Organic Soil Mix Help Needed
- Thread starter Bud-Monster
- Start date
the_extremist
Member
Super Soil rocks. Makes for big, sticky, fragrant flowers. I also use sucanat now, it's way easier to work with than molasses.
Also, I found that 10 gallon pots are even better. In 7's I was running out of gas around day 40 and had to topdress.
LilMan72003
Active member
These are two very good points.
As you stated Bud-monster, if want to be able to start seedlings in this mix, you are going to need a mix that both contains enough nitrogen to carry the plants through vegetative state, while not burning the youngins. The fact of the matter is that blood meal is better used as a top dressing or watered in, as it is very high in fasting acting nitrogen (12-2-1). Alfalfa meal (3-1-2) is more balanced, sustainable, and will provide nitrogen for a longer period than blood meal. In it you will also find Vitamin A, Folic Acid, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, and Niacin. Something to look be aware of: organic decomposition of this material by micro-bacterial activity can cause soil temperatures to increase. Not usually a problem though, unless soil mix is covered by a mulch, which can raise temps too high for microbial life.
And yes, I believe ANY proper organic soil mix should have some proportion of EWC
. Anywhere between 15-30% EWC seems acceptable (some people go even higher, but then things get goopy). Though it does provide low percentages of minerals and trace elements, the importance of EWC lies in its HUMUS and HUMIC ACID CONTENT, which assists, or acts as a "catalyst", in nutrient absorption.Hope some of this information is helpful.
Cheers!
the_extremist
Member
+1 for worm turds. I use 60 lbs in every batch of soil I mix up. They really are the miracle amendment, imho.
The longer you let your soil "cook" before use the better. I've seen a big difference between waiting 2 weeks and waiting 2 months. 2 months always works better. I've also seen when using your mix (which I still use), that the first run or two the plants were always happier with a little fertilizer as all the nutrients may not be available during your first run. I used neptunes harvest fish fert a few times at about 1/2 rate.
The worm castings are indeed the bomb, no doubt about it. 20-30% in the mix will kick ass.
You can topdress the castings too during veg or flower for a little boost. In a 5-10gal cloth pot a handful only picks things up for a few days, but maybe your case would not be so short-lived. in a 1L pot you would probably just need a Tbsp or maybe two during peak flower.
I can also say great results from doing the same(though a bit more carefully!) with a tiny bit of dry chicken poop in veg or early flowering, and some Bat Guano (0-12-1) during mid-late flower. I got a 40lb bag of locally pooped organic chicken poop for 10$ at my local hardware store. sold as lawn fertilizer its (5-3-2). Killer deal. Stuff is fast acting and can burn if overdone though so I just use a little sprinkle along with some EWC. Great cheap way to beef up the mix too though, and I use it for that. if you have some time for it to break down in your soil it wont be so hot for the seedlings. Alfalfa meal I've had good success with too and like mentioned its slower/longer acting, if you can mix them both your even better.
I'm just getting into the Fermented Plant Extracts with all the wildflowers around my place and unless your in the heart of a city you can probably find plenty of wild ferts for a small set-up like that. Free ferts growing wild around you? any dandelions around? red clovers? yarrow? throw some flowers in a jug of water for a week or two and presto you made free ferts! just be sure to dilute them down and know what kind of plants your using don't just go grab anything. Check out the Nettle Tea thread and Fermented Plant Extracts.
One more good tip: Dry molasses will speed up your soil cooking process drastically! The microbes in the soil (especially Bacteria I'm told) go bonkers when they get some sugar fed to'em! It's also real cheap (20$/50lb) and contains some good minerals particularly Magnesium and Iron. 6 weeks should be plenty without it given good summer temps but last batch of soil I mixed with chicken poop and molasses (+ Kelp&Azomite) heated up like a compost pile for a few days during which I turned it several times and within a week it was cooled back down and smellin great. I'm glad I waited until after to add my Wormcastings cause that pile was seriously hot! I don't know if it could have hurt the microbes in the castings but I'm glad they skipped the hot step. Still sitting for another 6 weeks anyway while the current plants finish. If you find yourself needing soil in a hurry though you might try it out.
Sounds like your well on track. good luck!
You can topdress the castings too during veg or flower for a little boost. In a 5-10gal cloth pot a handful only picks things up for a few days, but maybe your case would not be so short-lived. in a 1L pot you would probably just need a Tbsp or maybe two during peak flower.
I can also say great results from doing the same(though a bit more carefully!) with a tiny bit of dry chicken poop in veg or early flowering, and some Bat Guano (0-12-1) during mid-late flower. I got a 40lb bag of locally pooped organic chicken poop for 10$ at my local hardware store. sold as lawn fertilizer its (5-3-2). Killer deal. Stuff is fast acting and can burn if overdone though so I just use a little sprinkle along with some EWC. Great cheap way to beef up the mix too though, and I use it for that. if you have some time for it to break down in your soil it wont be so hot for the seedlings. Alfalfa meal I've had good success with too and like mentioned its slower/longer acting, if you can mix them both your even better.
I'm just getting into the Fermented Plant Extracts with all the wildflowers around my place and unless your in the heart of a city you can probably find plenty of wild ferts for a small set-up like that. Free ferts growing wild around you? any dandelions around? red clovers? yarrow? throw some flowers in a jug of water for a week or two and presto you made free ferts! just be sure to dilute them down and know what kind of plants your using don't just go grab anything. Check out the Nettle Tea thread and Fermented Plant Extracts.
One more good tip: Dry molasses will speed up your soil cooking process drastically! The microbes in the soil (especially Bacteria I'm told) go bonkers when they get some sugar fed to'em! It's also real cheap (20$/50lb) and contains some good minerals particularly Magnesium and Iron. 6 weeks should be plenty without it given good summer temps but last batch of soil I mixed with chicken poop and molasses (+ Kelp&Azomite) heated up like a compost pile for a few days during which I turned it several times and within a week it was cooled back down and smellin great. I'm glad I waited until after to add my Wormcastings cause that pile was seriously hot! I don't know if it could have hurt the microbes in the castings but I'm glad they skipped the hot step. Still sitting for another 6 weeks anyway while the current plants finish. If you find yourself needing soil in a hurry though you might try it out.
Sounds like your well on track. good luck!
