Feel free to critique. My mix for bottom half of 2x2x2 holes (thanks Subcool) •\t1 bale Pro-Mix BX (3.8 cu. ft.) •\t8 cups Bone Meal – phosphorus source •\t4 cups Blood Meal – nitrogen source •\t1 1/3 cups Epsom Salt – magnesium source •\t7-8 cups of dolomite lime (1 cup per cubic foot; 1 bale of Pro-Mix is about 7 cubic feet) – calcium source & pH buffer •\t½ cup of Azomite (trace elements) •\t4 cups of kelp meal •\t25 lbs. of worm castings •\t1 cubic foot of perlite •\t? Great White mycorrhizal fungi—not sure how much to add! I will use a cement mixer to mix. Will moisten will 2 gallons of water and let sit for 2-3 weeks (somewhere warm to help microbial growth). Will use 44 gallon black garbage bags to contain the soil until soil goes into the holes. Top half of 2x2x2 holes •\t1 bale of Pro-Mix BX (3.8 cu. ft.) •\t7-8 cups of dolomite lime (1 cup per cubic foot; 1 bale of Pro-Mix is about 7 cubic feet) – calcium source & pH buffer •\t1 1/3 cups Epsom Salt – magnesium source •\t½ cup of Azomite (trace elements) •\t4 cups of kelp meal •\t1 cubic foot of perlite •\t? Great White mycorrhizal fungi—not sure how much to add! •\t25 lbs. of worm castings •\t20% composted rabbit manure (about 1 ½ cubic feet per bale of Pro-Mix BX) I will also let this set for 2-3 weeks as well. Every third watering I will be using the following tea (of course I will have let bubble for 24 hours prior to use) with one cup poured into a stocking sitting in 5 gallons of reverse osmosis water. I will agitate the stocking many times every few hours. •\t1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG) •\t1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican) •\t1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC) •\t5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract •\t5 tbs. Liquid Karma •\t1 tbs. organic, blackstrap molasses
lawschool2012 By definition when you add a humus source (compost and/or earthworm castings) you now are growing in 'soil' - the base, Premier Horticulture Pro-Mix BX, would be considered a 'soilless' mix generally referred to as a 'blank soil' in the horticulture industry. The product that you've selected is a professional base so you're in good shape there. The other thing that makes the products from Premier Horticulture is that they are a major player in the area of producing endo-mycorrhizal fungi powders under their proprietary name of 'Premier Mycorise' and 'Premier Mycorise Pro' which are the most widely used endo spores used by professional nursery growers. The specific product you're going to use contains the 'Pro' version. Their endo products find their way into a number of grow store products with the obligatory massive price ramps. What starts out as a $10.00 per lb. endo product turns into a $100.00 per lb. product with kewl labels. You've got a good base to work from, IMHO HTH LD2 P.S. - is this where I should post a lawyer joke? J/K
See if you can find some good finished compost to throw in. I recently found a good source for organic compost at a local equestrian center. Thermal horse manure compost for $12 cubic yard. Or they sell 2 c.f. bags for $2 each. It may take some looking around but will be well worth it.
Looks good! The only thing I would suggest is bumping up the Azomite, if you have enough, "I" use a cup/CuFt. And, perhaps bumping up the perlite. But, I do that by eye after everything else is mixed up. I would guess, close to 40%. When it looks like you have too much, it's just right. I like a fairly light mix, cause it always gets heavier. Wet
lawschool2012 I used to buy and use a local mineral mix (Azomite, Canadian Glacial Rock Dust, Limestone, Greensand and Soft Rock Phosphate) and I applied 2 cups of that mix to 1 c.f. of mixed potting soil. 1 cup of Azomite to 1 c.f. would be fine. HTH LD2
Obligatory 'lawyer joke' What do you call 100,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start? J/K
Hey guys, I know it has been a while, but I was wondering, in my soil mix I do not see any 'K' (N-P-K) in my mix. I know blood meal provides N while bone meal provides P. Do I need to add any K to my mix? Or is there some form of P in some other amendment that I have, such as the kelp meal?
Kelp meal for the K. I also add some Greensand to supplement the kelp, but it is very slow release. Wet