the mix.I know organics require more knowledge and skill.That's why I asked for help.to get some info and find a starting place.I'm sure there is a sharp learning curve and although I'm an experienced grower this may not go well off the bat.hopefully I'll get some beginners luck..I'm going to ere on the side of caution for sure.Thanks for all the help it's much appreciated.well see if it pays off.nothing worse than watching your hard work burn up.Thanks fellas .
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
first mix is as follows
1.5 ocean forest
1.5 happy frog
30 wiggle worm castings
20 tbsp.bio live

10 tbsp espoma kelp meal
1 cup nitrate guano
1 cup dolomite lime
Extra perlite........
I put a mature 1 month old in the mix to see what happens I'm hoping it works out but I guess will find out. It's nothing important so it's going to be the sacrificial lamb. Thanks a lot guys for all your help much appreciated I know I've got a lot to learn in a long way to go I'm going to start reading like a machine trying to pick up all I can from you guys.
 

BluntMoniker

Well-Known Member
Hows the bio-live treating ya?

I just mixed some into my soil mix, along with some EWC and earth worms, watered it in, and now my whole house smells disgusting lol
 

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Hows the bio-live treating ya?

I just mixed some into my soil mix, along with some EWC and earth worms, watered it in, and now my whole house smells disgusting lol
The biolive treats my girls good. I premix mine and wet it down in a tote, about 2 weeks later it smells like good dirt. Initially though, the shit stinks.
I do 3 parts reg promix, 1 part ewc, 1 part perlite. 1/3 cup biolive, and a tablespoon of dolomite lime per gallon of soil
 

BluntMoniker

Well-Known Member
The biolive treats my girls good. I premix mine and wet it down in a tote, about 2 weeks later it smells like good dirt. Initially though, the shit stinks
Glad it's not just me then xD. I've got some homemade bokashi fermenting, and some SIPs ready.. just gotta let the soil cook (stink) for a few weeks, and I'll have transitioned to a 100% organic grow.

Pretty excited for the transition away from bottled nutes
 

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
Last grow was my first try with it. I repotted to a 3 gallon 2 weeks before switching to 12/12 and flowering ran 12 weeks. I did water with some neptunes fish fert a few times mid flower. Other than that, just water
 

BluntMoniker

Well-Known Member
Last grow was my first try with it. I repotted to a 3 gallon 2 weeks before switching to 12/12 and flowering ran 12 weeks. I did water with some neptunes fish fert a few times mid flower. Other than that, just water
Did you follow the recommended "dosing" of 1/4cup per gallon?

Having used bottled nutes so long, my instincts told me to go lighter. Did 2cups bio-live in 15gal of soil. Figured I can top dress if needed
 

Boatguy

Well-Known Member
I did 1/3 cup per gal. Its alittle hot early in veg. Get alittle tip burn and curl till they get alittle bigger
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
The mix I listed has been great plants going in were 6 weeks out of the clones so little bushes .they're doing great I'll post a few pics.
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
Did you follow the recommended "dosing" of 1/4cup per gallon?

Having used bottled nutes so long, my instincts told me to go lighter. Did 2cups bio-live in 15gal of soil. Figured I can top dress if needed
I had 24 gallons I did 20 tablespoons if I remember correctly that was just over a cup 300ml
 

Minirex

Well-Known Member
Hows the bio-live treating ya?

I just mixed some into my soil mix, along with some EWC and earth worms, watered it in, and now my whole house smells disgusting lol
Only diff is I didnt water my mix so it won't cook that much want it to release a few weeks after planting so they are big enough to handle it .so far they're going great but its only been 10 days so the food should get ramped up in the next week and then we'll see if I went to heavy
 
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