Thread: Soil and Plant food

The mixture i am thinking of using is potting soil, without clay, and mixing it with ethier Vermiculite or perlite or both. As far as plant food i was thinking of using 15-35-15. Does anybody have any suggestions to whether or not this setup is good? and if it isnt what they would change?

15-35-15 for the NPK reading is way off for vegitative growth. You want high N for veggin. Low P, and a medium K...Once flowering starts you want an increase in P & K with the same or slightly less N.

Your soil mixture seems like your on the right track. I prefer perlite and Spagnum Peat mixed with organic potting soil. With the perlite and spagnum in a 1:1 ratio mixed with the potting soil in a 1:3 mixture, the 3 being more potting soil..

not too good. your main problem is your nutrients. use 20-20-20 for seed and seedlings. use high N for veg. P is definatly for flowering. K should be medium for veg/flowering. use epsom salts too.

I would certainly skip the Vermiculite in the mixture, it is incredibly harmful to your health if you breathe in even a little of the dust. That said, aim for almost half of the mix to be Perilite and the other 1/2 to be your soil(less) mixture. I like to use about 1/2 peat moss and 1/2 Perilite and then add organic amendments to the soil myself. This has been a serious headache for the first two batches while I figured out the right amount to adjust the pH.
Try to use a potting soil that contains no fertilizers or anything else that is unknown to you so you can have total control over what went into the soil, when, and how much. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! Keep a log that you can refer back to if your soil mix is particuarly good or bad.
If you add some organic fertilizers to your soil mix at the beginning, you can probably skip the fertilizers until the plants are ready to flower. If you do choose to use fertilizers added into your water, remember that less is best! An overfertilized plant will die quickly, and underfertilized plant will simply be a little smaller. Overfertilization will also make the finished product smoke harsh and taste like 'homegrown crap'. Cannabis Culture and High Times both have some pretty good articles on soil mixtures, and dont be afraid to pick up a book or magazine on houseplants at the store. Good luck, sorry for rambling!

check out www.biobizz.com for an organic setup,BIO-BIZZ ALL MIX is 20% sphagnum peat moss. 35% garden peat. 10% organic worm manure. 30% perlite and 5% pre-mix.theres a whole range of ferts specifically for there types of soil.BIO-GROW for veg,BIO-BLOOM and TOP-MAX for flowering.
£13 for 50 litre bag of ALL-MIX soil

re bio bizz i found a lot of clay about gollf ball size, any idear why

wot type of bio-bizz mix was it,ALL-MIX or LIGHT-MIX,im a first time i grower growing indoor and am using the ALL-MIX with no probs,although i did find a few chunks of soil that were bound together in lumps but a little bit of work with the fingers would break it down,i reckon its just down to the machining and length of time it may lie before being packed,didnt find clay in the ALL-MIX as it basiclly aint got clay in the mix