Hey I've been reading into many different organic soil mixes to make. I'm trying to use LDs recipe but am having trouble finding some ingredients. I can't find canola seed meal or pumice. I know I can substitute these but I'd like to do everything right and there's probably a good chance it's out there anyways. Also he says it costs him around $6 per CF to make so I'm wondering how. I read that he gets his stuff from nursery supply stores for about half the price that grow stores sell them but I can't find any. If anyone has any info or tips about stores like the one he's referring to or similar in south Florida please drop a reply. ... Would a farmers market be a place to find these sort of things?
Naorb, I just finished putting my soil together from LD's suggestions and had to order most of my stuff online. I live in SC and it appears the southeast growers are not growing organically to any extent. I visited all the local feed and sead stores, lowes, Home Depot, tractor supply, nurseries and others with little success in locating my needs. Reading how easily some on here pick up all these supplies locally tells me that the West Coast is way ahead of us on the practice and use of organics. I know this is of little help, but I didn't want you thinking you are crazy when you can't find what they seem to have in abundance. Peace ET
naorb, I've used LD's mix (with some variations) for a couple of years now. TBH.....I can recommend a product that you can buy that is pre mixed and will get you real close to LD's original mix without having to buy all the individual product. Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer by Dr.Earth has several of the different meals posted by LD and will do you a fine job. I've used this mix with great success and in fact, it is the mix I used in the grow journals in my signature. This blended mix comes in several different sizes, and there main website has a slew of retailers. It's also available on Amazon. I hope this info may simplify things for you a bit. You don't need to use everything posted in his mix, but if you are going to custom blend your fertilizer,some of the most important to have (IMO) are alfalfa meal, fish meal and/or fishbone meal, kelp meal, followed by crab/crustacean meal and neem seed meal. HTH chunk
Evilt Thanks for the response. Your post definitely was a help even though you didn't tell me where I can find these supplies. I have searched a pretty good deal and didn't even realize that those meals may not even exist in my area. Chunk Thank you for the tip I'll definitely look into that and there's a good chance I'll end up buying it. If I do get a worthy grow going I'll definitely put up a journal. So you mix this in alone with the sunshine mix and EWC or add other things too such as perlite, pumice, etc...?
A lot of users on here are on the west coast, and more specifically Oregon and WA. They can find these ingredients easily, locally, and cheaply. I can tell you right now you are going to have to foot some S/H costs. About half of my soil's cost is in S/H. $6/cf is probably possible, but not for most people. Shipping costs for pumice will make it pretty much unfeasible to use. I used and had no qualms with these 2 retailers. Grow Organic AG Organics
Hi Naorb- Check it out, I found this list after typing "South Florida Garden Centers" into Google, looks like you've got plenty of options down there, Im sure some of 'em will have what you're after. Knock yourself out Companies to keep an eye out for: Dr Earth's Organics, E.B. Stone, Sunshine-Sungro, Down to Earth... Mix the soil, your organic amendments, and pumice/vermiculite/rice hulls etc together then add your compost/ewc/humus and mix all together. As Chunk said above alfalfa, kelp, fish & fish bone meals, crustacean meals/oyster shell meals are some standard amendments that will help round out your blend. Neem and karanja meals are pretty awesome too, though you'll almost always have to order them-they're worth it especially if you've ever had to deal with spider mites or budworms...nasty things... Main thing is to have fun with it, if you can't find some specific amendment don't sweat it. The beauty of LD's mix is that it's extremely flexible and is able to be modified depending on what's available. And as you learn more about whats going on in the soil you can make adjustments as you see fit and not have to worry about whether or not your plants are going to fry. Hope that helps a little bit, good luck on your search!
Stankie, thanks for the sites, if i dont find what i need in the stores ill keep it in mind. thanks for the comprehensive reply, the thing is ive called and been to a few of these places and i havent found any that are NURSERY RETAIL STORES. i do find grow stores but the difference is about 65% cheaper as well as a wider selection (i hope) i guess i can try contacting some more places, ty