Newbie's First Grow: Need Reliable Potting Mix

Starting a small, medicinal grow and I need a simple, reliable, low-maintenance formula for potting soil. If I have to do work on the composition, I'd rather do it now. I'd prefer no changes in the potting mix seed to harvest. Just give it filtered water for first two weeks and, of course, again at flush (with nutes in-between) would be ideal.

I've heard great things here and elsewhere about Fox Farms Ocean Forest as the basic soil. Are there better formulations? Help me out with the ratios and/or presence of:

perlite
vermiculite
peat moss
humus
sand
bark
dolomite lime (pH control)
other,

or something simpler that I don't have to touch or add anything to. I understand that nobody needs twenty additives for a good potting mixture. I'm merely thinking out loud. Please, just potting mixes here. I'll cope with nutrients later.

Thanks for all the other soil threads which I have read (and enjoyed). Oh, the pH of my filtered water is 7.0 on the button. Can I leave it be?

Thank you for reading.

Go into Subcool's organic forum and find his recipe for super soil. You'll get what you need.

thalboy, thanks for the direction. I just finished the thread. Fascinating stuff, but a little beyond my level of horticultural understanding. Can someone break it down for a novice? Nobody hurl thunderbolts at me, but I'm not married to the idea of growing organic. In fact, I'm not even sure what it means.

Subcool's forum is a great resource and it's taught me a lot, but I'm conflicted about the things that people in his forum are in conflict over, e.g. Fox Farms - good or evil? Coir brick vs. peat moss - the final answer. I'm afraid I need simplification: a soil system clean and reliable that will function with a minimum of intervention on my part. And as I mentioned above, I'd love to use the same formulation from germination to harvest.

I have a general question about energy and indoor soil organics. 5lbs of bat guano (0 5 0) has 4oz of phosphorus. Intuitively, it seems that the plant would have to expend an enormous amount of energy to break guano down into phosphorus that was accessible to the plant and beneficial to the plant. I know I'm wrong since folks have been doing this with great results for decades. Without tossing me over to the organic forum, can someone straighten me out on my point of confusion? Thanks people.

Here's what you need (or at least what I use)

3 parts peat moss
5 parts top soil
2 parts perlite

Works great every time for me. Just make sure you don't get the cheapest top soil and also make sure the top soil you get isn't fertilized.

the fox farms ocean forest is a great mix, u might want to mix a small bag of fox farms light warrior to the OC though cuz it is hot soil meaning rich with nutes.
i however use black gold water hold with coco core, its only 10 dollors at fred myers for a huge bag and it is organic. i add 1 bag of perlite to it though cuz it holds water really well.

Ganjatopolis and mcpurple, thanks for taking the time to reply. Those answers were exactly what I needed: short, sweet and to point. On a good day I can only carry three or four facts in my good brain cell. That said, I can't afford to be cavalier = ). I read a guy's post from Holland (in Dutch - that helped) who took it from seed to transplant in Fox Farms Light Warrior and placed that (perhaps a quart) directly into Fox Farms Ocean Forest w/ perlite (3:1). He seemed pretty jazzed about it, but then again, I don't speak much Dutch. Oh well.

Again people, thanks.

that actully sounds really good what you just explained, i think that will be a good choice, or one of the ones i gave you. do you have a journal or any thing started yet, if u need any help with your grow just ask me and i wil help as much as possible

mcpurple, thanks a lot - that would be majorly helpful. I'm at the very beginning. My journal is basically a log of research from forums like this and an attempt to organize the informational clutter. Fortunately that kind of thing is something I'm pretty good at. I've got boxes of equipment arriving piecemeal stacked everywhere. My space is starting to look like I knocked over a truck on the Jersey Turnpike. I have an electrician coming out next week to help me not get ahead of myself and then I should be ready to get started. Cervantes' tome just arrived yesterday (not Don Quixote) but I've only read the first few pages. It's an easy read and I'd like to have it under my belt before I begin.

Again, thanks for the offer.

Sounds like some good advice ! i,m on my first grow and failed to research more detail into soil mixes.I used straight FFOF and wish now i atleast mix some perlite in it .It holds to much water right out of the bag . I<M gonna do FFOF mixed 60 / 40 with Light Warrior or Happy Frog next time along with some other organic fertilizers .

Yea, I'd be lost without this place. I like your username - big Jerry Stiller fan. Check out the remake of "Hairspray" if you haven't yet.