budbro
New Member
First the disclaimers: I haven't tried this with any of the larger autoflowers (AF's from now on) that are popping up each day. I would suggest using this soil with AF's below 2' in height as the larger variety would probably need more nutes. Cut nute ingredients in half (Blood and Bone Meal) if the strain contains Blueberry or the strain is known to be nute sensitive.
Okay, on to the good stuff. Here are the basic soil ingredients for 2, 2 gallon pots, which is what I use. Most items can be found at your local hardware or nursery. Azomite is a little more difficult to find, but it is not necessary, however, it will increase the yield a bit, and it definitely adds a lot to the smell and flavor, in my experience.
A "supersoil" is only used in the lower 1/2 of the pot, so the recipe below makes 2 Gallons of actual supersoil, or enough for 4 gallons total.
Supersoil for 4 gallons:
1 1/2 Gallons of Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1/2 Gallon of Perlite (chunky if you can find it, but not Miracle Grow)
1/4 cup Dolomite Lime
1 tbsp Blood Meal
3 tbsp Bone Meal
1/8 cup Azomite
"Fill Mix" (mix well):
1 1/2 Gallons of Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1/2 Gallon of Perlite (same as above)
1/4 cup Dolomite Lime
1/8 cup Azomite
"Seedling Mix" (mix well):
1 Solo cup (or similar) Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1 Solo cup Jiffy Seedling Mix (anything with 50% sphagnum Moss 50% Vermiculite will work)
Step-By-Step:
First, mix all supersoil ingredients together well, water (either RO or tap that has sat or bubbled for 24 hrs to remove chlorine) and place in a closed container and let it "cook" for 30 days or longer.
I use a wick system so I'll briefly explain, but I highly suggest with AF's that you incorporate it into your grow. It seems that the Ruderalis bred into AF's are quite finicky when it comes to having their soil dry out, so it helps to keep the soil moisture consistent from top to bottom. I use 5/8” three cord cotton rope that I cut to length and then separate each cord, leaving 3 separate curly wicks to evenly space throughout the 2 gallon bucket. Gently hold the wicks in an upright position as you fill with soil so that they extend from top to bottom. It’s easier to drill three holes in the bottom of the bucket and tie a knot so they won’t pull up through the soil, when full, untie and pull up until the wick leaves the hole. But whatever works for you is fine as long as the wick extends from the bottom to the top.
With your supersoil now ready, fill 1/2 of the bucket (1 gallon) with supersoil. Next add enough of the “Fill Mix” to the rest of bucket leaving the height of a Solo cup remaining, around 6". Put an empty Solo cup in the center of bucket and complete filling with the “Fill Mix”. Carefully remove the Solo cup and add the "Seedling mix" to the cavity left behind from the Solo cup. Plant seed in exact center of pot, and your done.
May seem a little excessive with the three different types of soil in one bucket, but it works great. A few reasons for this are, AF’s have a tendency to stop growing once the roots hit something solid, such as the sides or bottom of a pot, so it is advised not to transplant, or transplant VERY early on in the process, and FFOF is a “hot” soil mix so it is not advised to plant seedlings directly in FFOF. Supersoil is way too hot for seedlings and young plants; this allows for the AF to get the appropriate amount of nutes as it grows and can handle them.
There really is not much more to do throughout the grow using this method. Most AF’s are ready to harvest in 60-70 days from sprout and with a short veg period this soil takes it from start to finish and provides everything needed for the plant to yield impressive results.
I use tap water and 1 tbsp per gallon (or 1teaspoon per 5 1/3 cups) of Organic Unsulphered Blackstrap Molasses every other watering. Once the plants are somewhat mature, I’ve found that 1/3 gallon (5 1/3 cups) of water every four days works out perfect, you will have some runoff but the wicks will suck it up fast. At times, I have added a spot of EJ Bloom towards the end, but it was by no means necessary.
Keep in mind that I use CFL’s so if you are using HID’s or LED’s you might have to tweak something a bit to get it dialed in perfectly, but, this should give you a solid foundation for an organic AF grow. Feel free to ask for clarification, I found some of this hard to explain in words, will take pics next setup.
Okay, on to the good stuff. Here are the basic soil ingredients for 2, 2 gallon pots, which is what I use. Most items can be found at your local hardware or nursery. Azomite is a little more difficult to find, but it is not necessary, however, it will increase the yield a bit, and it definitely adds a lot to the smell and flavor, in my experience.
A "supersoil" is only used in the lower 1/2 of the pot, so the recipe below makes 2 Gallons of actual supersoil, or enough for 4 gallons total.
Supersoil for 4 gallons:
1 1/2 Gallons of Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1/2 Gallon of Perlite (chunky if you can find it, but not Miracle Grow)
1/4 cup Dolomite Lime
1 tbsp Blood Meal
3 tbsp Bone Meal
1/8 cup Azomite
"Fill Mix" (mix well):
1 1/2 Gallons of Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1/2 Gallon of Perlite (same as above)
1/4 cup Dolomite Lime
1/8 cup Azomite
"Seedling Mix" (mix well):
1 Solo cup (or similar) Fox Farms Ocean Forest
1 Solo cup Jiffy Seedling Mix (anything with 50% sphagnum Moss 50% Vermiculite will work)
Step-By-Step:
First, mix all supersoil ingredients together well, water (either RO or tap that has sat or bubbled for 24 hrs to remove chlorine) and place in a closed container and let it "cook" for 30 days or longer.
I use a wick system so I'll briefly explain, but I highly suggest with AF's that you incorporate it into your grow. It seems that the Ruderalis bred into AF's are quite finicky when it comes to having their soil dry out, so it helps to keep the soil moisture consistent from top to bottom. I use 5/8” three cord cotton rope that I cut to length and then separate each cord, leaving 3 separate curly wicks to evenly space throughout the 2 gallon bucket. Gently hold the wicks in an upright position as you fill with soil so that they extend from top to bottom. It’s easier to drill three holes in the bottom of the bucket and tie a knot so they won’t pull up through the soil, when full, untie and pull up until the wick leaves the hole. But whatever works for you is fine as long as the wick extends from the bottom to the top.
With your supersoil now ready, fill 1/2 of the bucket (1 gallon) with supersoil. Next add enough of the “Fill Mix” to the rest of bucket leaving the height of a Solo cup remaining, around 6". Put an empty Solo cup in the center of bucket and complete filling with the “Fill Mix”. Carefully remove the Solo cup and add the "Seedling mix" to the cavity left behind from the Solo cup. Plant seed in exact center of pot, and your done.
May seem a little excessive with the three different types of soil in one bucket, but it works great. A few reasons for this are, AF’s have a tendency to stop growing once the roots hit something solid, such as the sides or bottom of a pot, so it is advised not to transplant, or transplant VERY early on in the process, and FFOF is a “hot” soil mix so it is not advised to plant seedlings directly in FFOF. Supersoil is way too hot for seedlings and young plants; this allows for the AF to get the appropriate amount of nutes as it grows and can handle them.
There really is not much more to do throughout the grow using this method. Most AF’s are ready to harvest in 60-70 days from sprout and with a short veg period this soil takes it from start to finish and provides everything needed for the plant to yield impressive results.
I use tap water and 1 tbsp per gallon (or 1teaspoon per 5 1/3 cups) of Organic Unsulphered Blackstrap Molasses every other watering. Once the plants are somewhat mature, I’ve found that 1/3 gallon (5 1/3 cups) of water every four days works out perfect, you will have some runoff but the wicks will suck it up fast. At times, I have added a spot of EJ Bloom towards the end, but it was by no means necessary.
Keep in mind that I use CFL’s so if you are using HID’s or LED’s you might have to tweak something a bit to get it dialed in perfectly, but, this should give you a solid foundation for an organic AF grow. Feel free to ask for clarification, I found some of this hard to explain in words, will take pics next setup.
