Cheap Soil Mix

I use 20% decomposed cow manure in my soil mix. If you use fresh manure it'll be very hot and your mixture will have to sit for at least a couple of weeks to avoid nute burn.

I've known people who replaced perlite/vermiculite with chopped up peanuts (the packing filler type), cat litter with no deodorizer (that's a fired clay same as perlite) and mechanic's grease absorber. Perlite and vermiculite are fairly inexpensive (I pay ~$18/ea for four cubic foot bags) so other than the peanuts I doubt that cat litter and grease absorber would save you any money unless you have a wholesale source. Use as much of both as you can afford.

I would recommend a compost mixture over either your natural soil or top soil component (actually both). Check with your city, country and private entities for where to get it. It's sold in bulk by the cubic yard, very inexpensive (less expensive than topsoil) and far more beneficial to your plants root systems than just plain dirt.

Mulch is a valuable addition for hot summer months.

 

If you're a guerrilla grower you should evaluate getting rid of a lot of dirt from the holes (stands out like a sore thumb from the air) and packing in that much more material to your site versus using some of the native soil.

What size holes?
Multiply the cubic feet of one hole by your percentage of component and you'll have square footage for each component per hole. Multiply each result by 25 and you'll have your shopping list for costing purposes.

I have no experience with the dead fish fertilization theory or water crystals.

 

if you use that mix you'll burn the shit out of your plants... maybe 60% topsoil, 20% compost... cow manure will be hot for like 2 months... also i'd put more perlite/vermiculate in the mix... like 40% assuming you have no drainage in the topsoil...

as far as dude's replacement for perlite in chopped up packing peanuts, if you have them around, that's a decent idea tho they won't hold any water... the cat litter though, no... cat litter's made to clump up when wet so you can scoop out urine... which would defeat the purpose of what it would be there for.... drainage and root aeration...

regardless, if you're buying perlite/packaging peanuts/cat litter... the cheapest to buy would be perlite... so yea...

 

That amount of decomposed cow manure won't burn anything. Cow manure loses 80% of its nitrogen in a matter of weeks through decomposition by sun and heat. Several of us have used it for years to sustain plants through vegetation, the advantage of having an organic dairy in the area. In addition to decomposed manure in the soil mixture a 6" bed of 50/50 native soil/decomposed manure is often placed in the bottom of 3' planting holes.

 

yea... native soil/composted manure would be fine

but he said cow manure on top of compost... with no mention of soil... and that would burn the shit out of plants...

he also just said cow manure... if its not composted it needs a couple months to chill out...

 

Look at the preceding posts. The reference was always decomposed.

 

yano you could also get a lil $10 aerater and make some manure teas after it uses up the soil... it'd be a crazy cheap way to nute your plants...

 

In 3'x3'x3' holes 20-25% in the soil mix always lasts until harvest, supplemented by diluted molasses during flowering. Lucky growers here on flood plans with endlessly deep loamy natural soil rototill 4-6" of hot cow manure 1' into their soil in late winter when weather permits and that does them for the growing season, adding P&K during flowering.

 

i wasnt planning to use any manure..a few fishies yea..i wasnt think mulch..just some soil mix..vermi..perli..peat..blood..bone..guano..hydrolated fish..is this gonna be an issue or what? do i need to add these for truly successful results?

i just checked out water crystals..i like