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I haven't even finished my first grow and I am already thinking about my second. I have been looking at a few specialist soils and Canna Bio Terra seems to be what I am looking for. However, a few people seemed to have complained about a lot of bugs in the soil. Has anyone had any experience with this soil?
Thanks
If not, what is the best soils to use? I have used levingtons for my first grow and they seem to have done pretty well. My only complaint is the water retention, and that is mixed with perlite. Am I better going for a mix with or without nutes added. With nutes is easier, but will it contain all the nutes MJ needs. HELP!:eek:
The best soil is the one that works best for you. Not much help I know but everyone has different preferences. You can construct a good soil yourself. Shy away from pre-fertilized soils. It is difficult to correct imbalances if things go pear shaped. The most important ingredients in any soil are a good pH buffer agent, and appropriate drainage. Manure humus provides one of the best buffer agents and perlite together with a little sand supports good drainage. Also important is to set and maintain a re-potting schedule as your plants break down the pH buffer over the space of 2 - 4 weeks. The schedule will depend on how long your veg and flower your plants.
Assuming 4 - 6 week veg it could look something like this: starting pots for seedlings > 7.5 cm pot @ 2 - 3 weeks > 15 cm pot @ 4 - 5 weeks > 25 cm pot @ 6 - 8 weeks. This assumes that the plant is in flower for 2 - 3 weeks before going into the final and largest pot. If you want those measurements in American that's seedlings > 3.5" pot @ 2 - 3 weeks > 1 gallon pot @ 4 - 5 weeks > 3 gallon pot @ 6 - 8 weeks. Many skip ahead from seedling directly to the 1 gallon pot. Not a problem but you will have better root development if you go the intermediate step.
It is worth noting that you will see a slow down in observable growth after re-potting. This is due in small part to the stress placed on the plant by re-potting. More importantly, the plant suddenly has more room and healthy soil for root growth. Energy is temporarily diverted from above ground growth to root growth. This is a good thing - bigger, stronger root system = bigger canopy, and increased overall yield.
good advice from Bigs above...you can always use coco coir to mix with your soil to help with drainage....but it is finding what works best for your setup :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by unkownSuperstar
Cheers mate, that one post has been a huge help. I went straight from the small pot to my final pot, I will give it a go on my next grow.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsby
I now realise smaller pots would have helped with water retention, as the plants were too small to soak up all the water in a large pot.:):thumbsup:
When the plant is in a pot that is too large it focus' more energy underground. The roots stretch and stretch to fill the space. You can certainly grow this way and many do. However, you will achieve better results if you follow a careful re-potting schedule. The smaller pot provides a root boundary. After the roots reach the boundary they begin filing in the unused spaces within the pot while at the same time redirecting energy to canopy growth. At some point the above ground growth outstrips the ability of the roots to support further growth. You want to anticipate this point as best you can and re-pot accordingly, thereby starting the expansion cycle again.
I like starting seeds in peat pots inside a larger pot...