Anyone used this?

IndooorGardnerOhio

Well-Known Member
So thanks to @Delps8 I ended up down a huge youtube rabbit hole watching videos from Dr. Bruce Bugbee and I was wondering if anyone has used the soil blend he uses in the research lab? This is what his video suggested in this video:

50% Peat
50% Vermiculite
Dolomitic Lime 40g per cubic foot
Gypsum 10 grams per cubic foot
20-10-20 NPK 0.6 grams per liter of water

20-10-20 NPK He says that this, in the lab setting, is the Ideal ratio but does not list a brand He just says "the blue one" but so I did some digging and with those exact numbers, I found Jacks Citrus Feed which looking at the nutrient break down seems like it would cover both Micro and Macro nutes. The Blue one is what threw me off because we all know if we have done any outside gardening for food plants that Miracle Gro is blue as hell. But when he shows his note book of fertlizers, Jacks is the first page in the book.


He also says to feed 0.6 grams 20-10-20 NPK Fert per liter of water at every watering. I mean since the dude has a PhD in Crop Physiology I am assuming he knows his shit and what works.

My question is this, I do not question if what he says works in a Lab Setting with the super tight controls that research labs have in place to Maxmize Cannabis Yields, But I am wondering, How well this system will work in a home setting where things happen, waterings sometimes are not always right on schedule, etc.

So has anyone Tried this exact Soil Blend in a Home setting using the "blue" fertlizer at the 20-10-20 Npk ratio and if so how did it work? Pics of a grow with this method would be a huge plus!

Bonus Question Are Peat and Peat Moss the same thing? Cause im having a hard time finding Just Peat they all say "peat moss" and some of them look very different from what he showed in the video.
 
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7CardBud

Well-Known Member
Dr. B is referring to peat/peat moss soilless mix. They can be made up many ways, from fine to coarse and from high to low drainage. The base is peat moss with about 5% by weight of crushed dolamite lime added as a pH buffer. Fine peat and vermiculite make a low drainage mix (often called a propagation mix), coarse peat and perlite make a high porosity mix(the more perlite, the more drainage) and medium peat with vermiculite and perlite make a general purpose mix. That being said, most people here use a mix in the general purpose to very high porosity range and most people buy the pre-mixed bales. Most will agree that cannabis likes a mix that doesn't stay soggy for too long.

The gypsum is added for the calcium, often not necessary because the nutrient solution and/or source water provides it.

The blue stuff is Jack's Peat Lite, it's a general production commercial fertilizer. Another example would be Masterblend 17-5-17.

I did a run using Dr. B's original mix and Jack's Tap 15-5-20 and it performed decent. I have had better results just using the commercial baled products.
 

Phytoplankton

Well-Known Member
You’ve got to remember that Bugbee’s work is with low THC (hemp) plants. While much of the work translates to higher THC plants, it’s not all inclusive..
 

IndooorGardnerOhio

Well-Known Member
You’ve got to remember that Bugbee’s work is with low THC (hemp) plants. While much of the work translates to higher THC plants, it’s not all inclusive..
True, but the nutrient requirements from what I can find research wise are pretty much Identical for all strains of Cannabis, Some strains may like a Touch more or less N, P, OR K but not enough more that they wouldnt grow at all with a stock nutrient solution. If you have research data that shows otherwise I would honestly love to see it, Might save me some money and headache lol
 

MtRainDog

Well-Known Member
This might be the greatest stuff on earth, but at the Price, this is most certianly NOT what I am looking for lol. I wish I could afford 45 bucks for a bag of soil, but I simply can not.
That’s just buffered peat moss and perlite. Perfect consistency. Just add your nutes. The price is for 3 cubic feet (23 gallons). Most bags of soil are sold as 1 cubic foot. I think the 1 cubic foot bags of pro-mix hp are around $15
 

Phytoplankton

Well-Known Member
True, but the nutrient requirements from what I can find research wise are pretty much Identical for all strains of Cannabis, Some strains may like a Touch more or less N, P, OR K but not enough more that they wouldnt grow at all with a stock nutrient solution. If you have research data that shows otherwise I would honestly love to see it, Might save me some money and headache lol
yes , and no, it really depends on what the hemp is bring grown for. If for seeds or CBD, then yes, if it’s for fiber, no.
 

leatherbackturtle420

Well-Known Member

Umm Where is it 15 bucks???
You need to buy it locally.
You simply can NOT buy promix online.

Its charged as freight shipping. Yes amazon says free shipping but anywhere else in store that bag is only 20 bucks at most, so they tag 25-30 dollars onto the original cost to make up for the 100s of dollars in freight shipping they were charged to get the stuff.

I buy 3.8 cu ft compressed bales at Ace Hardware for 50 bucks, and a compressed bale opens up into 7 cubic feet, so i buy the promix BX+ and add perlite. Which ends up being the same as promix HP, i just end up with like 10-12 cubic feet instead of 7.


I can get bales of promix online for like 30 dollars, but then they wanna charge me 100-200 dollars for shipping.

Support your local stores when it comes to this kinda stuff.
 
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7CardBud

Well-Known Member
All peat based products have jumped in price the last few years. The cheapest option will to be to find a local commercial agricultural supplier and hope they will sell small amounts retail. My local place is great. I have them load a palette with a mix of peat, perlite, ferts, calnit, and epsom. Then I swing in, pay cash and they drop it in my truck, without registering a commercial account.

Lowes now carries Sunshine #4 and if you haggle with a manager and agree to take damaged or wet bales they can knock 50% off the $35 retail price.
 

IndooorGardnerOhio

Well-Known Member
Can’t get everything online. Soil cost always has shipping built in. That bag at a local hydro store is under 20$
Did some looking, and I can order some of the stuff I had in my Amazon cart, from Lowes, have it Delievered, and still save about 22 bucks even with the delivery charge!! On top of that, I am going to get about 3 times the volume for 22 bucks cheaper! Thanks for the tip that got me looking!!! Still wish I had a Local hydro Store lol
 

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
Did some looking, and I can order some of the stuff I had in my Amazon cart, from Lowes, have it Delievered, and still save about 22 bucks even with the delivery charge!! On top of that, I am going to get about 3 times the volume for 22 bucks cheaper! Thanks for the tip that got me looking!!! Still wish I had a Local hydro Store lol
My bet
Inside six months there will be multitudes of grow stores
That’s the way it was when Michigan first went legal
Btw only buy the 3.8 cubic foot compressed bricks of pro-mix for the best value
 

IndooorGardnerOhio

Well-Known Member
All peat based products have jumped in price the last few years. The cheapest option will to be to find a local commercial agricultural supplier and hope they will sell small amounts retail. My local place is great. I have them load a palette with a mix of peat, perlite, ferts, calnit, and epsom. Then I swing in, pay cash and they drop it in my truck, without registering a commercial account.

Lowes now carries Sunshine #4 and if you haggle with a manager and agree to take damaged or wet bales they can knock 50% off the $35 retail price.
Thanks for the tip on Lowes, I can get all the stuff for the soilless mix im gonna run, 22 bucks cheaper and literally like 3 times the volume of product! 40lbs of the Gypsum for less than 1lb amazon!! 40lbs at lowes 6 bucks 1 lb on amazon 9.99!
 
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