Hi all. Miracle grow and fox farm are not available in South Africa, so I have no other choice but to create my own organic soil mix. I have seen some mixes but i dont know which one is best for yield and taste? If you have had good experiences with your own soil mix then please post it and share your experience with it. Here are some that I have found.... [FONT="]2 parts Potting Soil Plus.[/FONT][FONT="] [FONT="]1 part Perlite.[/FONT] [FONT="]1 part Vermiculite.[/FONT] [FONT="]1 part Worm Castings.[/FONT] [FONT="]1 SMALL handful of Granulated Dolimite Lime per TWO gallons of mix.[/FONT][/FONT] 50% potting soil 15% composted manure 35% perlite (unless the hyponex has a lot of perlite, haven't used it) 1 tbsp/gal blood meal for veg, or bone meal for flower [FONT="]8 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)[/FONT] [FONT="]25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings[/FONT] [FONT="]5 lbs steamed bone meal[/FONT] [FONT="]5 lbs Bloom bat guano[/FONT] [FONT="]5 lbs blood meal[/FONT] [FONT="]3 lbs rock phosphate[/FONT] [FONT="]¾ cup Epson salts[/FONT] [FONT="]½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)[/FONT] [FONT="]½ cup azomite (trace elements)[/FONT] [FONT="]2 tbsp powdered humic acid[/FONT] [FONT="]Two proven types are: -4 parts topsoil, 1 part peat moss, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite. This is moist, contains medium/high amounts of nutrients and is best for hand watering systems. -1 part worm castings, 2 parts vermiculite, 1 part perlite. This is light-weight and high in nutrients. Potting soil: 60% building sand: 10% Perlite: 15% worm-castings: 15% organic fertilizer 12-6-6 : 5% Again, if you have a soil mixture that you grow great tasting bud then please share or comment on one or more of these mixes [/FONT]
you know what works good for me as a base is woodchips. so this makes like a potting soil. its cheap and it works. 1 chicken manure (i use the raw pelleted stuff called 'nutririch') 4 woodchips (high carbon should be ph neutral) 1 rock phosphate (0-3-0) (has other minerals) compost that
A friend of mine that grows told me that i should cut the fertilizers out of the mix because they are not necessary in the soil as the plant gets enough nutrients from being fed with tea's and kelp, and mixing fertilizer in your soil mix attracts bugs. Now i think i should go for a soil mix that looks like this... 45% potting soil 25% perlite 25% vermiculite 5% dolomite Can someone with experience please comment??
what you want is a lot of air on the roots. thats what a perlite peatmoss mix does. thats why you use wood chips. peatmoss is to fine, it breaks down to fast. the mix i posted is supposed to get bugs . the idea is that it is a living soil. its decomposing and releasing nuts as the plant is growing.
That might be fine if its in the fields outside, but not when growing indoors. I dont want living creepies crawling in my house
Here's an older thread with a few recipes people were mixing: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/611419-soil-mixes-no-nutes-water-only-post-them.html
Too late, microbes are already there. They are also in your gut, resistance is futile, lol. Really, there is nothing to fear. Microbes were here before us and will be here after were gone. Much better to learn to live with them. In fact, I'll venture to say, they are in charge, and we are along for the ride. The key is to learn how to give them what they want......MIW And issicus, be careful of those wood chips, be sure they are broken down. If not the energy to break them down could come from your soil mix, as they rob N.......
What do you think about putting a piece of dry ice in your grow room to increase Co2? Would this be beneficial to the bud? I assume this will probably also decrease the temperature? Please let me know what you think of this peeps! Prepping to start growing soon and i dont wana spend all that time and effort growing the bud and then it turns out average!!!
Don't bother with the dry ice. If you want CO2, install AC in your grow and seal up the ventilation, then add the real deal. Hanging out in your grow room will give you more CO2 than the occasional dry ice chunk. As for your concerns, maybe this will sway you: http://forum.grasscity.com/bud-shots/545754-post-your-organic-bud-shots.html
I use home-made compost, perhaps some perlite if its needed, kelp meal and bat guano. I'll add peat moss for the seedlings/clones. That's about it. I'll make a tea if needed, the type depending on what the plant tells me it needs. Some bugs are actually good for the soil, and some will eat the nasty bugs. Yeah, I know...its not all complicated with exotic ingredients. But it works for me...and I use the same all over my small produce farm. If you add wood chips, as they start to decompose, they'll tie up your nitrogen in the soil, and other nutrients, as well. Any high-carbon material will do that. Just my way of doing it.
I used to mix up complex ingredients for awesome grows years ago... Was forced to quit for a few years. While I was away I Discovered Black Cow .5-.5-.5 composted cow manure... This shit rocks... My plants go crazy in it... It runs me about $4.60 for 22.6 kg.... It drains like a dream and it is not made up of sticks like most commercial soils are. I currently have a 3 metre Killing Fields in a 50 gallon container...
My mix included : 1 bail of sunshine mix 1 bag potting soil 1 bag Trio mer ( Shrimp, crab...casting) 1 Lrg bag Worm castings 2 cups Myke`s (mycorrhizae.) plant food 2 cups Bat guano Grow 2 cups Kelp 2 cubes of Coco shavings great recipe ! So far so good, working well.
Something I have learned is that everyone has their own ideas about what works best, and I'm no different . I use Sphagnum Peat moss, vermiculite, and hydrated lime because peat moss is too acidic by itself. I usually measure by eye. You get used to the correct amounts after you do it the first time or two, but it is basically 90% Sphagnum 10% vermiculite and 2 cups hydrated lime per 15 gallon batch. Then I mist it with water to get the lime working and I test the PH a few days later. I have no issues getting the PH right at 7.5. I like the PH a little high cause I use small amounts of organic fish based nuts during veg that lowers the PH to about 7 and then in flowering I use molasses which lowers it to about 6.5. This makes for a nice loose "soil" that the roots have no problem growing through and holding on to!