hi, I've lurked the forums for a while but never posted; here's my soil mix: 1 bag patio plus 1 bag new ammendment soil 1/2 bag perlite 1 bag worm castings 1/2 cups fish emulsion 1/2 cup ashes 1/2 cup neem seed meal 2 cup alfalfa meal 2 cup mycorrhizae 3 cup azomite also good for seedlings? any help with measurements and suggestions for additions or exclusions are greatly appreciated ordering lights for first grow soon =D (also have outdoor environments for growing)
Welcome to the organic forum at Grass City smokefiend420. Lose the ashes immediately, especially with seedlings. I would also get rid of the fish emulsion. Instead get kelp meal. The alfalfa meal will cause your mix to heat up some, so I recomend you let it sit (moistened, once you have mixed everything) for about a month, two weeks at a minimum. This will allow the other elements in your soil to get cycled a bit by the soil microorganisms so that, overall, your soil is less hot. 2 cup mycorrhizae spores seems excessive.
both soils contain kelp meal in small amounts, is alfalfa meal necessary then? and what about this as a transplant mix? was thinking of using 30% worm casting 50% patio plus and 20% perlite for seedling mix p.s. 1cup mycorrhizae and just use fish emulsion as diluted fert for early and late veg? or 1 1/2 cups and/or no fish emulsion at all? drop ashes for seedlings but not for transplant?
just drop the ashes. Unneeded and potentially bad. More kelp meal is good but not critical if you have some in your mix already. The mix should be fine for all stages of growth as long as you treat the soil well. A cover crop of white clover will help fix nitrogen in your soil. Worm castings no higher than 20-25% (it gets muddy and anaerobic). Ideally don't use fish emulsion. Think more of top dressing with ewc's a few times or more, for your grow. You're sound like you think the mycorrhizae is a food source. It isn't. It's a soil microbe inoculate designed to boost your soil microbes. Soil microbes are the heart of organic growing as they process soil elements (nutrients) for use by the plant roots. Apply powders during transpalnts (dust root balls) and a pinch in the water your rooted cuts in in good. A better way to apply soil microbes is an ACT (best) or a compost/manure tea. The alfalfa is highly recommended. Keep the neem in your mix. Read the book Teaming With Microbes, visit this thread http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/951816-what-soil-recipes-do-you-guys-use.html and do listen to other growers here besides me.
[quote name='"smokefiend420"']both soils contain kelp meal in small amounts, is alfalfa meal necessary then? and what about this as a transplant mix? was thinking of using 30% worm casting 50% patio plus and 20% perlite for seedling mix p.s. 1cup mycorrhizae and just use fish emulsion as diluted fert for early and late veg? or 1 1/2 cups and/or no fish emulsion at all? drop ashes for seedlings but not for transplant?[/quote] Personally in my own experience I found that the more you read the less you spend, and your crop tells the rest.
do you mind if i quote that to some people here at home? lol and definitely gonna try out an ACT, ive been looking into it and it sounds like one of the best ideas ive ever heard
You can use straight patio plus for seedling been doing it for years. Here is my mix that I use with patio plus with pound plant results. 1.5 CU Ft of Kellogg's patio plus 1 cup of feather meal brand Down to Earth 12.0.0 1 cup of bio fish meal brand Down to Earth 7.7.2 1 cup of fishbone meal brand Down to Earth 3.16.0 1/2 cup of Iron- Sulfur brand FST 33%iron 19%sulfur 0.5% manganese 0.5% zinc 2 cups of Kelp meal brand Down to Earth 1-0.1-2 1 cup of Alfalfa meal brand Down to Earth 2.5-1-1 1 cup of Greensand brand EB Stone 1 cup of Dolomite Lime brand EB Stone ca21.8 mg11.6 1 cup of Oyster Shells brand Down to Earth 1 cup of Humic Acids brand Down to Earth 1/4 cup of Azomite brand Down to Earth 1 cup of Crab meal brand Down to Earth 3-4-0 1 cup of Neem seed meal brand Down to Earth 10lbs of worm castings my worm farm 2 liters of perlite Good Luck
[quote name='"dirrtyd"']You can use straight patio plus for seedling been doing it for years. Here is my mix that I use with patio plus with pound plant results. 1.5 CU Ft of Kellogg's patio plus 1 cup of feather meal brand Down to Earth 12.0.0 1 cup of bio fish meal brand Down to Earth 7.7.2 1 cup of fishbone meal brand Down to Earth 3.16.0 1/2 cup of Iron- Sulfur brand FST 33%iron 19%sulfur 0.5% manganese 0.5% zinc 2 cups of Kelp meal brand Down to Earth 1-0.1-2 1 cup of Alfalfa meal brand Down to Earth 2.5-1-1 1 cup of Greensand brand EB Stone 1 cup of Dolomite Lime brand EB Stone ca21.8 mg11.6 1 cup of Oyster Shells brand Down to Earth 1 cup of Humic Acids brand Down to Earth 1/4 cup of Azomite brand Down to Earth 1 cup of Crab meal brand Down to Earth 3-4-0 1 cup of Neem seed meal brand Down to Earth 10lbs of worm castings my worm farm 2 liters of perlite Good Luck[/quote] Part of the 99% organic crew?
Yeah, a lot of your good results is from being outside in the sunshine. Not to detract from your mix, but us indoor growers have to be way more fussy with what we do as it's not the outdoors. Great grow!
Good point, and what I was thinking too. I don't know how much ten lb of castings is, because it could be mostly water but a dozen cups of additives for what? 2 cf of soil seems excessive. Although outdoor growing is forgiving, I'd proably use half of those amounts. 2-3 cups nutrients per cf of soil is where I like to be.......MIW
I haven't burned a plant using this mix in the last few years. I usually put plants in the mix in the ground and in containers. The plants generally have a well developed root system before they are introduced to this mix. As I stated earlier I use the regular patio plus for seedlings and clones. The ingredients in the bag will not last that long in my experience. Good Luck
thanks! perfect for me because im transplanting from 1 gal pots into ground =D btw, if planted in ground can plants withstand higher nutrient rich soil mixes or something similar to how you give more bottled nutes to plants outdoors in the ground
[quote name='"smokefiend420"']thanks! perfect for me because im transplanting from 1 gal pots into ground =D btw, if planted in ground can plants withstand higher nutrient rich soil mixes or something similar to how you give more bottled nutes to plants outdoors in the ground[/quote] Read more.