Soil prep for first grow

going with soil for my very first grow. i’ve been reading a bunch and ordering supplies.

for the soil, i’ve narrowed down my mix ingredients to:

  • ff happy frog organic soil - 24 qts/6 gal
  • perlite (for aeration) - i’m thinking 1 gal
  • dolomite lime (as ph buffer) - going with the 1 oz lime/1 gal growing medium recommendation (7 oz)
  • food grade diatomaceous earth (figured it can’t hurt, plus might help with any bugs/larvae in the soil)
  • worm casings (for nutrition boost)

i still need to figure out and check some of the amounts based on the gallons of soil i’ll have. the one thing i don’t want to overdo are the worm casings, as i’ll also be using the ilgm beginners kit for nutes.

just thought i’d post this here in case anyone had thoughts or strong opinions on the mix/amounts (hoping to learn more). this is for a single plant grow to start, in a ~2’x4’x5’ tent. i’ll be sure to post what mix i end up going with once i get started growing. thanks!

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Welcome to the forum! I’ve never added de to my pots, but have used dolomite lime. Usually drop about a full tablespoon per gallon of pot size.

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I don’t feel that you need to add any of that to the happy frog, except the perlite. Happy frog does tend to pack down after a month or so, so another quart or so of perlite will help.

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thank you both for the info! i will adjust some of my mix from your advice; i’ll stick with the dolomite lime and add a bit more perlite. i might skip the de and will hold onto the worm casings either for any reuse of the soil or a small bit when feeding.

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(can’t edit, but forgot to add a link to my first grow journal, where i’ll be putting all of this to task: Arborist's first grow journal. the one difference from this post about soil prep is that i decided to go with dr earth 3-9-4 to mix in the bottom of my cloth pot once i transplant my seedling to her forever home. totally got that idea from purpngold in witchhouse’s awesome grow thread.)

Hi, I’m planning my first grow as well, and I’m leaning towards to using de for pest control as well. After obtaining my ffof soil, & hadn’t even planted yet, I noticed an increase of gnats, so I added the de (food grade) to the top of the soil in a large bucket, which took care of the problem. It’s useful for a lot of other stuff, I encourage you to read up on it. Good luck! :om::peace_symbol:

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thanks for sharing that info @St.0n3r! yeah de seems to have a lot of benefits. good luck on your grow too :v:

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