soil ??
- Thread starter asa42
- Start date
Dirt. Organic minerals, rocks, compost, dead things chewed up and spit out by earthworms.
Soilless is inert, it will anchor the plant and provide water retention but, you have to add the food. Soil is food all by itself. Problem is, it's full of living things which in a predator free indoor grow could do some real damage.
I've heard of people baking dirt to sterilize it but, I've also heard that it stinks to high heaven doing it.
Soilless is inert, it will anchor the plant and provide water retention but, you have to add the food. Soil is food all by itself. Problem is, it's full of living things which in a predator free indoor grow could do some real damage.
I've heard of people baking dirt to sterilize it but, I've also heard that it stinks to high heaven doing it.
asa42
Anime n Stoner Aficionado
ok i hear ya. just ya mentioned "things chewed up & spit out by earthworms". wouldn't that be earthworm castings? i ask cause a few mixes i've read contain them yet were still considered soilless. maybe its gotta do with the quantity? or cause the other organic matter is also missing?
i can only imagine cooking dirt would stink! lol!
i can only imagine cooking dirt would stink! lol!
Boy, did you just stump my band. uh ... maybe because they use "cultured" castings from domesticated worms instead of naturally occuring wild castings from free range worms?
It's kinda a subjective definition and I don't really like the term soilless.... I prefer the term "media". Is coco soil or soilless? How about when I add castings, kelp and dry nutes? Now is it soil?
I also reject that there should be different ideal ph for hydro and "soil" and "soilless". Every garden with problems I see keeps the ph at the 5.8 and when it dips lower, problems. 6.3 is the middle of the ideal range of 5.8 - 6.8 and all the evidence I've seen suggests that is correct. No one has been able to explain why they are different, and Heads mag states that ph should be 6.3 even for hydro.
I also reject that there should be different ideal ph for hydro and "soil" and "soilless". Every garden with problems I see keeps the ph at the 5.8 and when it dips lower, problems. 6.3 is the middle of the ideal range of 5.8 - 6.8 and all the evidence I've seen suggests that is correct. No one has been able to explain why they are different, and Heads mag states that ph should be 6.3 even for hydro.
asa42
Anime n Stoner Aficionado
lol freezerboy! glad i'm not the only one! 
headypete thank you! i'd been noticing more folks usin 6.3 pH & had been wonderin... been feelin like we missed a memo everybody else got, lol!
funny you say that about your term preference, i'm way more likely to say grow medium instead. lol!
headypete thank you! i'd been noticing more folks usin 6.3 pH & had been wonderin... been feelin like we missed a memo everybody else got, lol!
funny you say that about your term preference, i'm way more likely to say grow medium instead. lol!
emmy75
Member
hi asa42
well there was a time when i kinda wondered the same thing myself but it was in relation to peat. so in the organic forum i asked some of the heads over there which is a better medium to grow in peat or soil. so basically broke down what both were made of.
here is just a sample of what is discussed:
2 definitions of soil:
1) "Soil is a natural body comprised of solids (minerals and organic matter), liquid, and gases that occurs on the land surface, occupies space, and is characterized by one or both of the following: horizons, or layers, that are distinguishable from the initial material as a result of additions, losses, transfers, and transformations of energy and matter or the ability to support rooted plants in a natural environment"
2)"Soil consists of horizons near the earth's surface that, in contrast to the underlying parent material, have been altered by the interactions of climate, relief, and living organisms over time. Commonly, soil grades at its lower boundary to hard rock or to earth materials virtually devoid of animals, roots, or other marks of biological activity."
here is the thread it came from.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=55221&page=1&pp=15
well there was a time when i kinda wondered the same thing myself but it was in relation to peat. so in the organic forum i asked some of the heads over there which is a better medium to grow in peat or soil. so basically broke down what both were made of.
here is just a sample of what is discussed:
2 definitions of soil:
1) "Soil is a natural body comprised of solids (minerals and organic matter), liquid, and gases that occurs on the land surface, occupies space, and is characterized by one or both of the following: horizons, or layers, that are distinguishable from the initial material as a result of additions, losses, transfers, and transformations of energy and matter or the ability to support rooted plants in a natural environment"
2)"Soil consists of horizons near the earth's surface that, in contrast to the underlying parent material, have been altered by the interactions of climate, relief, and living organisms over time. Commonly, soil grades at its lower boundary to hard rock or to earth materials virtually devoid of animals, roots, or other marks of biological activity."
here is the thread it came from.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=55221&page=1&pp=15
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