Thinking up a soil mix for my next grow, critisism welcome!

[KIS]

Hey bro, thanks for chiming in!

I use pretty raw coco, i dont think it needs more aeration. It got a portion of coconut fibers for aeration. I thought of adding rice hulls, but with current water holding i think its good.

I add quite some lime because the coco in unbuffered. Not sure about how much to add, and I want to add palm ash that raise the pH as well. I think I will have to run a soil pH test after mixing and adjust.
Any tip on amounts to start with?

Sourcing good compost is my next step. I tend to prefer them plant based, but it not common around here.
Currently it seems like I will go with vermicompost from cow poop + forest floor compost

Better to add gypsum than ag lime due to the neutral pH of the coco coir.

 

[led05]

I’ve been building soil for 35 years & im not too much older than that….

Overbuilding is a serious thing… like chasing one’s tail, both are circular

Build a proper physical medium (cec, permeability, clumpiness etc) then find a single feed trf, plenty of synthetic & organic options, everything gets mineralized one way or another

This is exactly the type of TRF one should be after imo - a one ton pallet of 40 bags will last years unless you run acreage

The owner of this place is a stand up fella, it’s pretty much a guide to organic farming - their products as a whole are a guide that is

Symphony Organic Fertilizer w/9% Ca (5-4-3) - 50 lb Bag

Almost identical to Harmony but it comes from the USDA organic egg laying operation at the same NY farm that produces Harmony. Symphony 5-4-3 fertilizer that we sell comes from a family owned and operated egg laying poultry farm in New York. All-purpose for vegetables, fruits, lawn and...

www.7springsfarm.com

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I haven't edited it recently but I may have done an edit a year or two ago on it to update some things. There's a good post on IG by Bryant (Soil Doctor) talking about why CEC is less relevant in soilless media.

Ya it must have been a year or 2 ago. And of course it's less relevant in soilless media using chemicals. The Op's talking about an organic grow not salts.

 

[fonzee]

Better to add gypsum than ag lime due to the neutral pH of the coco coir.

My coco is unbuffered, so it should be acidic as far as I know.
I will do a proper test for the pH of the mix before adding the second planned half of the lime mix

 

[fonzee]

I’ve been building soil for 35 years & im not too much older than that….

Overbuilding is a serious thing… like chasing one’s tail, both are circular

Build a proper physical medium (cec, permeability, clumpiness etc) then find a single feed trf, plenty of synthetic & organic options, everything gets mineralized one way or another

This is exactly the type of TRF one should be after imo - a one ton pallet of 40 bags will last years unless you run acreage

The owner of this place is a stand up fella, it’s pretty much a guide to organic farming - their products as a whole are a guide that is

Symphony Organic Fertilizer w/9% Ca (5-4-3) - 50 lb Bag

Almost identical to Harmony but it comes from the USDA organic egg laying operation at the same NY farm that produces Harmony. Symphony 5-4-3 fertilizer that we sell comes from a family owned and operated egg laying poultry farm in New York. All-purpose for vegetables, fruits, lawn and...

www.7springsfarm.com

Hey led, thanks for joining

I used to work like that, but these days I rather go into the specifics and mix my own. This way I can make sure about the quality of the ingredients, and I can choose local.
Local ingredients is very important to me. First thing id like to ditch is the Azomite, because it is sourced from the US.

My previous mix was much simpler - coco, compost and a tiny bit of azomite that came with the compost. Amended with wood ash at start of flowering and straight tap water. Compost was good forest compost. I let it cook properly, used 40L pots, and it worked.
Now I want to try a more amended mix, as I think my yields could be better this way. My plants used to grow kind of bad in veg, and in the current mix they seem like with a tiny dialing they are really happy.

 

[led05]

Hey led, thanks for joining

I used to work like that, but these days I rather go into the specifics and mix my own. This way I can make sure about the quality of the ingredients, and I can choose local.
Local ingredients is very important to me. First thing id like to ditch is the Azomite, because it is sourced from the US.

it’s funny I used to also over complicate it & try and get all these inputs; which are Impossible to source all locally…

Now I buy from local quarries my medium and the chicken shit also comes locally from upstate NY - so what I’ve actually done is simplify it all and truly stay local…

Us crazy Americans - check out my gardening thread for proof of purchases - haha - you’ll see

Thread 'Sun on my back; Dirt on my hands - Ledo’s Land'
https://www.icmag.com/threads/sun-on-my-back-dirt-on-my-hands-ledos-land.18124119/

GL - I totally agree with sourcing local, wherever that may be ; no judgment on this end

Best of luck much love

 

[fonzee]

it’s funny I used to also over complicate it & try and get all these inputs; which are Impossible to source all locally…

Now I buy from local quarries my medium and the chicken shit also comes locally from upstate NY - so what I’ve actually done is simplify it all and truly stay local…

Us crazy Americans - check out my gardening thread for proof of purchases - haha - you’ll see

Thread 'Sun on my back; Dirt on my hands - Ledo’s Land'
https://www.icmag.com/threads/sun-on-my-back-dirt-on-my-hands-ledos-land.18124119/

GL - I totally agree with sourcing local, wherever that may be ; no judgment on this end

Best of luck much love

I am in Thailand, close to the pier. Many marine leftovers real cheap and local coco.

You grow looks so happy, props