Dirty Girls vs Bathin Beauties

I've been reading a lot of threads here, and elsewhere, where ppl are frying or drowning their babies in dirt by following the FAQ, which for the most part assumes hydro+HPS. This is because hydro+HPS gives the "best" results.

However, many of us use dirt, and some things in the FAQ - fertilizing sprouts specifically - are disasterous in dirt. So. Some basics for dirt:

1) DON'T FERTILIZE YOUR SPROUT!
a) You're growing in soil, which has nutrients in it. b) Sprouts come out with a supply of food ready made in the yolk/food leaves.

You can hold off on adding ferts untill your first set of 5-fingered leaves are fully developed.

2) IF YOUR SPROUT STALLS, DON'T TOUCH IT!
"Helping it along" will more often kill it than help it. It's fragile. Let nature take its' course. If it dies, it dies.

3) THINK YOUR SOIL IS DRY? LOOK DEEPER!
When emptying my buckets after a grow, no matter how dry the top few inches are, the bottom inch or so is very damp. Bordering on wet. My first few grows (without earthworms) that bottom inch was thick, wet, almost impenetrable gunk. Too much water will kill your plants slowly & miserably.

I use a rounded wooden chopstick to see how the soil 6"-8" down looks before watering.

4) SOIL IS ORGANIC! YOUR NUTES SHOUD BE, TOO!
The danger with chemical nutes in soil is salt lockup, which is in effect the chemicals in the nutrient solution forming "salt" deposits on chunks of wood, loam, clay, etc. in your soil when it dries. If/when your plants' roots hit that crusty chunk of wood, you could get "nute burn".

The salt lockup can happen with excessive organic ferts, as well. Key word is excessive.

5) NO MATTER WHAT PLANT FOODS YOU USE, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS!
Most plant foods tell you to apply once a month. Don't think doing it twice as often, or every week is better. Remember the warning about salt lockup.

6) THE EARTHWORM IS YOUR FRIEND!
Earthworms, dew worms, trout worms, red wrigglers. All these types of worms (avail at any bait store) work wonders in dirt. (Hello? Worm castings, anyone?) Chemical foods - when used as directed - do not seem to cause any damage to the worms

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If ya think of any more, add em on