Evaluate my outdoor soil mix?

[moogles]

Please, if any of you experienced gardeners have a minute..

This will be my first outdoor growing experience.
How does this look?

The Medium:

2 bales Sphagnum Peat Moss (4 cu ft)
1 bag coarse verm (4 cu ft)
1 bag coarse perlite (4 cu ft)
1 bag mushroom compost (4 cu ft)
1 brick coir (7 liters, roughly 1/4 cu ft.)

Total of 16.24 cu ft

Amendments:

8 quarts of this mix to my soil blend

10 parts steamed bone meal
8 parts greensand
8 parts powdered dolomite lime
6 parts alfalfa meal
6 parts kelp meal
4 parts neem seed meal

Thank you for your time.

-Moogles

 

[Lisdexik]

I'm assuming you have already bought these ammendments and are just asking how much of each to put in. ??

If these were my ingredients I would go like this:

16 cu ft = ~120 Gallons of soil mix

So ~ 7.5 Cups = 1 TBSP Per Gallon Mix

To make it easier on yourseld just make each part of the ammendment mix 7.5 cups

Ammendment Mix:
2 Parts Alfalfa Meal
1 Part Neem Seed Meal
2 Part Steamed Bone Meal
1 Part Kelp Meal
2 Part Dolomite Lime
1 Part Greensand

So there are 9 parts x 7.5 cups = 67.5 cups

67.5 cups / 4

= ~16.5 Quarts of Ammendment mix / 16 cu ft. of soil mix

Hope this is what you're looking for

Lisdexik

 

[guest2012y]

I'm thinking you'll have to add more nitrogen as the growing season kicks into high gear around mid to late summer......

 

[Lisdexik]

^^^Agreed. I guess it depends upon feeding regimen as well...

How will you be feeding??

Container size?? In ground????

Any info would help

Lisdexik

 

[guest2012y]

My last Outdoor consumed a lot of nutes. Massive amounts of Gauno's,fish,and kelp throughout the season. I did amend before planting,and had to start adding more around mid summer. It was a 20 pound harvest off 20 plants 50 miles south of Canada at 3000 ft.

 

[NUG-JUG]

Yea I would throw down on some boxes of Sunleaves guano or similar. Mexican is high N. Also aren't all bales about 3.8 cu ft. each? So if you have two then you've got about 8 cu ft. of peat moss not 4?

 

[moogles]

It will be in ground in the PNW region. I won't be applying to many liquid ferts as it will be more of a set it and forget it.

Thank you so much for that break down Lisdexic!

 

[+Vibes]

care if i join this party? was thinking about starting with THE EXACT SAME THREAD TITLE...

i have nice midwest loam on my side so i think ~30% will be native soil. i am also concerned about available nitrogen, but more so for the first few months

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)
p. seabird guano (10-10-2)
d. lime
(gypsum? green sand? kelp meal? cotton seed meal? chicken shit?)

still have questions but will wait for the go from moog....
that neem meal is a good addition too, will have to look into that.
also concerning the bone meal, you don't have/foresee critter problems? the blood is much worse but bone can still be problematic. you planning any foliar feeds or topdressings?
i think you are headed in the right direction

f

 

[Maina]

I'm thinking you'll have to add more nitrogen as the growing season kicks into high gear around mid to late summer......

how big where your holes?

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

Hi

Different areas have their problems i suppose, but ive been growing outdoors for a while and i wouldnt advise using any food products in your soil mix. Raccoons, skunks, oppossoms rabbits and deer just love bone, blood meal, alfalpha/ whey and other stuff and its garaunteed that if they pass by they will dig it up.

You can help by cutting a 1' square of chicken wire, cut a hole in the center for the trunk of you plants and then pin the square of wire to the ground around the plant. when they dig, they hit the wire. Its stilll tough on the plant though. They sometimes tare it up digging..


Watch that nitrogen after about july becaue too much in the soil at flower makes for slow maturation, leafy airy buds and nasty taste. Excessive nitro dissipated through the leaves provides a nursery for mould/mildew.

 

[moogles]

More than welcome to join in, Vibes

I plan on some foliar neem applications to keep them pest free. Possibly liq seaweed if I can get around to it. Possibly a light top dressing of guano as suggested around the end of June.

I am a bit concerned with critters. I planned on planting mostly in blackberry patches however so deer should not be too much of a problem.

The chicken wire around the plant sounds like a good idea.. I'm probably going to go ahead and do that.. Also copper around the base for slugs, is this needed or should slugs leave my crop alone?

These plants will be spread out pretty well.