they dont sell foxfarm stuff where i am, and if they do i've never seen it.. but by looking online it is pretty expensive stuff! Seems to work pretty good because i've heard alot of people using it with good results.
My concern with it is first the cost, and second the weight. With outdoor plants, you want to make big holes. the bigger the better. I'd want at bare minimum a 5 gallon hole, 20 gallon prefered. That much foxfarm ocean would cost a pretty penny, and hauling it there would take a trip per plant, maybe 2 plants per trip if ur strong. Another thing is that ocean mix has crab and shrimp meal in it. Like i said i've never used it but my experience with animal based meal is that animals will dig like crazy to investigate the smell. I'd suggest leaving a bag of ocean mix out in ur plot for a couple weeks to see if anything rips the bag to shreds.
What I do is use promix, or peat moss bales. They come in compressed 3.8 cubic foot bales. If you can handle it, 1 bale will fit in a hockey bag and you can haul it on ur back. The promix bales are usually dry and stored inside, which makes it possible to haul a whole bale on ur back. The peat is more often left outside and can get heavy, so try to find the dry stuff.
1 bale will fill about 5 holes at 10 gallons each, more if you mix it with the existing soil. Then all I add is about half a bag of worm castings per hole and stir it into the top 12 inches. (about 5 litres per hole) you can also bring in some perlite which is super light to carry. Promix doesnt need any, but you can add some for extra drainage. ur holes will dry out sooner if you do. if you use just peatmoss (way cheaper) you want to add more perlite, around 20%, and a pinch of lime to balance the ph.
If you have the cash, you can add more castings. If not, like me, you can add an equal amount of composted cattle or sheep manure. The castings and manure will keep your plants happy with no need to feed for atleast the first month. After that you can start feeding with whatever fertilizer you choose to mix with ur water. Start with a half strenght dose, and a week later if everything looks strong and green, feed again at full strength.
Outdoor plants get pretty big, and when you feed them, alot of the nutes run off or get used by surrounding plants. Because of this, i tend to work my way up to 2 x strength feedings and sometimes greater. It all depends on the plants, just be careful and work up! |