Dude, for real, it’s pretty friggin’ hard to “mess it up.” It is a weed, after all. I subscribe to the “less is more” style of growing and it’s never done me wrong. My last grow was the only one where, against my better judgment, I went,”Okay, I’m gonna go with buildasoil’s recommendations,” and it just turned my grow gnarly and disappointing. Never again. Usually, I just go with my instincts and it works out well. Just remember, if you think you need to add something, don’t haha.
As far as mulch, I usually use barley mulch, but this run I’m using a mix of some old barley I had sitting around and some bark mulch. This is the last time I’ll be using barley at all. Shit’s annoying, it’s not very heavy, my fans blow it around and I end up with a bunch of mulch scattered around my tent. I’m super-OCD when it comes to my grows, so having mulch blowing around my tent drives me fucking crazy. But you can use whatever. You could even use the perlite your mixing into your soil right on top of the dirt, like about two inches worth.
The reason you don’t want your dirt to dry out is the same as the reason you don’t want YOU to dry out. What would you rather do? Drink a shitload of water and then wait a few days to drink some more water? Or stay consistently hydrated? I water every other day and that’s fine. I’m not too too sure how you’re growing, but the way I grow, totally organic, the last thing you want is for your soil to be drying out. It’s best to keep everything consistent.
Regarding “feeding”: I don’t know what
Botanicare pro grow is. I grow completely organic and don’t really “feed” at all. Maybe just a sprouted seed tea and some fulvic acid here and there. But remember, all of these “weed growin’” companies are just trying to sell you more shit, so if nothing else, I’d maybe cut the application rates of what you’re using in half of the recommended. Even with the stuff I add to my water, I always go with about half of what the manufacturer recommends and my grows always turn out fucking stellar haha!