Need Help with soil mix

Hey slim, welcome to GCs organics forum.

Here is a couple of real good threads to read on bagged soils you can buy, and how to mix your own.

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/988488-ready-grow-bagged-soil.html

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/951816-what-soil-recipes-do-you-guys-use.html

These are just my personal favs, there is loads more here to read through if you like. Best to read up a bit and pick what ever works best for you and your situation.

Good luck!

 

Subcool uses a store bought mix, ammends it and then puts his name on it.

Read the "Stickys", which are located at the top of the Thread list. Include Wee's suggested threads in your reading. You'll be amazed at the sheer amount of valuable, useful information here.

Wouldn't you rather use Slim82's mix over "Subcool's" (ahem) Super soil? *lol*

There are 3 very important factors in a solid organic soil mix - Soil life, nutrition, and drainage. Start out with sphagnum peat as your base, in the form of Sunshine Mix or Pro-Mix. The soil life, or microbes are varieties of beneficial bacteria that live in both comost and earthworm castings. Try and source local. The Nutrition is added in the form of various seed meals, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, fish meal, bone meal - you get the idea. You can add this component very inexpensively, to start off with by using an "all-in-one" organic fertilizer, such as Epsoma organic Garden or Tomato Tone fertilizer. Add this at the rate of approximately 2 to 3 cups per cubic foot of soil mix.

Once you have this all mixed up well, moisten it thoroughly and let it sit, or "nutrient cycle for a minimum of 2 weeks, but better at 4 weeks.

Use (again - approximately - it aint rocket science - use your best judgement) 1/3 EWC's and Compost and 2/3 of the Sunshine Mix or Pro-Mix, and then add the 2-3 cups of organic fertilizer per CF and you're well on your way to becoming an organic gardener - a gardener that doesn't needto rely on bottled chemical nutrients, constantly checking your pH or TDS or XYZ. You will be growing healthy, strong plants that taste better, smell better and are simply better for you and much less expensive to grow.

Don't forget to read and re-read the stickys. They are there for a very good reason.

Best of luck -

Jerry.

 

Word ^^^^^

The only thing I disagree with (slightly), is the 2-3 cups/cf part, especially if this is your first rodeo. I'd suggest more like 1 1/2 cups and 2cups maximum. It's easy to add more (especially using Espoma), a real bitch to remove too much.

Big +++1 on the Espoma products. Have had excellent results with everything I've used from the line. Just found that the 3cups/cf is a bit too hot for my taste, even though they recommend that amount.

Of course everyones mixes vary slightly and so do the strains being grown, so it takes a few times to get everything dialed in.

Make sure you add either dolomite or garden lime to the sunshine or pro mix. Peat based mixes need it.

Wet

 

YES!!!!!!

My *basic* mix is nothing more than peat moss/perlite/EWC (earthworm castings/vermicompost)

Then I add amendments. Easy Peasy

Wet