I have a question, I know it can be a pretty complicated answer but I am looking for a simple answer…what soil is recommended to start my seeds in, and once I transplant them from little cups to the final 5 gallon pot, what soil is recommended? If you can actually link to products that would be amazing! Thank you everyone.
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I have been using fox farm ocean forest. Some say it is hot meaning too much nutrients for a seedling however there are guys that do start with it. Fox farm has one called happy frog and lite warrior that are supposed to be good for seedlings. Pro mix is another brand that guys use.
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This will be my first grow, and they are autos…with that said I would like to not transplant. So if I start them in a 5 gallon smart pot, what would you guys suggest? You guys are awesome btw
After I germinate the seed I put her in Jiffy tabs, after I see the roots in bottom I put that Jiffy in dirt(seedling special or something not to hot…NPK 1.0 - 0.5 - 0.7 or something like that).
I start my plants in a seedling starter soil which contains some mycorrhizae to help root growth. Then I transplant into sunshine mix #4.
You can certainly put your seeds directly into the 5 gallon smart pots to avoid transplanting if you prefer.
There are all kinds of great soil mediums out there.
Where are you planning on purchasing your soil from? If you are planning on purchasing online we can give you some good recommendations but if you are buying local it would depend on what the local vendors sell.
@Jmesser80 ideally I would love to plant right in the 5 gallon to have no transplanting. I can purchase online (Amazon Prime Member) so that would be an avenue. I do have local stores here that sell FoxFarms as well. So please shoot me some recommendations on soil that I can just use the 5 gallon and nothing else. Thanks again!
@dmykins I personally have never used fox farms but many have with great success. I am also an Amazon prime memeber but I try and buy my soil locally so if your local grow shop has it I would go that route.
Personally if I were to use fox farms I would go with the Fox Farm Happy Frog if available locally.
The fox farm ocean forest has quite a bit of nutrients in it so I would prefer the happy frog as there would be less of a chance of it messing with your plants when they are young. BUT if all they have available is the ocean forest then that is certainly an option as many have used it through out there entire grows with no issues. Fox farms is definitely a good soil for growing cannabis whichever kind you were to get.
Sunshine mix #4 and promix are also great options as well if they have those in stock.
Just let us know which soil you decide to purchase and we can help you along to ensure you have a successful grow.
Also I forgot to mention that since you are growing autoflowers if you are growing indoors 3 gallon smart pots should be big enough (I would use 5 gallon of growing outdoors or growing a photo period plant)
You can certainly grow a autoflower in a 5 gallon as well indoors but from what I’ve read 3 gallon is a perfect size for an autoflower indoors. That way you will use less soil per plant saving you money. Just a thought. 
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@Jmesser80 thank you! Of the two you mentioned (promix and sunshine #4), is there a specific product of theirs that you would recommend to use since I am planting right in the final 5 gallon?
Thank you again!
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This is the sunshine mix #4 that I use. I like this mix because it is organic.
This is one of the promix types out there. Promix has a bunch of different types of soil to choose from but they all will work well.
Let me know if I can help further.
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This is what I use with flower power nutrients also used to Foxfarm nutrients have also used General hydroponics nutrients just have to pH between 5.5 and 6
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Perfect, I will see what is the easiest to get my hands on and let everyone know!
Thank you again!
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From doing some quick online research, it seems as FFHF is likely going to be the one I go with.
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@dmykins good choice.
Not sure how Involved you want to get with your grow but would like to mention that you get out what you put in.
That being said an important part of growing cannabis is monitoring the PH of your water and runoff. I would recommend purchasing a digital PH meter, they are inexpensive and can be a life saver. A lot of issues that arise growing cannabis can be prevented by maintaining proper PH througout your grow.
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I use Happy Frog from start to finish and I start in the pot I plan to finish in. As for nutes I use dyna gro grow and bloom but that’s going to be a preference choice by trying a couple of recommended nute brands then going with what you like. I like dyna gro cause its easy to use.
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@Jmesser80 is there a difference in checking the water runoff or checking the PH of the soil?
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I use bx start to finish
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Well I use Happy Frog, LOL.
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Good stuff but mine is twice as much for 1/2 the price I’ve used them they work but I like to save money with just as good if not better results
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That is a good question @dmykins. I think that would depend on the method you use to check the soil directly. They have probe meters that you stick in the soil to take a PH reading at the root zone but a lot of those types of meters aren’t very accurate. Don’t get me wrong there are some of those types of meters in the market that are accurate but usualy come at a premium. Checking the runoff allows you to use the same PH meter you would use to check your nutrient solution.
I believe it is also possible to take a small amount of the soil near the root zone and mix it with distilled water creating a slury solution and test that with your PH meter but I have never done that myself.
But to answer your question more bluntly checking the soil PH or the runoff is essentially the same thing.
Both are giving you a reading at the root zone.
Just to be safe maybe @Hogmaster can comment as well just to be sure I don’t give incorrect information.
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