First Outdoor Grow

So, this will be my first outdoor grow, and I had a few questions
First off, essentially you outdoor growers just get a 5 gallon black bag, put some holes in the bottom, then dig like a 2ft by 2ft hole, then lay the bag inside there, correct?

My first question is what kind of soil should I use outdoors:
1. I know I can use the natural soil, add perlite/vermicule, add some bonemeal, etc, etc... But, If I were going to go the normal way of using natures soil, what should I add to it and how much per what?

2. If I went to a greenhouse and got just a bag of soil, or compost, nothing special, what would I need to do to it to make it premium for outdoor growing, (Perlite, etc..).

3. Since they're in black bags, should I let nature water it, or should I water it every week with nutes? What long time nutes can I put in there, and fertilizers?

Thanks!

bizzupmity

If you want a primo soil with all the fixings, check out the hydroponics stores on eBay or check online for a retail hydroponics outlet in your area. If not, you can mix your own. For my project I'm using the following mix:

Peat Moss, Perlite, Blood Meal, Worm Castings, and building sand.

The peat moss, perlite, and blood meal are available at Canadian Tire or other general garden center. The worm castings I bought online at high tech garden supply (google them.) The sand is industrial level so I got it from an old abandoned construction site near my spot.

You should place the seeds in the soil once the root has grown a 1/4" to a 1/2". Place the seed in the soil root down and gently pack the remaining soil around it.

Water it in with a good deal of distilled water. If you haven't already, invest in a pH meter. Ideal water should be a pH of 6.5-6.8. I use collected rain water with a pH of 6.5, however you should check the pH of your water before you use it as the pH of rain water varies by the living environment.

Get a small container to help propagate the roots or grab some rockwool cubes to start the plants out from seed (also available at your local garden center). When you are ready to transfer to your grow box, take the seedlings and place them in 4 liter pots (or relative size) and cover around the plant with soil.

There are nutrients in the blood meal (12-0-0) and depending on the particular numerical value, certain nutrients help out with certain stages of growth.

Marijuana uses up a great deal of nitrogen (N, or the '12' in blood meal) in its life cycle, so supplementing with a high-nitrogen fertilizer is a good idea. However, I recommend holding off on nutrient solutions until one month into plant growth.

Hope this helps.

Im highly aware of the specifics of growing marijuana, I have 6-8 plants already growing and Diesel Ryder's on their way, I was just curious to the specifics of outdoor soil, and how much of X per X, you know? How much worm castings, fert, etc...

Thanks!

Basically I'm looking for a good outdoor soil recipe, including how much fert to add and such. I'm aiming to do what browndirt did... plant the plants in bags... mix soil... add some fert/nutes, and only visit the site a few times in a few months (of course thats theoretical, will be more of course).

Thanks for your response

Anyone?

hmmm. I can give you two outdoor soil recipes, one is from Jorge Cervantes' DVD Ultimate Grow 2:

20% worm castings per 10 liter mix
20% perlite per 10 gallon mix
5% expanded clay pellets per 10 liter mix
5% mineral magic (substitute dolomitic lime)
5% Trichoderma (im not gonna lie, I have no idea what this is)
45% cocoa peat (or peat moss) per 10 liter mix

The other is from an older grow video I watched:

60% potting soil
15% perlite
10% building sand
10% Worm castings
5% premix (n-12 p-5 k-5)

I was reading the FAQ today and stumbled upon a couple more mixes for you:

Vic's Supersoil Recipe

1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings

Hope that helps.