need help w soil mix

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by inkyscratches, Oct 31, 2014.

  1. #1 inkyscratches, Oct 31, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 31, 2014
    okey dokey i got sent over here by the indoor growers so maybe yall can assist
      got some nice little seedlings coming up.  need soil to transplant indoors.   i live in the boonies with limited access and want to transplant soon so i'll tell ya what i've got and what i can get and maybe u can give me a recipe that i can use right away if not sooner. thx mucho
        what i got
    very sandy loamy outdoor garden soil
    black old cow manure in big piles outside
    worm castings bagged
    peat
    beats peat (neutral ph peat)
    lime
    kelp
    old black topsoil sealed in bags (lots)
    vermiculite (alot) and also what i believe to be pearlite (a gallon)
    epsom salts
    some organic liquid fish emulsion stuff
    \n   what i can get (cheap and quick)
    blood meal 
    bone meal
    general new potting soil
    phosphate something
    chemicals (no thanks)
    \nhope this isnt an outrageous request so whatever help u got i'm listenin

     
  2. Hi Inky!
     
    I'll take a stab at this to get the ball rolling... I'd do something like mix the outdoor soil, worm castings, and the old black topsoil pretty much equally. Then use that as 33% of your base, sphagnum peat 33%, and 33% vermiculite/perlite. To the base per cu ft I would add 1/2-1c kelp meal. 
     
    Can you source any of the following: crab meal, neem meal, alfalfa meal, a mineral: granite (maybe look for crusher fines at the landscape company), basalt, or glacial rock dust?
     
    Peace!
    P-
     
  3. I would NOT use vermiculite as an aeration material.
     
    It retains too much water.
     
  4. #4 inkyscratches, Nov 3, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 3, 2014
     Hey thanks alot! i can get neem seed cake (granular) 44# bag and basalt (paramagnetic rock) 20# bucket.  Pearlite in that quantity could get pretty expensive at $5 per qt in these parts. I should probably mention that i'm using technaflora nutes throughout veg and flower cycles. Do i need to bake the outdoor soil? if so temp and time pls. Is all this stuff ready to use when mixed or do i have to add water and/or let it sit? Thanks again.
     
  5. #5 Patanjali, Nov 3, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 3, 2014
     
    That's a lot of neem! You only need about 1/2c per cu ft of neem. Get the basalt for sure! 4c per cu ft. Do you have any landscaping companies around? Lava rock will work just fine for the aeration.
     
    Now your technaflora nutes are not going to be organic, and imo they do not play nice with your soil. I would trade those out for a kelp and/or alfalfa tea. Super cheap and easy.
     
    You should not need to bake, cook, or broil your soil. If you weren't going to use it for a while, you could throw a cover crop in it to keep the soil alive. I would also highly recommend looking into enzyme teas (SST's or malted barley teas). Another great tool for the arsenal.
     
    hth
    P-
     
  6. a big ty for the awesome help. is the basalt good for aeration or should i try to get lava rock too? what is the problem w the nutes? how do i make kelp or alfalfa tea and how would i use it? and i dont need to sterilize outdoor soil for an indoor grow??? what about all the little creatures that will then roam my basement? and last but not least do you think vermiculite is ok? thanks again
     
  7. #7 waktoo, Nov 4, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2014
     
    And on a side note, I would not use coir in my soil mix.  You've already listed peat.  It's a superior soil amendment when compared to coir, hands down.  Use that for the whole "peat" portion of your soil mix, instead of a peat/coir mix (if that was your plan).
     
    You can also substitute rice or buckwheat hulls for your aeration amendment.
     
  8.  
    Hey Inky!
     
    I think Waktoo covered a lot of this. Minerals will be different then aeration even though they can be made of similar materials. I'm also not a fan of coco coir, although some do successfully use it.
     
    I have never grown with only vermiculte as the aeration. Do you have a landscape yard anywhere nearby? Home depot lava rock will also work, although not my first choice. Personally, I like a variety of materials, shapes and sizes to go into my mixes for the diversity, but you can make what you have available work.
     
    For teas I will often times use 1c alfalfa and 1/2c kelp meal in 5 gallons of water. I bubble for 24 hours, usually strain, and water it in. I might start at half strength to start with, and then work your way up to make sure you girls are happy with it.
     
    hth!
    P-
     
  9. fantastic.great help! do i have to be concerned about ph since the spagnum peat is acid and my garden soil is too? 
     
  10.  
    What kind/brand of peat are you using? Are you having problems with any of your plants in your garden?
     
    P-
     
  11. #11 wetdog, Nov 4, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 4, 2014
     
    That's what the lime is for, both the peat moss and for the soil garden
     
    Use 1cup/cf in the peat mix. Spread it over the surface and work in for the soil garden. Dolomite or calcitic, your choice. Just NOT hydrated lime. Should have Garden lime or Agricultural lime on the bag.
     
    At HD or Lowes, along with the blood and bone meal.
     
    A real builders or contractors supply should have perlite as it's used for insulation. ~$25 for a 4cf bag (30 gallons)
     
    Wet
     
  12. " i can get neem seed cake (granular) 44# bag "

    It's Ahimsa/Neem Resource that sells their neem in #44 lb sacks. Great product.

    J
     
  13. its premier sphagnum peat moss. we also added lime and other stuff to the sandy acid soil. most things came out well but we're just experienced duffers really
     
  14. i've got this soil doctor brand peletized lawn lime. would that work OK?
     
  15.  
    You might add a little lime to the peat since that brand is not pre-limed. Lime is not my favorite, but it should work.
     
    I have also thrown a home depot/whatever plant in my mix before I plant my girls in it just to make sure everything is golden. Better safe then sorry lol.
     
    Peace!
    P-
     
  16. can you give me an amount of lime to add per something? i do have a soil test kit but those babies have 3 sets of real leaves now so i guess i shouldnt wait too long to transplant, right? 
     
  17. #17 Patanjali, Nov 5, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 5, 2014
     
    Inky, I'm by no means a 'liming' expert, so I'll digress if others have different opinions. My recent mixes have been 1/2 of oyster shell and 1/2c of gypsum. Therefore I would think like 1/2c per cu ft of lime?
     
    That's my guestimate anyway! ;)
     
    P-
     
    Edit: Wet is totally correct on the gypsum and liming. Crab meal with help a little with pH as well.
     
  18.  
    Should be, but I'm not familiar with that brand. How does the ingredient list on the back read?
     
    I like lime and I like plenty of Calcium.
     
    For the lime, I add 1cup/cf of mix. I also add 1 cup of gypsum/cf of mix. Gypsum has little effect on pH, but the extra Ca and sulfur does wonders for both mj and veggies. From what I've read it is just the calcium carbonate that has an effect on pH. That reading came from a link that Chunk provided that is somewhere in the threads. But, Ca does some amazing things.
     
    Wet
     
  19. the ingredients on the lawn lime says 
    Ca 24%
    Mg 9%
    CaO 34%
    MgO 16%
    MgCO3 33%
    CaCO3 60%
    why it adds up to more than 100% I cant tell you.
     
  20.  



    Here's the recipe I've come up with considering what I was able to get a hold of. As for how much total mix I'll need, I plan on 21 plants so I'm thinking 21 X 3 gal per plant so 63 gl total. I plan on the 1st transplant to be into 1-2 gal pots (what I've got on hand) and finally to 3 gl pots which I have enough of for all 21 plants. I've only got 16 gl of peat and 16 gl perlite so I'm adding 5 gl each of vermiculite and coir to bring them up to 1/3 of the mix. I could add more of kelp, neem, lime, basalt, garden soil, topsoil and ewc. I also have a few bags of something labeled “peat humus” which has no other identifying info on the bag and then half a bag of compost.
     
    7 gal ewc
    7 gl bagged topsoil
    7 gl sandy garden soil
    16 gl peat
    5 gl coir
    16 gl perlite
    5 gl vemiculite
    6 cu kelp
    4.5 cu neem
    34 cu basalt (paramagnetic rock)
    9 cu lawn lime (dolomitic)
     
    If I don't need 3 gl of soil per pot then maybe I could eliminate the coir and vermiculite which would give me about 50 gl total divided by 21 = 2.4 gl per plant which may be enough since I only let them get about 3 ft tall, so:
     
    16 gl peat
    16 gl perlite
    5.5 gl ewc
    5.5 gl garden soil
    5.5 gl topsoil
    4.5 cu kelp
    26 cu basalt
    3.5 cu neem
    6.5 cu lime
     
    Any comments appreciated.
     

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