Organic Soil Mix

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by DreaminGreen, Jul 25, 2010.

  1. I am doing my first Organic grow and have somewhat of an idea of what I am doing but I know there is still alot to learn. This will be my fourth grow ever so I am still learning new stuff everyday. Here is my first crack at it.

    1 bag of FFOF
    1/4 bag of FFLW
    10 cups perlite
    5 cups vermiculite
    4 cups worm castings

    I also have

    -Bone meal
    -Green sand
    -Cottensead meal
    -blood meal (I dont think I will need it.)

    Any suggestions on what ratio I should add the others or if I even need them? Any suggestions comments are welcome and I wont get butt hurt over you giving your honest opinion. I am trying to make this as easy as it can be with only using water and teas.

    If everything goes well I am planning to make my own mix next time around but I figured this way (though more expensive) was a good start to what I am trying to do.

    Thanks GC + rep for answers :hello:
     
  2. 'Myself', I would lose the vermiculite and add more perlite. But, that could just be a holdover from living in SoFla and the rain and vermiculite retaining too much water. YMMV I use about 30%+ perlite.

    Also, I've read (here), that cottonseed meal is a no no in containers. LD will fill you in on this. Very acidic also.

    Can you score any alfalfa meal? Good stuff with extra benefits. I now use it in place of the blood meal.

    You will also need some powdered dolomite lime or powdered oyster shells, both for cal/mag and as a soil buffer for pH.

    Some kelp meal in addition to the greensand. Together, they work wonders.

    Rock dust or Azomite or similar, but others will chime in on this I'm sure.

    Wet
     
  3. Ok I will take the cottonseed meal back. Its kind of a drive for me to get to the store so I just grabbed anything that I thought I might need. Thanks! Any other suggestions on ratio?
     
  4. #4 DreaminGreen, Aug 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 10, 2010
    You were right about the vermiculite. Retains just a little to much water. I have decided to go with this mix next time.


    1 bag of FFOF
    1/4 bag of FFLW
    10 cups perlite
    4 cups worm castings
    1 cup kelp meal
    1 cup green sand
    1 cup bone meal
    1 cup garden lime

    Does anyone have any other suggestions? Wil those ratios be sufficient for the grow?
     
  5. Do what Wet is suggesting and you'll be way ahead of the game.

    Cottonseed meal is used on acid-loving plants. Blueberry growers around here use it for that very reason. Azaleas, camellias, et al. are plants that benefit from cottonseed meal's acidic qualities.

    For growing medicine there are far better options - like alfalfa meal.

    HTH

    LD
     
  6. Here's a couple of suggestions...................

    1 bag of FFOF
    1/4 bag of FFLW
    10 cups perlite
    20 cups worm castings
    1 cup kelp meal
    1 cup green sand
    1 cup bone meal
    1 cup garden lime (is this dolomite lime, i.e. does it contain Mg (Magnesium) is is it Calcium Carbonate?)

    Add 2 cups of alfalfa meal as this will provide you with a solid N-P-K base and food for the microbes in the earthworm castings. Not much hope for the FFOF sadly enough.

    Are you able to get good quality earthworm castings in your area?

    LD
     
  7. Is there another premade soil that would work better? I am an open book here and want the best that I can but I want to keep it reasonably simple for now. FF products are just easliy avalable. So is botanicare ready grow.

    I have access to very good worm castings from a seed farm center here in town. (I plan on doing my own in the next year or so.) I also picked up some kelp meal from a different place that the guy says is the best in the world. Cant remeber the name but I will ask.

    Why so many cups of EWC?
     
  8. O and about the lime. I havnt picked any up yet but I was going to grab some of the epsoma garden lime if that helps.
     
  9. It's pretty easy to make you own soil and you have most of the ingredients already.

    Take 2 c.f. of peat moss or coco coir, 1 c.f. of perlite (or pumice) and 1 c.f. of earthworm castings. There's 4 c.f. or 'about' 30 gallons.

    These numbers are for 1 c.f. ('about' 7.5 gallons) of your potting soil mix:

    1 cup of kelp meal
    1 cup of alfalfa meal
    1.5 cups of Azomite (that's usually the easiest to find for most folks)
    1 cup bone meal (steamed is usually easier to breakdown by the microbes)
    1/2 cup of limestone or oyster shell powder (calcium carbonate - no magnesium)

    If you opt for dolomite lime then others will be better able to give you the appropriate amount.

    Add some mycorrhizal fungi to your mix and Viola! You now have a viable soil that can be 're-cycled' over and over by amending with earthworm castings, seed meals, etc.

    Pretty cheap and far better than grow store bags of dirt.

    HTH

    LD
     
  10. That's pelletized dolomite lime.

    Dolomite lime comes in 3 forms, prilled, pelletized and powder. The powder and prilled forms are most easily assimilated in the soil. Prilled simply is the term for taking a powder and then it is sprayed with a water and clay mix which turns the powder into small pellets.

    Pelletized is basically the same process but a harder clay is used resulting in the product taking longer to breakdown in your garden soil. In a garden that's a good thing perhaps (depending on the soil conditions) but in a container garden you're not getting much of what you're looking for during the short time of a typical cycle, i.e. 12 weeks or whatever.

    Limestone would be a very good product to source. And it's cheap - like $6.00 for 50 lbs. at a farm supply store. Limestone is a natural product (old marine deposits) and is almost pure calcium carbonate (the preferred form of calcium vs. elemental calcium).

    HTH

    LD
     
  11. #11 DreaminGreen, Aug 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 10, 2010


    Thanks LD that sounds easy enough. I am also planning on doing some teas every 3-4 weeks with this....

    1 cup ewc
    1/4 cup kelp meal
    1 tsp molassas
    1/4 alfalfa meal?
    Fish enzymes? ( I saw a organic fish enzyme supplent of some sort at the hydro shop would that work? I cant remeber what it was called but the guy recommened it for teas.

    Do you reccomend the peat or the coco. I can get either.
     
  12. DreaminGreen

    I prefer coir for a few reasons with the main one being it's water-retention properties and it's neutral PH. Sunshine Mix Just Coir is the specific product that I like using.

    AACT recipe: You could cut the alfalfa meal to about 1/2 (i.e. go with 2 tablespoons). Fish enzymes (more generally known as fish hydrolysate) is good for growing out fungi in the teas. About 1/4 cup would be good.

    I'm assuming that your numbers are for 5 gallons of AACT and not for a single gallon.

    Looks like you have a handle on things! What brand of fish hydrolysate are they offering?

    LD
     
  13. Correct 5 gallons.

    It was either humbolt or down to earth.

    Is sunshine mix something that should be found easily? I live in a relatively big city in the midwest.
     
  14. DreaminGreen

    Down-To-Earth - if this is the product that they're offering

    [​IMG]

    That specific product is packed up at Anacortes, Washington (fishing port north of Seattle). They pack this product under several names. It's very good from my experience using it.

    Sunshine Mixes will generally be available at wholesale nursery supply companies. Calling a local nursery and asking them where they source their base materials would be the best place to look.

    The deal about the Sunshine Mix Just Coir product is that it's organic and completely free from salts that cause problems for gardeners.

    At your local HomeDepot or Loews see if they carry a peat moss under the 'Lakeland' label. That may be easier to source - it's packed by the Sunshine company (SunGro Horticulture) and is a very nice peat moss product.

    Just a couple of alternatives for you to consider perhaps.

    LD
     
  15. Yes that is the stuff. I guess I will be picking that up then.

    I will check my garden stores first and if they dont have it I will see what home depot as to offer. Thanks again LD, You are awesome!
     
  16. LD....Would you change this AACT recipe for flowering plants or, would it be for both...
    1 cup ewc
    1/4 cup kelp meal
    1 tsp molassas
    1/4 alfalfa meal?
    Fish enzymes
     
  17. #17 LumperDawgz, Aug 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 10, 2010
    colafarmer

    From what I understand about AACT processes in general that it's the development of the fungi colonies that is one of the main goals.

    EWC by their nature are loaded with bacteria and protozoa colonies. Depending on what food items went into the bins will determine the levels of the other microbes. If paper and wood by-products are the primary food (like the Canadian commercial EWC that are widely used by soil companies) then you end up with a high carbon product but diminished microbes and in particular the fungi component.

    And as we all know, fungi is necessary for feeding the plant from the bacteria and protozoa exudes created as they break-down the soil amendments like seed meals, marine products, minerals, etc.

    What you can do to increase the fungi is really easy and cheap. Head over to a store that carries organic flours. I like using organic rye flour but that's from the perspective of being a bread baker - rye flour is what is used to create sourdough cultures in the beginning of that process.

    Take 2 tablespoons of a flour and mix in with 1 cup of your EWC and you want the EWC wet enough to barely hold together in a ball. You do not want any water dripping - just barely damp. Put this into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or put it into a Tupperware container. Burp this mix a couple times a day so that you don't end up with anaerobic mold/fungi.

    The color is the main thing - you want white mold. After 4 or 5 days you should have a hairy mess in the bowl. Use this mix in your AACT and you will get an increased level of fungi and this can then help to bring up the soil's viability.

    I do this even with EWC or thermal compost that I know is uber-high in fungi to grow them out as long as possible. In the right environment with the correct foods (kelp, fish hydrolysate, humic & fulvic acids) you can achieve lengths of up to 6' in a 12 hour brew cycle.

    Again assuming that there is the correct level of air moving through the brewing cistern.

    HTH

    LD
     
  18. In place of the Azomite lime, using dolomite in Dreams soil mix, what amount do people suggest for 1 cf?
     
  19. JaK

    Azomite is a rock dust (a volcanic rock dust to be exact) and is mined in Utah. Lots of companies pack a Azomite product from license with the Azomite company.

    So to answer your question in a round about way - you'd want to include both.

    For 1 c.f. of potting soil you'd want to add 1 - 1.5 cups. You can't overdo rock dusts - it's just rock. LOL

    On the dolomite lime deal others can be of more help than I can.

    LD
     
  20. #20 DreaminGreen, Aug 11, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 11, 2010
    2 c.f coco coir
    1 c.f. perlite
    1 c.f Worm Castings

    4 cup kelp meal
    4 cup alflafa meal
    6 cup Azomite (I am assuming the epsoma will work?)
    4 cup Bone meal
    2 cup limestone
    Green sand? (not sure on amount.)
    mycorrhizal fungi

    So this is what I think I am going to go with. How does the ph sit with that mix? Do you think I will be able to just get by with teas with this? Maybe once every 2-3 weeks. I plane on using the tea I posted above.

    Also should I the soil mix "cook" for a few weeks?
     

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