Fox Farms Ocean Forest?

[twiasp]

Question.... are the stems on your plants purple also? Did it take them a while longer than expected to germinate? 
 
My plants have this "browning" or what I see as purple coloring on stems and leaves.  If yours are the same as mine (i'm using Happy Frog, with no smells or problems), try warming the soil up some.  This year under my lights I just used some panda cloth and put it on the counter with black side up to absorb heat.  My plants are still purple but they germinated much faster and seem happier.  Once they go outside the purple coloring goes away rather quickly. 
 
I also use clear solo cups because seeing the roots is fun, and helps me with not overwatering.  I only water when the top inch or so is dry, I don't want wet soil on the top since it just seems to cause gnats and other things to wanna come in. However, you should put those solo cups into some red ones or something to block the light from the roots/soil or you will probably develop algae problems within a few weeks.  I had heard this before and did a tester with a exposed clear cup this year and algae started growing after about 3 weeks.

 

[middie5]

I will be using Fox Farm this year and was wondering if people recommend using fertilizer with it when I transport young plants into it or if that would be too much nitrogen? Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

[mrgrowguy]

I use FFOF, been u sing it for years and years. However, it is very hot. I ran water through pure FFOF and measured the run-off (this was years ago), and it measured around 3400 ppm. I like my water/feed/run-off to be closer to 1500...
 
When I use FFOF now, I buy one full-sized bag of FFOF plus a 3.8cf bag of promix and mix the two togteher, straight up - one bag to one bag. This makes my soil light enough I can start seeds in it without any problems and I use nutes in almost every watering after, since I know my soil is light.
 
 
 
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[GhostPepperz]

I didnt even know about FFOF until today when I saw it in a greenhouse I went to for some new houseplants. I looked at the ingredient list and was like holy cow this is some good stuff! I am tempted to direct sow some gnarly hot pepper seeds in it just so see if it would work. My main peppers are outside and doing well this will be just for fun, and to see if I can start know and harvest indoors in the late fall or winter. 

 

[Genetikx]

Best season i ever had i used nothing but FFOF after germinating in paper towels, and kept them in it all the way until plant out. I can say from experience it's not too hot for seedlings.

 

[Edmick]

I love fox farms. If i didnt have so many potted plants i would use it for everything. Too expensive though.

 

[GhostPepperz]

Best season i ever had i used nothing but FFOF after germinating in paper towels, and kept them in it all the way until plant out. I can say from experience it's not too hot for seedlings.

 
 
Oh wow those look great. I was a little worried because of an earlier post mentioning how strong the soil is. I normally use paper towel method, but a friend of mine in Colorado who is a MJ grower says bleached paper towels are not the best. Then again that is for marijuana seeds, and he is very serious about seed to harvest. I have used the paper towel method before with no problems. In fact I just got done putting the pepper seeds in the paper towels with warm water.
 
 
So this will be fun I will be direct sowing super hot seeds from White Hot Peppers into Fox Farms Ocean Mix the first week of August 2017. They were given to me from Walchit who is another member of the board from Kansas not far from me. He has a good grow in his backyard going on with hot peppers and tomaters. 
 
So, im not some big experienced pepper grower (yet). I want to see how these peppers do in this premium soil mix not seeing outdoors until spring 2018. I will keep my loft at roughly 75-78 degrees this fall and winter and will have them in my windows until its super cold. The temp inside on the thermostat might say 78, but if next to a window you know its much cooler. I will look into some plant lights and move them into the middle of my place. Hopefully this mix will be good enough to feed them until spring when I will transplant them outside into 5 gallon bags of a custom mix. If money is good next spring, and the results are good with this soil mix I will spend the money on filling the 5 gallons with Fox Farms soil. The bag I bought today was 1.5 cubic feet. It was like $21-$22 before tax. I dont have a bad smell like one poster had. There is a smell, but to me it is a very organic rich aroma.
 
I aslo bought another bag to have enough to transplant some stuff I got from the greenhouse. Hen and Chicks, Basil, Persian Shield, Magnum Red Flame Impatiens, Dwarf Mondo Grass, Tokyo Sun, and a Palm. I got some begonias because they were ridiculously low on the sale price, but now im moving them out because they are toxic to dogs. 
 
 
Thanks for the feedback on this soil. Im sure there is a cheaper way to do it yourself, but with the entire list of ingredients they use it sure saves on time. 

 

[FreeportBum]

If using only FFOF it's a good idea to add 25-30% perlite. cheers 

 

[GhostPepperz]

This stuff is great for indoor plants. Working very well. 

 

[peppamang]

Question.... are the stems on your plants purple also? Did it take them a while longer than expected to germinate? 
 
My plants have this "browning" or what I see as purple coloring on stems and leaves.  If yours are the same as mine (i'm using Happy Frog, with no smells or problems), try warming the soil up some.  This year under my lights I just used some panda cloth and put it on the counter with black side up to absorb heat.  My plants are still purple but they germinated much faster and seem happier.  Once they go outside the purple coloring goes away rather quickly. 
 
I also use clear solo cups because seeing the roots is fun, and helps me with not overwatering.  I only water when the top inch or so is dry, I don't want wet soil on the top since it just seems to cause gnats and other things to wanna come in. However, you should put those solo cups into some red ones or something to block the light from the roots/soil or you will probably develop algae problems within a few weeks.  I had heard this before and did a tester with a exposed clear cup this year and algae started growing after about 3 weeks.

Purple stems are genetic, not from the mix. Reapers typically have purple stems. The purple coloring could also be from indoor lights giving off a broken spectrum and so the leaves adjust their coloring for maximum absorption of light. Good tip on the double cup though, I'll use that next year. 
 

I will be using Fox Farm this year and was wondering if people recommend using fertilizer with it when I transport young plants into it or if that would be too much nitrogen? Any info is greatly appreciated.

With organic sources of nitrogen there can't be "too much". Inorganic nitrogen salts can burn young plants, though. Honestly, they don't need it when they're super young, give them a coouple weeks or so to adjust to the soil and grow roots out. 
 

I use FFOF, been u sing it for years and years. However, it is very hot. I ran water through pure FFOF and measured the run-off (this was years ago), and it measured around 3400 ppm. I like my water/feed/run-off to be closer to 1500...
 
When I use FFOF now, I buy one full-sized bag of FFOF plus a 3.8cf bag of promix and mix the two togteher, straight up - one bag to one bag. This makes my soil light enough I can start seeds in it without any problems and I use nutes in almost every watering after, since I know my soil is light.
 
 
 
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I have the same problem with FFOF. It's why I didn't like it when I used it. Plus, it's so damn expensive. 

 

[Voodoo 6]

It is a bit on the expensive side, but ocean is my favorite soil. I usta use the Dr. Earth as well but they had some kind of funky problem one year and I was like eeekkk
 

 

[Sinn]

I'm using this stuff next season lots of good info in this post thanks all


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[GhostPepperz]

I'm using this stuff next season lots of good info in this post thanks all


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Im going to use it for some potted plants that will get the best care, but mix it for plants im putting in the ground. It is costly if you are planning on a large outdoor grow.