mostnonymouse
Member
Final list of ingredients: compost, ewc, biochar, top soil, peat, rice hulls and Napa part #8822 (DE).
I'm excited.
I'm excited.
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help me build my soil...
- Thread starter mostnonymouse
- Start date
FWIW I have been using a 50% coir mix (LC's #1) and really like it. No problems with lockup-lockout or anything else for that matter.
Pine
mostnonymouse
Member
I've never had any issues I could attribute to a coco based mix either. I have a brick of peat leftover from my raised bed, however, and that is the main reason I'll be using it.
thats good to hear guys, i added 20% coir to my regular mix (peat, topsoil perlite etc) for about a year and stopped because i found P def creaping in a lot quicker than without the coir.
having said that i run my soil pretty lean and there is very little left in it by harvest time. i know this because i re-use it for other plants and even plants that like poor soil tend to show signs of hunger in it if i dont re-amend it.
VG
having said that i run my soil pretty lean and there is very little left in it by harvest time. i know this because i re-use it for other plants and even plants that like poor soil tend to show signs of hunger in it if i dont re-amend it.
VG
mostnonymouse
Member
Thanks vg. I appreciate any input you have to offer as usual!
mostnonymouse
Member
I'll be making it. I know it's easy enough to go buy a bag at the store, and the amount I need isn't much, but i'd just rather make my own. Producing amendments yourself and any attempt at being self-sustainable for that matter is a good habit to get into IMHO. I'll just soak it in some guano water for a week or two unless anyone suggests otherwise.
mostnonymouse
Member
Also I'll be charring some bones from the pig roast we had this past weekend...
mostnonymouse
Member
Thought about it but I haven't read about it yet. I've seen madlib and others mention it. Care to explain the benefits?
i have seen it mentioned, but i have not tried it myself.
I have read that it gives microbes a place to hide, now how much better then just rice hulls i dont know. but there seem to be other benefits there.
Im sure jay could tell you if its worthwhile at all, i figure if you are going to char other things why not throw some hulls into the mix? but i may be off.
check out this page:
http://www.squidoo.com/ricehullcharcoal
I have read that it gives microbes a place to hide, now how much better then just rice hulls i dont know. but there seem to be other benefits there.
Im sure jay could tell you if its worthwhile at all, i figure if you are going to char other things why not throw some hulls into the mix? but i may be off.
check out this page:
http://www.squidoo.com/ricehullcharcoal
descivii
Member
It has to do with the open structure of the product before charring and after, certain product's cell layout naturally enhance what biochar is intended for. Making charcoal just requires the carefully controled burning of organic debris down to its carbon base and then cutting off air to the fire. Rice is a little bit trickier to do without totally cashing it out.
j
j
mostnonymouse
Member
Jay would you recommend I just char the hulls i'd use and get two birds stoned at once, or char some for use as biochar and mix in my uncharred hulls as well? And how do you char it easily? Paint bucket with holes in a fire?
Good recipes I've collected and created my mix based on:
UNK:
Start by pouring a gallon of potting mix onto a potting bench. Add 1 tablespoon each of blood meal for nitrogen, kelp for trace elements, and greensand for potassium; then add 2 tablespoons of bone meal for phosphorus. Mix it all together and you're ready to plant.
TICKS:
Basically Organic mix with ProMix HP as a base. The ratios used for mixing are 50 Litres of Promix combined with with 25-35% wormcastings, 15% Shrimp compost, 750 ml of Bat guano and a cup of Bone & Blone meals. This renders aboot 85-95 Litres of grow mix.
SUPER SOIL MIX:
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 dolomite 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.
Substitutions
- The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs
Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano
BOGS - Feeding and Mix
I use Wal-Mart Continuous Feeding formula potting soil with 5-10% perlite added for aeration and drainage. I add 2 cups of bone and blood meal to every 10 gallons of soil. I feed Pure Blend grow in veg and I transplant 3 times. Starting in 1 qt pots then 2 gallon pots then 4 gallon pots.
I transplant to 4 gallon pots when going to flowering. At this time I give a strong dose of foxfarm bloom liquid bat guano product, 2/3 cup to a gallon. This is a one time heavy nitrogen feed as transplanted and going into high light flowering room. (all HPS 35 watts/sq.ft.)
Often I let them flower until sexed before the final transplant and nitrogen treatment. It doesn't burn them and they shoot in the first 2 weeks of flowering a lot. Capturing this growth "shoot" as I call it is the key to big buds IMHO. Health and vigor is maintained by lots of continued rooting through flower.
I also use some CO2 in flowering and some superthrive once or twice while in flower at a very weak rate. In flower I feed the first half of flowering with Pure Blend Bloom which has half strength nitrogen compared to their vegging formula. Then the second half of flowering I use Earth juice Bloom to feed as it has no nitrogen and my pots still have some.
SubCool taught me to premix my earth juice bloom 20 hours in advance to reduce its acidity and this has helped me feed more without burning them.
My Basic Tips... BUSHY’S GROW TIPS FOR BEGINNER INDOOR GARDENERS -- By BushyOlderGrower updated 5/2001
Soil Mix is easy get Sam’s Choice, Magic Earth with fertilizer (.09-.06-.05) in already and mix 2/3 cup of blood meal and 2/3 cup of bone meal into each 3 gal pot. By adding 2 tablespoons of dry lime to mix you help flowering and avoid over-acidity. Wal-Mart has this kind and it is cheap! Many prefer to use 5 gallon pots. You should add 10% perlite for good air to the roots and good drainage.
Stir and plant seed into this, fill pot well and wet well first time, we will supplement with organic fertilizers later. Black Gold is best gro mix but heavier soils are better than lighter ones. Shultz pro mix is expensive but highly recommended, Black Magic has also done well for some expert growers. I like Wal-mart continuous feeding formula soil
GROWDOCS SOIL MIX:
Per 100 liters/2 bags
60 gram seaweed meal
60 gram bone meal
120 gram blood meal
80 gram Guano Peru
20 gram trace element
40 gram lime/kalk
3 liter worm casting
12 liter Perlite
"Excuse me officer, but it keeps my stress down"....
Originally Posted by Burn1 View Post
Here are some tried and true recipes for getting started in organic growing. These are just a starting point that have proven to be successful for myself and many others. Pick one of the first two soiless mix recipes for your grow medium. Then, choose a nute recipe that will work best for what you have available.
Enjoy...
Here are two very good organic soiless mixes...
LC’s Soiless Mix #1:
5 parts Canadian Spaghnam Peat or Coir or Pro-Moss
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
...Check the link in my sig line below for cheap earthworm castings. Free shipping in the USA. (Except Alaska and Hawaii)
Or, if you use Pro Mix or Sunshine Mix...
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up)
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime.
Now for the plants organic food source
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.
RECIPE #2
If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloids guano mix
1/3C hi N guano per gallon
1/2C hi Phos guano per gallon
1TBS Jersey greensand per gallon
1TBS Kelp meal per gallon
RECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...
Guano Tea and Kelp:
Seedlings less than 1 month old nute tea mix-
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
1-cup earthworm castings/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering
Veg mix-
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
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1-cup mix/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering.
Flowering nute tea mix:
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
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.
You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.
RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth
RECIPE #5
Fish and Seaweed
For veg growth…
1 capful 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion
1 capful 0-0-1 Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon H2O
For flowering…
1 tbs. Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed
1 gallon H2O
RECIPE #6
And finally Pure Blend Pro...
Pure Blend Pro veg formula for hydro/soil and Pure Blend Pro flower formula for Soil. Simply use as directed on the label. It's a stand-alone fertilizer. That means, everything you need is already in there so don't let the guy at the hydro store try to sell you something more.
And now for some more good tips...
Organic pH issues
I hear a lot of people asking or talking about the pH of their organic soil mix or organic nute solution and how they might correct or adjust it. pH in organics is not an issue like it is in synthetic growing.
The best place to settle the pH issues in organics is within the grow medium. A medium rich in humates (humus) is the place to start. Humates work to "buffer" the pH of organic mediums and the nutes you pour (or mix) into it.
Humates come from compost, worm castings and bottled humus. If you use a peat based medum, use dolomite lime to raise the pH of the acidic peat. Dolomite should be used in any soil or soiless medium to provide magnesium and calcium. But since we are talking about pH here, I'll mention dolomite lime's pH correction benefits.
A medium of coir has a pH near neutral (or 7.0). But humates are still neded to allow uptake of organic nutrients that are outside a near neutral pH range.
With an active medium rich in humates you can pour in nutes like Pure Blend Pro, Earth Juice and guano teas with pH anywhere from 4 to 9 without worry. The humus will allow the nutes to be taken up through the roots, even at such an extreme pH reading.
So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.
Chlorine tap water
Just a word of caution for you organic heads out there...
If you are tapped onto a municipal water supply that uses chlorine to kill bacteria in the water, it'll do the same thing to the bacteria (microherd) in your organic food source.
Always bubble your municipal water in an open container (5 gallon bucket) for 24 hours before adding ANYTHING organic to it.
Flushing
There is absolutely no reason to "flush" organic nute solutions from your soil mix. Meals like kelp, bone and blood along with worm castings and dolomite can't be flushed from your soil mix anyway. If you use guano and seaweed, try using plain water or worm casting tea for your last watering or two so the plant can use up what's left in the soil. But drowning your soil with water isn't necessary.
UNK:
Start by pouring a gallon of potting mix onto a potting bench. Add 1 tablespoon each of blood meal for nitrogen, kelp for trace elements, and greensand for potassium; then add 2 tablespoons of bone meal for phosphorus. Mix it all together and you're ready to plant.
TICKS:
Basically Organic mix with ProMix HP as a base. The ratios used for mixing are 50 Litres of Promix combined with with 25-35% wormcastings, 15% Shrimp compost, 750 ml of Bat guano and a cup of Bone & Blone meals. This renders aboot 85-95 Litres of grow mix.
SUPER SOIL MIX:
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 dolomite 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.
Substitutions
- The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs
Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano
BOGS - Feeding and Mix
I use Wal-Mart Continuous Feeding formula potting soil with 5-10% perlite added for aeration and drainage. I add 2 cups of bone and blood meal to every 10 gallons of soil. I feed Pure Blend grow in veg and I transplant 3 times. Starting in 1 qt pots then 2 gallon pots then 4 gallon pots.
I transplant to 4 gallon pots when going to flowering. At this time I give a strong dose of foxfarm bloom liquid bat guano product, 2/3 cup to a gallon. This is a one time heavy nitrogen feed as transplanted and going into high light flowering room. (all HPS 35 watts/sq.ft.)
Often I let them flower until sexed before the final transplant and nitrogen treatment. It doesn't burn them and they shoot in the first 2 weeks of flowering a lot. Capturing this growth "shoot" as I call it is the key to big buds IMHO. Health and vigor is maintained by lots of continued rooting through flower.
I also use some CO2 in flowering and some superthrive once or twice while in flower at a very weak rate. In flower I feed the first half of flowering with Pure Blend Bloom which has half strength nitrogen compared to their vegging formula. Then the second half of flowering I use Earth juice Bloom to feed as it has no nitrogen and my pots still have some.
SubCool taught me to premix my earth juice bloom 20 hours in advance to reduce its acidity and this has helped me feed more without burning them.
My Basic Tips... BUSHY’S GROW TIPS FOR BEGINNER INDOOR GARDENERS -- By BushyOlderGrower updated 5/2001
Soil Mix is easy get Sam’s Choice, Magic Earth with fertilizer (.09-.06-.05) in already and mix 2/3 cup of blood meal and 2/3 cup of bone meal into each 3 gal pot. By adding 2 tablespoons of dry lime to mix you help flowering and avoid over-acidity. Wal-Mart has this kind and it is cheap! Many prefer to use 5 gallon pots. You should add 10% perlite for good air to the roots and good drainage.
Stir and plant seed into this, fill pot well and wet well first time, we will supplement with organic fertilizers later. Black Gold is best gro mix but heavier soils are better than lighter ones. Shultz pro mix is expensive but highly recommended, Black Magic has also done well for some expert growers. I like Wal-mart continuous feeding formula soil
GROWDOCS SOIL MIX:
Per 100 liters/2 bags
60 gram seaweed meal
60 gram bone meal
120 gram blood meal
80 gram Guano Peru
20 gram trace element
40 gram lime/kalk
3 liter worm casting
12 liter Perlite
"Excuse me officer, but it keeps my stress down"....
Originally Posted by Burn1 View Post
Here are some tried and true recipes for getting started in organic growing. These are just a starting point that have proven to be successful for myself and many others. Pick one of the first two soiless mix recipes for your grow medium. Then, choose a nute recipe that will work best for what you have available.
Enjoy...
Here are two very good organic soiless mixes...
LC’s Soiless Mix #1:
5 parts Canadian Spaghnam Peat or Coir or Pro-Moss
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
...Check the link in my sig line below for cheap earthworm castings. Free shipping in the USA. (Except Alaska and Hawaii)
Or, if you use Pro Mix or Sunshine Mix...
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up)
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime.
Now for the plants organic food source
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.
RECIPE #2
If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloids guano mix
1/3C hi N guano per gallon
1/2C hi Phos guano per gallon
1TBS Jersey greensand per gallon
1TBS Kelp meal per gallon
RECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...
Guano Tea and Kelp:
Seedlings less than 1 month old nute tea mix-
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
1-cup earthworm castings/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering
Veg mix-
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
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1-cup mix/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering.
Flowering nute tea mix:
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
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.
You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.
RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth
RECIPE #5
Fish and Seaweed
For veg growth…
1 capful 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion
1 capful 0-0-1 Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon H2O
For flowering…
1 tbs. Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed
1 gallon H2O
RECIPE #6
And finally Pure Blend Pro...
Pure Blend Pro veg formula for hydro/soil and Pure Blend Pro flower formula for Soil. Simply use as directed on the label. It's a stand-alone fertilizer. That means, everything you need is already in there so don't let the guy at the hydro store try to sell you something more.
And now for some more good tips...
Organic pH issues
I hear a lot of people asking or talking about the pH of their organic soil mix or organic nute solution and how they might correct or adjust it. pH in organics is not an issue like it is in synthetic growing.
The best place to settle the pH issues in organics is within the grow medium. A medium rich in humates (humus) is the place to start. Humates work to "buffer" the pH of organic mediums and the nutes you pour (or mix) into it.
Humates come from compost, worm castings and bottled humus. If you use a peat based medum, use dolomite lime to raise the pH of the acidic peat. Dolomite should be used in any soil or soiless medium to provide magnesium and calcium. But since we are talking about pH here, I'll mention dolomite lime's pH correction benefits.
A medium of coir has a pH near neutral (or 7.0). But humates are still neded to allow uptake of organic nutrients that are outside a near neutral pH range.
With an active medium rich in humates you can pour in nutes like Pure Blend Pro, Earth Juice and guano teas with pH anywhere from 4 to 9 without worry. The humus will allow the nutes to be taken up through the roots, even at such an extreme pH reading.
So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.
Chlorine tap water
Just a word of caution for you organic heads out there...
If you are tapped onto a municipal water supply that uses chlorine to kill bacteria in the water, it'll do the same thing to the bacteria (microherd) in your organic food source.
Always bubble your municipal water in an open container (5 gallon bucket) for 24 hours before adding ANYTHING organic to it.
Flushing
There is absolutely no reason to "flush" organic nute solutions from your soil mix. Meals like kelp, bone and blood along with worm castings and dolomite can't be flushed from your soil mix anyway. If you use guano and seaweed, try using plain water or worm casting tea for your last watering or two so the plant can use up what's left in the soil. But drowning your soil with water isn't necessary.
W
wilbur
good stuff here! also check out 'organic fanatics' in the australia/newzealand section.
