I live in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, lots of Mennonites with greenhouses. I can get 60lb bales of promix for $25, any thoughts on this growing medium
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On a side note I have a bit of chicken manure that is a few yrs old and I also have a woodstove
Is commonly used
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Nice, they get it by the pallet load, super cheap
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Definitely won’t need that much
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I think one bale should be plenty, lol, I think that’s why they can sell it for so cheap because they buy it in bulk, plus they use it as well, I wish I needed a pallets worth
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That would be amazing 
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Not all ProMix is the same. You’ll want to know the exact product name. Almost of them will work, but they need to be handled differently.
Think of ProMix like a hydroponic system. It comes with a little bit of nutrient content, but it’s so soluble you’ll end up with an inert medium after a few waterings.
So if you’re looking to use hydroponic nutrient fertigation, ProMix is great. If you expect it to work like soil, you’ll be disappointed.
Good price though. I think we’re seeing $50 per 3.8cuft bale at my agricultural supply place.
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Do you recommend adding say mushroom compost, chicken manure, straw etc
No. I recommend treating it as a hydroponic medium that needs to be fertigated less frequently. It’s a good deal if you need ProMix, but is it worth a failed grow because you want to fit a square peg in a round hole?
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I’m growing in ProMix HP with myco and bio. If possible set your grow medium up a month before use. Give yourself some time to grow your “soil-less” soil. This will also give you some time to regulate your ph. Adding amendments can make regulating nutrient uptake a bit of guess work in your flowering phase if your medium is still growing.
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I have some promix bx any thought on this version? Also is this only used in a hydroponic setup? I am trying to use this to create a living soil but I’m unsure it will work. Any specific nutrients that can be added?
I have the below that can be added to the mix:
Compost - outdoor compost pile
Lotus - Cal\Mag
Gia green - basalt rock dust
Roots organic - bat guano
Earth science - earthworm castings
Coast of maine - organic\natural growers mix (mycorrhizal fungi, kelp, fish bone and alfalfa meal, as
well as worm castings, peat, coir and lobster compost.)
Diatomaceous earth
Perlite
Any thoughts\suggestions are appreciated!
Adding @Myfriendis410 @Otis
This is for autos
I use ProMix HP. The HP has more perlite in it for better drainage. I use Jacks 321 nutrients, so I don’t have a “living soil”. But there are tons of recipes out there for peat based living soils.
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Doesnt have to be a living soil. Just looking for a really good soil option. The less maint the better.
Also have this
promix from the big box store would always give me problems. Letting it dry even a little bit would make it shrink and pull away from the sides of the pot. The next time you watered, the water would run off the top, down the sides and out the bottom. The center of the soil would be bone dry. When I dumped the soil after the harvest, I noticed that the roots grew straight down and wrapped around the sides of the container. There were no roots in the middle. This run I added some sand to the mix. One bag of washed play sand for each promix bag. Not only does it solve the problem of drainage, but I think it adds silica which is important for trichome production. I was thinking of using beach sand which is free. Our sand is full of iron, quartz, calcium, silica, and a host of micronutrients. Unfortunately, you would have to wash all the salt out and that could be a real task. As for amendments, I add 12lb bag worm castings, some Gaja Green, kelp meal and crab and lobster meal. Once it’s all mixed and put in seven-gallon pots it should be good for 90 days. Plenty of time for autos. It’s like a battery. If you use a small pot you will have to recharge it by top dressing. With good soil and the right timers and a little monitoring growing auto flowers can be automatic. I love growing MJ!