Making a soil

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by qualitysense, Apr 5, 2012.

  1. Hello all! I'm going organic and I have decided on making my own soil mix. I'm only growing autoflowers with this mix, so I want the nutrients to be focused towards flowering. I've done a lot of reading towards organics, but want to hear some expert opinions before I get too far.

    I'm starting with:
    10 Gallons of previously used and rinsed fox farms soil that had 20% perlite added.

    To this 10 gallon base soil I've added:
    1 Gallon of vermiculite
    2 Gallons of Peat Moss
    1 Gallon of Perlite
    1/2 Gallon of worm castings (1-0-0)
    1.33 cup of some store bought ferts with fungi/bacteria (2-7-4). The fertilizers instructions said to use 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, contained bone meal, feather meal, rock phosphate and chicken poo along with some 15 kinds of bacteria/fungi.
    0.5 lb of Azomite

    I feel like the mix needs more ferts, but I'm still a noob when it comes to understanding how NPK ratios are combined for different ferts so I may be wrong.

    1. I think the soil could use more worm castings, maybe another gallon or two?
    2. Should I look into raising my NPK ratios?
    If yes on 2,
    3. I can buy locally sul-po-mag (0-0-50), sea bird guano (1-10-0), and blood meal (13-0-0). If you have a better suggestion, please let me know. How much of these products should I add to my above soil mix (approx 15 gallons).

    My main concern is I'm either going to make the soil too weak or too hot.
     
  2. Hard to make a soil to weak, very easy to make it too hot. One way to avoid being too hot is to allow your mix to sit for 4 weeks, moistened, prior to use. This will allow soil microbes to process the elements a bit in order to make them more palatable to your plants.

    Your ewc's should be about 2-3 gallons, your peat moss should be spanghum peat moss, lose the vermiculite and you could probably use more azomite.

    don't worry about NPK, worry about soil minerals and fostering good microbe growth. Look into making ACT's and botanical teas.
     
  3. I agree with Wee - there is no such thing as "too hot" of an organic soil as long as it has been allowed to sit long enough - provided the soil contains a sufficient amount of soil life.

    You can't have too many/much earthworm castings - provided your mix drains well. Think about adding a compost component as well.

    You mentioned you wanted a soil more geared towards flowering. A well made, diverse soil will take care of all phases of plant growth. The plant and associated soil life will make those decisions for you. They know what the plant needs much better than yÓu or I do. Make your soil diverse and the plants and microbes will sort it out. This said, don't worry about "NPK". Again, a well made diverse soil will take care of all of your nutritional needs.

    You mentioned your castings are 1-0-0. This tells me that your castings are probably "Wiggle Worm" brand? Try and look on craigslist for some homemade castings. Wiggle Worm can come from almost anywhere - you simply don't know if they are any good - or not.

    The very best advice, if you really want to go organic is to start reading here in the Organic Growing forum here at GC and DON'T STOP READING. I'm not kidding man. There is a wealth of very valuable info here that you're simply not going to get elsewhere. Read, read, read, and ask lots of questions.

    Welcome to GC Organics.

    Jerry.
     
  4. If you still are looking for another treat to add to your mix look for Kelp Meal. It is a great addition to a soil mix. Read the organic section of GC and you will be amazed at what can happen with a good soil and a few tea's.:smoke:
     
  5. As has been said, the stickies are huge and will make you a stronger grower, but for a quick answer:

    15% perlite
    15% vermiculite
    40% peat
    30% EWC
    and more like 1.5 C. of your general mix and 1 cup azomite per 5 gallons

    Throw in your recycleds and let it sit for a couple of weeks before using.
     

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