what to add to the mix ?

Compost and/or EWC (vermicompost) at roughly 1/3 of the overall volume of the mix.
 
Ie 5 gallons peat, 5 gallons compost, 5 gallons perlite for a base soil to which you can then amend to your liking.
 
 
 
Soils need a source of "humus" to balance the chemical actions and house the microbial communities that allow this gig to work. 
 
 
I suggest reading up on a few of the stickied threads here, mainly the Easy Organics for Beginners and the No Till thread, for more information. 

 

Hey bulldog, welcome! You will definitely find ALL kinds of healthy wisdom here!!
First off, to keep it simple you wanna add things in ratio to per cubic foot of soil, which is 7.5 gallons, so yer gonna be workin with a little over 2.5 cubic ft of soil.
You wanna add 1 cup of oyster shell per cu ft, to act as yer "lime" as most people know it, it's yer calcium. Stay away from using soft rock as it's been linked to radioactivity. You wanna add .5 cup of gypsum per cu.ft. for sulfer. Glacial rock is ok but a little over hyped, and you'd better off if you can add multiple types of rock dusts for elemental diversity, like basalt for example. Check out rockdustlocal.com, they have some great stuff! You wanna add 4-5 cups of rock dust per cu.ft. of soil. Crab and fishbone meals are good, but you need more than that. Definitely look for kelp meal and alfalfa meal, these both have natural growth hormones called alginic acid(kelp) and triacontanol(alfalfa). Also look for neem meal, for the nutritional and insecticidal benefits. You can make a blend with these nutrients in equal proportions, except add twice as much kelp. Then use 2-3 cups of the amendment mix per cu.ft. of soil. For the Neptunes Harvest I would follow the directions on the bottle or slightly weaker than suggested, and only use this on an as needed basis if you think yer girls are getting a little hungry.
This should get you off to a good start, and then you can tweak things as you go along.
Happy growing!!

-5sF-

p.s. - GiMiK touched on a great point that I forgot to mention.. humus humus humus!! And EWC(worm castings) are VITAL to yer success!

 

Hiya Bulldog. You've been given the holy grail of advice regarding the addition of "humus" type soil components, and I'm talking about worm castings and compost - not hydro store products like that "Alaska Humus" that you'll see in those kinds of stores - just simple compost and worm castings. You CAN use one or the other but a mixture of both is best, IMO.

After you mix your compost and Pro Mix make sure it drains well. Pro Mix does have some perlite but only so much, so the addition of more perlite or other kinds of aeration will really come down to how heavy and dense the compost/castings are. I've used just Promix and compost/castings without additional aeration before just because the base mix drained well and simply didn't require adding any extra perlite but this is really a mix-by-mix call because each and every compost is different. Just make sure that the mix drains well when you're done and isn't heavy and wet. Oxygen to your plants roots is very very important.

Sounds like you already got just fine advice regarding your soil amendments so once you mix this all up, wet it thoroughly and allow it to sit for a few weeks before planting you'll be good to go.

Welcome to the forum man. This is a link to the "Easy Organic Soil Mix" thread that the guys above were referring to - http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html#entry15948275 - spend a little time browsing through that thread and it should help give you the insight you need to have a successful garden

J

 

We use volume, not weight, as a way to measure materials for potting mixes. Much easier this way, as materials weight varies by water content and density.
 
We mix soils based on volume, so you'll see the term c.f., or cubic feet. One cubic foot = 7.5 gallons, for easy measurement.
 
I do something like this;
 
1 part Sphagnum peat moss
1 part Aeration (perlite, scoria, rice hulls, etc)
1 part Humus component (compost, EWC/vermicompost)
 
A 5 gallon bucket works well as a tool to measure the "parts" with. "Parts" can be any amount you want, so long as they remain constant (same amount). 
 
For example, let's say 1 part compost equals roughly 5 gallons. Following the above ratios, I would also use ~5 gallons of aeration (perlite) and ~5 gallons of sp. peat moss. This is what we call our "base mix" that we then amend to our liking.
 
So, assuming we wet the materials down as we spread them out and then mixed it all together, we would end up with roughly 15 gallons, or 2 cubic feet of "base mix".
 
To this we add ~1 cup of a liming agent (oyster shell, calcitic limestone, etc) per cubic foot.
 
The total amendments used (rock dust not included) should not exceed 3-4 cups per cubic foot of base mix, and on that same note this is how we tend to suggest amending new mixes.
 
1/2 cup of kelp meal per c.f.
1/2 cup of neem seed meal per c.f.
1/2 cup of crab shell meal per c.f.
1/2 cup of gypsum per c.f.
 
2-3 cups of rock dust (granite or basalt microfines) per cubic foot is also highly recommended.
 
After mixing your amendments into the base soil, store it and allow the soil to cycle for a few weeks before use. Ensure the soil is kept evenly moist, like it would be if a plant were growing in it, during this time.

 

The EWC comes in 30gal bags right? They don't label cuft like everything else... But that sounds about right at 1/2 a bag per cuft promix... With a 1:1 of perlite:EWC... The amendments are a good start there... Good luck!

 

GiMiK pretty much nailed it for ya! The only things I would do differently is a full cup of kelp and 4 cups of rock dust. Other than that(and either way), follow the advice shared here and you'll be well on yer way to some awesome organic nugs!