Easy Organic Soil Mix for Beginners

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by InTheGarden, Oct 2, 2012.

  1. No expert here b7t from all my research/reading here at gc 6cups rock per cf would be better. And everyone seems to praise and give good reviews for CoM products so no going wrong their. However, there is a split between those of experiemce pledging you must cook the soil and those with same experiemce pledging there is no need to cook and plant right away. I assume it is a matter of opinion and hope someone who knows better than I chimes in on this
     
  2. IME 6 cups of rock per cf is way too much. Your mix will be like cement. Keep rock dust to 2 cups per cf and you’ll be much happier.

    If you heat the pile with the additional amendments you need to let it cycle (cook). If you are using a bagged soil, chances are you can use it, add some aeration. I just wouldn’t flower with bagged soil.
     
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  3. Agree with Ficky with the 2 cups max of rock dust. This is from experience using 6cups.

    Also, where is your aeration? Again, from experience, *I* start with 40% perlite and with other aeration, usually end up with closer to 50%. CoM is good stuff, but is kinda on the heavy side and adequate aeration is a must. Learning this from experience usually means a wasted grow and organics has enough of a learning curve without trying to grow in mud.

    Wet
     
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  4. Blackswallowsoil. I just ordered from there yesterday. Crab, neem, karanja and Endomycorrhizal Inoculant. They will have everything you want. Peace.

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  5. My bad i do have perlite, i added 12 quarts also

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  6. I wasnt sure if my question was clear or not, forgive me but the stonington blend how much fert would i add to a 3 gal pot of soil if i wanted to use this throughout flower? Could i just topdress a little? Again i am using this until my other soil continues to cook.

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  7. Topdress a little, like 1/4 cup for a 3 gal and observe. Give it a couple of weeks and then either another light top dress or leave it be.

    Wet
     
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  8. 2 quick questions:
    Is there an alternative to Espoma tomato tone, does Down to Earth make a product that is similar, or can I substitute it altogether with seabird guano?

    I read somewhere that tap water will kill the good microbes in the soil.. can I just catch rain water to make my teas and feed the plants?
    Thanks in advance!


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  9. DTE is fine or other organic dry ferts.if a name brand. Could be a tomato formula or a bloom booster type. The basic formula is very similar to each other, or a 'complete' formula. Just stay clear of brands you've never heard of.

    No, tap water does not kill microbes, good or bad. If it's Ok to drink, it's Ok for the plants.

    Good luck!

    Wet
     
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  10. I would look at the ingredients list for the recommended fertilizer and then check the ingredients with whatever you plan to substitute :)

    Tap water is fine as long as you let it stand for 24 hours to let the chlorine off gas. The chlorine is what will do damage to the soil microbes, I actually just picked up a inline carbon block filter today at the Farm Supply so that I can hook my drip irrigation directly to the hose and a timer for Optimum laziness :)
     
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  11. DTE Biolive is a great all purpose blend. Lots of my friends that only want to manage one simple blended amendment use this with great success in their vegetable gardens. DTE also has other blends that look great, but I haven't tried them. DTE is very good about explaining exactly what is in each blend on their labels. I have been using their single amendments for years with outstanding results. Fair price, and they sell them year around at my local feed store.
    cheers
    os
     
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  12. Looking for advice and tips when letting soil 'cook' in a rubbermaid bin indoors.

    Should I leave the cover on? (Room humidity is 30 percent)
    Should I drill holes in cover for fresh air?
    Should I take cover completely off for certain amount of time each day?
    How often should I turn soil?

    Any info is appreciated. Thanks
     
  13. More important than any of that is adequate drainage holes in the bottom. Drainage is an absolute MUST!

    I also punch some air holes in the top, but in any event the rubbermaid totes are a long ways from airtight and you're covered, holes or not. Still, a good idea.

    Wet
     
  14. Hello all, I’m going to make the leap to some organic growing next. I’ve done a fair bit of reading and just wanted to run past what I’ve accumulated for my mix locally.

    Looking to get a water only soil.

    Base soil:
    I’ve got 15 gallons split as
    -5gal peat moss
    -5gal perlite
    -2.5gal compost (several sources)
    -3gal EWC
    -2cups lime

    To that I will amend
    Kelp meal - 2 cups
    Neem seed meal - 1 cup
    Alphalpa meal - 1 cup
    Tomatoe tone- 1 cup
    Guano - 1 cup

    Azomite-4cups
    Greensand-4 cups

    I do have a question- my tap comes out at 450ppm dissolved solids and a ph of 8.5 and up.

    My reading tells me to toss away the PH meter with an organic grow but my tap water is so hard I’m not sure if I should. What do you recommend? Should I PH my tap water down to an acceptable range first? Should I cut my tap with RO and get it to mid 7’s? I’d really love to just water and move on!

    Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you
     
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  15. First off, the pH of the water doesn't matter much (the dissolved solids do matter), water has a very temporary effect on the soils pH. The soil has a YUGE effect on the waters pH and in short order buffer it to match whatever the soils pH is. Having the soil buffered to a decent pH range pretty much takes care of any liquid pH issues like water, teas, etc. The 2cups of lime you're adding takes care of all that.

    Now, for your amendments. I also mix 2cf (15 gallons), at a pop so this is all VOE.

    The compost & EWC; What *I* use for that 5gal is ~2.5 gallons of homegrown VC and ~2.5 gallons of pine bark mulch/fines. I'd really suggest the pine bark over the compost, especially if it came in a bag and not homegrown. Cheap and easily available at HD or Lowes.

    Azomite and Greensand; I use both, but I suggest cutting the amount down to two cups (1cup/cf), instead of the 4 listed.

    I also add bone meal to my mix and suggest you adding some. I just get steamed bone meal locally at HD or Lowes and add it at the rate of 1cup/cf (2cups).

    Other than those few things it looks like a good, solid, mix and should work well.

    Wet
     
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  16. Thank you wet!!

    On the water front, I won’t worry about PH. Do you have a suggestion for the dissolved solids? I can go 50/50 with RO water to bring it into high 100s.

    Ok I will grab some bone meal and add some in. Half cup to one cup range. And will also go checkout HD for the pine bark mulch. Not sure they will have anything labeled as ‘fines’ though. Does that matter?

    Lastly, your page one post suggested 4 cups rock per c/f. Just wanted to confirm. So add 2 cups each for a total of 4 Cups?

    Again thank you. Your posts have sent me down this path, and I’m looking forward to it!
     
  17. #14498 waktoo, Sep 28, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 28, 2018
    I would STRONGLY suggest that you Google "water quality for container plants", and read everything provided by agriculture/horticulture universities and their extensions.

    Get your water tested. The alkalinity alone will cause issues. Depending on makeup and ratios, those high TDS levels most likely will too, organic soil or not...
     
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  18. Thank you. I will definitely go read.

    I have looked at my towns water testing annual report and there are no contaminants reported. High in just about all minerals especially calcium.

    That said, short of my town improving the water treatment I am stuck with what I have and need to manage best I can or just not attempt to grow anything, which I don’t want to do.

    I can remove that vast majority of the dissolved solids via carbon filter and RO and mix with tap. This gets it to under 100 tds and a manageable ph of 7.3 which I can bring down a little more. My other option is a rain catcher which might not be a bad idea.
     
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  19. Would you post your local water report?
     
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