Hey guys as the title states this is my first time mixing my own soil. I followed loosely the "Easy Organic Growing Mix for Beginners' sticky. Anyway I just got back from the hydro store and was wondering if you guys could tell me if I'm headed in the right direction or if I made some mistakes. I picked up Promix HP biofungicide+mycorrhizae 3.8 cu.ft bag, 40 lbs of Ewc, and a big bag of perlite. In addition I also picked up Lime, Roots Organics Uprising Foundation which has Fish bone meal, oyster shell flower, kelp meal, greensand, soybean meal, glacial rock dust, alfalfa meal, feather meal, bat guano, langbeinite, rock phosphate and leonardite. And then I got Roots Organics Elemental. Anyway does it seem like I'm on the right track or did I start to stray too far? Also does anyone here use similar ingredients that might be able to give me an okay idea on ratios for this mix? If any additional information is needed from me please just let me know. Thanks guys.
But what 'biofungicide' - a word without a specific definition. Give me about 10 minutes and I could come up with at least 200 'biofungicides' from 100 different sources CC
Ahhh okay. That makes sense. Let me see if I can dig up some info about the specific ones used. Otherwise does this look like an okay mix?
soapy91 I went back and read your original post and it's the Pro-Mix which contains the biofungicide is that correct? In other words it isn't from a product that you bought, correct? CC
You're good to go. Pro-Mix like Sunshine Mix use yucca extract as a 'wetting agent' and this material does provide some level of fungicide benefits against pathogenic fungi and not as far as the good fungi. Standard practice......
I would go ahead and mix what you've got - it sounds like you've already bought it. Use this as a "starter mix" to get yourself going. Then you need to continue reading, and here is a very good place to start - http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/650139-organic-higher-learning-resources.html#entry8037696 J
Coot, I looked into this product a few months ago. They advertise it as a preventative for root rot and dampening off. They sell a Pro-Mix BX Mycorrhizae and a seperate Pro-Mix BX Biofungicide. Orange and Green labels respectively. They recently came out with a product that is both of these combined. Sorry I don't have more info about what fungicide it contains...I just know it won't interfere with mycorrizial colonies...according to the company at least.
The parent company, Premier Horticulture Labs, is the producer of the two endomycorrhizal strains we want to use in our gardens. They supply it to everyone in the mycorrhizal deal. They worked with hemp farmers in Canada for several years figuring the deal out. They're a top company in the horticulture industry - #2 behind Sun Gro Horticulture (Black Gold [snerk], Sunshine Mix(es) and other commercial product lines) CC
So went ahead and mixed it up today. Hopefully I didn't ruin anything but from what I was reading it seems like I can only make so big of a mistake. I added 20 gallons of the pro mix, 15 gallons of ewc, and 5 gallons of perlite(hoping this isn't too little but the pro mix already had some in it and I figure I could always add a little more later in worst case scenario. In addition I added 3.5 cups lime and 10 cups of the roots foundation uprising. That sound about right to you all? Now I just need to keep it wet and let it sit for about 4 weeks, correct? Also at the moment I have it on a tarp I mixed it on. Can I just leave it there or should I look for a bin? If I do the bin do I want some drainage holes in the bottom and would I leave it uncovered or no? Thanks again guys.
I have no idea what is in Roots Organics Uprising Foundation.... so hard to help But the general rule of thumb is about 2-4 cups of nutrition, and 1 cup of "liming agent" per cubic foot of soil. You have 40 gallons... that's just over 5 cubic feet. So I'd say you could use another 1.5 cups of lime, and possibly some more nutrition. If you can keep it moist (not wet) on the tarp, that'll be fine. You might find it easier in a bin, though. My soil storage is a giant cooler... no drainage holes, because I don't get the soil that wet. If it gets too wet, it can go anaerobic, which is a bad thing. You'll know if it does, because it will smell really bad. If you think it might be too wet, you can turn it every couple days at first, to make sure it doesn't go anaerobic..... Covered or not doesn't really matter....
Thanks Gandalf. I knew it was usually a cup per cf but the pro mix already had some lime in it so didn't want to overdo it. The ingredients for the roots uprising is in the first post and I added about 2 cups per cf if you get a chance to take another look. And thanks again to all of you who have helped me out.
Hey guys. I'm back. So my plants are onto their third set of leaves but it looks like I have too much nitrogen in my soil. The stems look a little weak, the bottom leaves are yellowing on one of my plants, and they are starting to canoe downwards on another one. My question is, is there a way to fix this. I imagine you can't just flush it out of the soil. Do I just ride it out and learn for next time? Thanks for the time and the help. -Soap
It would really help us to successfully diagnose your problems if you provided some pic's of your plants. And based on your post #15, there is definitely NOT enough aeration in your mix. You are most likely suffering from compacted soil, which results in insufficient levels of oxygen in the soil. Sufficient soil oxygen is necessary for the proper cycling and uptake of nutrients by microbes and plants. Without proper levels of dissolved oxygen in the soil, plants will begin to express all sorts of different kinds of nutrient deficiencies/toxicities.
Thanks for the quick reply. I knew I forgot something. Since that post I have added at least another 5 gallons of perlite. Probably closer to 10. But here are some pics. If it is aeration do you think adding some worms may help. Since I just transplanted I'm not sure I want to move them right away but could moving into a smart pot help as well? -Soap