Hi everyone this is my first time here and I'm about to start my next auto grow but I can't figure out what nutes and soil would be best for me.im still a new grower and nutrients are still a bit confusing to me.so I'm looking for a soil that is high quality but easy to maintain.and for nutrients that have a simple feeding schedule and only has 2 or 3 parts.ive looked all over and I'm staring to go crazy because there so many choices.biobizz seems like a good company does any have any experience with them?i am open to all suggestions and any help is greatly needed and appreciated.
New Grower Need help picking nutes and soil
- Thread starter BAKEANDDESTROY420
- Start date
My personal recommendation is coco. Botanicare coco in the bag + General Hydroponics Micro at 6ml/Gallon + General Hydroponics Bloom at 9ml/gallon. Use water from a reverse osmosis unit ($80) and mix in a 5gallon bucket at a time. If you do exactly that formula and water every day when the lights come on, watering just enough to start to see runoff, you pretty much can't screw it up. Buy a good pH pen to ensure you pH is between 5.7 and 6.0, this is the ideal range for coco. I use this pen and it's all I'll ever need:
http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instrum...60&sr=8-1&keywords=hanna+instruments+hi+98129
To germinate seeds, I fill a red solo cup with the coco, leaving 1" of empty space. I water through thoroughly with pure water from my RO unit to ensure the coco is properly moistened, stirring it around with my finger to break up chunks and air pockets that stay dry. I place the seed on top of the coco once it's neatly smoothed flat, lightly powder with a mycorrhizae root innoculant, then add a light covering of dry coco over the seed, about 1/4". I do not water at this point. I take a clear plastic bag and make a little tent over the cup and seal it shut with a rubber band. I put this under a compact florescent light and walk away for 4 days. On day 4, I check progress and maybe add a few drops of RO water. Once I see the seed pop up above ground, I remove the plastic bag and move her under the light I use for vegetation/seedlings.
When the seedlings are small, dilute the nutrient solution to 1/4 strength, check to make sure pH is 5.7-6.0 (use a pH adjustment product if not stable), then water very very sparingly, just around the outside of the pot. I water when the pot seems very light, but am careful to never let a seedling go dry more than the top 1/2" of their container. If you stick your finger in and it's dry below 1/2" you are under watering. Coco is perfect for beginners because so long as your pH is correct, you really cannot over water the medium except in the first few weeks of seeling life. By week 3, it's a daily watering, week 6 through finish you can pretty much water 4-6 times a day, especially if you're growing autoflowers under 24 hours of light per day!
http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instrum...60&sr=8-1&keywords=hanna+instruments+hi+98129
To germinate seeds, I fill a red solo cup with the coco, leaving 1" of empty space. I water through thoroughly with pure water from my RO unit to ensure the coco is properly moistened, stirring it around with my finger to break up chunks and air pockets that stay dry. I place the seed on top of the coco once it's neatly smoothed flat, lightly powder with a mycorrhizae root innoculant, then add a light covering of dry coco over the seed, about 1/4". I do not water at this point. I take a clear plastic bag and make a little tent over the cup and seal it shut with a rubber band. I put this under a compact florescent light and walk away for 4 days. On day 4, I check progress and maybe add a few drops of RO water. Once I see the seed pop up above ground, I remove the plastic bag and move her under the light I use for vegetation/seedlings.
When the seedlings are small, dilute the nutrient solution to 1/4 strength, check to make sure pH is 5.7-6.0 (use a pH adjustment product if not stable), then water very very sparingly, just around the outside of the pot. I water when the pot seems very light, but am careful to never let a seedling go dry more than the top 1/2" of their container. If you stick your finger in and it's dry below 1/2" you are under watering. Coco is perfect for beginners because so long as your pH is correct, you really cannot over water the medium except in the first few weeks of seeling life. By week 3, it's a daily watering, week 6 through finish you can pretty much water 4-6 times a day, especially if you're growing autoflowers under 24 hours of light per day!
hey baked, im pretty new myself and I can only tell you what I have learned the hard way. As far as nutes, any of the big companies are reputable eg 
, roots AN etc. There is a ceartain amount of work you have to do like mixing correctly and PHing your water. I almost killed my last plant using "guess" work. The folks here helped me alot with my problems. I started using a liquid ph fluid and things worked out well. As far as soil, try and get something organic like sunshine mix,promix, roots organics etc. ( is good but can have too much nitrogen to start seedlings in ). If you live near a hydro store it wont be hard. some people MG without problems, You just have pay close attention for problems ( nutrient and ph issues ). I also learned alot from reading stickies in all the forums, they can help answer a lot of questions. Be prepared to take pics to post. Almost all the problems that arise need to be seen in order to be given advice.
, roots AN etc. There is a ceartain amount of work you have to do like mixing correctly and PHing your water. I almost killed my last plant using "guess" work. The folks here helped me alot with my problems. I started using a liquid ph fluid and things worked out well. As far as soil, try and get something organic like sunshine mix,promix, roots organics etc. ( is good but can have too much nitrogen to start seedlings in ). If you live near a hydro store it wont be hard. some people MG without problems, You just have pay close attention for problems ( nutrient and ph issues ). I also learned alot from reading stickies in all the forums, they can help answer a lot of questions. Be prepared to take pics to post. Almost all the problems that arise need to be seen in order to be given advice.The benefit of what I suggested versus soil is that you don't need to do anything at all to botanicare coco, it's perfect out of the bag, and the recipe I gave (if you use a cheap RO for water) is 5.8 pH every single time. For a first time grower, being able to mix a simple 2 part formula and water a little every day without needing to worry about over watering is a lot easier than soil, which usually requires pH correction and more guess work as to when/how much to water...and you need a LOT more soil to get good yields. Coco keeps the OP in smaller pots with a smaller footprint, and oh by the way if he's not in a legal state, he won't have 7 gallons of roots to get weighed and counted against him by LEO in the event of a raid. You can get 2+ ounces out of an autoflower using this recipe, I did it with Mossy's JEM earlier this year.
Now, I just made a pretty vigorous case for coco...I understand it's not for everyone and it doesn't offer a perfect solution. My point in being so adamant about coco's value is that I literally saw my yields DOUBLE while simultaneously reducing my container size by 1/2. For covert personal use, I'm a big believer that less is more, and if I can get the same end product for less sweat equity, risk, expense...well shoot, I'm sold! Nobody's going to hurt my feelings if the OP goes TLO, ROLS, or Semi-Soil with nutes...as a former noobie, I wish someone had posted this on one of my grow threads!
Another easy rout is Either pro-mix BX or Sunshine #4 and flora micro, grow, bloom or as said above the lacus formula of just micro and bloom and as a added benefit liquid Kool bloom. You can search the lacus formula all over the net for info and reviews on it. Hope you find something that works well for you
I have also used FloraNova Grow and Bloom with great results as a 2 part system in soil. I believe Tavidude is running the Nova Grow and Bloom in hydro right now with awesome results...
I have also used FloraNova Grow and Bloom with great results as a 2 part system in soil. I believe Tavidude is running the Nova Grow and Bloom in hydro right now with awesome results...
Low and Slow I understand your case for Coco as I just switched to Coco myself after years of growing soil and soil less. But, to a new grower it should be made clear -- there are differences in growing MEDIUMS. Soil - being ferted right out of the bag (whether lightly or hot), for example, Fox Farms Happy Frog (lighter side of ferts) or Ocean Forest (way hotter with more ferts mixed in already)... Soil Less - such as Promix BX, Sunshine Mix #4, etc (any medium that is basically peat moss, vermiculite, & perlite mix.) Those mediums typically come with Myco added and nothing else. Then you have Coco which is also considered Soil Less and just like soils it also varies. Coco mediums such as the one Low and Slow mentioned and the one I use (CANNA Coco) are good to use right out of the bag. Other types of Coco (bricks and such) need to be prebuffered and pH'd before use...
So you do have a ton of choices. But first you need to decide what's good for you and your set up. What do you have in mind? Are you going the Soil route or Soil Less route? Then we can certainly help you narrow things down...
:thumbs:
So you do have a ton of choices. But first you need to decide what's good for you and your set up. What do you have in mind? Are you going the Soil route or Soil Less route? Then we can certainly help you narrow things down...
:thumbs:
So whats best for a first time grower. I am at this stage of picking up my soil or medium as well. :hug:
Thanks for all the quick and detailed responses they are greatly appreciated espicialy low and slow. But I'm wanting to stick with soil.and im looking for something thats kind of hot so i dont have to feed for the first month or so.and I'm kinda on a budget so a RO unit is out of my price range. Ive noticed that organics seem pretty simple but Im not sure what brands are good and easy to get on the USA.i need to keep it a simple as possible because I can get short on time.thanks and again for the quick replays and the warm welcome.
Here is my current setup and strains for next grow
3 dp think different 1 dinafem haze 2.0 auto and original amnesia auto and 1 world of seeds big bud x northern lights in a 4x4x6.5 grow tent under cfls for first 2 weeks and then under a 400w mh for another 2 or 3 weeks and the switching to 400w hps (with a few added cfls) for the rest. With a 240 Cfm extraction fan and other osilating fans for circulation.
3 dp think different 1 dinafem haze 2.0 auto and original amnesia auto and 1 world of seeds big bud x northern lights in a 4x4x6.5 grow tent under cfls for first 2 weeks and then under a 400w mh for another 2 or 3 weeks and the switching to 400w hps (with a few added cfls) for the rest. With a 240 Cfm extraction fan and other osilating fans for circulation.
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