Thank you lumperdawgz!! i just found this soil online in Phoeniz Az what do you think of it ? It doesn't say how much you get for the pric though View larger image Return period: 10 days . Price: $44.95 Price: $0.00 Quantity: . Add to cart Add to Wish List Michigan Made Mix its a great fertilizer that it is made with composted sphagnum, canadian peat vermiculite, fossilized seabird guanos, bone meal, rock phosphate, green sand, perlite, blood meal, and lime. YOU DO NOT NEED TO ADD ANY NUTRIENTS WITH THIS SOIL
spiritsmoke That is way over-priced. There are a couple of organic growers who live in AZ and can fill you in on where to buy the materials you need for a successful garden. It won't cost $45.00 per c.f. - more like $9.00 - $10.50 per c.f. and will put that soil to shame. Not even close. Sit tight and you'll get solid information. HTH LD
thanks so much for your advise!! My problem is that This will be my first grow and I'm in a wheelchair so I can only mix up small batches at a time. Is there a formula I can use?
spiritsmoke I'm a medical grower and run 4 plants in either #5 or #7 SmartPots which is pretty close to 4.5 gallons (#5) and 6.25 gallons (#7) because of the weird numbering system used in the nursery industry. In theory, 1 c.f. = 7.5 gallons. In theory. So for 4 plants you'd need about 3 c.f. of mixed soil for the #7 size SmartPots Is that something that's workable for you? If so then this will be very, very easy and I can show you how to automate the watering without times, pumps, etc. Completely passive system from Austria. Just trying to see what might fit your situation. I have a lot of experience in helping new MMJ growers in this state so something that will work can be figured out and it won't break the bank either. LD
spiritsmoke Here's a link to Kellogg Garden Products. They've been in business for over 87 years and are based in Southern California. If you'll go to their web site and to Products you see a number of categories. They have several product lines under different names besides Kellogg. One of their products is "Garden & Bloome" which Chunkdaddyo posted information about. This is a very fine mix and a very affordable price. They have other lines like 'Master Gardener' (or something similar) which is another good option. See if any of the different labels under Products are ones you've seen at mainstream nurseries, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. And especially check out farm (aka feed) stores. That's always the best place to start. HTH LD
lumperdawgz2 That sounds a bit large for me but I could scale it down by half and that would be workable. I am very interested in the automating system. I have a pretty small space to grow in inside my house about 3.75 sf. Is that something that I could do in that amount of space? I have a closet that is 32wide and 18 deep and about 45" tall. SS
SS This is a question that I'll leave for Chunk, MI W, wet dog, (and many others that I can't remember) because these guys have more direct experience in smaller gardens. I'll fire a PM to Chunk and ask him to stop by. WetDroid is another good source - there's a bunch. Once you get an idea on number of plants, pot size, etc. then I'll get you the information on the watering system. There are a couple of specific products from Blumat that will work and it comes down to how you're going to configure your garden. Back to the soil - regardless of how you configure things, the soil remains a constant. Start with a solid soil and you'll eliminate a slew of problems later on. HTH LD
LUMPERDAWGZ@ I checked the link for the Kellog products and it looks like I can get them at the Ace hardware stor about a 1/2 mile from here, or at Home Depot or Lowe's. Will I need to add anything to the bagged soil? Thank you so much for the info and help!!! SS
If you didn't get anything else you definitely want Kelp meal. Not seaweed extract. Kelp meal. Even in a worse case scenario, if you went to an indoor garden store in your area, they may carry a product line from Oregon called Down-To-Earth. They pack both dry mixes and have single fertilizers like Kelp meal. If they have Kelp, then see if they have the Down-To-Earth Crab Meal. Other brands to look for: Epsoma, E. B. Stone, Dr. Earth, Bradfield Organics and probably 10 others. The brand means absolutely nothing. You would be covered with these 2 amendments and with the quality of the Kellogg products you'll be happy with the results. Chunk has grown a couple cycles with the Gardener & Bloome and just Kelp and was very happy. I know a couple of other MMJ growers that have had nothing but positive things to say. Kellogg has been doing it long enough..... Another brand to consider is Monrovia Nursery - another old company out of Southern California. Also the largest nursery in the USA with over 6,000 acres in production in 5 states. Their operation in Oregon is 1,000 acres and at this location is where they have their research labs and in particular their tissue-culture research. IOW, very solid company that's been around a long time. LD
Thats WeeDroid. SS. Welcome to GC's organics forum. Do you have your space set up for growing yet? In other words are you set for good air flow, enough electricity to power your garden and easy access for your water and plant care needs? LD flatters a lot of us here, as he really is a tremendous resource, especially in sourcing low cost organic needs. As far as soils go, you have this entire thread devoted to helping new growers like yourself get started in an organic grow. My recommendation, given your situation, is that you get some very good soil and good earth worm castings (ewc's) and the kelp meal. If you are willing to pay for the shipping, you can have these all shipped to you. You may have to hunt (google search helps) for sources and try to get organic when ever possible. Instead of mixing the above amendments into your soil, use as a top dressing or make compost tea as needed. Another good item to consider would be a 5 lb bag of neem. This will help feed your plants and help fight/prevent pests. Let us know if you need any help.
Dumdumdummy Dig around the pallet and find a bag that's buried = less exposure to the elements. Seriously.
hey guys i need some input i have been trying to switch but decided to wait to gather more info before i start. currently i am not organic an in sunshine #4 but i am starting to lean towards a Water only mix then move from there as experience grows. ive come up to do subcools super soil with FFOF/light warrior or happy frog(need more research) but i will be doing the 1/4 of the total mix. 1/4 Recipe 2 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil) 6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings 1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal 1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano 1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal 3/4 lbs rock phosphate 3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite) 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements) 1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid So do you guys think any thing else will be needed? or should be added to improve this mix?? or am i good? Also one more thing, i use a hydrologic small boy system to filter my water. Will i need a cal mag supplement?
As far as amendments go I would definitely add kelp meal, alfalfa meal and neem cake or meal. BeZ...V