Seeds not sprouting - going to use Jiffy pellets

[SmokingWings]

First bag - Golfgreen Organic Flower & Vegetable Garden Soil - contains mycorrhizae

OK. We could work with this.

Second bag - Organic Soil Mix w/ Compost and worm castings - this one contains worm castings, peat moss and humus.

Is this also a Golfgreen product? I figure you bought a second Golfgreen product.

Perlite - this was purchased form my local hydro shop, because they don't sell this stuff in bulk at the dept. stores.

OK. I can understand why you would not want to buy a small bag since Perlite is fairly expensive and costs less per cubic foot or liter in larger bags.

I could not find a photo of the back of those bags while doing a google search. Based on what you mention and what I did find it seems both of the Golfgreen bags contain a fair amount of compost (Humus is another word for compost). I do not see any mention of peat moss. Check the back of the bags to see if there is more info. It would help to know the percentage of the compost.

Might work out to mix 40% of each product with 20% of the Perlite for starters. I don't want to recommend more than that without knowing if there already is some Perlite mixed in with the Golfgreen.

Perlite - this was purchased form my local hydro shop,

If there was a hydro store did you check to see if they sold Fox Farm's Ocean Forest soil? That blend of soil is one of the most popular ones in North America for growing Cannabis.

Golfgreen is a company that manufactures lawn and garden products for Canadian Tire. They don't have their own website.

They do not have their own website but it looks like Golfgreen is made by a Canadian company called Premier Tech Home and Garden. The US division of that company is Premier Tech located in Pennsylvania. The conglomerate of companies is the one that makes the Promix Herb and Vegetable Soil Mix that you bought for the last grow. Plus they make the large bales of Peat Moss based Pro-Mix soil mixes that are popular here in the US.

By the way, while wandering around the web with the help of google I came across a link that sounds just like what you are doing. Click on the green link to see a very short discussion here on 420 where someone is doing what you are thinking of. The person who started that thread might still be stopping by every now and then if you want to try contacting them.
Mixing Golfgreen Soils

 

[bluter]

this grow is already sideways ... i just never recommend non cannabis products to new growers at all anymore.
there's no sense to it.

at the least look at the sponsors products and media. use the board discount.

i remember growing with no choice, and having to use that generic garden shit. it took decades to crawl to a point where we legally didn't have to depend on it. i'm never going back to the dark ages.

 

[MarsBarz]

OK. We could work with this.


Is this also a Golfgreen product? I figure you bought a second Golfgreen product.


OK. I can understand why you would not want to buy a small bag since Perlite is fairly expensive and costs less per cubic foot or liter in larger bags.

I could not find a photo of the back of those bags while doing a google search. Based on what you mention and what I did find it seems both of the Golfgreen bags contain a fair amount of compost (Humus is another word for compost). I do not see any mention of peat moss. Check the back of the bags to see if there is more info. It would help to know the percentage of the compost.

Might work out to mix 40% of each product with 20% of the Perlite for starters. I don't want to recommend more than that without knowing if there already is some Perlite mixed in with the Golfgreen.


If there was a hydro store did you check to see if they sold Fox Farm's Ocean Forest soil? That blend of soil is one of the most popular ones in North America for growing Cannabis.


They do not have their own website but it looks like Golfgreen is made by a Canadian company called Premier Tech Home and Garden. The US division of that company is Premier Tech located in Pennsylvania. The conglomerate of companies is the one that makes the Promix Herb and Vegetable Soil Mix that you bought for the last grow. Plus they make the large bales of Peat Moss based Pro-Mix soil mixes that are popular here in the US.

By the way, while wandering around the web with the help of google I came across a link that sounds just like what you are doing. Click on the green link to see a very short discussion here on 420 where someone is doing what you are thinking of. The person who started that thread might still be stopping by every now and then if you want to try contacting them.
Mixing Golfgreen Soils

I never threw out the bags, lol.

& yes, both bags are Golfgreen. Here are the ingredients:

Flower and veg - compost, peat moss, humus, sand, mycorrhizae (in that order),

Compost w/worm castings - compost, worm castings, peat moss (in that order).

And yeah, I've heard of Ocean Forest. Everyone seems to use it. My hydro shop doesn't carry it anymore. A bit overpriced imho. $80 for a bag of it on Amazon and there's less material than what I paid $15 for at the dept. store (42L to 50L).

That's a cool article, I don't think she's on here anymore though. That was from four years ago.

this grow is already sideways ... i just never recommend non cannabis products to new growers at all anymore.
there's no sense to it.

at the least look at the sponsors products and media. use the board discount.

i remember growing with no choice, and having to use that generic garden shit. it took decades to crawl to a point where we legally didn't have to depend on it. i'm never going back to the dark ages.

Patience.

This is a learning process for me. I've never done a day of gardening in my life. The most 'gardening' I've ever done was putting a single bag seed into a plant pot full of MIRACLE GRO when I was 15 (without germinating) and thinking for some reason that that thing was gonna sprout there in the dark of my closet.

Once I get a knack for this and I get my feet moving a little bit quicker I'll move up to making a LEGITIMATE coots mix, and then once I get the hang of that I'll move onto my ultimate goal: super soil amended with aerated compost tea.

Baby steps.

 

[bluter]

I never threw out the bags, lol.

& yes, both bags are Golfgreen. Here are the ingredients:

Flower and veg - compost, peat moss, humus, sand, mycorrhizae (in that order),

Compost w/worm castings - compost, worm castings, peat moss (in that order).

And yeah, I've heard of Ocean Forest. Everyone seems to use it. My hydro shop doesn't carry it anymore. A bit overpriced imho. $80 for a bag of it on Amazon and there's less material than what I paid $15 for at the dept. store (42L to 50L).

That's a cool article, I don't think she's on here anymore though. That was from four years ago.

Patience.

This is a learning process for me. I've never done a day of gardening in my life. The most 'gardening' I've ever done was putting a single bag seed into a plant pot full of MIRACLE GRO when I was 15 (without germinating) and thinking for some reason that that thing was gonna sprout there in the dark of my closet.

Once I get a knack for this and I get my feet moving a little bit quicker I'll move up to making a LEGITIMATE coots mix, and then once I get the hang of that I'll move onto my ultimate goal: super soil amended with aerated compost tea.

Baby steps.

in the meantime read everything you can. you can copy any one of thousands of successful grow journals right here and avoid all the heartache of starting with junk.

copy and paste what has previously worked before jumping with no knowledge or parachute.

the best advice anyone could give you is don't start with garbage. your choices to this point have nothing but trouble ahead so far.

 

[MarsBarz]

in the meantime read everything you can. you can copy any one of thousands of successful grow journals right here and avoid all the heartache of starting with junk.

copy and paste what has previously worked before jumping with no knowledge or parachute.

the best advice anyone could give you is don't start with garbage. your choices to this point have nothing but trouble ahead so far.

I appreciate the advice. Unfortunately, I am starting with garbage, I'm using those CKS, remember?

These seeds aren't popping. I'm gonna throw them out and pull out the other pack and use the paper towel method you suggested (I might as well). I'm not holding any faith that these things will do much for me, besides give me a feel for this tent set up.

 

[SmokingWings]

& yes, both bags are Golfgreen. Here are the ingredients:

No Perlite mentioned so my suggestion is still to make yourself a new blend using 40% of each Golfgreen mix and 20% Perlite. Measure it out so you can repeat the ratio later if you want. Put a seed in and see what happens. When a plant starts growing do not push it. Just let it grow and shortly after it is sexually mature put the pot and plant under a flowering light schedule. While you are waiting for that plant to get to harvest you can start the next plant outside.

in the meantime read everything you can.

Yep, what bluter mentions. Read everything you can get, not just here but other websites. Some newspapers have weekly articles on indoor and outdoor gardening basics

If the soil interests you take a look at articles on basic potting soil mixes. Just about every one of them starts off with the same formula of 1/3 each of compost/humus and Perlite and peat moss---even the super soil mixes from Coot or SubCool have similar starts to their mix.

Do not worry about adding any and all the amendments people talk about. Start off with the basics while learning what the nutrients would contribute.

I've never done a day of gardening in my life.

Time to start. Gardening is supposed to be good for relaxation and as a form of exercise. Buy a package of Radish seeds if you like those things. Plant some of those seeds. The Radish prefers cools soil and weather like we get in the spring. Get another vegetable and try growing that as summer comes along. How about a houseplant?

 

[Keffka]

I never threw out the bags, lol.

& yes, both bags are Golfgreen. Here are the ingredients:

Flower and veg - compost, peat moss, humus, sand, mycorrhizae (in that order),

Compost w/worm castings - compost, worm castings, peat moss (in that order).

And yeah, I've heard of Ocean Forest. Everyone seems to use it. My hydro shop doesn't carry it anymore. A bit overpriced imho. $80 for a bag of it on Amazon and there's less material than what I paid $15 for at the dept. store (42L to 50L).

That's a cool article, I don't think she's on here anymore though. That was from four years ago.

Patience.

This is a learning process for me. I've never done a day of gardening in my life. The most 'gardening' I've ever done was putting a single bag seed into a plant pot full of MIRACLE GRO when I was 15 (without germinating) and thinking for some reason that that thing was gonna sprout there in the dark of my closet.

Once I get a knack for this and I get my feet moving a little bit quicker I'll move up to making a LEGITIMATE coots mix, and then once I get the hang of that I'll move onto my ultimate goal: super soil amended with aerated compost tea.

Baby steps.

You can buy perlite stupid cheap if you’re willing to buy larger amounts for 30$+

I get about 4 cu ft of it for 38$ on Amazon

It’d be very beneficial to do a bit more reading about organic growing. Using a super soil and a compost tea is extreme overkill. Compost teas have no business being added to thriving containers or beds. They’re meant to deliver microbes to areas devoid of life and fertility. Throwing a tea in a fertile, alive environment is resetting your balance and throwing money down the drain. If you’d like a list of books or resources I’d be happy to give them to you.

Super soil is also extreme overkill. Seriously you don’t need anything more than some good compost and a few basic amendments like all purpose 4-4-4 and you can grow just as good if not better quality than a super soil you fiddle with endlessly

 

[Keffka]

If you want to grow great organic weed, fruits, and veggies, learn to compost or vermicompost. Everything else is unnecessary fluff not worth the time or money. People in apartments can worm bin compost with 18”x18” of space, so small spaces aren’t a deal breaker, only the growers attitude and motivation

 

[MarsBarz]

You can buy perlite stupid cheap if you’re willing to buy larger amounts for 30$+

I get about 4 cu ft of it for 38$ on Amazon

It’d be very beneficial to do a bit more reading about organic growing. Using a super soil and a compost tea is extreme overkill. Compost teas have no business being added to thriving containers or beds. They’re meant to deliver microbes to areas devoid of life and fertility. Throwing a tea in a fertile, alive environment is resetting your balance and throwing money down the drain. If you’d like a list of books or resources I’d be happy to give them to you.

Super soil is also extreme overkill. Seriously you don’t need anything more than some good compost and a few basic amendments like all purpose 4-4-4 and you can grow just as good if not better quality than a super soil you fiddle with endlessly

Agreed.

I have been doing some research, I'm interested in the following soil recipe (recipe 2 specifically). Can I get away with using sphagnum instead of coco? And instead of compost, can I do earthworm castings instead? Or is compost a must for this? Perhaps maybe, half compost, half earthworm castings?

Cannabis Seeds for Sale since 2003 | Seedsman UK

Cannabis seeds available right now from Seedsman UK. Buy medical, feminized and auto-flowering seeds from world-class breeders with fast UK-wide postage and free seeds with every order. Explore the world's biggest seed supermarket.

www.seedsman.com

That is the ideal soil substrate I'd like to begin using once I've gotten my feet a little bit wetter in this craft. I'd like to supplement the plants with Alaska fish fertilizer in veg and then supplement with Gaia Green power bloom once flipped to flower.

 

[MarsBarz]

No Perlite mentioned so my suggestion is still to make yourself a new blend using 40% of each Golfgreen mix and 20% Perlite. Measure it out so you can repeat the ratio later if you want. Put a seed in and see what happens. When a plant starts growing do not push it. Just let it grow and shortly after it is sexually mature put the pot and plant under a flowering light schedule. While you are waiting for that plant to get to harvest you can start the next plant outside.


Yep, what bluter mentions. Read everything you can get, not just here but other websites. Some newspapers have weekly articles on indoor and outdoor gardening basics

If the soil interests you take a look at articles on basic potting soil mixes. Just about every one of them starts off with the same formula of 1/3 each of compost/humus and Perlite and peat moss---even the super soil mixes from Coot or SubCool have similar starts to their mix.

Do not worry about adding any and all the amendments people talk about. Start off with the basics while learning what the nutrients would contribute.


Time to start. Gardening is supposed to be good for relaxation and as a form of exercise. Buy a package of Radish seeds if you like those things. Plant some of those seeds. The Radish prefers cools soil and weather like we get in the spring. Get another vegetable and try growing that as summer comes along. How about a houseplant?

Too late, I already mixed all three bags together LMAO.

It honestly doesn't look too bad? That bag of perlite I bought was huge. I was only going to buy 20L but all they had was the 25L bag. Soil looks on par for what most pots look like, I'll upload a photo in a bit.

I think I'll take your advice and try to get some houseplants. Might need some lights for that though, the place I live isn't situated where a lot of light reaches the place.

 

[bluter]

the subcool recipe is only one in that link with enough to get you to finish if you plan on a water only grow. the first two will have trouble. you'll need a couple months to cook the subcool recipe.

 

[Keffka]

Ok so we’ve arrived at the point in this topic where some thinking needs to be done.

I could lay it all out super simple Barney style but that won’t help you. All you’ll learn is how to follow a recipe which won’t help you when environmental conditions come into play.

You’ve gotta decide whether you want to go all in and pickup all of the amendments and build soils and spend years fine tuning the soil with many, many headaches. This is a labor intensive process that has a large startup cost and requires considerable physical effort on your part. Or go the compost route and learn how to compost and let nature do all your work for you. Cooking super soil recipes is literally composting, so you’re already halfway in the door.

Now, I know you’re itching to get going, but take a pause for a moment. The subcool recipe is going to take a few months just to cook it (which is really just accelerated composting). So if you go all in, you’re still months away from germinating.

The second recipe will require a little cooking as well. It has a few inputs that require some decomposition. The first recipe is a basic starter recipe to get your foot in the door and learn how to grow the plant.

What my recommendation to you is, go with a super simple organic potting mix, some kelp meal, earthworm castings, and perlite. You can start growing right away while learning the plant. You can also use this time to build the subcool recipe if you want and let it cook.

I will reiterate this again though. Consider composting or worm composting. You can feed all of your amendments to your worms and they will give you castings that are worth their weight in gold. All you’ll have to do is mix them with some used soil and perlite and you’ll grow high quality cannabis.

 

[Keffka]

Agreed.

I have been doing some research, I'm interested in the following soil recipe (recipe 2 specifically). Can I get away with using sphagnum instead of coco? And instead of compost, can I do earthworm castings instead? Or is compost a must for this? Perhaps maybe, half compost, half earthworm castings?

Cannabis Seeds for Sale since 2003 | Seedsman UK

Cannabis seeds available right now from Seedsman UK. Buy medical, feminized and auto-flowering seeds from world-class breeders with fast UK-wide postage and free seeds with every order. Explore the world's biggest seed supermarket.

www.seedsman.com

That is the ideal soil substrate I'd like to begin using once I've gotten my feet a little bit wetter in this craft. I'd like to supplement the plants with Alaska fish fertilizer in veg and then supplement with Gaia Green power bloom once flipped to flower.

You can switch out compost for EWC and vice versa. You could use sphagnum instead of coco but I’d recommend still having some coco for the carbon.

Take that article with a grain of salt. They mentioned a few things that were outright incorrect such as adding myco to your soil mix to get it teeming with fungal life. Myco doesn’t active for our plants until it comes in contact with live roots, so adding it ahead of time or anywhere other than live roots doesn’t do anything.

 

[bluter]

Ok so we’ve arrived at the point in this topic where some thinking needs to be done.

I could lay it all out super simple Barney style but that won’t help you. All you’ll learn is how to follow a recipe which won’t help you when environmental conditions come into play.

You’ve gotta decide whether you want to go all in and pickup all of the amendments and build soils and spend years fine tuning the soil with many, many headaches. This is a labor intensive process that has a large startup cost and requires considerable physical effort on your part. Or go the compost route and learn how to compost and let nature do all your work for you. Cooking super soil recipes is literally composting, so you’re already halfway in the door.

Now, I know you’re itching to get going, but take a pause for a moment. The subcool recipe is going to take a few months just to cook it (which is really just accelerated composting). So if you go all in, you’re still months away from germinating.

The second recipe will require a little cooking as well. It has a few inputs that require some decomposition. The first recipe is a basic starter recipe to get your foot in the door and learn how to grow the plant.

What my recommendation to you is, go with a super simple organic potting mix, some kelp meal, earthworm castings, and perlite. You can start growing right away while learning the plant. You can also use this time to build the subcool recipe if you want and let it cook.

I will reiterate this again though. Consider composting or worm composting. You can feed all of your amendments to your worms and they will give you castings that are worth their weight in gold. All you’ll have to do is mix them with some used soil and perlite and you’ll grow high quality cannabis.

good advice from @Keffka

 

[MarsBarz]

the subcool recipe is only one in that link with enough to get you to finish if you plan on a water only grow. the first two will have trouble. you'll need a couple months to cook the subcool recipe.

I want trouble, that's the only way I'm going to learn how to fix and/or amend issues as they arise.

I want to do a water only grow, but I don't feel like I'm ready to go that route (not yet anyway).

Ok so we’ve arrived at the point in this topic where some thinking needs to be done.

I could lay it all out super simple Barney style but that won’t help you. All you’ll learn is how to follow a recipe which won’t help you when environmental conditions come into play.

You’ve gotta decide whether you want to go all in and pickup all of the amendments and build soils and spend years fine tuning the soil with many, many headaches. This is a labor intensive process that has a large startup cost and requires considerable physical effort on your part. Or go the compost route and learn how to compost and let nature do all your work for you. Cooking super soil recipes is literally composting, so you’re already halfway in the door.

Now, I know you’re itching to get going, but take a pause for a moment. The subcool recipe is going to take a few months just to cook it (which is really just accelerated composting). So if you go all in, you’re still months away from germinating.

The second recipe will require a little cooking as well. It has a few inputs that require some decomposition. The first recipe is a basic starter recipe to get your foot in the door and learn how to grow the plant.

What my recommendation to you is, go with a super simple organic potting mix, some kelp meal, earthworm castings, and perlite. You can start growing right away while learning the plant. You can also use this time to build the subcool recipe if you want and let it cook.

I will reiterate this again though. Consider composting or worm composting. You can feed all of your amendments to your worms and they will give you castings that are worth their weight in gold. All you’ll have to do is mix them with some used soil and perlite and you’ll grow high quality cannabis.

I don't have the space to do composting. I've watched videos of it being done on YouTube (mixing old grass clippings with sawdust, etc.) and seeing the steam from the microbial breakdown looks awesome. But again, I don't have the space to do that where I currently live.

For that second recipe, the reason I asked if ewc can be substituted for the compost is because ewc are easier to come by than compost. I can get free compost from the city where I live, but I'm not sure if it's 'organic' and I don't know if they have any left. Again, worm castings easier to acquire.

I guess I could opt to do the first recipe, but adding ewc to store bought soil just doesn't feel right. Idk.

 

[bluter]

have you considered another method ? coco, dwc, sips , etc.
there are some cheap and easy methods you can access.

 

[Keffka]

I want trouble, that's the only way I'm going to learn how to fix and/or amend issues as they arise.

I want to do a water only grow, but I don't feel like I'm ready to go that route (not yet anyway).

I don't have the space to do composting. I've watched videos of it being done on YouTube (mixing old grass clippings with sawdust, etc.) and seeing the steam from the microbial breakdown looks awesome. But again, I don't have the space to do that where I currently live.

For that second recipe, the reason I asked if ewc can be substituted for the compost is because ewc are easier to come by than compost. I can get free compost from the city where I live, but I'm not sure if it's 'organic' and I don't know if they have any left. Again, worm castings easier to acquire.

I guess I could opt to do the first recipe, but adding ewc to store bought soil just doesn't feel right. Idk.

If you have a corner you have space to worm compost. My worm composting bin is 18”x18”. Five 5 gallon bins that stack on top of one another, when all bins are full it’s about 4 feet tall.

@bluter brings up a good point. There are other methods that may suit your environment better. Organic is really tough to do halfway. If you’re really insistent and aren’t going to compost then you may want to look at @GeoFlora Nutrients You can run an organic grow in any medium and you don’t need to spend time or space mixing stuff up.

 

[MarsBarz]

have you considered another method ? coco, dwc, sips , etc.
there are some cheap and easy methods you can access.

I've considered coco. Nutes could get kind of expensive?

If you have a corner you have space to worm compost. My worm composting bin is 18”x18”. Five 5 gallon bins that stack on top of one another, when all bins are full it’s about 4 feet tall.

@bluter brings up a good point. There are other methods that may suit your environment better. Organic is really tough to do halfway. If you’re really insistent and aren’t going to compost then you may want to look at @GeoFlora Nutrients You can run an organic grow in any medium and you don’t need to spend time or space mixing stuff up.

What's the issue with the second soil mix in that list I linked? As long as I use ewc from the hydro store I should be good, right? Having access to my own compost is preferable, but can't I get away with supplementing the 'compost' part with the ewc, at least until my own compost is ready to use?

Just outta curiosity, once your ewc are ready to use, how do you get them without harming the worms? lol

I'd presume you wouldn't be able to use a shovel without risk of injuring/slicing the worm in half

 

[Keffka]

What's the issue with the second soil mix in that list I linked? As long as I use ewc from the hydro store I should be good, right? Having access to my own compost is preferable, but can't I get away with supplementing the 'compost' part with the ewc, at least until my own compost is ready to use?

No issue that I saw aside from a light cooking process, perhaps 30 days. Also yes, you can almost always substitute EWC for compost. One of the big things we want from compost and EWC is the beneficial life it brings in. Both bring it in effectively.

Just outta curiosity, once your ewc are ready to use, how do you get them without harming the worms? lol

I'd presume you wouldn't be able to use a shovel without risk of injuring/slicing the worm in half

I have a worm bin called the vermihut. Each drawer has a bottom that has a hash grid as seen here

That keeps all the materials in while letting the worms move from bin to bin. When one bin is done you place the next one on top. The worms will migrate into the next bin and you’ll be left with a bin full of castings. They reproduce so fast you can even throw worms into your containers for extra oomph. Here’s what it looks like

 

[Keffka]

I feed my worms all of my amendments and any trim or leftover plants and plant matter I have. This cuts down on waste while improving the casting quality.