I think I have OCD about my soil....my last shout for help I promise!

[Bennyweed1]

Hey ICmaggers. I been posting this here and there and am just looking for a definitive answer. I feel I have my amendments all sorted out but would like to post the planned at exact ratios one last time in hopes a guru will bless him with a little wisdom.

This is what I plan on mixing and I need the soil to take me from start to finish with one transplant. Young cuttings will go into a more mild blend and will be transplanted into this mix after 2 weeks. How does it look. Any pointers are more valuable than gold. Thanks everyone!


5 gallons top soil
5 gallons local organic potting soil
5 gallons peat
1 gallon cotton burr
1 gallon compost with mycorrhiza
1 gallon EWC
4 gallons perlite- large and little chunks

N Count
Blood meal – ¾ cup
Alfalfa – ¾ cup
Bat Guano N – ¾ cup

K/P Count
Kelp Meal – ¼ cup
Bone Meal – ½ cup
Bat Guano P – ¼ cup
Green Sand – 1/8 cup

Azomite – ½ cup
Dolomite lime 1 ½ cup
Rice Flour ¼ cup
Bene Bacteria ¼ cup
Diatomaceous earth – ¾ cup

 

[Son_of_a_Batch]

Looks ok to me but only time will tell

 

[trichrider]

at first glance this appears to be a very comprehensive recipe.
a careful combining of the ingredients will provide your plants what they need.
good growing!

 

[C21H30O2]

i would add a little more in the way of potash but otherwise it looks awesome.

 

[Scrappy4]

Hey Benny, better to be OCD on your soil than burn a J then get your stuff out( like I have been known to do)

Your mix looks cool, I would just add, to adjust your lime to your ph rather than a set amount. Scrappy

 

[descivii]

What purpose is the rice flour?

J.

 

[rckymtnthuglife]

Hey man, Greensand and Kelp meal do not provide your plants with any P at all. Lots of trace minerals and K, just making sure the noobs don't try and use these as P substitutes. It would be benificial to up the amounts of both of these.

 

[guest2012y]

Hey ICmaggers. I been posting this here and there and am just looking for a definitive answer. I feel I have my amendments all sorted out but would like to post the planned at exact ratios one last time in hopes a guru will bless him with a little wisdom.

This is what I plan on mixing and I need the soil to take me from start to finish with one transplant. Young cuttings will go into a more mild blend and will be transplanted into this mix after 2 weeks. How does it look. Any pointers are more valuable than gold. Thanks everyone!


5 gallons top soil
5 gallons local organic potting soil
5 gallons peat
1 gallon cotton burr
1 gallon compost with mycorrhiza
1 gallon EWC
4 gallons perlite- large and little chunks

N Count
Blood meal – ¾ cup
Alfalfa – ¾ cup
Bat Guano N – ¾ cup

P Count
Kelp Meal – ¼ cup
Bone Meal – ½ cup
Bat Guano P – ¼ cup
Green Sand – 1/8 cup

Azomite – ½ cup
Dolomite lime 1 ½ cup
Rice Flour ¼ cup
Bene Bacteria ¼ cup
Diatomaceous earth – ¾ cup

So...22 gallons of the base mix before adding ferts/minerals....and then adding only 3/4 cup B guano...and 1/4 cup kelp meal?
Just checking.....

 

[Bennyweed1]

So...22 gallons of the base mix before adding ferts/minerals....and then adding only 3/4 cup B guano...and 1/4 cup kelp meal?
Just checking.....

I think I consider it 18 gallons of base soil. I dont count the perlite.

And thats my question. Is it enough? People keep telling me different things!! I dont know what to do. I posted this in organics for beginners and was told to add a total of 18 TBS of K supplement for 18 gallons of soil along with 36TBS of N for the same amount of soil. I have exactly those amounts but have no idea how accurate that is. Thats why I am asking and looking for a no doubt, definitive answer. Something a lot of people can agree on....What do ya say? Does it suck or will it work? NEEDIN SOME HELP HERE....thanke peeps

 

[guest2012y]

I've always included the perlite as part of the base mass.
I think a lot has to do with WHAT you are using as ferts/minerals.
Blood and alfalfa will burn if you use to much and don't let the soil "cook' for the right amount of time.
All of these things have different release/breakdown rates and that's where it gets tricky.
I'd say fuck that blood meal and just bump up the guano.
Not enough kelp meal either...kelp isn't a significant enough source for P. so don't worry about that.
Keep the alfalfa meal at that amount.
Check my topsoil thread in my sig for the base mix and fert mix I started with...and then compare that to the amounts you are using. Bear in mind that I did not have any burn or deficiency issues as the cycle progressed with that starting mix...and some of that soil mix I only let cook a couple weeks...some I planted in right away.

 

[simos]

I'm no guru, but here are my thoughts:

More kelp meal would be nice. Like 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup.

I agree with Capt that you should ditch the blood meal. I'd add some neem seed meal for extra N (and pest resistance) depending on how long I was going to veg...

Maybe a half cup of SRP for more P.

Looks pretty good to me in general, though. I'm inclined to recommend hitting them with teas (or EJ bloom if you can't brew teas) at weeks 3 and 5 of flower for an extra kick in the pants, but your soil would probably carry them through just fine without.

Cheers

 

[Bennyweed1]

I've always included the perlite as part of the base mass.
I think a lot has to do with WHAT you are using as ferts/minerals.
Blood and alfalfa will burn if you use to much and don't let the soil "cook' for the right amount of time.
All of these things have different release/breakdown rates and that's where it gets tricky.
I'd say fuck that blood meal and just bump up the guano.
Not enough kelp meal either...kelp isn't a significant enough source for P. so don't worry about that.
Keep the alfalfa meal at that amount.
Check my topsoil thread in my sig for the base mix and fert mix I started with...and then compare that to the amounts you are using. Bear in mind that I did not have any burn or deficiency issues as the cycle progressed with that starting mix...and some of that soil mix I only let cook a couple weeks...some I planted in right away.

Thank you for taking your time to help me out. I sincerely appreciate it. I will take your advice...

 

[Bennyweed1]

I'm no guru, but here are my thoughts:

More kelp meal would be nice. Like 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup.

I agree with Capt that you should ditch the blood meal. I'd add some neem seed meal for extra N (and pest resistance) depending on how long I was going to veg...

Maybe a half cup of SRP for more P.

Looks pretty good to me in general, though. I'm inclined to recommend hitting them with teas (or EJ bloom if you can't brew teas) at weeks 3 and 5 of flower for an extra kick in the pants, but your soil would probably carry them through just fine without.

Cheers

^^^^likewise, thanks for your time and input. I will bump up my kelp and bump down the animal byproducts. I love the comradery here at ICMAG. All for the same cause, most importantly.

 

[Iron_Lion]

Hey benny, if you have access to a hydro shop this is all you really need to grow great plants. all that mixing and measuring would give me a head ache.

I grew this with almost no additional fertilizer

 

[Bennyweed1]

For the amount of plants I have that would cost way to much. Plus its more organic when you put in the effort of making it yourself. hahaha IMO......but it would cost way way to much to buy bags of that stuff when I can certainly make something better for far less. My 2 cents

 

[dirtstyle]

every time i ask for soil advice at the local shop, the guy tries to sell me on the fox farm mix. i'm sure it works great and is simple, but would cost me over 300$ to fill all my pots. my personal blend,which works well, costs me around 80$ for the same volume. I concur with benny, premade mixes lack the 20 or so drops of sweat that fall in when i mix. an overlooked organic additive...

 

[Bennyweed1]

^^^^^ya dude right on!