Just ordered all the amendments from this guide. Starting my first batch! Just read the few previous pages, regarding the remineralised process the guide talked about using dry organic fertiliser as well as the dry amendments However amendments + ewc + dry fertiliser or amendments + ewc
dry fertilizer would be considered an amendment to your soil mix, not as an additional category. think of it like this amendments (including any dry fertilizers) + ewc depending on your mix you might easily not need the dry fertilizer mix. BTW, i'm assuming by dry fertilizer you mean a "general" organic fert, like a Biostarter, Garden tone, tomato and veggie, etc such as from Espoma, DTE, Joba? they are really good to use to get started with without needing a lot of other amendments, just a few other basic ones. If you have a 'full array" of other separate ingredients than you can skip the dry ferts. kinda all depends on your recipe. Did my first batch not too long ago - mixed 80 gal about 4-5 months ago. I understand the temptation all too well to want to include everything in your mix - gotta new sure you have every base covered on your items for the soil right?? gotta make sure you don't miss a singe mineral or element the plant / soil needs or use it's going to be a failure so make sure you get EVERYTHING you can think of in there.. right!!?? WRONG! LOL Please believe me and save yourself a lot of trouble and expense and take the opening advice in this thread to heart more than any other thing - KISS, keep it simple... less IS better don't go overboard on items in your mix no matter what, the KEY is the highest quality compost and EWC's you can get hold of ... period! I'm new at this but i doubt any of the experienced growers and organic guys in here would disagree with this statement since it's what is preached more than any point in organics it seems. after this your amendments can be very minimal. hope this helps and doesn't confuse you more
Everything he said is right. I will add tho that the dry ferts mentioned in the post above do add alot of bacteria to the mix to help get the microbes in the compost or ewc get working. But yea if your compost is on point then you could easily miss a few amendments and not miss a beat. Here's a pic of a soil mix 2 days after mixing in plant tone(epsoma) and watering with molasses(gotta feed the herd). Check out that beard! Sent from my SM-N920P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
That is very helpful and cleared out the confusion cheers! YES 100%. Beeing in Australia I am trying to find a similar kind. For some reason we don't seem to have fertilisers with a NPK ration fairly balanced around the 4-4-4. on the top of peat moss and ewc/compost I was going to stick with Kelp, Neem, Alfalfa and Crab meals. As well as dolomite lime ( for the ph balance in the peat ) and Azomite rock dust for the minerals. Too much? anything you think I could get away without? I presume this was the minimum to get a decent quality organic mix. @kdiesel ! I have never seen soil "cook" before. Is that all of the micro activity in the soil creating the fungus ? insane
Yup cooking refers to the microbe activity. U know its done when u can plant something in it without it burning. Side note...if u can find oyster shell flour, i would use that instead of the lime. But thats just me, dolimite lime will work just fine. Sent from my SM-N920P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Well the only "crab" meal I could find is a mix of "crustation & seashells" which I thought was a great mix of essentials. does that mean I don't especially need the dolomite lime? BTW thank you guys for your input I have learnt so much and already feel much more comfortable with it all.
The crab meal has calcium and is good for pests. I might be mistaken but im not sure it acts as a liming agent tho...hmmm Worth a bit of research.. Sent from my SM-N920P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I meant the seashells inside the mix ( maybe it is similar to the oyster farine you were talking about ) in which case I could not bother with the lime.
Wouldnt hurt to find out for sure...investigate that ish Sent from my SM-N920P using Grasscity Forum mobile app
No, you still need the lime and yes, use the dolomite. You had it right with just what you listed before with the kelp, alfalfa, neem and the crustacean meal. *I* also add some bone meal. I use single ingredient amendments when constructing the mix, but also keep a large bag of Tomato tone for when I don't feel like rooting around in 50lb bags. Wet To keep things simple, I keep my liming agent (dolomite), totally separate from all other amendments. I also use crustacean meal, but don't consider it as a liming agent.
These are all very good tips there thank heaps everyone. I have seen a few growers doing 50% full array soil + 50% base soil on top for the seedling to establish themselves before entering a hotter medium. That would mean "cooking" 2 different batches right?
Hey all! I learned a lot from this thread! Well, least the first 5 and final 10 pages so far. I noticed a lot of fellow Mainers here. Or at least a couple of well represented residents. This is my second outdoor growing season and I'm about to finish my first indoor grow. Anyway, I have mixed up my first LOS and I was hoping I could get some feedback. It's cooking now. I had to use bagged materials because my compost pile was just started and I'm still working on my worm bin. The next iteration will have my own compost and castings. We also have chickens now so of course I am composting their manure in its own pile as well as adding some to my big compost pile. Not sure how long it needs to cook, though. I got a great deal on the Coast Of Maine Stonington blend @ $7 a bag. Picked up 6 (perhaps should have bought them out). I haven't used it alone yet. My mix 1.0 3 cu ft COM Stonington Blend ~1/2 cu ft COM Lobster Compost ?? cu ft Perlite (think I need more aeration) ~1/2 cu ft Worm Castings 1.5c Kelp Meal 1c Neem meal 1c Bone Meal 1/2c Blood Meal 1c Alfalfa meal 1c Crushed Oyster shells 1c Azomite 1c Rock Phosphate 1c Crab and Lobster Shell Plant Food 1c Dolomite Lime I watered with Molasses water until damp but not sodden. It's in a bin, uncovered, on my porch. Thanks for the helpful info and any feedback!
That soil has plenty in it! Let it cook and plant when ready. Heads up on the fungus gnats, you might want to treat the soil with some nematodes a few days before you use it for the grow. I mix my perlite in at a 30% ratio but if it doesnt look like enough, you can always add a little more. Sent from my SM-G892A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
This for the tip! Since it's cooking outdoors, it makes sense that the fungus gnats would be around. I'll look into nematode sellers - I hadn't thought of getting any. Does anyone inoculate their soil with worms (red wigglers) during cultivation?
I forgot - I picked up some Pine Mulch /Fines at Lowes ($3.08 a bag!) and was considering adding some to the mix. The bag seems decent and does have some nice fines in it, along with some larger pieces. I'm using it primarily to mulch my outdoor plants, but thought it might add good OM and/or aeration to my mix.
I use bark nuggets in my mixes and it works slick. @wetdog clued me in. If you do a online search for something like 'bark in soil mixes florida' you will see folks in Florida have been using bark in their mixes forever. Peruse a couple articles and read how/why folks use it. Besides slowly adding soil organic matter and feeding the soil, and aeration, its also useful in water retension. I have used it for all of my aeration, down to just making up part of my vermicompost. You can never go wrong with using it for mulch as well. hth cheers os
Greetings, Citizens! This thread has been super helpful for setting up my first grow as well. Potting Mix: Peat Moss Perlite Dolomite Lime Kelp powder Crab chitin meal Glacial rock dust EWC Transplant mix: All of the above in different ratios with: Molasses Two kinds of Mycorrizae Alfalfa Meal Organic Tomato Fertilizer Cooked with EWC tea
This could have already been discussed in the almost 1,500 pages on this topic, but is it possible to convert my 4 (free) bags of Happy Frog soil into a living soil? From what I gathered, this soil already has about 75% of the "ingredients". I'm just trying to save when I can and if it's feasible. Thanks for the invaluable info guys and gals! Sent from my SM-G892A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
How big are you planning to grow your plants? I flip a few weeks after germ in a 3 gallon and top dress 3 times. Here's 2 in my 2x2 tent I didn't train them at all Could probably flip early in a 7 gallon and water only. Sent from my LG-H933 using Tapatalk