"""here is more info from LumperDawgz "One last thought - I do not and would not ever use dolomite lime for a myriad of reasons but the main one being that it's a very poor 'liming agent' - limestone and oyster shell powder are pure Calcium Carbonate - it's the calcium (in its elemental form 'Ca') in dolomite lime that supposedly provides this magical pH adjuster - it does. But the calcium levels in dolomite lime are around 10% whereas limestone and oyster shell powder come in at 96% Calcium Carbonate and expressed in its elemental form, the calcium (Ca) comes in at 35%. If you think of Calcium as a mineral and NOT as a liming agent you'll be way ahead of the game. Calcium does, in fact, move a pH higher - but not as a chemical process per se. It has to do with the atomic weight of Calcium (Ca++) that adjusts the pH of a soil via the CeC (Cation Exchange Capacity) rather than an instant chemical reaction in moving the pH up or down."-LD """ crab shell meal has calcium? or whould oyster shells be better
I did the same recently with two of my 9 in my current run. They were root bound and starting to lock out so I got a bag of TGA base out of convenience and tossed in a few things. Since the base has no nutrients just innocullant I deemed it nessesary. They blew up after 3 days of xplant shock and are now springing from their problems. I now have healthy white roots in the bottom holes of the pot. But its only been 2 weeks and the ones in my cooked mix without bagged soil is way out performing them for sure.
LD could source both of those things locally, can you? It's oyster shell FLOUR. If it's not ground up that fine, it's pretty much useless as is chunks of crab shell or limestone for that matter. Here's the rub. Oyster shell flour cost ~$10-$12 for a 40lb bag, not bad. But the shipping on that 40lb bag runs in the neighborhood of $30. Not so hot if you don't live real close to the Pacific coast. Crab meal is similar, but more expensive. Dolomite cost ~$4/40lb bag. Calcitic limestone (which LD mentions if you re read the quote), cost ~$15 for a 40lb bag, both available at HD or Lowes. I have and use both. Your call, pick your price point. Wet
... To update. One of the three strains is showing signs of "burning". The soil is a bit on the hot side. The other two varieties seems to be doing well. My question is now witnessing these results.. will I burn in the next run if I recycle the soil. Or after 2 months will it have cycled properly. If I leave the soil as is should I still cook it a bit before planting? My full mix is now.. 1/3 peat 1/3 casting/humus 1/3 perlit = 3 cubic feet of base soil Kelp 2 cups Crab meal 1 cup Neem cake 1 cup Dry fert 1 cup Alfalfa 1 cup 3 cups dolomite lime 9 cups azomite 3 cups green sand That was cooked now 3ish weeks. I have been doing more reading around and found people using similar soil mixes as a base soil in a quarter to a half of lets say a 5 gal pot. Then filling the rest of th pot with base soil only. The concept is that the well rooted clone is transplanted into the base soil securing its rooted grasp. Then eventually rooting further down the pot into the "hot mix"(or super soil). supposedly allowing a more intense source of nutes as the plant matures. Kind of makes sense to me, not fully sure about it... ..let me elaborate. In the process of recycling this used soil with its uneven concentration as far as the top of the pot vs. the bottom, how do you go about this. If you are layering the hot stuff. Wont breaking an old root ball mix the layers together? So would you still use only in the base of a pot? Or would you mix and use without layering in later runs? Do you see my confusion? To backtrack that thought... Will this mix be suitable for planting directly into with rooted cuttings someday? Will recycling over and over mellow out and stop buring? ITG soil mix is on the hot side. Did I miss the part where he described how to do everything(ie. Layering and what not). I guess im still a noob. Tryin to get the concepts strait. Theres a few contradicting thought out there. For instance I always thought a healthy microbial soil would yeild green leaves till the end. Any thoughts all? -Shodan
Please note my new mix has more ingredients and with higher ratios(based on ITG's mix now). The lesser/orriginal mix I descibed is burning. Also had no cook time. Which is the basis of this thread. I used the mix strait for my transplants into flowering(no soil layering). Didnt quite know much about that layering for that particular run. Is layering or diluteing the soil mix necessary in most cases. How can I use this future mix properly? Any advice based on what has been discussed in this thead? Ill attach a pic of a nute burned leaf... Thanks all. -Shodan
If you have looked into EWC AACT's, I would brew one up and apply it to your mix. Don't remember what thread it was in, but user Microbeman suggested applying a simple EWC slurry (1c ewc to 1gal RO water I believe) in times of plant distress. May mellow out your problems. In my non-expert opinion, your soil should be tame by next cycle. The ratios for most of your mix seem spot-on, but personally I haven't ammended with dolomite nor azomite, have you ensured that amount is ok? Not sure if azomite contains nutrients, but dolomite in excess can cause some problems due to Mag. content. You're plants look to be chugging right along, with a few up-turned leaf tips. My last girls had that going on for a couple weeks during flower as well, spotted then yellowed 4-5 weeks in, but matured to a glorious finish. If all the ratios seem to be correct and everything seems to be in order other than some medium burn, you should be o.k. And the soil will not likely remain hostile the remainder of its existence.
Thanks for the reply. I am currently getting a brewer set up. I will be doing mostly ewc aact's. As you were mentioning. Azomite is my rock dust additive as a mineral amendment. According to ITG's easy soil mix thread, the ratios I used should be right. Any thoughts on the layering concept? -Shodan
I don't think layering of your soils is very necessary. Consider this, whilst your plants are growing (2-3months of flower), the microbes are working hard to 'cycle' that soil, without any inhibition from the roots. Having a plants roots in the soil will not make it cycle much differently, if anything it will be cycling more effectively do to the drying/watering. That being said, it would not make sense to layer a "hot" soil with a "cool" soil anyway, because then some roots will be incontact with the hot spots and regulated spots alike. So if anything, a blend of the two would be most desired, in my humble opinion. -Trik
This is what I was to understand. hot spots dont sound ideal. like I said there is a lot of contradicting info out there. wetdog, jerry... Any thoughts?. Anyone else have experience with these issues. How they were resolved, and the methodology behind it? Thanks -shodan
Hot spots are a problem for indoor container gardening not so much outdoors. Outdoor growers even tho using a lot of the same methods indoor guys do create hot spots inside deeper holes or do "spikes" but indoors these methods would screw everything up. Also the whole layering thing is filed under what is known around these threads as "stoner science" Keep it simple and don't soak up everything as usefull advice. You've asked the right guys that's for sure. I couldnt claim to know what I'm doing at all if it wasn't for LD,MM, jerry and the like ( sorry if I missed anyone) so heed there advice as well as strategically placed sarcasm. Just focus on getting your soil mixed and cooked and learn as you go.
Is there a way to make a mix that doesn't require cooking? I have organic nutes and liquid dolomite lime if that helps.
You seem to be missing the point here. Once you mix up your ingredients and add water, the microbes get to work and the cycling/cooking starts. It's not a question of required or not required, it's going to happen regardless. BTW, 'liquid' dolomite lime is pretty much useless for what you are planning. Get the powdered lime. Whatever is available in your area, dolomite or calcitic. Suggest reading this thread, lots of information and answers to your questions. Wet
I know that, I'm just looking for something that i could mix together and i could plant seedlings within a few days after making the mix as time is an issue at the moment. I'm running low on cash at the moment so yeah i only have liquid dolo lime. Cant i mix it in at start or just apply maintenance doses every 2-4 weeks?