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Having trouble finding a soil recipe for large quantities

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019.

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  1. #1 Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019
    So I’m thinking about making my own organic soil. I’m having trouble with recipes. First part of the reason I want to make my own soil is because I want to make a raised garden bed for my herbs. I grow herbs and veggies and just started growing MJ. That will require a lot of soil. As in a lot of money. First question, is making your own soil less expensive than bag soil? Only organic tho. I already have a lot of amendments so that will help, but I also want to use coco coir. Has anyone made soil with that? Large quantities? I can get chicken manure at the nursery by my house. They swear by it! Never thought I’d have blood meal, bone meal and chicken manure! Where’s the best place to buy large amounts of coco coir? Amazon? For my MJ plants I’m using Black Gold and my garden Nature’s Care organic soil. And does it smell really bad?
     
  2. #2 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    From what I've seen of recipes out there promix is a better base then just coco and coco is the second ingredient in promix. Sunshin promix 4 is a good lower cost brand. It's $39 for a 3.8cuft bail locally. I'm sure it would be less if you bought in more bulk. Jerry has a great soil recipe with promix as a base.
    Indoor gardening without bottled nutrients
     
  3. #3 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    Most people prefer fox farms products with about 25% perlite over black gold any day.
     
  4. #4 Patanjali, Apr 6, 2019
    If you're looking to conserve money my advise is to stay out of the hydrostores. Go to the nurseries, landscape yards, feed stores, etc. Buying in bulk, rather than in bags, is another big money saver.

    P-
     
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  5. #5 Taoist Farmer, Apr 6, 2019
    If you follow a good organic soil recipe it will be cheaper and better than most bagged organic soils
     
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  6. #6 Taoist Farmer, Apr 6, 2019
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  7. #7 Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019
    I do t even think I have a hydro store where I live! But I’ll check out the nursery by my house. Maybe they’ll have something. Yeah, that’s kinda why I wanted to make my own soil because I thought it would cost less to make than to buy a bunch of bags of soil. Especially if I were to buy Promix! Jeez! I don’t think so. Not interested in buying pricey bags of soil.....
     
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  8. #8 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    Nothing wrong with promix. IMG_1108.JPG
     
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  9. #9 Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019
    I don’t mean there’s anything wrong with it. Just the price....
     
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  10. #10 Patanjali, Apr 6, 2019
    He signed off as AJ lol.

    Except the price. Nice looking plant though.

    P-
     
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  11. #11 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    I only use about one $39 3.8cuft bail a year for just my personal grow with a 4x4 veg and 4x4 flower area. It comes very compact and I mix in extra perlite so it goes further. By the time I get all the ingredients for a good comprehensive organic mix it's hard to beat that price really.
     
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  12. #12 Patanjali, Apr 6, 2019
    Not going to disagree with that. However, if you are looking to mix large quantities of soil, that's double the price of buying plain peat moss.

    P-
     
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  13. #13 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    True that. You can always just make your own promix for a base. It's peat moss, coco, perlite, and dolomite lime, with some wetting agents.

    3:2:1 ratio with 1tbsp per gallon of mix dolomite lime.
     
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  14. #14 Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019
    Yeah, it’s going to be used for a raised bed garden for my herbs/veggies. So that take a large quantity of soil. I like to grow from seed. It’s more fun.
     
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  15. #15 Foxymel, Apr 6, 2019
    What are wetting agents? That mix sounds good. I already have perlite and Dolomite lime.
     
  16. #16 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
    Those are proprietary to each blend so not listed on the ingredients but I'm sure you can find out with some googling. I haven't tried building my own. I may even go 3:2:2 with more perlite. Course.
     
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  17. #17 Tbone Shuffle, Apr 6, 2019
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  18. #18 Sc00byD00bie, Apr 6, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2019
    I would recommend you go with the no-till recipe that many of us here on the organic section use with great success.

    Base soil mix
    Equal parts:
    CSPM (Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss)
    Aeration (Pumice/Lava rock)
    Compost - Homemade is best but Malibus B/U is an excellent choice if it is available in your area.

    Amended per cubic foot with:
    1/2 - 1 cup Neem or Karanja meal
    1/2 - 1 cup Kelp meal
    1/2 - 1 cup Crab/Crustacean meal
    1 cup MBP (Malted Barley Powder -optional)
    1/2 cup Gypsum (nice sulphur source)
    4-6 cups Basalt dust (sub with granite or glacial rock dust if you cannot source basalt)
    6-8 cups Biochar (optional)
    1 cup lime (oyster shell flower, dolomite...)

    ***Small handful of worms per container***

    I also highly recommend you check out the notill thread which is stickied in the organic section.
     
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  19. #19 Patanjali, Apr 6, 2019
    Wetting agents are compounds that break water tension. Common organic wetting agents are aloe, yucca root and soap nuts. Dish soap can also be used, Dr. Bronner's would be my recommendation for soaps.

    P-
     
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  20. #20 Smokey B McBongwater, Apr 6, 2019
    I'm using Dr. Bronner's. works well :)
    Is the aloe you list used as a wetting agent? I thought people were using aloe for a different purpose for the microbes. or is it a good "multipurpose" item?
     
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