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Post your outdoor soil mix recipe

localhero

Member
Whats up everybody. Long time lurker, first time thread starter here.

Hopefully all you outdoor gurus can create a go to guide for the different mixes people like to use, specifically for outdoor growing. Please post the recipe in parts if possible, ie: 5 parts peat 3 parts perlite etc. How you plan on feeding and when. Any reasons for making changes to the recipe, for example Tom Hill uses alot of calcium to help fight pm. Anyways, I think it would be great to have a compilation the different styles used. Mad respect for everyone who contributes!
 

bentom187

Active member
Veteran
well for me its 50% soil 25% perlite and 25% vermaculite and i ammend however needed with bio-bizz, i like to keep things simple ive been using this mix for years with good resaults.note: this wont work too well in dry climates you might want to mulch or use waterpolymers.
 

+Vibes

Member
a few i've been looking over for this season (copied from elsewhere)

40% Sta-Green Pro. potting soil-(Lowe's)
40% Perlite
10% Composted cow manure (Lowe's)
10% Worm casting (Worm's Way)
1 Tbls./gal. Blood meal (Lowe's)
1 Tbls./gal. Bone meal (Lowe's)
2 Tbls./gal. Rock Phosphate (Worm's Way)
3 Tbls./gal. Kelp meal (Worm's Way)
1/2 Tbls./gal. Sul-Po-Mag
Ferts -
5-1-1 Fish emulsion for veg.-1 tbls/gal. h2o every other watering.
Fox Farm Big Bloom-1 tbls./gal. and Fox Farm Tiger Bloom-2 tsp./gal. h2o for flower every other watering.


1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings

- Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.


• 1 Bale ProMix BX w/ Mycorrhizae
• 20-50 lbs. Worm castings
• 16 Quarts Perlite
• 4 Cups Dolimitic Lime
• 4 Cups Greensand
• 4 Cups Kelp Meal
• 4 Cups Bat Guano (High N for Veg, High P for Flower)
• 2 Cups Gypsum
• 2 Cups Rare Earth
• Beneficial Microorganism(water in with a gallon of water each time soil is turned)
Innoculaid and beneficial bacteria mix

Mix all ingredients in a large tarp until all ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the soil. Pour or Spray a gallon of beneficial microorganisms on the soil mix and turn several times. After a week, turn and pour another gallon of water on the mix. Mix 2-3 weeks prior to soil use.


Soil:
2 cu. ft Pro-Mix HP (this kind just has more perlite basically
2 cu. ft MiracleGrow Organic Choice for the garden
1 cup Miracle Grow Bonemeal
½ cup Peace of Mind Bonemeal
1 ½ cup Miracle Grow Bloodmeal
¾ cup Dolomite Lime
10-20% perlite
Seedlings <1month:
Mix 1 cup earthworm castings into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
Add 5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses.
every 3rd watering.

Veg
1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
(You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 1 cup of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
Use it to water with every 3rd watering.

Flowering:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 TBS. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 TBS. Black Strap Molasses



cheerios
 

localhero

Member
nice, the last part of the recipes look like theyre from the lucas mix. the recipe with the steamed bone meal is probably something im gonna build off of for this years outdoor. that or Tom hills recipe replacing the black gold with some sort of peat mix ala lucas.
 

+Vibes

Member
hello again, thought maybe we could keep this going.
in the midst of finalizing my recipe, this is for ~5 cubic foot (37gal) hole, economically and organically :)

2 cu.ft peat moss
1 cu.ft perlite
40# bag topsoil
20# (half bag) mushroom compost
20# manure/local compost
10-20# earth worm castings
coco brick (~2 gallons)
leftover native soil

amended with:
gh rare earth
alfalfa meal
mexican bat guano (10-2-1)
d. lime
(gypsum? green sand? kelp meal? peruvian seabird guano?)

possibly some microbial inoculant, still undecided. liking gh subculture... any outdoor recommendations?

i am hoping this will keep them happy for a while
suggestions?
share yours?
:)
 
S

stratmandu

The soil in my area is naturally sandy loam with good drainage, but is acidic. I prefer to amend the natural soil using the following organic amendments (quantity is per one "guerrilla hole" 3 foot dia x 2 ' deep which is @ 14 cf or 104 gal):
1 - 1.5 CF bag Mushroom compost from Lowes
1 - 15 lb bag wiggle worm EWC
2 solo cups Espoma bio-tone fert with mycz
2 solo cups Happy Frog tomato & veg fert (or Espoma plant-tone)
2 solo cups Peruvian Seabird guano
2 solo cups Mex bat guano
1 solo cup blood meal
1 solo cup steamed bone meal
handful epsom salts
handful Azomite
3 solo cups powdered dolomitic lime

Everything but the compost is pre-mixed in a 5 gal bucket per hole. I mix the fert mix in heavier toward the bottom of the hole, and add a handful of water-sorb polymer at the very bottom. The top 3-4 inches is the native soil only which is limed with another solo cup of lime prior to mixing. Plants need nothing other than water, mulch, and maybe some hi-P + K tea during budding. HTH YMMV!
 

SmokeyTheBear

Pot Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
pro-mix bales of soil. nothing more, nothing less. maybe some dolemite lime if i used the spot the year before. i used to use all those organic nimbly bimbly waste of money products but in my opinion it's just another money maker for some corporate company. i haven't seen a difference between using cheaper chemical fertilizers and expensive organic fertilizers. whatever you do, don't waste your money on advanced nutrients products. these are the biggest waste of money that i've had the displeasure of purchasing. indoors, organic makes sense. outdoors, with 10 or more plants, i just don't think it's cost efficient to use organics.
 
Last edited:

THC123

Active member
Veteran
Here are a few recipes





6 liters of universal potting soil
2 liters of cocopeat
2 liters of perlite
4 spoons of lime
2 spoons of npk pellets
6 spoons of worm castings


Then after this they are transplanted in the vegging mix for more developed plants

6 liters of universal potting soil
2 liters of cocopeat
2 liters of perlite
2 spoons of lime
4-6 spoons of npk pellets
600 ml of worm casting or actisol

Then for flowering

6 liters of universal potting soil
2 liters of cocopeat
2 liters of perlite
1 spoon of lime
8-10 spoons of npk pellets
900ml of worm casting or actisol
1.5 spoon of bone meal
0.75 spoon of blood meal
0.5 spoon of Kal(but i change my npk pellets in flowering from 7-3-5 to 6-4-11 so i don't add kalium when using these pellets)

In full soil i use bottom 50% of hole , flowering mix and top 50% of hole vegging mix

for, i add npk pellets 7-3-5 once or twice when they are vegging , one or two hands

For flowering i add 8 spoons of npk 6-4-11 3 spoons of bone meal 1 spoon of blood meal and soil on top to fermenate and then only water

these recipes often yield a pound with the record being 4 pounds

these recipes are also great for guerillia growing
 
You guys spend a lot of money at the store, why buy humus from a store? It's so easy to find natural humus, very mature composted forest products. I'm sure what I find has had worms through it, it's old stuff.

I don't need lime around here, it's freaking lime stone country. Some coco, some humus, my dry nutrients and perlite. I'd rather put good nutrients in then think some store bought soil is good. I must admit that worm castings and mushroom compost sound nice, but not any better than the humus I get for free!

I'm also careful to not put to many dry nutrients in, I have a nice variety but man that sounds like strong soil you guys have. Just not fun to pack out to much, I suppose if I had a truck to take up to grows and a nice sum of money it would be different indeed.

Some areas don't have good forest humus, a lot of pine isn't going to make great humus.
 

localhero

Member
Im close to finalizing my recipe for this outdoor season, I'll post it up as soon as i can work out the last details
 

reddy1

Member
ICMag Donor
mostly peat moss
shovel of worm castings
couple of handfuls of perlite
handful of zeba water polymer-this stuff rocks, check it out.
1/2 handful of fox farm peace of mind 5-8-4 dry fert
little bit of mexican bat guano
little bit of epsom salt
little bit of sugar + beneficial bacteria mix

spend the most on the zeba and worm castings, but make a huge difference that outweigh the cost.
 

+Vibes

Member
looking good thus far everyone... od section is finally getting active! :)

as to the cost of amendments/mix/input work "it is only as expensive and complicated as you want it to be" nothing wrong with some fancy guano or soil right?

i just remembered that my soil is about 50/50 sand/silt with a tad of clay.... i think i'll still use the same amount of amendments (maybe less perlite, $$$$$$ :) ) but dig larger holes, closer to 6-7 cubit feet. i think lots of people don't notice that just turning the soil and loosening it up will greatly benefit the roots... won't fix clay much, but will help.

one thing i am wondering about, will my mexican and seabird guano feed them enough through veg? was thinking about some liquid kelp meal as a foliar feed would be nice also.

is anyone innoculating with bacteria or microbes? plans?

The soil in my area is naturally sandy loam with good drainage, but is acidic. I prefer to amend the natural soil using the following organic amendments (quantity is per one "guerrilla hole" 3 foot dia x 2 ' deep which is @ 14 cf or 104 gal):
1 - 1.5 CF bag Mushroom compost from Lowes
1 - 15 lb bag wiggle worm EWC
2 solo cups Espoma bio-tone fert with mycz
2 solo cups Happy Frog tomato & veg fert (or Espoma plant-tone)
2 solo cups Peruvian Seabird guano
2 solo cups Mex bat guano
1 solo cup blood meal
1 solo cup steamed bone meal
handful epsom salts
handful Azomite
3 solo cups powdered dolomitic lime

Everything but the compost is pre-mixed in a 5 gal bucket per hole. I mix the fert mix in heavier toward the bottom of the hole, and add a handful of water-sorb polymer at the very bottom. The top 3-4 inches is the native soil only which is limed with another solo cup of lime prior to mixing. Plants need nothing other than water, mulch, and maybe some hi-P + K tea during budding. HTH YMMV!

nice, i wish i could use bone/blood meals... those are big holes, what do you yield, or at least expect?


+++
 

localhero

Member
Here's the mix so far, still trying to iron it out. If anyone has some critique for it, feel free to jump in. this is for 100 gallon pots.


Amendment %
Peat 50%
Perlite 25%
compost 15%
Bio Char 5%
Worm Castings 5%
Total 100%


Amendment Application rate
Azomite 5lbs per plant
Zeolite 10lbs per plant
Calcidic Lime 1/2c per cf (3/4c per lb)
Dolomitic Lime 1/2c per cf
Gypsum 1/2c per cf
Humic Acid 3tbs per pot
Steamed Bone Meal 1/3 50lb per pot
Chicken Manure 1 1/3 bag per pot
Hydrolized Fish 1 tbs per gal. soak char
Surfacant 1 tbs per gal.water at 15% pot size
Seaweed extract
Mycorrhizae varies
 

.clunk

Member
My mix is pretty simple this year, I prefer to top dress as needed through the season so I don't mix much into the soil before planting.

My soil is pretty sandy/loamy with a very thin layer of humus. I dug approx 10-12gallon holes and I will be amending each hole with around 40-50% Pro-Mix, adding a few scoops of composted chicken manure then measuring PH and adding as much lime as necessary to balance. This chicken manure is suspended on sawdust particles so it should add a good amount of humus to the soil as well and increase texture and water holding capabilities. I'm using composted chicken manure because it's the cheapest and "strongest" that I've found, two 25lb bags should do all thirty of my holes. Since I can't plant for another 8 weeks or so the chicken manure will have broken down and will provide a gentle but nutritious soil mix for my seedlings when I plant.

I have still not decided what I'll be top dressing with after planting, I love organics and feel most confident using them as I have more experience using them, but slow release chemical ferts are easier to carry into my spot and last a bit longer. Most of my friends use Advanced Nutrients Heavy Harvest but I really don't like the taste, even with proper flushing and good cure it always tastes kinda "meh" to me.
 

zielonylasss

guerilla grower
Veteran
Hey :wave:
Keep it simple!
Cannabis is a weed!
If you have a place with light fluffy and fertile native soil just throw 2 handfuls of chicken manure, 2 handfuls of dolomite lime, a handful of water polymer crystals and a shovel of wood ash to the hole. Later, when plants are growing fast, feed them with wormcasting manure. When plants are starting to flower just cut Nitro (wormcasting) and start to fall around the plants batguano or another high P and K fertilizer
Shod be good!
:wave:
 
H

hulkbogan

pro-mix bales of soil. nothing more, nothing less. maybe some dolemite lime if i used the spot the year before. i used to use all those organic nimbly bimbly waste of money products but in my opinion it's just another money maker for some corporate company. i haven't seen a difference between using cheaper chemical fertilizers and expensive organic fertilizers. whatever you do, don't waste your money on advanced nutrients products. these are the biggest waste of money that i've had the displeasure of purchasing. indoors, organic makes sense. outdoors, with 10 or more plants, i just don't think it's cost efficient to use organics.

I am a simple pro-mix/lime guy also but wtf are you talking about? real organics aren't bought at the hydro store in plastic containers for $20 a Litre. Ever heard of manure or bone/blood/kelp/alfalfa meal or compost/stinging nettle/guano tea or actually going to the beach and collecting seaweed to feed your plants? Everything listed can be found for free if you look in nature/craigslist or bought for next to nothing. Blasphemy!
 
S

stratmandu

+Vibes, I hope to pull some monsters if the deer don't tear them up to bad. I've gotten over a pound dry from one plant, and that was with a smaller hole, so I'm hoping for a lot more this year. I'm running some strains that I hope will yield big. My strategy this year is fewer holes - much bigger plants.
 

+Vibes

Member
nice stratm, i will also be going with --fewer-- larger holes this year. any ideas on the square footage required for bigger plants? i'm having trouble anticipating the spacing. was thinking 6x6 would be enough, but now i'm not sure... the girls will have been vegged 1.5-3months by mid may... might get crowded. i'll be rocking the ol' chicken wire perimeter fence for the furry friends.

recent events and input here has led me to tone down my soil mix/plant count. 1) for me its "guerrilla style" and things....can....happen. want to minimize the investment lost (to an extent) 2) i am in the midwest, in a valley... my soil is 45/45/10 sand,silt,clay.....cream.
still using:
bit of peat and perlite
1 bag manure
1 bag mushroom compost
maybe: another bag of some dank local compost, some coir.

goodies:
d.lime
poultry manure (5-3-2.5)
PSB guano (10-10-2)
indonesian guano for flower
maybe: genhydro rare earth/subculture, gypsum, greensand
foliar: biobizz alg-a-mic for fun

will still give each ~12cu.ft hole about 5ft of amendments for water retention, aeration...
i basically want to 'turn' a big hole and beef it up. can't decide if i should try to mix everything in from the top, or dig everything up and tarp it. the tarp is nice because i can do multiple holes at once, but also means a lot more digging. ideas? either way its a lot of dig

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