Critique My Mix

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by Ancient3328, Aug 29, 2014.

  1. #1 Ancient3328, Aug 29, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2014
    Hey guys, so I was hoping I could get an honest, upfront criticism on my soil as I assume there are things I could change to benefit the most from my organic mix.
     
    My mix is as follows for 3 cubic feet of soil:
     
    7.5 gallons of Pro Mix BX with Mycorrhizae
    7.5 gallons of Coast of Maine EWC & Coast of Maine Lobster Compost & Cow Manure Compost (should I add more than this?)
    7.5 gallons of perlite/diotomaceus earth
    1 and a half cups dolomite lime, 1 cup calcium carbonate, 1 cup gypsum for a total of 3 cups liming ammendment (also wondering if I should increase this)
    3 cups kelp meal
    1 and a half cups alfalfa meal
    1 and a half cups neem meal
    1 and a half cups crab meal
    1 and a half cups dr earth organic fertilizer
    12 cups rock dust
     
    Also wondering if I should add any bat guano into the mix, thanks guys.

     
  2. Ancient3328
     
    You actually have 5 cups of liming amendments, i.e. 1x calcium carbonate, 1x gypsum, 1.5x dolomite lime, 1.5x crab meal which isn't excessive for 3 c.f. final potting soil. A bit more than some might use and perhaps less than what others might recommend.
     
    Looks good!
     
  3. Nice mix, if u have the bat guano add it but if u dont have it on hand i wouldnt worry about it
     
  4. #4 Ancient3328, Aug 29, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2014
    Ahh I see I see I had mistakenly thought crab meal to be a nutritional amendment...is there anything you would recommend adding? And also, I typically let my soil cook for 4 weeks, should I let it go to 5 as others I see on here do?
     
    Edit: Thanks man! I'm glad I've got a good mix going...changing out the humus component seems to have helped tremendously as I know EWC/Humus is one of the most important aspects of any soil.
     
  5.  
    You'll be in good shape either way - whatever works best as far as the schedule you're wanting to achieve.
     
    CC
     
  6. How long till I can add amendments to my compost it has about a month left to breakdown just a guess but it looks really good right now just want it to be a touch more composted before I use it but I need to add my amendments...

    Itty Bitty Canna Committee - "Our Cup Runneth Over".
     
  7.  
    [SIZE=12.222222328186px]How long till I can add amendments to my compost it has about a month left to breakdown[/SIZE]
     
    [SIZE=14.4444446563721px]I'd add them now. How old is it?[/SIZE]
     
    [SIZE=14.4444446563721px]j[/SIZE]
     
  8. From my experience, I would suggest you cut the amount of rock dust at least by 1/2, if not by 2/3, 4 to 6 cups max for 3cf.
     
    Aside from the crab meal, which I don't use due to the high cost of shipping, my 'liming amendments' are pretty much the same as yours. I use gypsum, but don't consider it for buffering, but as a Ca source. There has been some debate on this, but no matter, it is still worthwhile to use. I do use calcium carbonate in place of the crab meal, so the amounts are the same as yours.
     
    That being said, when I used those same amounts of dolo, gypsum, and Ca Carbonate plus 4 cups of rock dust/cf, the mix was entirely too heavy and dense, resulting in poor drainage and poor root development.
     
    I've since cut back to a light 2cups/cf of RD and will probably cut that down to closer to 1 cup. I just use it for the trace elements and don't feel the fungal hyphae (?), are all that particular what they attach to. :ey:
     
    Other than that, your mix looks excellent. BTW, I've used mix that has only cycled for 2 weeks with no problems. No need to wait for 5.
     
    Wet
     
  9. 3-4 months

    Itty Bitty Canna Committee - "Our Cup Runneth Over".
     

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