I'm looking to make some Organic Soil Mix for my plants, now, I have availability to Pro-Mix Bx and most soil amendments. I can get most soil additives and am looking for one soil for the entire grow of the plant, could someone offer me a link or guide to making great organic soil out of the Pro-Mix or should I start with this, http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html Thanks In Advance! Edit: Im looking for a great Soil mix like Jerrys! As he said, he used Pro-Mix as a base, but looking for the best ideas everyone! Edit 2: Also I will be growing indoors under a 400watt light!
Any mix I use is just a slight variation of ITG's mix. Make sure you come up with the very best worm castings and compost - that's what it's all about. Crab/shrimp, organic neem cake, kelp, alfalfa for nutritional amendments... Fish meal and chicken manure work good too... Don't forget the rock dust. Buckwheat or rice hulls are excellent aeration amendments. Cycling/cooking time of 4-8 weeks... It still always come down to the quality of your compost and castings. Hth J
I am curious as to other people's experience with the lime issue that you're having, xDisciplex. I haven't seen any negative attributes to my soil yet, and I accidentally let mine dry ALL the way out. I guess I'm just curious how something so neutral (0-0-0) can "kill" the soil mix when all it's doing is neutralizing the acidity of the peat moss. So confused.
0-0-0 is an NPK value - it doesn't mean a darn thing when it comes to the acidity or alkalinity of a material. It simply means it doesn't have any NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash (Potassium) in it. It could still be very acidic, or very alkaline, depending on what the material is. J
NPK is just the nutrient profile for nitrogen phos and pot like jerry said doesnt mean anything thing other than that, so it could contain the kitchen sink but you wouldn't guess that from the NPK levels.....
Guys, the only Base soil I could get my hands on is "Pro-Mix Bx mycorrhizae". With this being used as the base soil instead, what else am I going to have to mix it with and to what ratio? Sorry for being so useless as this kind of thing. Thanks in advance.
Here is one place to start. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html
Pro Mix is mostly sphagnum moss with a little bit of perilite, lime and etc added Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (75-85% by volume) Perlite - horticultural grade Vermiculite-horticultural grade Dolomitic and Calcitic limestone (pH adjuster) Wetting Agent Mycorrhizae – endomycorrhizal innoculum (Glomus intraradices) PRO-MIX BX Mycorrhizae - General purpose peat-based growing medium
Ryan, take StickyFiskars advice and read throught the beginner soil thread. That's what it's there for. J
I read the beginner soil thread, but by using Promix I wasn't sure how the "recipe" would be changed. Not trying to argue, just looking for advice and not sure what to do. As I do not know how much of the amendmant there is specificly, I don't know how much more to add. Ex. Limestone is included, but I don't know how much, so I don't know if I need to add more, or what. Would promix itself replace the begining ingredients; 1/2 part peat moss 1/2 part humus (compost and/or ewc- can do all compost or all ewc or some mixture of the two) 1/2 part aeration amendment 1 cup lime (per cubic foot) Except the humus. Thanks
I use pro-mix at 40%-50% total volume of base depending on humus source. I dont add any additional lime. Pro-mix will replace the peat, drop the lime.
Perhaps a little less aeration, though, as it does have, albeit small amounts of perlite already in it. Ryan, perhaps like this - and remember, these recipes are not ever set in stone. 50% ProMix 35% compost and castings (humus) 15% aeration Adjust as you feel necessary for drainage. Use the 2-3 cups of nutritional amendments per CF. Some oyster shell or crab/shrimp meal wouldn't hurt, but my first several mixes were made with no liming agents, because ProMix already adds a lime charge, although I did use a compost made with lobster shells. Use the standard 4-5 cups rock flour, etc. Hope that helps. J
Thanks Jerry! I only have one last question for you, and the board. Looking at the Dry Organic Fertilizer, all of those products are "US Based" and are not available for us Canadians. With this being said, I also can't find a rock dust. Could anyone help with ideas/substitutes?
Rock dust is a general term it is not a specific product. Check this link out it will give you a better understanding. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1111289-rock-dust.html you can go to this Canadian directory to look for a place to source supplies near you. http://www.cog.ca/directory/ MGB
Looked and nothing! Still can't find this ilucid rock dust. Anyways, Does anybody have an idea about the fertilizer then?
Greenstar Plant Products Inc. Took me 2 seconds they have every thing you would ever need. Several different dusts,meals,Guanos you name it just stay away from all that chemical shit they sell. I am not vouching for this company nor did I price shop. You just said you can't locate anything in Canada. MGB
Thanks but I meant more of Ontario, closer to Sudbury. Doily appreciated though friend. Ideas about the organic fertilizer?