Soil Amendment Amounts

Hello, all. My name is Hagbone (not really lol) and this is my first time to post, but have been reading this site and gardening for a couple of years. A noob.....but a fairly successful one so far I am proud to say.

So I'm fascinated, and now addicted to the organics section. I've been growing in soil, but the lame way.....with Roots Organic instead of mixing my own. I was even super lame in the beginning and was using bottled nutes (FF trio). Now I've at least eliminated the bottles, and instead use bat guanos, and bone and blood meals. I pre-mix a little of those (all the above mentioned) in the soil, and then top dress with the guanos and every now and then, some gardening lime.

So now I want to step it up a notch. I want to use worm castings, kelp meal, alfalfa meal etc since you all speak so highly of them. I'm not quite ready to do a 100% DIY mix, so I'd like to remain lazy (for now....the time will come) and use Roots as my base.

So....my question: Does any one have any good ideas on a good way to amend Roots Organic with additional EW castings/compost (perhaps chicken or/and cow) alfalfa meal, kelp meal, bat guanos (or maybe not?), etc.

I'm sure I'm gonna use EW castings, compost, kelp meal, and alfalfa meal. Possibly the guanos, depending on your responses. And any other suggestions you feel are important. Also, I do plan to let the soil cook a few weeks too. Any help is appreciated.

Sorry if this has been asked before. I promise I did a search and found some info, but not exactly the info I am looking for. Any kind soul want to help a brotha out?

Any help? Anyone?

Are you talking about amending Roots soil, or mixing your own? I would recommend the latter, especially since you said you have time to let it cook.

Your getting close on your soil mix, look into neem meal.

Boro

Ah, neem meal. Yes, that one too if I can find it. All the other stuff I have. Heard lots of good stuff about neem meal but it seems hard to find where I live. I'll add it too the list and keep looking. Thanks for that!

I was talking about amending some Roots bc I have 3 large full bags of it. Wanted to use them up first, then move on to mixing my own 100%.

So for now....I have 3 large bags (1.75 cu ft, I think?) of Roots, a 30 lb bag of EW castings, 2 boxes of kelp meal (2.5 lbs each), one 20 lb bag of chicken compost, 2.5 lbs mex bat guano, 2.5 lbs Jamaican bat guano, 2.5 lbs Indonesian Bat Guano, and 5 lbs alfalfa meal. Oh, and garden lime.

So, what's the best way to mix all this with Roots? On my next grow, I plan to mix it all myself. But for now, I have these bags and I'd rather not waste them. I know Roots has many of these ingredients already so I figure a may not have to add too much with my amendments. Save that for my next grow which will be done 100% DIY mix.....

And thanks for your help bro! I'll keep looking for some neem meal. Just lemme know how to mix it. Thanks again!!
Hagbone

neemtreefarms . com as recommended by our resident neem expert LD
10 lbs for 25 shipped or 20lbs for 35 shipped thats where I got my mine good quick service.
for neem cake(meal) that is

The very best cold pressed neem & karanja meal/cake, and neem oil comes from India. Get it here - Neem, Neem Oil, Karanja Oil, Neem & Karanja products it is said that some of the neem trees from this place are 4,000 years old.

Not only is neem a perfect insecticide/anti-feedant, it is also a dynamic accumulator. It has deep tap roots that mine a wealth of elements and other compounds from the Earth.

Please keep in mind that many bat guanos are from very old caves where the guano has fossilized/mineralized. The guano is harvested and then ground into a powder for use. This said, fossilized guano can take a very long time to break down so that it is available for plant and microbe nutrition.

If you want advice as a newer organic gardener then use your ewc's, compost, kelp, alfalfa, but buy a bag of "blended organic fertilizer", such as is made by Epsoma, Dr. Earth or Down to Earth. The Epsoma ones are called either Plant Tone, Garden Tone or Tomato Tone. I'm not sure what the other brands are called. It doesn't matter too much which one you get - they are all similar. Using a blended general organic fertilizer will work very well for you and give you time to continue reading up on soil mixes.

Add around 2 cups of this blended fertilizer to your soil mix, per cubic foot (around 7 gallons). Add another half a cup each of your kelp and alfalfa meals.

You need to wet your mix thoroughly and then let it sit and nutrient cycle for a minimum of 2 weeks - 4 weeks is better.

Hth

J

Edited by jerry111165, 07 July 2012 - 11:46 AM.

You've seen what people use in their mixes. Just keep scoring those bits and ends every time you visit a garden center, feed store, or grow shop. Keep reading the stickies and make a thread once you've made a plan.

Wow! Jerry and Hap?? You guys are legends. Now I know I'm I good hands. But thank you ALL for your input. I'll get on the neem cake meal. Sounds like a lot of bang for the buck. Appreciated!

And thanks for the mixing amounts, Jerry. That was my next question but you nailed it. I'll look into some of those general plant/garden tone ferts as well.

I'll let y'all know how all is going, and will definitely be back on here for my next grow when I mix my own soil from scratch. You guys are the best! Happy Saturday to ya!

Oops....one more question. What's a good % of EW castings/compost to mix with the Roots? I notice that when y'all mix your own soil, it seems like 20-30% is a common #. Should I go less with the Roots since there is some EW castings, etc in there already? Or is about 20-30% OK with Roots too?

And by 20-30%.....that means in ADDITION to my cu ft, correct? As opposed to taking out 20-30% of my Roots Soil and REPLACING it w EW castings/compost, right? Sorry if that's a silly question. Lol.

You've seen what people use in their mixes. Just keep scoring those bits and ends every time you visit a garden center, feed store, or grow shop. Keep reading the stickies and make a thread once you've made a plan.

Listen to Hap, man.

I always listen to Hap my good man! Would be stupid not to, yes? So hey Hap....(or Jerry.....or any kind soul).....what's the best way, amount wise, to mix EWC/compost into some Roots Soil? What would a good estimate, percentage wise, to mix in w a 1.75 cu ft bag of Roots? 25% maybe? More? Less?

Don't wanna O.D. mah babies! Lol

But Jerry.... If you're literally implying to "listen to the Hap".....as in his last post that said to keep reading the stickies, and threads.....I PROMISE I have!! Definitely not trying to waste anyones' time. Swear on it!!

But.....I couldn't find the exact answer on how much EWC/compost to add to a bag of Roots Organic that already has some amendments in it. And I swear guys.....as soon as these 3 bags of Roots are done, I'm 100% going DIY made from scratch, pure organic soil. But I hate being wasteful....and I already have the bags so might as well...
So, in the meantime.....how much EWC/compost is good to add to a bag of Roots?

I'd add 15% if it was me, I usually do 20 but it already has some in it

Hey Pinkham! Thanks for the response. Yeah, that's what I was thinking......a little less bc of the original formula that has some already. Seems logical and wise.

Have you ever gone this route yourself? Not with Roots necessarily, but w any pre-made bag soil?

I've seen suggestions that liberal (even over-liberal) amounts of EWC/compost are OK, but yeah, I figure it's maybe better to play it safe in the beginning w the Roots, and add later as a top dressing....which I would have done anyways.

But....if any of you gurus think I should go nuts w it like I've heard before, then lemme know. Right now, I'm rolling w Pinkham's wisdom.....15%....maybe 20%. And Pinkham....I asked this earlier but here goes: that 15-20% EWC is IN ADDITION to my bag of Roots, right? As opposed to taking out 15-20% of Roots and REPLACING that amount w EWC? Yes?

The only pre made soil I've ever used was ffof and I only added perlite (was when I grew chemically) and pro mix which I add perlite and ammendments and yeah add 15-20% of your total volume so if you have say 4 cf of roots add like a half or 3/4cf of ewc.and yes it is hard to over do it with ewc, I just go with what feels right.

Nice man! Good info. That is what I'll do, my friend.

So are mixing your own soil now? If so, what's your input on the comparison between FF (amended) and 100% organic?

And heck, while we're at it.....you mentioned you did some chemical grows previously. What's your favorite style after having done the two different styles?

I started out with bottled nutes too and gotta admit.....the less bottled nutes I use, the more I like my product.

What's your take on this subject w your experiences?

Yep I'm mixing my own soils now, and I'm actually doing side by side comparison with three different strains, chemical vs organic...the organic plants are blowing the doors off chemical in size and health.not to mention alot less hassle and cheaper. After this grow I doubt I'll ever put another chemical into my soil to be honest I don't want to now haha but in order to be able to say how much better the organics is I gotta wait for both to bud out and smoke them. I plan on having my friends try them also without telling them which is chem and which is organic

Nice!!! The 'ol blind taste test. Good thinking. Keep me posted on the results even though I'm guessing we both probably know the outcome, yes? Lol

Well, that's re-assuring, bro. Glad to hear some reinforcement that I'm on the right path. Congrats as well, in choosing the same way to a nice, happy soul. Shit tastes good, don't it?!?? Lol.

Got a small harvest on Mon from a Roots Soil grow w some mild amendments. Looks great, tho! Keep me posted on your taste test results and I'll post you some pics in a week, or so of my finished greens *puff* *smile* *wave*

Sure thing, mine won't be done until october but once they are I'll def be posting pics, I'm sure the couple organic growers that have helped me learn the proper way to grow will wanna see my progress. Jerry has helped me way more then he needed to, without him I'd of been lost haha