
solid advise
Scott!
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Axl', what soils can you get locally? Is there a horticultural supply store near by? They will have the best soils,...let us know what you find and we can offer opinion on them-

-- cheap stuff is no bargain, not when it brings troubles, and ends up costing you time and fix-it $$ down the road! Many folks here have good results using Black Gold and amending it with a little extra lime, worm poops, and something like perlite to open it up a bit more,.... If I can remember who it was

, I'll ask them about their recipe, which included some coco coir as well,... Speaking of which, coco is a great medium, but it's a different ball game vs true soil... read up on it here (Coco section) and the web to see what I mean; it cannot be treated like reg. soil, or prob's are all but automatic! Using a coco specific nutes helps flatten that learning curve some too,... In any case, you'll need 3 pieces of gear to help monitor things and fix troubles when they come: a pH meter, for liquids; an EC or TDS meter, to test water hardness (mineral content) and nutrient solutions strength (when needed), and a very handy unit called the Accurate 8 soil pH probe, which tests medium pH directly, in pot... nothing beats direct measurement! The run-off test method is crude, and pain to do, and often very inaccurate... we have an improved method tutorial here in this section...