New Grower Soil Help

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I am about to start my first grow and I was wondering if anyone can give me some guidance on the soil to use. I have read you have to be careful early on not to burn her with soil that is fertilized. I have some regular potting soil some organic soil from home depot and some coco coir and really don't know what to do. Please help
 
Howdy, TexasFarmer. You don't need anything fancy for a first grow. More important than the type of soil is the pH, so investing in a pH meter would be wise. You can have all the nutrients you want in the soil, but if the pH is off they will be locked out. Check that the soil you are using is in the 6.2 to 6.8 pH range. If it is in any way alkaline, the grow will be an uphill struggle all the way.

If you can get hold of some worm castings, I would add that to the mix so it makes up 10 to 20% of the total. You need lots of nitrogen for the vegetative part of the grow, and worm castings have that in spades in a readily available form. Soak the coco coir overnight and rinse well to remove any impurities, then break any chunks into smaller pieces. Add that to make up 10 to 20% of the total.

Given what you have, I would use 35% potting mix, 35% organic soil, 15% worm casings and 15% coco coir. Check the pH of both soils, the water you add and the runoff water. A pH of 6.5 is the sweet spot.

Let us know more about your setup and what you are growing. You'll find plenty of helpful folks here.

BTW, did I mention pH? :-)
 
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