I am wondering if anyone can tell me if I can get away with using the buildasoil potting soil version 3.0 with just DI water or RO water. I am planning on only adding recharge if possible to keep my costs to a bare minimum. My question restated: Can I use the buildasoil 3.0 with only water or should I add nutrient feedings every now and then? Is recharge every other watering enough to get me through with no other nutes?
I love listening to this show at the commercial cannabis grow I work at. Keep it up!
Really depends how long you veg and the rate of metabolism, but I would plan to topdress going into flower at least that one time. nothing wrong with running the whole grow as you were hoping then next time you’ll know when to expect deficiencies and you can dial in your feed economically.
With this style of gardening, having enough nutrition depends on the size of your plants and the size of your pots. If you plant in large enough pots, you should be fine.
Your soil is like a nutritional battery, if your plan is to make it all the way to harvest without adding more nutrients, you just have to make sure your “soil battery” is large enough to last that long.
I suggest something like 10-15 gal of soil per 2×2 area of canopy space. So like one 15 gal in a 2×2 tent, or 4x 15 gal pots in a 4×4 tent.
That’s a really rough rule of thumb, (that I literally just made up) but it should give you a ballpark idea of how to size your plants and pots.
Also, check out the “build a flower kit” from build a soil. It’s some flowering amendments mixed with compost that you can apply as a topdress in early flowering. I think it’s only $20 with free shipping for a small kit.
What I said about pot size still applies, but topdressing with something like that kit right as you go into flower can help cover any shortages that might come up. Kinda like topping off your soil batteries before you head into flower.
Spend the extra $20 to pick up a topdress kit and use it in early flower. It will help you rest easy knowing your plants have plenty of food to make it to harvest.
And pick up some mulch or cover crop seeds too! This style of gardening really relies on keeping your soil moist and full of life and mulch really helps with that! 🙂
I agree with Soup. I would spend the money on the craft blend as well for top dress and worms to keep life in the soil. If you use a 15 gal, you should be able to reuse over and over without taking out of the container. I highly suggest a cover crop too. That’s like $10-$15 and will last you many rounds. And the worms will stay alive with top dress and the die off of cover crop. It will probably cost you another $100 for everything but it will last you a while.