Grow Mediums Best soil for Autoflower

[WeedNoob]

Hi everybody, i'm a newbie, and i'm trying to figure out what's the best soil for autos.
First of all I have to say that I won't use any artificial light, they will be exposed to day light but in indoor envoirment.
After some research it seems clear few important points about choosing the soil.
[HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG] Nutrients, Even tho i haven't find any specific article talking about the specific amount of NPK required it looks like it's better to get a soil that contains already nutrients.
[HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG] PH, everybody agrees that the best range is between 6.2 and 6.5.
[HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] The soil should be spongy, airy and medium not too hard and not too soft, i still can't find a way to figure out how to determine that factor. If somebody can answer that it can be very helpful.

Today I went to a gardening shop to check out few soils.

In my opinion there is one that should have most of the required factors to be a good soil.
Dry material: 65%
Organic Material: 25%
PH 6.5
Conductivity 50 ms/m
Water retention capacity 700ml/l
NPK 14-16-18

I'm not sure if those are good numbers, all I can say is that the PH is in range.
About the NPK, The Nitrogen is lower then the Phosphorus, during vegetive stage isn't that a bad thing?
Another thing about the NPK, that soil has 14% Nitrogen, 16% Phosphorus and 18% Potassium, my question is, for how long should I water the plants without adding any nutrients on water?

I read online that usually if is used a fertilized soil plants shouldn't be watered for about 2/3 weeks but how can I determine that?

Sorry if I have so many questions, but I like to do things properly and I like to learn things in the right way.
I hope somebody can help.

Have a good day

 

[MickJ]

Soils with precharged nutes are not good. Put a neutral soil in the top of the pot if you are going to use this, but put in the bottom half of the pot. Seedlings don't like nutes.

Hi everybody, i'm a newbie, and i'm trying to figure out what's the best soil for autos.
First of all I have to say that I won't use any artificial light, they will be exposed to day light but in indoor envoirment.
After some research it seems clear few important points about choosing the soil.
[HASHTAG]#1[/HASHTAG] Nutrients, Even tho i haven't find any specific article talking about the specific amount of NPK required it looks like it's better to get a soil that contains already nutrients.
[HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG] PH, everybody agrees that the best range is between 6.2 and 6.5.
[HASHTAG]#3[/HASHTAG] The soil should be spongy, airy and medium not too hard and not too soft, i still can't find a way to figure out how to determine that factor. If somebody can answer that it can be very helpful.

Today I went to a gardening shop to check out few soils.

In my opinion there is one that should have most of the required factors to be a good soil.
Dry material: 65%
Organic Material: 25%
PH 6.5
Conductivity 50 ms/m
Water retention capacity 700ml/l
NPK 14-16-18

I'm not sure if those are good numbers, all I can say is that the PH is in range.
About the NPK, The Nitrogen is lower then the Phosphorus, during vegetive stage isn't that a bad thing?
Another thing about the NPK, that soil has 14% Nitrogen, 16% Phosphorus and 18% Potassium, my question is, for how long should I water the plants without adding any nutrients on water?

I read online that usually if is used a fertilized soil plants shouldn't be watered for about 2/3 weeks but how can I determine that?

Sorry if I have so many questions, but I like to do things properly and I like to learn things in the right way.
I hope somebody can help.

Have a good day

Sent from my comfy chair.
[emoji16][emoji41] [emoji43][emoji848]

 

[WeedNoob]

Hi, thanks for your reply, in the germination phase I will use this method
https://www.autoflower.org/threads/germination-the-ronin-way.33891/

For the vegetative stage and bloom stage I already purchased a general hydroponic package this one:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aeoAAOSwFSxZ8gee/s-l300.jpg

I read many articles and it looks like many people like that nutrients package.

This is my real first time doing this, i'm sorry if I make some very obvious questions

I wonder what should I use as soil, after the ronin way germination I will have to transplant my plants in the final pot.

I will be using a 10lt pot it looks like that size is one of the best (do you agree?) so at this point i'm very confused about the soil, should I go for neutral soil? at this stage my plants will be already 1 week old, and if I use a neutral soil I will have to add some nutrients right?

Thank you so much!

 

[McDee]

I ride with @Rollin_along use a soil that is free of nutrients. I use pro mix bx, some Home Depots carry it. If you use that it has a lot of peat moss so your ph range will be lower. I shoot for in between soil range and coco range like 6.0 ph. You can use soil with nutrients in it but that could mess you up because like you said how do you know what's still in it. Only way you could guess would be check ppm run off of soil and keep checking and you could estimate what's still left kinda lol. If you add everything yourself then you know what is in it. Advanced Nutrients is what I have been using tells you what weeks to use each product on bottle. I am on day 1 of new grow today and trying Greenleaf Nutrients Mega Crop. They are here on afn. It is a dry mix that is 1 product to mix. Now you need to add a sugar becuase it doesn't work when they tried to add it, so you have to add separately. I don't know why they could tell you. You can buy theirs Sweet Candy or use another brand. I have a ton of bud candy so just going to use that up 1st. I run either 3 or 5 gallon fabric pots, prefer the 5 cause they need watered less. Are you transplanting? You can some folks do, I have read they don't like it so I just put in final pot. K.I.S.S. don't over think things, the plant will do most of the work. Any other questions just ask.

 

[WeedNoob]

Hi @Mcdee thanks for your reply it was very helpful.
In my country the pro mix bx is not available unfortunately, I wonder if you can help me out to pick one from this website:

https://www.hydroponics.eu/growing-media-c-28/soil-s-76

I went to a regular gardening shop but it seems they have nothing without nutrients.
As I said my plants will germinate in root it cubes, so I will just put the cubes inside the soil once they are ready to go.

For the vegetative stage and bloom stage I already purchased a general hydroponic package this one:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aeoAAOSwFSxZ8gee/s-l300.jpg

I guess if I get a soil without nutrients once I will transplant the plant to their final pot I will have to add nutrients from day 1 correct?
If so, is it a good idea to start with 1/8 of what they recommend?

Another question, will I have to water them every day using nutrients?

Thank you so much!

 

[McDee]

Even if you have clear soil you have about 1-2 weeks until you have to feed. It has some to live off of when they break ground so could wait a few day to feed. Not firmilar with any of those soils so can't say. The 1st 1 says has enough nutrients for 3-4 weeks so I would base it off of that. You could use the soil you have and not use a base grow nutrient and start when time for a bloom nutrients. You should be able to get through veg with just soil and any additives. Use the soil as your base nutrients.

 

[MickJ]

Hi @Mcdee thanks for your reply it was very helpful.
In my country the pro mix bx is not available unfortunately, I wonder if you can help me out to pick one from this website:

https://www.hydroponics.eu/growing-media-c-28/soil-s-76

I went to a regular gardening shop but it seems they have nothing without nutrients.
As I said my plants will germinate in root it cubes, so I will just put the cubes inside the soil once they are ready to go.

For the vegetative stage and bloom stage I already purchased a general hydroponic package this one:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/aeoAAOSwFSxZ8gee/s-l300.jpg

I guess if I get a soil without nutrients once I will transplant the plant to their final pot I will have to add nutrients from day 1 correct?
If so, is it a good idea to start with 1/8 of what they recommend?

Another question, will I have to water them every day using nutrients?

Thank you so much!

If you buy from a garden centre look for soils that are suitable for seeds and seedlings. They won't have any nutrients in them except what's naturally in the soil.

Sent from my comfy chair.
[emoji16][emoji41] [emoji43][emoji848]

 

[d.t]

What country are you in? Try a hydro store instead of a garden centre or buy online. Try biobizz light mix. It’s lovely airy stuff.

 

[WeedNoob]

Thanks @Mcdee @Rollin_along and @d.t for your replies.
First of all I have to say that i'm from Italy and most of the U.S. / U.K. soils are not available here, so i'm trying to figure what could be the best solution for me.
According to what you guys are advising me it looks like the soil should be some kind of bio soil without nutrients.
Something I forgot to mention is that after using the rapid rooter kit I will transplant seedlings to their final pot (10 liters pot) after 12/14 days.
At this point i'm not really sure if I should start watering them with nutrients as soon as I transplant them, I will get a soil without any fertilizer so I guess I have to start to give them from day 1, am I right?

 

[McDee]

Thanks @Mcdee @Rollin_along and @d.t for your replies.
First of all I have to say that i'm from Italy and most of the U.S. / U.K. soils are not available here, so i'm trying to figure what could be the best solution for me.
According to what you guys are advising me it looks like the soil should be some kind of bio soil without nutrients.
Something I forgot to mention is that after using the rapid rooter kit I will transplant seedlings to their final pot (10 liters pot) after 12/14 days.
At this point i'm not really sure if I should start watering them with nutrients as soon as I transplant them, I will get a soil without any fertilizer so I guess I have to start to give them from day 1, am I right?

Hey man we might be related lol, my nonna (grandmother for our non Italain speaking friends) is from Italy. I have another I think great grandmother on my mom's side from Italy too. Awesome to see my olive brothers and sisters are growing over there, kinda made my day a little. What is the legal status there? My dad is over I will ask him where my nonna is from. When using clear soil you can start from day 1, I do with very light feed. You don't have to, the seed is kinda like a chicken egg. The baby bird (egg white) lives off the yoke while in the shell. Well when you bean pops it has a food source that it starts from. I have read they don't "NEED" any for 1st 7-14 days. I give them some, just like 1ml/gallon of voodoo juice, microbial munch, and 1g of Mega Crop. After like a week maybe 7-10 days depending on how each plant is growing they are out of seedling and start with 25% of dosage given on packaging/bottle. I have used Advanced Nutrients on 4 grows they give a week by week instruction for each phase. Kinda takes the need to know away, and all you need to do is follow the dosages. As they get bigger bump up to higher percentage. Some like more feed, others less depends on strain. Any other questions keep them coming lots of smart talented people here that love to help. A dopo!