I've been reading for hours about which organic soil is the best. I'm losing my mind because I cannot make up my mind. I've never grown with organics in the past but am very interested in trying! However, I don't know where to start. I've compared FF's Happy Frog, and Ocean Forest, Roots Organic, and a few others. Seems to me that so far Roots Organic is the winner. What I want is a premade soil that will be already cooked and ready to go. I know that making your own would be beneficial, but I only want enough for one or two pots and figure that it would be lots cheaper to buy one premade vs. spending a lot on all amendments needed since it will be on a small scale. If I get one of these types of soil, I only should use plain water right? Anyone have experience with these soils? Thanks for the help!
Also, since some have problems with Roots Organic having very high PPM in runoff.. what would be a good mix to start the seeds in? I am assuming that it will burn the seedlings.
if i had to choose a bagged soil. i would go with Bulk Soil Delivery California | Premium Soil Mixes | Potting Mixes | Worm Castings and add more aeration to it and the best EWC i could get my hands on. i would also mix their empire and victory blend together. i have a few plants with this mix and no issues at all with young clones going straight into the mix with water only.
Hey KillerKush! No offense, but none of those soils are going to cut it for a "water only" situation. I can tell you from experience that this is true with Roots Organic. I have a bag sitting in my storage shed right and I haven't touched it since picking up a proper soil from my local organic nursery - I'm fully aware not everyone has one of these near by, but there are usually farm/feed stores if not and they tend to have what you would need. I totally understand not wanting to/being able to make your own soil. I live in a small condo and for two 10-gallon pots it just didn't make sense. To get an idea of what you want, check out this fabulous thread dedicated to answering your question: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/988488-ready-grow-bagged-soil.html Given your location, you may be able to find the Coast of Maine product line, which has stellar reviews. Also, in your second post you mention testing PPM...you're going to want to get out of this mindset. With a proper soil that you aren't messing with by adding chemical fertilizers, you don't need to worry about pH or PPM. Organic soil is living and it self-regulates in most cases. However, you are correct that starting seeds in a finished, "water-only" soil would too strong. Instead, you want a very basic mix of peat, EWCs/compost, and an aeration amendment. A giant bale of peat will cost you like 12 bucks, and perlite is even cheaper. Then you just need to get your hands on some qualityEWCs, which are great to have around for other reasons. Good luck and I hope this helped! GM
Thanks guys! Exactly the input I was hoping for. I did not only narrow it down to those brands, I was only searching around and that is what I found. I actually was reading in that thread. I tried to research most brands on there that I could but just could not dig up much info. Definitely answered most questions though, I appreciate it! I will try to find this answer myself also but always good to hear opinions: is coast of Maine a brand that I can just buy a bag or two, put some plants in (after about two weeks being in compost/EWC/perlite mix) and that's it, water only from that point on? Edit: looked up coast of Maine line, they have a few different types, which is best? Also, on their site, they have "Master Nursery", it looks pretty good from their list of amendments. What do you think?
Green Manataur - GC won't let me rep you; IOU one. Very helpful, informative reply. KK - choosing the Coast of Maine products for your first organic garden is a very wise choice. I've used many of their products and NEVER been disappointed. They have several "ready to plant" mixes. Penobscot Blend is our popular all-purpose planting mix. A blend of compost and peat, it is ideal for planting annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees or conditioning gardens, beds and borders. Penobscot Blend is made with fully matured salmon, blueberry and mussel compost (2/3) and sphagnum moss peat (1/3). Mussel shells are Penobscot Blend's unique ingredient. The shell fragments help aerate and add texture to your soil, which helps improve root growth. According to some of our customers it also helps control slugs when applied as a top-dressing so the shells dot the soil surface. Then there is this one - Bar Harbor Blend is our organically approved, all-purpose potting soil. It is a rich, dark brown and full bodied, designed for re-potting house plants, planting hanging baskets, window boxes and all containers. Bar Harbor Blend is made with lobster and aspen bark compost, long staple horticultural grade sphagnum peat moss and perlite. Like all compost-based soils, this too requires less watering. I would suggest buying one bag of each of these soils, adding some additional aeration such as a little extra perlite (I DID find the CoM products to be a bit heavy) and then top dressing with some worm castings, which they produce as well and are of a fine quality. I think you'd be very pleasantly surprised at the quality of these products, and the very high quality of the organic buds you'll be able to produce by using them. Add the aeration until its nice and fluffy. Top dress with some worm castings. If you're up to it, but and soak some kelp meal in a tea (a cupful in 5 gallons) for a week and water it in. This is the stepping stone you need to jump on the road to organic bliss. Best of luck! This is a great choice that will not disappoint you. J
Thanks for the input! I have already narrowed it down to three. Penobscot, Bar Harbor, and Wiscasset. Well, Wiscasset for top dressing and a mix for seeds. Penobscot OR Bar Harbor for the main indgredient. Which is the best between the two? Here is the plan: Use 1/4 Penobscot OR Bar Harbor (which ever I decide), 1/4 perlite, and 1/2 Wiscasset (EWC) for my seed starter mix. How does that sound? I'll start in small cups and then once rooted, Ill transplant into a pot with Penobscot or Bar Harbor and a little EWC on top for the remainder of the grow. Any input or guidance about that is much appreciated, like I said, it is my first organic grow. Im pumped about trying it! Oh yeah, one last problem: WHERE THE HELL CAN I FIND IT?! They dont sell anywhere near me. Is there an online retailer? They need an online purchase option on their site. Worse comes to worse, they carry it at my hometown in PA so I can have my family pick up some bags and send to me, but not sure if they will have both bags that I need. Thanks again guys.. you rock!
Alright. I narrowed it down to Penobscot and Wiscasset. I found how you can order it too. I am in contact with a distributor from Coast of Maine, if anyone wants to know how to get it. I heard of other people having a hard time finding it other than in stores since you cant order direct off the website. The only concern at this point, is that when I watched the videos from the guys at COM that explain the different types of soil, they said that for the bar harbor blend it feeds the plants for 6-8 weeks. Im confused because I thought organic soil continues to release nutrients and you dont have to do anything but water??
That's interesting...seems a bit short to me. Jerry would have s better answer here. In general, the types of soils we are talking about should be good for one cycle with just water. That being said, I've never done that. I'm running multiple cycles with one soil that I supplement throughout the grow. Past one time through, even with the best soil, you should be ammending to keep the ecosystem well fed.
You answered my question.. Awesome. Now with that soil, what amendments would you recommend? Just the usual like kelp, alfalfa, rock dust, EWC, etc.?
Yup, those are all good things. If you are getting a complete soil though, I don't know if mixing in extras is really necessary. Instead, top dressing with EWCs/compost and watering with some botanical teas and/or FPEs should give you excellent results. Just curious, are you planning on recycling this soil?
Of course - I would highly recommend lightly amending this soil. I have spoken with Coast of Maine and. They do not add rock dust to their mixes. Some kelp, alfalfa and neem would be perfect, but you will need to let this cycle for 30 days if you do so for best results - maybe a cup and a half TOTAL per CF. I never suggested this because you had asked about ready to plant soil. Make sure you add a little more aeration. Top dress with extra worm castings. J
GM- Yes I would like to. This is all a learning process and its just the start. I would like to eventually perfect my own batch.
J - Any additional info is always welcomed! But just to clarify.. If I use once, I'll be good with simply a little extra aeration (perlite) and top dress with EWC. Every additional grow, add 1.5 cup max of a mix per CF. let sit for 30 days and throw on a top layer of EWC?
In getting so consumed by the amazing thought of going organic for my indoor potting mix, I got a little carried away (in a good way!) and started chopping up a huge section of my backyard which will now be my organic soil bed! Before I buy the stuff, I thought I'd get a second opinion. Jerry- you already saw my comment about my amendments, so that is what I will add. Now for the base soil I am going to lowes. Black Kow compost & manure for the humus (little EWC as well but not as much until I find a cheap source later down the road), majestic earth peat moss, and now comes my biggest concern. Both of those items are very cheap. However, everything I've seen for aeration (mainly perlite) is over $10 for 8 ounces. If I mix equal parts of compost, peat moss and perlite, the perlite is going to cost me way more than I can afford to put into it. Any suggestions? And how is the compost/peat I mentioned?
I now use Buckwheat Hulls for aeration - Fedco Organic Growers Supply - Item: Buckwheat Hulls - the 25 pound bags are very big, as the hulls weigh nothing. But - you are saying you are doing this for an outdoor organic soil - perhaps for a veggie garden? If so, work on finding some compost on Craigslist - you will find just regular compost much cheaper, probably by the yard. Just adding the right amount of peat should drain well enough. Outdoor soil beds don't need as much aeration in a veggie garden setting. The peat should fluff it up sufficiently - it's not like a horticultural indoor pot setting. A bag or two of buckwheat hulls should be fine? I don't know how big of a garden you're doing? Lots of compost, peat and a liming agent agent such as calcite lime/agricultural lime (for the peat) and a mess of kelp and alfalfa will hook you right up for a veggie garden. That's what I think you're doing anyhow? J
Well the Black Kow is $4.00 and I'll get for $3.00 with military discount (50 pound bags). It's about a 6x12' section. So I'll only need a few bags of peat and compost, not much to fill in. Yes it will be for mainly veggies, also throwing in one or two seeds to tie down. If I start early and tie down, should have no problem pulling a decent amount of oz's. Need about a pound for some Rick Simpson hash oil . But that's the plan.
Got my 2 bags of Penobscot today. Mixed up my seed starter mix (1/2 1/2 soil with perlite, mixing EWC once I get them). Super soil is all mixed up, cooking and will be ready once the girls are 4 weeks old! So pumped!