Critique my soil mix

[The End Is Near]

As the title says, I'm trying out a new soil mix because my last harvest turned out the harshest I ever had, ie sizzles and burns with sparks. I used a basic LC mix, roughly 50% peat moss, 25% perlite, 25% mushroom compost/humus and manure mixed. I also stupidly decided to try out Advanced Nutrient's Bud Blood that I got free with some order. I used bud blood only once at the beginning of flower and needless to say my plants got burned and developed yellow spots. Never again. I also learned part of the harshness could be due to the mushroom compost, which could have had chemical residue from the mushroom farmers. And also, the lime I used was pelletized and I didn't grind it up.

So the new mix Im thinking of trying is:
50% peat moss
25% earthworm castings
25% perlite
1 tbsp/gallon dolomite

I'm hoping to keep it as simple as possible, watering with plain water, with maybe some blackstrap molasses on occasion. I have a lot of Pure Blend Pro for a stupid-simple nute if the plants get hungry. I also want to avoid a flush if possible, because a lot of you here, with the right soil mix of course, say that flushing isn't necessary. Also, I have a quart jar of 0-8-0 budswel guano and some alfalfa meal. I'm itching to try them but am reluctant because I've heard that both can cause harshness. I suppose they can be used at low doses as an experimental topdressing?

So that's pretty much it. Critique away. My main goal is smooth/good tasting bud.

 

[quadracer]

I would substitute coco for the peat moss. It is more environmentally friendly and coco outperforms.

Alfalfa meal works great as a top dress too, but your soil is lacking macro and micro nutrients. How are you planning on feeding your plants?

You should try making some EWC tea, since you already have the castings. Great way to feed your plants...

 

[The End Is Near]

I was hoping the mix was fine the way it was. What would you recommend I add for the missing nutrients? My main goal is smooth smoke.

 

[stink.whistler]

I was hoping the mix was fine the way it was. What would you recommend I add for the missing nutrients? My main goal is smooth smoke.

Take a look at the same thread where you got the LC mix recipe from. There are a few nutrient recipes listed.

Now for the plants organic food source

Choose one of these organic plant food recipes to add to LC's Soiless Mix.

RECIPE #1
If you want to use organic nutes like blood, bone and kelp...
Dry Ferts:
1 tablespoon blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix or Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potasium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.
Mix all the dry ferts into the soiless mix well and wet it, but don't soak it with Liquid Karma and water @ 1 tbs./gal. Stir and mix it a few times a week for a week or two so the bacteria can get oxygen and break down the bone meal and make it available. And don't let the mix dry out, keep it moist and add water as needed. It'll also have time to get the humic acids in the Liquid Karma going and the dolomite lime will be better able to adjust the pH of a peat based mixture too.
With this recipe, all you need to do is add plain water until harvest.
When I'm working with seeds, I punch a hole in the bottom of 16 ounce cups and fill them with plain LC's Mix. Lightly wet the mix in the cups and germ one seed in each cup. At the same time I mix enough LC's mix along with the blood/bone/kelp to fill all the 3 gallon flower pots I'm going to use for the grow. After about two weeks, the seedlings and the blood/bone/kelp mix are ready. I transplant the seedlings into the 3 gallon pots and just add water until harvest.
When you go to flower and pull up the males, save the mix in the pots. It is ready to be used again immediately. Just remove the root ball and transplant another seedling into it.

That's one of five or six different nute recipes in that thread - Burn1 lists several, read his entire message (I only quoted part of it)

 

[maryjohn]

if your main goal is smooth smoke you need to get good at curing it. that's where the magic happens, just like tobacco. Your mushroom compost has nothing to do with it, even if there are some residual chemicals.

I'm very skeptical of this whole idea that harshness comes from the soil, as commonly accepted as it is. I would bet a good deal that any bud grown in any soil will be harsh before curing. If you quick dried some bud, even perfectly grown in the same soil and genetics you know had produced nice smooth buds, would you expect it to be smooth?

slow drying + long curing = smooth smoke. if you try to grow it smooth instead of curing, you will always make it harsh.

 

[The End Is Near]

if your main goal is smooth smoke you need to get good at curing it. that's where the magic happens, just like tobacco. Your mushroom compost has nothing to do with it, even if there are some residual chemicals.

I'm very skeptical of this whole idea that harshness comes from the soil, as commonly accepted as it is. I would bet a good deal that any bud grown in any soil will be harsh before curing. If you quick dried some bud, even perfectly grown in the same soil and genetics you know had produced nice smooth buds, would you expect it to be smooth?

slow drying + long curing = smooth smoke. if you try to grow it smooth instead of curing, you will always make it harsh.

I did slow dry and cure, but my bud still sizzles and sparks while burning. I'm sure this is from the AN Bud Blood though.

 

[maryjohn]

i'm no curing master, but I'm pretty sure whatever is sizzling and sparkling was either created by the plant or rubbed onto it after or both. maybe some dried up material that makes a fine dust which becomes airborne and ignites as you smoke? I'm not sure what is likely to cause that, but i'm pretty sure it isn't residual fertilizer in the sap.

how long did you dry and how long did you cure, and at what humidity level and temperature?

That said, I have to repeat my much hated opinion that if the bottle looks or if the name sounds like something related to cannabis, it's probably not something you should use. I've been inside growstores very few times and it's a fucking racket.

 

[Hovz]

your bud sizzles and sparks probably because you didn't flush it properly and it still contains the fertilizers you put into it, hence the harshness. From what i've heard your always supposed to flush for atleast a week.

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

hello maryjohn, good to read you

imo, when the soil is still too hot at the time of harvest, the bud will be affected a little for sure, at least in chlorophyll levels no doubt, specially if excess nitrogen is present, this we can see with out own eyes too due to the strong green present in leaf and stems etc...

slow dry and long proper cure is key as well to a smooth smoke, there no doubt about that one, maybe even a bigger factor than a proper flush.

also, imo, tons of organic ingredients are too hot for cannabis, because cannabis is a crop that is usually grown to be smoked. sure, tons of these are also great and provide tons of good stuff for the plant, but the end result is not the best produce imo. going low on the nutes is always good when growing herb to smoke imo.

blood meal, bone meal, manures, these are too hot, too many metals in them too, specially in the blood, tons of iron.

cannabis only needs a tine tiny little bit of iron to grow healthy all the way to harvest.

an organic medium mixed with little nute content is easy to control too, provided you know at least two basic tea recipes, one for vegetative growth, and one for flora, and dose them at proper doses during each growth stage. by the end of the grow, one should have no problem flushing it all out.

and as quad said, i would also drop the peat and pick up the coco.



peace and good health all

 

[maryjohn]

so which compounds exactly are sizzling and sparking? where is the plant storing all this fertilizer?

If you don't feed a plant, it moves some nutrients to the new growth. so we can assume there is no point flushing those, because they will be going into the buds one way or another, right?

I say, if you want a fruiting, flowering, etc... plant to produce a flavor characteristic that comes from the soil, you need to do it for almost the whole grow, just like in nature, not just at the end. But that still won't give you smooth buds if you don't cure them right. It's almost a culinary question, not a husbandry question.

edit: heya Paz! agreed, too much is too much. good mj is hungry mj.

 

[ShoeboxSherman]

I was hoping the mix was fine the way it was. What would you recommend I add for the missing nutrients? My main goal is smooth smoke.

I've recently went organic, and what I use in my soil mix are the Fox Farm Peace of Mind DRY fertilizers. They are now called Happy Frog but it's the same stuff. I go from seedling/clone to harvest with watering (sometimes with molasses) alone. If it looks like the plant is going to need it, I top dress. I do this outdoors and indoors. So far I'm happy with it. And the smoke is one hell of a lot smoother even though I'm new to curing.

I use the Fruit and Flower, Tomato\veggie, starter, and high P guano. The Fruit and Flower is great stuff.

 

[habeeb]

2 tbsp per gallon of lime

has anyone done a organic coco grow, as coco has different properties then peat moss.. I have kept a plant in organic coco for a month but no longer so I don't know much about replacing peat with coco

what are you using for nutes?

 

[somebody041]

i've been very interested in trying and organic coco run and would love to hear more

 

[JackTheGrower]

What strain?

Sounds interesting...

 

[magiccannabus]

I'm using a mix of the following:

50% coco coir
20% mushroom compost
20% peat/pro-mix
5% compost/humus
5% fine clay(untreated kitty litter)

Been working great so far! Peat has better water retention by quite a bit compared to coco coir, but the coir is superior in every other way I can think of, so a lot of the coir and a little of the peat works great. The clay is there for some minerals and to help diversify the mix a bit. I use dolomite lime with it as well as bone meal and Flower-Tone, and I treat it all with compost tea. I inoculate with Bio-Tone Starter Plus. My plants of all kinds are healthier than they've ever been.

If you don't have water free of chlorine, you really should get some.

 

[ol toby]

how fast does this mix dry out magic? coco sounds very intriguing, but I'm going to have to leave my plants home alone for as long as 5 days, any suggestions?

 

[magiccannabus]

Same as most soil mixes I have had, only since I can't overwater it, I can either give it water several times a day, or only every few. 3-5 depending on pot sizes relative to plant sizes of course. Mine in 8 inch pots which are too small last about 3 days. They can be put in trays or dishes and kept watered from the bottom too, if you prefer. This mix likes that too.