Ok i decided to go organic and this is what is am using. Took it from a sticky and wanted to know if this is good Canadien sphagnum peat moss Ewc Perlite Lime Azomite dust Kelp meal Crab meal Alfalfa meal Neem seed meal Pretty sure that is it. Its my first stab at all organics
Perhaps I should send a sample of a new mix in for testing. One that utilizes kelp, crab shell and neem as the sole amendments, rock dust, my vermicompost, peat and lava rock for the base media. I highly doubt I need more Phosphorous than is introduced through the use of the above materials.
My "mix" right now is utilizing composted leaf mold, horse/chicken manure, kitchen produce scraps, lots of lobster and comfrey. I bet you don't need any additional Phosphorous inputs either... J
The recipe you have is about right (should be, coming from a sticky), neem meal, kelp meal, and crab meal should be a staple in every soil's "diet", I don't use lime personally, but I like oyster shell dust as well as oyster shells for part of my aeration, in conjuncture with the crab meal I don't have too much problem with my soil going acidic, also if I recall correctly, spaghnum moss doesn't go as acidic as peat for example. If it were me, and I was doing my base soil all over again, (I actually had to make an additional "new" batch recently) I would add biochar to it for sure, and more compost, I added PLENTY of worm castings, but since, some of my tinkering has led me to conclude that compost should be a larger part of my soil mix, in addition to the EWC. I like the more diverse fungi and bacteria that comes from both. So, this is what i'd change, especially if you are re-using or possibly want to experiment with no-till. Bio char volcanic rock or pumice or both in place of perlite, won't break down or "float" over the course of time, also is more conducive to beneficial microbial populations. I like greensand's extremely slow release of micro-nutes Oyster shells, I like it as a slow counter to potted soil's tendency to go acidic over time more diverse minerals, meaning granite, basalt, oyster shell dust, aforementioned greensand, rock phosphates, etc i'm on the fence as to either cut out the fish bone meal or keep using it. I do like that it breaks down very slow, I've found after using almost every type of organic nutrient, that simply the best results (in my experience) are from an aged soil with nutrients that are NOT super water soluble, and breakdown very slowly over time. Same with alfalfa meal, I use my alfalfa meal more for nutrient teas, and to kickstart my carbon in my compost pile (hard to find green stuff this time of year) rather than in my soil mix, but I've seen plenty people have impressive results from using alfalfa, but that could be said about any organic nutes, I know an old hippy guy that grows with cow manure as his only nutrient, other than leaf compost. His herb is some crystally goodness. Hell I've seen some impressive results from chem-grows but that's another topic... I digress. homemade compost and homemade EWC are the absolute number one key to a good soil base. and NEVER forget you MUST age any organic soil mix for at least three weeks, longer if its cold out. If it's not too cold a cover crop is a good way to "buffer" the available nitrogen that may piss off some sensitive strains when transplanting or from a younger plant, also the mulch from the cover crop, is good for the soil as well. And personally I'd advise on giving it a good base watering with a good AACT, and to let the soil sit with the mixed EWC also, hopefully you'll have a couple cocoons in the EWC too, never hurts. I also like to add the native earthworms in there as well, to stir up the bottom of the pots.. Sorry guys, its the coffee... rambley-ass answer