Hey all. I figured I'd save a bunch of money and make my own "potting soil" for my plants this year. First of all, the holes are gonna be 3.5 cu ft (1.5' dia x 2' deep) and will be filled with the nutrients tapered off from the bottom to top. The native soil is somewhat dense and moist, dark brown/black from decomposed organic materials, and has a pH of around 6.0-6.2. With all the compost, manure, and meal added I'm expecting a low pH probably around 5.5-6.0 when I'm finished. OK some questions: 1. I will obviously have to add lime to up the pH to 6.5. If my hole is prepared 1.5 months before planting, when and how should I add lime? 2. Also, is store bought compost (Earthgro brand w/cow manure) gonna be fine? I'm planning on getting the stuff here http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...eId=10051&catalogId=10053&productId=100619074 3. Since the compost will retain moisture well in combo w/the perlite, could I be fine w/cutting out the peat? 4. Would it be better to replace the perlite with a 50% perlite/50% vermiculite mix? 5. What additional fertilizer (if any) is needed? OK now for the recipe!! Sand (6" mounded on bottom) Horse Manure (1/2 shovel in bottom half) Bone Meal HD (1.5 cups) Compost (30%) Perlite (HD) (20%) Peat (20%) Native Soil (30%) It comes out to around $10/hole , and a decent premixed organic potting soil costs >$30/hole Critique, advice, or alternate recipes much appreciated! THanks!
1. if you're going to add lime I'd go with 1 oz per gallon of soil, 1.5 months should be ok, just add a layer of fresh organic soil under your root ball to give it a 1 inch layer below the root ball of just fresh soil. 2. Did you mean 2' deep not 2"? I'd throw a 1/2 shovel of that manure in the bottom of your hole if it's 2' deep, not if it's 2" lol 3. You can cut the peat out, I'd put 30% perlite in your mix just to make sure it's aerated well and the soil is spongy and doesn't clump easily. 4. Maybe think about throwing a cup of blood meal in there for some good nitrogen. Good luck
between the horse manure the bone meal and the cow manure that is in the compost - that sounds like a lot of nitrogen. you can always add later but it is difficult to undo what is already done when u have a plant in the hole with all that. i am really not sure if it is too much or not as i use liquid fert. mabey one of the more experienced organic guys will know. good luck
^^ I kind of agree with this guy. When are you planning on transplanting your plants into the holes? If they've reached the vegetative stage, all that nitrogen will do them good, but if they're not far enough along, or you're planting them there straight after germination, you might want to think about cutting back on the nitrogen. So basically, your recipe sounds very good, IF you're transplanting them into the holes once they're vegetative. As far as compost and moisture retention, you're fine cutting out the peat as long as you have a set watering schedule of some sort. If you don't have the means of making regular trips to the site, you'd want all the moisture retention you can get, specifically around the holes. I'd shred up some cardboard / newspaper and line the holes with it to help trap moisture. It's worked for me in the past. Good luck with the grow! How many plants are you looking to harvest?
Thanks a bunch for the info guys. Yea I figured out that I probably shouldn't add blood meal because it's a ton of nitrogen that I have already covered with the composted manure, and the native soil which is fairly rich in organic material to begin with. Decided to cut out the horse shit too even though it's free . I'm gonna get plants in the holes after vegging inside for 3-4 weeks to get a few nodes and strong stem. I'm gonna water at least every 2 weeks and include organic ferts in these as needed. Becase my plants are in a moist area, they aren't gonna dry up too easily. Hope to finish four plants at 5 or so months old, so I'll get a lot of really nice finished product so I don't have to buy bud off the street anymore! I smoke a ton for medical reasons, and if I can grow great tomatoes already I figured why not bud? So new recipe: Compost (30%) Perlite (HD) (30%) Native Soil (40%) Sand (6" mounded on bottom) Bone Meal HD (2 cups) Dolomite Lime if needed