Sorry guys, I placed this in the outdoor section as well, while I meant to put it here. Here it is: 3 cu. ft. of compressed Premier brand Peat Moss (Home Depot) 30% perlite 3 cups blood meal (N) 3 cups of alfalfa meal (N) 6 cups bone meal (P) 1 cup of epsom salt (Mg) \t4 cups kelp meal 1 cup of powdered dolomite lime per decompressed cu. ft. of peat moss (I've had success using this so why change) \t20 pounds of earthworm castings - micro-nutrients \t2 cups of Greensand 3 cups of Rock Phosphate (azomite) - trace elements 1 cup of diatomaceous earth (powdered food grade) per decompressed cubic foot of peat moss - silicon After mixing I will dampen and let sit for 3-4 weeks. What do you guys think? Too much nitrogen? Last year my N ran out too soon (2 weeks into flower). LD, Chunk, Wet, Stankie, and the other organic gods feel free to chime in, also! As always, thanks for everyone's input! BTW, this year's strains are AK-47, Purple Haze, and White Widow.
Thanks Wee. Do you think using Epsom salt and greensand is too much? Would it be more beneficial to use just the greensand or vice-versa?
I don't use epsom salt and greensand takes a looooong time to break down. Not really useful unless you reuse your soil.
I agree with Weedroid greensand takes to long to be available. You should use the epsom salt I been using 1 teaspoon per gallon soil along with dolomite lime and havent had any deficiencies since. Your mix looks good. Try foliar spraying with neem oil and a silicon product called Protekt. Em-1 would be a nice addition and really good to use to moisten soil mix when you let it sit.
I was thinking it might be a bit too much epsom salts, but re thinking it, not really for that amount of mix. I've noticed that the mag in the dolo is a lot slower to release than the ca and I've had to add epsom in the early going. With the blood and lime you will lose some due to volatilization. That's where that ammonia smell comes from when it's cooking. Not sure about the alfalfa, but it doesn't seem to react as much. If you could, could you add the blood a couple weeks later? Sorta lets the lime do its reacting with the peat and whatnot and settle down. A condensed version of liming your garden in the fall for the spring application of manures/meals/whatever. Greensand is great, especially if you recycle your mix, which of course you do. Right? It is super slow, but helps with the soil structure till it finally starts breaking down. Use both, the epsom will be long gone before the greensand has any effect. The mix looks good. Wet
Thank you all for your input. It is very much appreciated! I will also try the EM-1 (I've heard LD talk so much about this stuff; I should've tried it before now).
Hey guys, one more simple question. Last year I mixed my soil and thoroughly wet it. After a while some of the soil started smelling anaerobic. The mix was similar to the mix I posted on this thread; however, I used Pro-Mix BX. I think it may have been because I left the soil in 5 gallon black buckets in the sun with little drainage (though I assumed it was enough drainage). Will the EM-1 help prevent such an anaerobic event? What is the proper way of "wetting" the mix so that it can cook? Peat moss can be hard to get wet--you almost have to soak it entirely. I plan on wetting the mix with EM-1. Thanks again!
EM1 LD is referring to is anaerobic in its own right. If I were you I would switch to a single large container for mixing and cooking, and use the homemade EM1 in cooking to help your smell issues. Also mix your soil often the first 2 weeks. Wetting if needed.
I do the same with the 5 gal buckets, but I guess with more drainage. Buckets I use for growing that aren't in use. Bunch of 3/8" holes along bottom edge and bottom. Plenty of drainage and air. That smell might have been the volatilization I spoke of, or it could have been anaerobic. EM-1 has both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in it and would be fine for wetting your mix. I try to moisten it some while mixing, you're totally correct about peat being hard to get wet. Ivory liquid comes into play here just so it will start absorbing water and once in the 5 gallon buckets I'll water heavy till it's totally saturated and then just leave them in the sun. For a wetting mixture I've used EM-1, molasses, HumiSolve, teas, whatever. Not all at once, mostly what I feel like mixing up at the time. The buckets will dry out in the sun, so I might do a molasses/Humic/EM-1 for the initial soaking, a tea for the next one or just water from the hose. No rigid rules here, for me anyway. HTH Wet
[quote name='"wetdog"'] I do the same with the 5 gal buckets, but I guess with more drainage. Buckets I use for growing that aren't in use. Bunch of 3/8" holes along bottom edge and bottom. Plenty of drainage and air. That smell might have been the volatilization I spoke of, or it could have been anaerobic. EM-1 has both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in it and would be fine for wetting your mix. I try to moisten it some while mixing, you're totally correct about peat being hard to get wet. Ivory liquid comes into play here just so it will start absorbing water and once in the 5 gallon buckets I'll water heavy till it's totally saturated and then just leave them in the sun. For a wetting mixture I've used EM-1, molasses, HumiSolve, teas, whatever. Not all at once, mostly what I feel like mixing up at the time. The buckets will dry out in the sun, so I might do a molasses/Humic/EM-1 for the initial soaking, a tea for the next one or just water from the hose. No rigid rules here, for me anyway. HTH Wet[/quote] Didn't LD bust the soap myth? Also for a wetting agent look into horsetail fennels and aloe.
IDK, what was the myth? It seems to worked OK for me for the last 35 years or so. Guess I've been doing it wrong all this time. Been using the same $3.50 bottle for better than 2 years now. Sadly, I had to leave my aloe 'patch' behind in SoFla and the Fennel I'm growing is for cooking. Takes 2 years to grow out, so I'm not going to be dumping it on mixes. Wet
[quote name='"wetdog"'] IDK, what was the myth? It seems to worked OK for me for the last 35 years or so. Guess I've been doing it wrong all this time. Been using the same $3.50 bottle for better than 2 years now. Sadly, I had to leave my aloe 'patch' behind in SoFla and the Fennel I'm growing is for cooking. Takes 2 years to grow out, so I'm not going to be dumping it on mixes. Wet[/quote] True. True. I am just all about DIY. I live in NE so my aloe tree is in the grow room.
Thanks for everything guys! Another question though. If my soil is going in the ground, would it make sense to mix my soil (adding all amendments) and putting it straight in the ground minutes after mixing it? If so, will the amendments, and their N-P-K values, leach out due to April rains? In other words, would some of the soil's amendments be gone if I plan on planting around June 15 if I put the soil in the ground around April 1st? I feel that these questions are elementary; however, I know that some amendments leach out quicker than others. I'm just looking for some advice from people's past experiences.
The short answer is "yes" and the longer answer is "it depends" on the soil porosity and the amount of rain you get. Stick with the short answer and just for peat's sake )), if you're going to go about things in this manner you can consider covering your holes in order to stop run off. Burying your soil that far in advance is probably not the best of ideas but the worst case is you can always come back and top dress with dry complete ferts if your plants show signs they need it. Another thing to consider since you're planting outside is to use some of the native soil in your mix - from surface level to ~6" deep. Wonderful to say the least unless for some reason you think the native soil is tainted. This will really help with tilth, CEC, and those kinds of good things. It all gets back to the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil (the little pluses and minuses thingy). Opposites attract and like charges repel. All ions (think "nutrients") contain a charge of either + or -. There are many factors that will impact leaching. CEC is a major consideration along with porosity, drainage, amount of water etc. Some things to think about I reckon. G'day!
Thanks Possuum. It makes sense to keep the top 6" or so of the hole native soil. I never realized about the CEC with native soil. My holes have a diameter of 36" with a depth of about 18". I thought about replacing the entire soil with my mix since here in the southeast we have nothing but red clay with a bit of loan the first couple of inches. However, I will now add the loam to the top of my holes. A second benefit of doing so will also keep a lot of the perlite hid from view (also aiding in the stealth of my plants). Perlite always seems to surface more and more after each watering. Thanks again to everyone!
After thinking about it for awhile, I believe this is the final mix I'm going with this year (this mix is very similar to what I had amazing results with last year except I'm adding more azomite, a little less lime, and I'm adding alfalfa meal): [FONT="]36” round hole (in the ground), 18” deep[/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] · [FONT="]1 bale Pro-Mix BX (3.8 cu. ft.)[/FONT] · [FONT="]8 cups Bone Meal – phosphorus source[/FONT] · [FONT="]4 cups Blood Meal – “fast” nitrogen source[/FONT] · [FONT="]4 cups of Alfalfa Meal – “slow” nitrogen source[/FONT] · [FONT="]1 1/3 cups Epsom Salt – magnesium source [/FONT] · [FONT="]6 cups of dolomite lime – calcium source & pH buffer [/FONT] · [FONT="]3 cups of Azomite per cubic foot (trace elements)[/FONT] · [FONT="]4 cups of kelp meal[/FONT] · [FONT="]25 lbs. of worm castings[/FONT] · [FONT="]1 cubic foot of perlite – though I may change this since I’m planting in the ground[/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]I'm leaving the diatomaceous earth out of the mix. I'll just water in some Protekt every so often. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]I hope the alfalfa meal and the blood meal are not too much together (i.e. too hot). Any input? Of course I will let this cook for 4 weeks before use. [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="]You guys are the best! [/FONT] [FONT="][/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT]
to OP, I think you should replace dolomite lime with gypsum if possible. Then only at a 1/2 cup per CF... at the very least mix in gypsum with dolomite lime and amend at the low rate of 1/2 cup per CF. you dont really need either though, actually, thanks to the bone meal (all calcium) and alfafa, etc...