Raised beds

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by Frostnuggets, Oct 5, 2018.

  1. Hey gonna starts some raised beds for next outdoor season and for some winter veggies, was wondering what soil I should use. I can get some decent basic compost and some “potting soil”. The potting soil isn’t really potting soil, it’s more like dirt. Was wondering if a mix of these with my used flushed out foxfarm, with added perlite, humus, worm castings, lava rocks, and peat moss would work well with added fertilizers/minerals. If you can help me build my soil that would be great. Also what fertilizers should I mix in.
     
  2. Raised bed mix: equal parts compost, perlite and peat moss or coco coir.
    Amend with rock dust, worm castings, neem cake, humus, alphafa meal, mychos and whatever else you can afford.
    Water it down and cover it. Let it "cook" for 30 days. Make sure it doesn't dry out while its "cooking".
     
  3. Ok I can get most of that mix at my work for fairly cheap. Except the amendment, which I’ll have to get at my local hydro store, how hard is it too over do the amendments, because I’m willing to spend some good money on making a great organic soil.
     
  4. I have a comparison going with hempy buckets and supersoil. The supersoil is kicking ass. The mix is true water only and the amendments are listed on the page.

    Soil/ Hempy Comparison Grow
     
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  5. 50% peat moss
    25% lava rock
    25% compost

    1/2 cup per cubic foot of each
    Neem meal
    Kelp meal
    Crab meal
    Oyster shell flour (Pacific pearl)

    1 cup per cubic foot of glacial rock dust

    That's it!

    What compost can you source locally? This really matters.

    Alfalfa can substitute for the neem meal. Calcitic or dolomite lime can be subbed for the oyster shell flour. Granite and/or basalt rock dust can replace the glacial rock dust.

    The mix will be on the heavy side for the first couple runs. Enough so that most people use 1:1:1 peat/compost/lava rock. If your compost is on the heavy side I'd suggest this.
    RD IMG_20180727_150243_425.jpg

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  6. See! Tons of organic soil recipes. Not any one is better than the other. They all work.
    Amendments can be found at your local nurseries and feed stores for less than what they sell it for at a hydro shop. They usually have access to the same stuff too!
    Just ask if they carry or can get Down to Earth products. If they dont carry it they have something that is the same under another brand name. Straight alphafa meal and a couple other products can be found at feed stores for super cheap.
     
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  7. Great


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    @ I love growing weed
     
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  8. I agree with checking out feed stores and nurseries. Down to Earth is a brand I try to avoid. They are just a repackager w a fancy label and high prices. If you can get products from Concentrates NW your wallet will thank you. Years ago they wouldn't sell to the general public. I called them recently and nowadays they will send a single 50lb sack to your door. I'm sure they could also tell you what retailers carry their stuff locally. They likely have the best prices on neem/karanja meal in the U.S. Planet Natural is going out of business and sold me a sack of karanja at cost recently for around $35.
    RD
     
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  9. The compost I can get appears to be from trimmings, don’t know how hot it is, how can I tell, it’s filled with a good bit of bark and appears to be pretty dark. I can get a picture of it tomorrow if that would help.
     
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  10. Just throwing a name out there. Like I said if they dont carry it they'll have another brand of the same thing.
     
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  11. If its full of bark and/or wood chips its low grade compost. Quality aged compost should look like coffee grounds, unrecognizable, and shouldn't be based on wood chips.
     
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  12. I use Teufels compost. It's fairly woody and was deemed low quality on these boards long ago. If I were only mixing 100 gallons of soil I wouldn't use it. I only use it because I have years of experience with it and it's about 1/3 the cost of premium compost like Bu's Blend. This makes a big difference when making 40 yards worth.

    Bu's is likely the standard for most of us here (regarding bagged compost) in the Western U.S. Coast of Maine compost is the standard in New England and the East coast. @wetdog I believe uses Black Cow and will be found in the South.These are all known to work well.
    Another option is to find some earthworm castings or vermicompost. Wormpower out of NY State is the largest producer in the country and another outfit out of SoCal is the 2nd leading producer. You may be able to find a local producer as well. I'd mix the EWC/VC at a 50/50 ratio w any of the compost brands I've listed.
    If you decide to go with an unknown brand or compost made by a local nursery a bioassay is the only way to really know if it will work. That is unless you take the nursery compost and allow worms to work it and add things like coffee grounds, BDA'S, leaves, etc., etc.
    HTH
    RD
     
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  13. IMO bark in compost will slow deliver micro nutrients for a long time (I have gone to adding bark into my homemade compost). Wood chips are unacceptable to me. If it has bark, I would still use it.
    Granted for what commercial compost costs, I would rather buy 'just compost', than have it come with bark in it, which is much cheaper.
    cheers
    os
     
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  14. FDEA1D9B-3DED-40D2-8689-930C01DFA89E.jpeg FDEA1D9B-3DED-40D2-8689-930C01DFA89E.jpeg
    FDEA1D9B-3DED-40D2-8689-930C01DFA89E.jpeg This is what is available at the local nursery.
     

    Attached Files:

  15. Would using things with bagged worm castings be sufficient or should I look somewhere else?
     
  16. I’m going to be filling a 4x8 bed so would like to keep the budget low but would also be willing to spend a little extra up front for some good quality soil. Looking for the best compost for the price basically.
     
  17. A 4x8 bed 2ft high requires a lil over 500g of soil.
    (6) 3.0 c.f bales of peat moss $90
    (12) 1.5 c.f. bags of compost $300
    1 yard of lava rock $75
    Bag of kelp meal $100
    Bag of neem meal $100
    Bag of crab meal $50
    Bag of oyster $50
    Bag of rock dust $50
    Total $815 or $1.63 per gallon

    Mixing 500 gallons by hand...priceless! Lol.

    All of these prices are seriously inflated and could be had for much less. Even with the numbers I've given, it comes in around the same price as Roots Organics. You would still have lava rock enough kelp and neem for years to come though, a good bit of crab, and enough oyster to make seedling mixes. Start making your own compost and your only costs to maintain the grow are for IPM.
    RD
     
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