all i need is to do one little organic stealth grow.... one small plant ive heard about all this bat guano kelp meal neem oil spaghnum moss for aeration but i was looking for a first hand answer what do i need for one small plant that will be forced into flower aroun 1 foot toall maybe?? should i just go chemical it would piss me off but it seems so much easier could i purchase all the organic stuff for one to two grows for under $50 i know theyre are tons of threads about this that you want to point me to but first hand answers are always nice
Organics is all about the soil... This is the basic soil to start seedling. Once your seedling has been started you can amend the rest of the base soil and let cook for 3-4 weeks then transplant. Very important to let cook as this is breaking the amendments in the soil down as useable plant food. If soil is not properly broken down can lead to a hot soil that may cause problems and burn plants... 1/3 Canadian peat moss 1/3 Compost 1/3 Perlite The humus from compost is the key ingredient in a soil mix and the better the quality the better the soil. Compost from quality ewc is the norm but, compost from quality leaf/veg matter is good and a mixture of ewc/leaf matter works good. As for amendments the top ones I believe are Alfalfa meal, Kelp meal, Neem meal, Fish bone and fish meal. You can even blend in a quality dry tomato fertilizer like Espoma with your other amendments or as a stand alone amendment.... This will give you a soil that is water only with an occasional top dressing of ewc etc if needed. You can water using liquid concentrated seaweed with great results. This mix can be reused over and over again in your grows and re amending and cooking after using the soil every couple grows... To your meal amendments you want to add Granite dust(better), or Azomite. Dolomite lime to neutralize the soil ph. Much cheaper growing organics and the pot is better tasting and healthier...One thing is if you start with organics and switch to chemicals you have defeated the purpose by killing the living organism that make organic growing work.... Happy growing.....
Utooktoomuch - you can make yourself a very basic soil recipe from scratch for around fifty bucks - maybe a little more but you can reuse it and further adjust it as time passes and you learn more and more. Just buy the small bags. Inexpensive, very effective homegrown organic soil - Pro Mix or Sunshine Mix - (Peat & perlite with a slight liming agent to balance the acidic peat Bagged compost - I pay $7-$8 per bag (I love the Coast of Maine lobster compost) Bagged Worm castings - (get what you can) A 5 pound sack of a blended organicfertilizer - $10.00 (Epsoma Tomato Tone or Garden Tone or Bio Tone or one of the Dr Earth or Down to Earth products - they are all similar. 5 pound sack of Kelp Meal - (Ascophylum Nodosum) 5 items. That's it. This will be a true, organic "water only" needed (beginner, yet VERY effective) soil mix. You're looking at around a hundred dollars here and use this soil over and over again. And again. And again. Mix the compost and castings 50/50. Use perhaps 60% to 65% of the ProMix/Sunshine Mix and the balance 35% to 40% compost/castings. To this add 2 cups of the blended organic fertilizer and one cup of kelp meal for every cubic foot of soil (7.5 gallons). Moisten very thoroughly and keep in a warm place for 3-4 weeks - longer is better to nutrient cycle. This is the time in which the microbes in the worm castings and compost will begin to break down the organic matter, including your kelp meal and fertilizer into usable plant food. Adjust this as needed to make sure that it drains well. Don't make it heavy/wet. You can make some kelp meal teas throughout the grow using a short quarter cup per gallon/1 cup per 5 gallons - perhaps even less and just soaking it for 3-4 days and watering it in. This also makes an excellent foliar spray. Top dressing with some castings and/or compost works out really well, too. This would be a good introduction for you - welcome to the Organics forum. J
Correct....and with a couple act to inoculate for microbial activity, nutrient tea and top dressing with ewc if needed, it's water only..... Your soil will provide all the nutrients the plants need when and if they need anything and the humus from the compost will give the ideal ph.....
what does cooking it down for 3 - 4 weeks mean? ewc? can i buy compost online menards ace hardware walmart where?
this is so fucking confusing so far what i think im going to do is mix perlite and canadian sphagnum (peat) with the 50/50 bag worm castings and compost then add lime to this???? how much lime???? what about this Amazon.com: Dr. Earth 704P Organic 5 Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer Poly Bag, 4-Pound: Patio, Lawn & Garden could help me narrow down the dr earth down to earth bio tone epsoma tone garden tone for the best one im trying to order this off of amazon i searched up organic fertilizer but i gotta ton of stuff i know you need high nitrogen for veg and high potassium for flower.... WHY DOES CHEMICAL SEEM SO MUCH EASIER FUCK....
It's not. You need maybe .. 1-2.5 cups of lime per cubic foot. Love Dr. Earth. Use that. Relax, bro. This is easier. Think of it this way.. you're buying all of your "nutes" upfront, and rather than feed the plant, you're feeding the soil. The microlife & its byproducts feed the plant! "Cooking" is just the process of waiting for the little microlife to establish an ecosystem. If it still seems too hard, you're overthinking it! Relax, and smell the flowers.
As far as compost, try Craigslist. If not, a 100% organic bag from Lowes, Menards, etc. will work. Earthworm castings, however, should REALLY come from a local source. Again, if not, a bagged brand will work... You'll just be much happier with the real deal. As I said, don't overthink this & don't stress out! We are here to help. Don't give up and go back to chemicals! Welcome to the Dark Side.
I don't see where the confusion lays. Did you read posts 1&2 of this thread? http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html Pretty much sums up everything you need to know... how much lime, how to add amendments, ratios of amendments, etc... You don't need "high" amounts of anything. The NPK values of organic nutrients are much lower than chem' nute's, and you don't need to be concerned with "how much this" or "how much that". Just make sure you get a little of everything (NPK & micronutrients) in the mix. The plants and microbes will figure out the rest. This really is WAY easier than chemical growing. You're overthinking things. Organic technique really does take a lot of the worry out of gardening. "Cooking" refers to nutrient cycling. It means you're giving the microbes time to begin the breakdown of the organic materials that you put in your soil. This breakdown results in the nutrients being transformed into a soluble form that the plant can readily absorb. This breakdown also creates a lot of heat that can burn plant roots. This is why we "cook" our soils before using them. wak
im probably going to have to go with the store bought sadly but ty i will robably be asking more questions once i fully know what im oin to do lol
would this work with like a small mini fridge/solo cup type micro grow? if i make a batch of the soil and then just fill small cups?i mean would it run outa nuts
Cooking is a term used meaning nutrient cycling. In other words the nutrients need to be broken down for the microbes to process. The warmer the ambient temp the faster the process.. Your best bet is to look localy(craigslist etc)for someone that makes compost and raises worms for castings. Most big box stores like HD and lowes are limited, especially for worm castings. A better type nursery will carry thes products most likely or, you can get them from ebay... If you have the time and place you can make your own quality compost and worm castings.
[quote name='"utook2much2much"']would this work with like a small mini fridge/solo cup type micro grow? if i make a batch of the soil and then just fill small cups?i mean would it run outa nuts[/quote] Yes it will work, and no it won't run out of 'nuts'. The soil will be reusable without more 'nuts'. Your plant will be root bound if not flowered quickly, have you figured all that out?
I'm still figuring out organic growing myself. Would this be a water only mix? Worm castings,composted manure,Dr. Earth's starter fertilizer,Mexican & Indonesian bat guano[ or blood & bone meal]?
i dont think you need bat guano or blood and bone meal 100% i think its optional i probably willl get some tough so yeh anyone here able to tell me the role bat guano and or blood/bonne meal play in organic soil???
Yup. Lol. Okay.. So any of the MEALS (i.e.- blood, bone, alfalfa, kelp, etc.) are to feed your soil, not your plants. You are providing nutrients to the microlife in your earthworm castings/humus source. Their by-products provide nutrients to the plants. So by adding bone or blood meal, you're adding an animal by-product to your soil for Nitrogen & Phosphorous levels. A good number of the growers on here prefer not to have animal products in their soil, and choose alternative meals for their microherds. That is why you'll see people saying it's "optional", as it's really not… just that TYPE of meal is optional… You'll still need a significant source of the nutrients that bone/blood add. I'm from the south, and we have a "kill'em & grill'em" mentality anyways, so I have no problem using blood/bone meals. lol. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask more!