Long story short, im awaiting the arrival of my kelp meal and worm castings. I have everything else needed for my recipe. i have the peat and perlite/vermiculite mixed already. and i have all my amendments mixed in a separate container. My question is...and i think the answer is yes... Can i go ahead and mix my amendment mix into my peat and perlite mix now and then just add the ewc and kelp meal when it arrives. of course ill have to wait a while longer for the kelp to cook but im ok with that. I dont see why i couldnt do so, but i want to make sure before hand. and in case anyone is interested, my mix is as follows. BASE SOIL 5 gallons peat moss 4 gallons ewc 2 gallons perlite 2 gallons vermiculite AMENDMENT MIX 1 1/2 cup kelp 1 1/2 cup espoma garden tone 1/2 cup bone meal 1/2 cup blood meal This year i decided to add a 1/4 cup of plant tone with the above listed since my father had a half bag of it left from last year. dont see how it could hurt anything hehe.
I've no personal experience with vermiculite, but most people who use it in their first mix seem to ditch it by the second.
Vermiculite holds water. I used to use it in a 50/50 mix pouring hydro nutes through it in the late 80's. J
Thanks for the reply. Jerry, from my understanding perlite holds water in the uneven surface but also allows water to drain better. As for vermiculite I remember learning that its more like a sponge and helps with water retention. Am I correct in that very brief and blunt understanding? If this is correct would I be benifiting from adding another gallon or so of perlite? Also, while I have your attention.. I haven't been able to find an answer on the web for this one.. With my mix, and the fact some of my amendments aren't water soluable, would my soil be too hot for well rooted tomatoe plants after only 2 weeks of cooking? And please tell me why I can read and read and read and retain nothing, but when you or ITG (is she still active) explain something it sticks for good?
Not Jerry, but yes, ditch the vermiculite and add more perlite. Waaaaay to much EWC for 5 gallons of peat, it will be like mud. 2 gallons or less is more than enough. You also need some lime in that mix as a buffer. Calcium too. Wet
Wetdog, I used this same soil mix last year with my grow and things went grand. My soil texture was no where near the consistancy of mud. And yes, the lime. I forgot to add it on my list above, but I do use garden lime in my mix. And as for calcium, doesn't my amendment mix provide enough of that? Let me check to see.. Also as for the 5 gallons of peat, I lightly compress it. If fluffed, it's probably more around 6.5-7 gallons of peat.