FFOF and perlite ratio?

[Setting Sun]

I'm planning on doing a soil comparison just using FFOF against my current fave, Sunland Organic.

Sunland Organic mix does not need the addition of perlite or anything else to amend it or improve the drainage.

I see most growers who us FFOF add some perlite. I know people probably add different amounts, but what would be a reasonable amount to add?

Does anyone use FFOF straight and like it that way?

I don't want to dilute the nutrient package in FFOF and throw off my comparison, but at the same time, I want to use it the way it works best. If FFOF benefits from the addition of perlite and it doesn't affect its performance, that's how I want to test it.

I was thinking of mixing the FFOF about 4/1 with perlite, but didn't want to commit to anything before asking.

SS

 

[Hightide805]

4/1 works good, yea the ocean forest already has some perlite in it but i always add to it.

 

[Ms.Fox]

^ Agreed.

I do 3/1 when the soil has no perlite in it. ;-)

 

[Setting Sun]

Cool beans bros and broettes

4/1 it is.

thanks!


SS, off to the hydro shop

 

[Setting Sun]

Sooooooooo,

guy at the hydro shop tells me he no longer carries FFOF because their quality control took a dive and they shipped a bunch of bags with gnat eggs and some other bug I can't remember.

Said that Fox Farms had sent letters of apology to their distributors explaining their failure to sterilize properly.

Don't know what to make of all that.

He suggested that I get a bag of Roots Organic. I had already made the trip, so I came home with a bag of this stuff.

Anyone have any feedback on it?

I'm going to order a bag of FFOF online, so I can do what I started out to do, but now it's going to be a three-way, which should be more fun.

I gotta go out of town for business in a few days, so I can't start my next indoor grow until I get back.

Good thing I got my little greenhouse grow going or I would have to live vicariously through other grower's journals, lol.

SS

 

[Hightide805]

Sooooooooo,

guy at the hydro shop tells me he no longer carries FFOF because their quality control took a dive and they shipped a bunch of bags with gnat eggs and some other bug I can't remember.

thats some sad news... a lot of people use that soil... thanks for the heads up.

 

[Setting Sun]

thats some sad news... a lot of people use that soil... thanks for the heads up.

Well, I wouldn't make any judgments or take any action based on what the hydro shop dude said.

Even Ghandi had an agenda, lol.


He may just be trying to push Roots products out the door for all I know.

I been cruisin' lots of weed forums and I haven't heard any reports of gnats or bugs in FFOF.

I'll see if I can dig anything up anything factual versus hearsay.


ss

 

[Setting Sun]

Could not find any official release from Fox Farms apologizing for anything, but I did find *one* and only one out of many indoor grow journals where one guy had an aphid infestation right at the beginning of his grow with FFOF.

This is from Fox Farms website:

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Are your soils sterilized?

No, we don’t sterilize our soils because that would kill the very beneficial microbes which are critical in making nutrients available to plants. Your soil should be alive, not sterile! Our mixes contain beneficial fungi and micro-organisms that help plants become more disease resistant and grow healthy root systems. FoxFarm soils and fertilizers are specially formulated to build massive microbe populations."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So, they're probably going to ship some bugs occasionally with that policy.

Kudos to them that it only seems to happen very rarely, but when I get my bag, I think I'm going to open it, let it "cook" for a few days, and make sure it's OK. I like to do that with any soil I use anyway.

ss

 

[Hightide805]

yeah i did some looking and didn't find any reports on that, but is always good to keep your ears open, thanks ss

 

[Setting Sun]

probably no report yet cause this is new, need to wait to see what comes of it.
i havent used the roots myself but i know a few that do and love the stuff.

I couldn't find how they screen their product for bugs before they bag it, or what they do instead of steam/heat sterilization to ensure their product doesn't have bugs.

I would think it would be really difficult to prevent shipping bugs if all they're doing is combining ingredients, filling up bags, and shipping, but they don't say anything about it that I could find.

Thanks for the feedback on the Roots. I would have loved one of those 1.5 cubic foot cammo bags when I was a teenager living in the hills.

My folks weren't too hip, and I tried to grow all over the place outside, but never was able to finish a plant because of all the wildlife eating them.

thanks again man!,

ss

 

[Poke Smot]

parents always found my plant before it got a foot always in trouble

 

[westbud90]

i am currently using FFOF without any added perlite, and it seems to be working fine, check my grow!

 

[Setting Sun]

parents always found my plant before it got a foot always in trouble

LOL, my parents wouldn't have known it from any other weed, but too many critters in those hills.

ss

 

[Setting Sun]

i am currently using FFOF without any added perlite, and it seems to be working fine, check my grow!

Your plants are doing very well.

The reason I asked about the ratio of perlite is because I'm going to be comparing several different soils and in order for the comparison to be meaningful, I need to set the soils up the way most people are using them.

If I compared them all straight up, and most people are adding perlite to one or more of them, it wouldn't be a useful or fair comparison.

When I do this comparison, I don't expect that everyone will be happy with the setup, but I'll ask more questions and make it as fair as I can.

ss