What’s the best brand of soil to use, please include the name of product not just a composition make

[Boognelson87]

Fox farm happy frog, roots organic, black gold, is hard to beat for autos out the gate. I dont like ocran forest unless you want to add stuff to buff ph because myself through a few grows and few others recently have had problems with mid grow the ph drops in soil down into 4s and low 5s. Ive heard good thinfs miracke grow organic and nature xarw organic is decent. From another personal experience stay away from burpee organic soil. Has alot of bugs. I use pro mix. Its a soilless medium but works great. I like feeding from the start with organic nutrients. That away im always ahead of deficiencies cuz i know whats in my medium.

 

[Boognelson87]

If your going outdoor though i dont recommend pro mix soilless mix. It will dry alot faster.

 

[mattskeee]

As I noted, I am just trying soil for the 1st time and went with what liked like a safe choice as a a good basic/generic organic/living soil (plus it was what the local hydro shop sells). What you cited looks to be composed of much the same ingredients. When I see any deficiencies, I will likely just start supplementing with MegaCrop until the plants protest.

Awesome, thanks dude. MC is another thing on my shopping list!

Sent from Space

 

[BII]

Awesome, thanks dude. MC is another thing on my shopping list!

Sent from Space

I will also be supplementing with partial doses of P-K supplements during bloom. I think it prudent for you to at least have some basic P-K booster on hand for when you need it.

Plus (having all of this stuff from still running hydro) when I "water" the plants I'm always addding a Bt product; kelp or other 'organic' growth booster; beneficial microbes; some carbs, if only molasses; and sometimes small doses of humic-fulvic acid, cal-mag, etc.

 

[mattskeee]

I will also be supplementing with partial doses of P-K supplements during bloom. I think it prudent for you to at least have some basic P-K booster on hand for when you need it.

Plus (having all of this stuff from still running hydro) when I "water" the plants I'm always addding a Bt product; kelp or other 'organic' growth booster; beneficial microbes; some carbs, if only molasses; and sometimes small doses of humic-fulvic acid, cal-mag, etc.

I've currently got a RWDC set up, so I've got GH Flora Trio, CalMag, and Great White.

Haven't settled on a PK booster yet...

Also been researching making the heisenberg tea or similar, so will be adding a few of those ingredients to the kitchen also.

Sent from Space

 

[Gone Camping]

I've been a coco user for nearly 5 years and recently started about half my small tent, 5 plants, using straight (no added perlite) Great Lakes Water Only Soil, from Detroit Nutrient Co. Now at start of bloom, all plants are doing well (as well as on AN or MegaCrop as base nutes), other than 2 darker green (more N) than I'd like, but still no browning of tips and only 1 or a few leaf tips are downturned, so presumably not a problem. This soil is available in the U.S. from the nationwide HTG Supply stores, and other sources.

I went with this soil after seeing some positive comments on AFN. But what clinched going with this, rather than say a Roots soil, was that I searched and didn't find any substantive complaints or negative comments, which I presume is rare and indicates to me likely quality for any such critically-important grow product. If it didn't work well, that would be easily noticeable.

How did this work out for you? Still running it?

I just looked at my local HTG for my usual Root's Organic Original and saw they had this listed. I would be very interested in a water only medium that worked well, i cant seem to keep an EC or PH pen to survive my typical summer shutdowns...

 

[BII]

You've revived a >1 year old thread. I did not use Great Lakes Water Only Soil again. I was disappointed with yield and size (spoiled by growing in coco); and perceived no difference in quality vs. coco/perlite with mineral nutes. As far as "water only," I recall feeding it at near full strength 1-part MegaCrop base nutes starting in mid-bloom. But it's still probably good soil. Will likely carry you at least through veg phase.

Others can comment better, but I wouldn't rely on having well-balanced living soil out of a bag or from supplementing soil or coco with a 'super-soil' mix. Living soil is a very complex ecosystem. From the problems reported here on AFN, it just seems that using soil bags or mixes with "water only" feeding involves a lot of problems. Getting soil right looks to either involve luck or at lot of effort over a longer period.

 

[WildBill]

How did this work out for you? Still running it?

I just looked at my local HTG for my usual Root's Organic Original and saw they had this listed. I would be very interested in a water only medium that worked well, i cant seem to keep an EC or PH pen to survive my typical summer shutdowns...

Why not stick with Root's Organic Original? It's a great starting point base. I'm happy as hell with my take on Root's Organic Original.

 

[Gone Camping]

You've revived a >1 year old thread. I did not use Great Lakes Water Only Soil again. I was disappointed with yield and size (spoiled by growing in coco); and perceived no difference in quality vs. coco/perlite with mineral nutes. As far as "water only," I recall feeding it at near full strength 1-part MegaCrop base nutes starting in mid-bloom. But it's still probably good soil. Will likely carry you at least through veg phase.

Others can comment better, but I wouldn't rely on having well-balanced living soil out of a bag or from supplementing soil or coco with a 'super-soil' mix. Living soil is a very complex ecosystem. From the problems reported here on AFN, it just seems that using soil bags or mixes with "water only" feeding involves a lot of problems. Getting soil right looks to either involve luck or at lot of effort over a longer period.

Found this thread in a search, i was only curious of your results and opinion.

Thank You, that's what i was looking for. I'll stick with my RO Original and MegaCrop.

WildBill.. i wouldnt know how to use as a base point, and too old to learn now.

 

[WildBill]

Found this thread in a search, i was only curious of your results and opinion.

Thank You, that's what i was looking for. I'll stick with my RO Original and MegaCrop.

WildBill.. i wouldnt know how to use as a base point, and too old to learn now.

RO Original and MegaCrop. works fine!