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Hey people , Well , I'm diving into something I'm totally ignorant of ! I have only grown in Coco and hydroponics . The closest I have gotten to plain ole soil is some Ocean Forrest added to my coco . I hope some of you have some experience with Pro Mix . The stuff I bought has peat , coco , perlite , limestone , and myco . I've read that it needs no Cal Mag. I really don't know much about Organic growing , if that's what this is. I normally use General Hydroponics , should I just stay with it ?
Comments
R
King's the man want to talk to about ProMix.
That is who I would ask for sure. He has some great photos up too
I started out in 2018 using Coco Loco, found the plants needed watering sometimes everyday near the later part of the grow, switched to ProMix a year ago just to try something different, less watering, but had better luck in coco. ProMix seems to pack a little more. Just posted a pic, NL is in coco, PH is mixed. Just my 2 cents
I use Coco Loco or Mother Earth Coco and I water 3 times a day with a simple autofeed. If I had a timer that operated in seconds I would water 5-7 times a day. Hydo needs water. I dont think King waters that much and he has some great grows with Promix
I’ve used Pro mix quite a few times, you probably could get by not adding in extra cal/mag but I always add a little bit when I use nutrients just to be safe.
And it should have enough nutrients for the first few weeks, so you shouldn’t need nothing but water till about week 3-4.
I should have asked this first but Are you wanting to do a pure organic run or are you wanting to use some synthetic nutrients too.
S
What are the Pros to growing organic , and what is your go to nutrients for Pro Mix ?
Organic growing is a lot harder than using synthetic nutrients. The only perk you’ll get is a better smell & taste with organic.
If your wanting a decent yield but are willing to sacrifice a little smell /taste in favor for it go with synthetic. It’ll still kick ass.
I personally would recommend coco coir over it all, just for ease of use, and less trouble than a true hydro setting like DWC.
C
Organic growin is my preferred way to grow. Your substrate will still be considered "hydroponic" with any mix that DOES NOT contain soil !!! Soilless is a term that can be used to describe any one of several ways plants can grow without soil. Hydroponics is also known as soilless gardening, which includes containers filled with water or other non-soil materials, such as gravel, sand, vermiculite, crushed rock, Styrofoam, cinders, expanded shale or haydite. Whatever substrate you use READ THE LABEL ! Promix has been limed and contains a starter charge of fert. that lasts about 3 weeks. You might want to go to the Buildasoil web site if you're wantin to learn organics. GL Here's a good article! PEACE
Soil vs Substrates: How One Difference Changes Everything
Plants evolved over 600 million years ago into a microbial world. Their roots extended into soils teeming with microbial life. As early civilizations evolved and started cultivating crops around 11,000 years ago, societies relied heavily on natural soil life to support their crop success. Healthy soils supported agriculture since the beginning. This remained relatively unchanged until the latter 19th century.
The primary function of any substrate (soil, peat, and coco) is to allow plants to anchor their roots and support lateral growth. Just in the last 50 years, modern farming practices have started readily adopting inert, soilless media such as coco and peat into their precision agriculture management practices.
The different properties between soil, peat, and coco substrates make a massive difference for plant growth. Let us start with quick definitions:
Soil
Soil is derived from mineral erosion and comprises five main constituents: minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms, gas, and water. The mineralogy and texture of soils across different geographies are diverse. Soil minerals are divided into three particulate classes: sand, silt, and clay. The percentages of these particles define soil texture. Soil texture significantly influences cation exchange (CEC), water holding capacity and water infiltration properties. In nature, microorganisms are abundant in soil and function to cycle the macro and micro-nutrients stored in soils, ultimately supporting plant nutrient uptake. As any old-school farmer will tell you, ‘you do not need to grow plants; you need to grow your soil’.
Both peat and coco substrates are referred to as soilless and inert growing media. Soilless media is simply used to retain moisture and provide plants with a place to anchor their roots. These types of substrates contain no nutrients and require intensive fertigation to support plant growth.
Peat substrate
Coir and perlite till I die.
S
Joshua ...... What are the Pros to growing organic , and What is your go to nutrients for Pro Mix ?
My go to nutrients for organic fertilizer are liquid fish 5-1-1 & 4-3-0, I also use seaweed powder from blue planet & for my cal mag I dissolve oyster shell flower in vinegar mixed with a little epsom salt.
for synthetic fertilizer I use GH Maxi bloom, GH Maxi Grow & blue planets powdered cal/mag.