I hear ya. I moved cross country a couple years ago. Botanicare is pretty good stuff. Take a look at Mother Earth liquid organics. You should be able to get the Grow and Bloom for about $40-50 total for the quart size. That's enough to get you thru a grow and see how you like it. They carry it at Ace Hardware here so should pretty easy to find.
If you already have fish emulsion then maybe consider Roots Organics HPK (seabird guano/rock phosphate/langbeinite) also. It's under $20/quart. It's an easy to use combo and adaptable. A simple 2:1 ratio. For veg - a full dose of Alaska + 1/2 dose HPK. For bloom just flip it. A full dose of HPK + 1/2 dose of Alaska. Last couple weeks only HPK to finish.
One thing to keep in mind if you are growing organically is the importance of a microbial inoculant. Fox Farm Microbe Brew is an inexpensive option. It has worn castings micronutrients along with beneficial microbes.

RootFarmer said:

I hear ya. I moved cross country a couple years ago. Botanicare is pretty good stuff. Take a look at Mother Earth liquid organics. You should be able to get the Grow and Bloom for about $40-50 total for the quart size. That's enough to get you thru a grow and see how you like it. They carry it at Ace Hardware here so should pretty easy to find.
If you already have fish emulsion then maybe consider Roots Organics HPK (seabird guano/rock phosphate/langbeinite) also. It's under $20/quart. It's an easy to use combo and adaptable. A simple 2:1 ratio. For veg - a full dose of Alaska + 1/2 dose HPK. For bloom just flip it. A full dose of HPK + 1/2 dose of Alaska. Last couple weeks only HPK to finish.
One thing to keep in mind if you are growing organically is the importance of a microbial inoculant. Fox Farm Microbe Brew is an inexpensive option. It has worn castings micronutrients along with beneficial microbes.

Click to expand...

I’ll check it all out this weekend and see how it all looks, I really appreciate all the help man. I used a mycorrhizae from Mykos in my initial soil mix so that should be good to keep going with the feeding along with the FFOF having the worm castings. Do you think I’ll need more castings or should what’s in the soil be sufficient? Sorry to keep asking so many questions but I’m trying to save myself the heartbreak of killing one of the girls. Also, do you have an organic pest control you would recommend? Nothing crazy but I saw one singular fungus gnat the other day in the same room, not in the tent, and just wanna make sure I keep them out of them.

Mykos is a decent product and should do fine. More worm castings isn't absolutely necessary. More wouldn't hurt your plants. Not high in NPK but adds some microbial diversity, digestive enzymes, improves soil structure, etc. It adds a nice earthy flavor to weed also. With organics, microbes are key. Bacteria to decompose and fungi to feed the plants. Microbes also play a role in plant protection. They can produce antibiotics and fight pathogens.

First line of defense for fungus gnsts is letting your soil dry out enough. They like soil that stays wet. To treat for fungus gnats you could use a BT product, insecticidal soaps, diatomaceous earth, neem oil to name a few. Chances are that you have more than one. There are probably others you haven't seen yet. If you're active in the garden they will just fly off somewhere nereby....walls, tent poles, the sides of the pots, in the soil. Around here in the rainy PNW they are everywhere. They never go away I just try to keep them under control. I've never had any plant issues related to them so I usually don't sweat it much. Neem only repels them for awhile but they will come back. I inoculate with BT regularly. Even though I have an endless supply of them above ground, I can at least control their reproduction cycle below ground.

BudNotBuddy said:

I’ll check it all out this weekend and see how it all looks, I really appreciate all the help man. I used a mycorrhizae from Mykos in my initial soil mix so that should be good to keep going with the feeding along with the FFOF having the worm castings. Do you think I’ll need more castings or should what’s in the soil be sufficient? Sorry to keep asking so many questions but I’m trying to save myself the heartbreak of killing one of the girls. Also, do you have an organic pest control you would recommend? Nothing crazy but I saw one singular fungus gnat the other day in the same room, not in the tent, and just wanna make sure I keep them out of them.

Click to expand...

Dr Zymes is a great IPM it’s an insecticidal soap, I also use EM 5 from buildasoil in my rotation. I top dress with worm castings a couple times a grow. Great white and recharge are good sources of microbes as well as the worm castings. If you only saw one, don’t worry too much but start an ipm schedule to prevent an infestation. Fungus gnats are more of a nuisance but like said above allow solid dry backs so they don’t have a good breeding ground. Seems I get mine when using FFOF soil in my germinating process.

BudNotBuddy said:

I was thinking about trying out the botanicare pure blend tea, I’ve been hearing good things and again it doesn’t break the bank vs buying the supplies to make true compost tea. I’ve heard good things, but wondering if you have any experience with it? I’m balling on a budget as of recently after a cross country move so trying to find the best options for cost basis that aren’t just marketed junk.

Click to expand...

Compost tea is the way to go, you can get a cheap pump for less than $20, a bucket and then you just need a bag of castings to get a good a base and a sock for a tea bag. The thing with organics is the expense is mostly upfront but after your first run, the cost per grow is very low. I’m under $15 per run of 4 - 6 plants. You can reuse nearly everything

I mixed this up the other day with Gaia Green, DE and a few other things I had laying around. I'd like to try some of the other products. But it's only sold in small little bags. Can't buy any weight that I've seen. I was going to try Earth Dust then they went out of business. Looks like Dr. Earth may have some products in 22lb to 25lb bags... May have to check into that.

Blastfact said:

I mixed this up the other day with Gaia Green, DE and a few other things I had laying around. I'd like to try some of the other products. But it's only sold in small little bags. Can't buy any weight that I've seen. I was going to try Earth Dust then they went out of business. Looks like Dr. Earth may have some products in 22lb to 25lb bags... May have to check into that.

View attachment 2344639

Click to expand...

I buy the Dr. Earth 4lb bags at home depot or you can get it on amazon as well. They do have larger bags on amazon that I've seen. Can't say anything about the nutes yet as this is my first grow with them but so far no nute burn, plants look happy, and my Northern Lights is growing an inch a day at this point. The Quick One isn't getting any taller but its throwing pistils like its cool so I reckon they are halfway decent and most importantly for me organic and not gonna kill the good soil I built.

BudNotBuddy said:

I buy the Dr. Earth 4lb bags at home depot or you can get it on amazon as well. They do have larger bags on amazon that I've seen. Can't say anything about the nutes yet as this is my first grow with them but so far no nute burn, plants look happy, and my Northern Lights is growing an inch a day at this point. The Quick One isn't getting any taller but its throwing pistils like its cool so I reckon they are halfway decent and most importantly for me organic and not gonna kill the good soil I built.

Click to expand...

Your going to like it and enjoy a fine easy street grow life. I got a 22lb bag of Gaia Green 444 and 284 a couple of weeks ago. I'm set for the better part of two years now.

Blastfact said:

Your going to like it and enjoy a fine easy street grow life. I got a 22lb bag of Gaia Green 444 and 284 a couple of weeks ago. I'm set for the better part of two years now.

Click to expand...

I just did the same thing.

Interested said:

Hey man, this is some good info. The kinda stuff I need to know. I been doing some research on this type of stuff but it's a bit tough due to the fact there is so many different things on these forums you can read. It's actually really interesting to learn the ins and outs of soil.

So, I understand that a guy needs these microorganisms in the soil to produce the good stuff roots are looking for... and this comes from.. compost? Among other things.. Now, what I don't know is, where does a guy get some good compost? Store? Local farmer? Like I said before, I am very new, but very interested in learning this stuff.

Now about the "beanies".. is this something like the product called "recharge"? If so, I have actually used this stuff before without realizing what it even is. It's also available at a local store here. But maybe it's something completely different.

Thanks for the awesome info and hope to hear back from you

Click to expand...

Most microbes will be in the quality of SOIL u start with by adding DR earth along with molasses waterings that feed the microorganisms that are in DR earth I would top dress 1 teaspoon per gallon of soil 1 x a month and stop around mid flower with all top dressing and let the the plants senesce and eat themselves up. In turn keep your soil alive by feeding the soil not the plant