how is my soil mix?

[joe fresh]

i just went to the store to stock up for next batch, and because we are in december the store was limited in soil supplies...

so what i baught was:

10 bales of promix
9 bags of shrimp compost
2 bags of EWC(36 liters total...9gal i think??)
and 50 lbs of dolomitic lime




the mix i use in the past was:

1 bale promix(107 liters)
1 bag shrimp compost(30 liters)
1 bag sheep manure compost(30 liters)
added lime for ph adjustments(never really measured it...)


i always use supplemental liquid feed....i have been using straigh promix but have been comming across alot of deficiencies so i figured i would go back to mixing soil.

so since the store didnt have all i needed i went with what i could get.


the mix i was going to make with this was:

1 bale promix
1 bag shrimp compost
3.6 liters of EWC
and dolo lime for ph adjustments



im just trying to get an even mix so i figure by spreading out the EWC into 10 equal batches of soil...


so how is this soil mix? anyone have any input? is this mix adequate or should i buy more EWC, or restructure my mix?

 

[yortbogey]

order sum............AZOMITE.......it will fix ALL.U'r
mineral deficiencies .......for sure........

 

[joe fresh]

thx for the response, but i dont think AZOMITE is available here, and at the price is would cost me to order it from the internet, plus time....i would rather use stuff i can buy at the local shop ....

 

[diggity]

youre missing perlite..

 

[northstate]

Kelp Meal?

Kelp Meal?

Yoe Fresh,
If you can get some seaweed products of some sort in the mix for trace minerals or with your liquid feeds thats always helped my mix. And 10-20%perlite, but you know that. Alfalfa meal is a good one also, slow release ferts and beneficial trianisomething or other. You have the skills to do whatever, have fun!

 

[joe fresh]

youre missing perlite..

i dont like added perlite, i find that the soil dries out too quick when using added perlite...im using promix hp which is 30-40% perlite, that is more than plenty for this mix....thanks for the advice though

Yoe Fresh,
If you can get some seaweed products of some sort in the mix for trace minerals or with your liquid feeds thats always helped my mix. And 10-20%perlite, but you know that. Alfalfa meal is a good one also, slow release ferts and beneficial trianisomething or other. You have the skills to do whatever, have fun!

yeah im good on the liquid feed, i might be adding some seaweed/kelp extract every few weeks...

my old mix that i mentioned above worked great...what im wondering is if the EWC is enough to replace the sheep manure compost? is 3.6 liters of EWC per mix enough or should i add just as much EWC as i would sheep manure compost?

 

[yortbogey]

try getting sum......rock dust from a local quarry........g00dstuff indeed......

also....rice husk make for interesting additives..........

and when all els fails.......go left over coffee and tea groundz......

 

[NSPB]

you need to amend your minerals in the soil. (azomite really is priceless)

you need to make sure you have proper drainage. (perlite, hydroton, lava stones)

You should consider adding some diatomaceous earth as well to help fight bugs and boost the plants immunities as well and in time is an excellent source of silicate.

HOWEVER...this is just your base soil mix...and I assume you are going to amend it further with your different fertilizers. (if that is all you planned on using the entire cycle, you have a lot more work to do)

You need to realize that MOST shrimp compost is going to be cut / blended in with a peat or other base medium to create and even more balanced medium. So, you really have a lot of peat in the mix using promix / compost. This is fine, as long as you ensure proper drainage rates.

My base soil mix:

4 gal organic unfertilized soil
1.5 gal peat
1.5 gal coir
1 gal EWC
3 gal perlite

I keep my mix about 10% EWC and about 25% perlite on average. The peat and coir really just help to create a better soil structure in regards to how able water is to permeate the medium...not to mention really helps with nutrient and water retention.

I honestly think as a base mix you are perfectly fine...the real question is what do you plan on using as a nutrient base to feed your plants?



NSPB

 

[joe fresh]

1 bale promix(107 liters)
1 bag shrimp compost(30 liters)
1 bag sheep manure compost(30 liters)
added lime for ph adjustments(never really measured it...)


that is the mix i used in the past with 0 deficiencies and got amazing results.....i always fed @ 650 ppm every watering


the thing is the last crop i tried doing the same thing with pure promix and no amendments, and was getting everything from def's, to burn, to ph probs....(my ferts are acidic)

so i came to the conclusion that i needed to go back to my original mix, which was simple and easy to mix in large quantity....so what im trying to do is mimic the simple mix i used to use...


BTW...im sure all the info given so far is great info, and im not trying to be one of those "answer me with the answer i want to hear" kind of guy....but what im looking for is a simple soil mix with as little components as possible....what im doing is basicly an organic soil mix with chemical fertilizing(jacks professional powder ferts) @ 650 ppm every watering...

 

[northstate]

Mix it and grow!

Mix it and grow!

If you are feeding with that schedule you could almost run straight pro mix, I say mix what you have if you are ready to go...Extra castings never hurt if you have the drainage/structure. Subcool has a soil mix & system that looks very nice and easy.Going to be trying a test run next round. Hope it all works out for the least amount of $$$!

Checkin in later to see results!

 

[NSPB]

My first question is do you fully understand the implications of attempting to use organics and chemical fertilizers congruently?



NSPB

 

[Son_of_a_Batch]

ditch the chems !!!! buy some p and n bat guanos and mix em in throw in some rock potash and phosphate if you can.. mainly the guanos tho and dont poison ur plants with horrible chemicals! just add water.. and maybe some compost teas.. if your going to the trouble of mixing soil anyway why not go all the way youll prob save money in the long run and have much better tasting nicer looking herb at the end! you may as well grow in hydro if your gonna use chems.... sorry to sound harsh but its for the best! good luck...

 

[joe fresh]

sorry guys, i know what im doing with the chem/organic combo....and all i as looking for was to know if the little amount of EWC would be enough to replace the sheep manure compost, since i cant get sheep manure compost this time fo year...

 

[The_Weed_Worm]

In my opinion no, castings are gentle but last longer then manure. Tho only animal poo packs that ole fashioned wallop. Personally I do not use poo or animal products in my mix but I dont use chems either.

 

[maryanne3087]

sorry guys, i know what im doing with the chem/organic combo....and all i as looking for was to know if the little amount of EWC would be enough to replace the sheep manure compost, since i cant get sheep manure compost this time fo year...

Other than ease of applying hydro nutes to your organic soil.. do you have any reasons for combining organic soil which IMO is a pain to make if you're not keeping it organic and your hydro nutes?

If I wanted to grow in soil and feed hydro nutes I'd probably just find a bagged soil that was reliable or get ProMix and throw in some worm casts. I wouldn't bother with other manure since it's easy to provide nutrients with precision using hydro nutes... IMO.

Do you find that taste is improved when using organic components? I'm a believer that green manure / humus will improve taste.

 

[Pointswest]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]How common manures measure up in NPK Levels
[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Manure[/FONT]: Chicken 1.1- .80- .50 Diary cow .25- .15- .25 Horse .70- .30- .60 Steer .70-.30- .40 Rabbit 2.4- 1.4- .60 Sheep .70- .30- .90

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Sources: Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, An Illustrated Guide to
Organic Gardening, by Sunset Publishing, and the Rodale Guide to Composting.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Note: Nutrient values of manures vary greatly, depending on the diet and
age of the animals, and the nature and quantiy of bedding in the mix.[/FONT]



​

"Worm casting NPK numbers found on the internet range from NPK 3-2-2 to 0.5-0.1-0.1. Worm castings also usually contains high levels of other macronutrients and micronutrients, and while the three main nutrient levels may appear low, there is usually plenty of micronutrients in worm castings, and the general nutrient availability is high."


Found this surfing Goog. Looks like it really depends upon the diet of the worms and sheep to determine the nutrient levels in the composted materials. Hope this may help.

PW

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]​

 

[maryanne3087]

Worm castings are awesome. I couldn't imagine an organic soil mix without the utilization of worm castings. Quality like with everything varies source to source. Growing your own worms and finishing the castings until they turn into a dense mud yields the best results.

They're rich with a wide variety of beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, basically everything you would want to find in a soil. Any decomposed plant matter will be rich in humic acids also. As you mentioned they're a great source of available trace mineral elements. Decomposed plant matter is also apparently rich in phytohormones/plant growth regulators which are beneficial to the growth of the plant.

I'd like to see a nutritional analysis of home made worm castings vs. commercial.

 

[FreedomFarmer]

Hey Joe, I personally don't feel like the worm castings are a going to be that direct of a replacement for the manure. I say this because castings generally have a very low NPK level and are mainly used for their microbial life, texture and trace nutrients. Manures on the other hand generally have much higher NPK's and alot less happening in the trace and microbial department. So as long as your liquid feeds make up for the NPK loss of going from manure to castings.

Worm castings are one of the most amazing substances and I love em', but I feel like they are more suited for an all organic grow where microbial populations are a priority. You might be getting some trace nute benefits from using them, and convenience of what is available, but normally alot more expensive then manure which im sure you consider with that many pots to fill....

 

[maryanne3087]

He is using hydroponic solution to feed his plants so he doesn't need to worry about supplying that much NPK values from manure.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

I'd like to see a nutritional analysis of home made worm castings vs. commercial.

EWC will almost always test 'low' on whatever N-P-K test method that you choose. That has to do with the nature of how EWC hold the various agents - the sequestered nutrient paradigm.

What's far more important are the microbial colony levels that they contain. That will be determined by the materials used to feed the worms as well as mineral supplements added (Calcium, SRP, glacial rock dust, et al) that determine their viability.

Plant material remains the very best choice for both thermal as well as vermicompost processes for both the microbial levels as well as sequestered nutrients [cite]. It's not even close.

One of the reasons that EWC often get denigrated on cannabis grow boards is the source for much of the products used - imported castings from Canada where worms are used (wisely) for composting paper and by-products from the wood product industries. The problem with these casting is that while they're very high in carbon they're very, very low in microbial activity.

These are the castings that are sold under the various names at indoor garden centers and are the specific casting found in so-called premium potting soils like FFOF, Roots Organic, et al. - given that they're business model is to sell you their bottled 'nutes' there's little reason to start you off with a viable soil but having 'Earthworm Castings' on the label sells a lot of dirt. Not much soil but definitely a lot of dirt.

HTH

CC