Tutorial Organics for Beginners

[TheNewGuy]

hi, regarding the dolomite lite at 2 tbls per gallon,im in the uk and our gallon is differient to us. i was thinking about 2tbls per 4litres should be ok, shouldnt it? is that near enough? many thanks if anyone can answer this. by the way im using lc mix1 with coir instead of peat.thanks. i use a litre scoop for parts,e.g 5litres of coir,3lires perlite and 2litres of worm casts.

you can just look up a conversion chart or just follow the recipe to a T using a 3 quart sauce pan and you'll have a cubic foot of soil and you can add 1 cup of dolemite lime to you're mix.

 

[window]

you can just look up a conversion chart or just follow the recipe to a T using a 3 quart sauce pan and you'll have a cubic foot of soil and you can add 1 cup of dolemite lime to you're mix.

hey,thanks for the answer. i looked up a conversion and a uk gallon is 4.55, us 3.79,so i thought id go inbetween and try 4. im only mixing small amounts at first,just wanna try this organic on some small clones. sorry to be a pain but a quart is just over a litre,right? thanks for any help.

 

[trichogg]

thanks @ Mr Jay..

The lady did get a mild strip and tossed into Rev's base mix with a root dust of great white & there lovin it...
I already see new growth comming out. Og18 is a Stretchy Lady and she got the lead shoot topped and cloned... Thats going into tha Flower House next door when root peekz...

Thannkz for tha input Jay.

TricH.

 

[t33to]

Hey IC,

Newbie here to Organics. I'm thinking about trying this:

LC's Soiless Mix #2:

6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) 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. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

But, a "part" can be anything from a tablespoon to a five gallon bucket. Just use the same item for all of the "parts".

With the following:

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
(OPTIONAL) 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 nutrients into the soiless mix well and wet it, but don't soak it. Use 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 nutrients 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.

Just some quick questions.

1. I seem to be having troubles sourcing Powdered Kelp and Maxi Crop. I happen to have a bunch of other Organic goodies and I'm wondering if I could swap the Powdered Kelp and Maxi Crop for something from the General Organics "Go Box" (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=NOGHBOX&eq=&Tp=) that I have.

2. If possible I'd also like to swap the "Liquid Karma" for something else that I might already have but I'm not sure exactly what Liquid Karma is doing for this mix. Is it just B-Vitamins?

3. I see that there is a 2 week "Cook time" on the mix. How much would I suffer if I didn't wait this 2 week period and is there anything I could add into the system to speed it up or bypass the 2 week period? I have humic acids from General Organics in the Go box mentioned above.

Great thread. Amazing information and I apologize that I don't have the time to read through all 250 pages! Thanks in Advanced.

 

[pinecone]

1. I seem to be having troubles sourcing Powdered Kelp and Maxi Crop. I happen to have a bunch of other Organic goodies and I'm wondering if I could swap the Powdered Kelp and Maxi Crop for something from the General Organics "Go Box" (http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=NOGHBOX&eq=&Tp=) that I have.

You want kelp meal as differentiated from kelp extract. Anyway, around here they sell kelp meal at garden centers in 4lb bags (from Epsoma). Down to Earth also packages smaller boxes. If you want to go big, and get a much lower per lb price, go to a feed store and buy a 50lb back of "Acadian" kelp meal. Maxicrop is kelp meal is a similar product, but is harvested in the North Sea whereas the Acadian stuff comes from the Canadian North Atlantic. The Acadian kelp meal is more readily available in the US.

2. If possible I'd also like to swap the "Liquid Karma" for something else that I might already have but I'm not sure exactly what Liquid Karma is doing for this mix. Is it just B-Vitamins?

I didn't have any LK and didn't want to buy any so I skipped it.

3. I see that there is a 2 week "Cook time" on the mix. How much would I suffer if I didn't wait this 2 week period and is there anything I could add into the system to speed it up or bypass the 2 week period? I have humic acids from General Organics in the Go box mentioned above.

I didn't cook and the mix performed well, but I used a different recipe with guanos instead of blood and bone. The blood and bone recipes might be a bit different. Blood has a reputation for being "hot".

Pine

 

[t33to]

You want kelp meal as differentiated from kelp extract. Anyway, around here they sell kelp meal at garden centers in 4lb bags (from Epsoma). Down to Earth also packages smaller boxes. If you want to go big, and get a much lower per lb price, go to a feed store and buy a 50lb back of "Acadian" kelp meal. Maxicrop is kelp meal is a similar product, but is harvested in the North Sea whereas the Acadian stuff comes from the Canadian North Atlantic. The Acadian kelp meal is more readily available in the US.



I didn't have any LK and didn't want to buy any so I skipped it.



I didn't cook and the mix performed well, but I used a different recipe with guanos instead of blood and bone. The blood and bone recipes might be a bit different. Blood has a reputation for being "hot".

Pine

Thanks again Pine! You're always so helpful.

 

[t33to]

LC's Soiless Mix #2:

6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) 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. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

But, a "part" can be anything from a tablespoon to a five gallon bucket. Just use the same item for all of the "parts".

Ok more questions.

I've constructed a 4x8 soil bed. Do you guys think it would be OK if:

1. I lined it with a regular blue tarp to protect the wood a little bit?
2. Used those PVC tubes to help deal with over watering instead of having drain holes in the bottom of the bed
3. Swapped out Perlite for Coco (it's appears to be much cheaper and I hear it lasts longer)

I'm getting ready to fill the beds up

My bed is 4x8, that is 32 square feet, 12 inches deep = 32 cubic feet. Do I understand correctly that I need 3 parts Sunshine Mix, 1 part Perlite, 1 part Worm Castings in order to fill this space?

Here is my math, it seems a bit high and this all seems rather expensive all of a sudden.

3 parts SS + 1 part Perlite + 1 Part Worm Castings = 5 parts in total right?

32 cubic feet / 5 parts = 6.4 units.

Sunshine mix: 6.4 x 3 = 19.2 cubic feet!
Perlite: 6.4 x 1 = 6.4 cubic feet.
Warm Castings: 6.4 x 1 = 6.4 cubic feet.

One bail of Sunshine Mix is only 3.8 Cubic feet. Does that mean I need roughly 5 bails of Sunshine Mix?! Many bags of Perlite and Wormcastings? This might cost me $500+ to fill.

Please tell me I'm wrong somewhere.

 

[mad librettist]

Find verdant green's thread calld topsoil in the mix. Then find the sticky about using local soil by capt.cheeze

Also consider mixes that don't rely on peat, which loses a lot of volume when it breaks down and also makes it hard for mycorrhizal fungi to grow.

just a few ideas:

20% of your mix could be local topsoil, whcih could save lots of $

Also, I will suggest that you would be better off with sometning more durable than perlite.

your best help in water management is a living mulch.

If I were running a bed, keeping a perpetual living mulch would be very important, along with a good worm population. You can let the companion plants trail down the side of the bed (chickweed is good for the edges).

 

[t33to]

Find verdant green's thread calld topsoil in the mix. Then find the sticky about using local soil by capt.cheeze

Also consider mixes that don't rely on peat, which loses a lot of volume when it breaks down and also makes it hard for mycorrhizal fungi to grow.

just a few ideas:

20% of your mix could be local topsoil, whcih could save lots of $

Also, I will suggest that you would be better off with sometning more durable than perlite.

your best help in water management is a living mulch.

If I were running a bed, keeping a perpetual living mulch would be very important, along with a good worm population. You can let the companion plants trail down the side of the bed (chickweed is good for the edges).

Mad, you rad.

I'm gonna try doing living mulch with Chickweed. I'm totally sold on the idea. I like the idea of swiping freely available atmospheric nitrogen right out of the air into my root zone. Not too mention, Aquaponics is another hobby of mine and I've heard my fishies will enjoy Chickweed as an added nutrient source. (which beats growing algae for them).

Do you think I could swap the Perlite for Coco? I have three of those Coco Block things and I'd much rather use that.

I'll check out those threads you mentioned and probably report back!

TY

 

[Marijuanasaur]

questions about the basics...

questions about the basics...

LC’s Soiless Mix #1 using Recipe #1 dry and only adding plain water.

Using the above, do you need drainage holes in the containers?

and what is meant by plain water? water from the tap that has been bubbled to remove the chlorine?

Thanks.

 

[FairyChief]

hi guys. i'm planing to make my 2nd grow organic, following mas o menos the 1rst page of this thread. i need help to clarify some things i'm not sure, my english is not very good, i dont find good information in my native language.
i'm planing to use this
LC’s Soiless Mix #1:
5 parts Coir
3 parts perlite
2 parts worm castings
Powdered dolomite lime 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
With guano nutes, but it looks like we dont have so much choice for guanos in europe. I dont find liquid karma either.

My questions now :

1. why, when watering, use humus AND liquid karma? what (important) thing is in each you dont have in the other?

2. the only source of kelp i find is for fishing like here :
http://www.ltbaits.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ItmID=7257352
but it is not in fine powder. is it good ?

3. i find information about spirulina, there is 140mg of potassium for 10g of meal. is this enough potassium to replace the kelp ?

4. what is a good humic acid i can find in europe ?

5. i want to put endomycorhizes and trichodermas in the tea like this
http://www.gp-biotechnology.com/div....html?osCsid=7e9d12a4ede68eb5d63251fa3137d176
should i put this with all the mix 24h in the water ?
is that useful ?

this is maybe a lot of questions for a 1st throw...

 

[moutaingrown]

i finally did it, read the whole thread..............awesome information,

 

[StrapAssassin42]

Trinity from Roots Organic is a good humic/fulvic acid.

 

[RipVanWeed]

Check for Bio-Ag, I use the Ful-Power and TM-7 in my garden. Just a little.

http://bioag.com/buycropproducts.html

Just chopped this Green Crack, 68 days

Sorry for the poor quality pics, I've had this awesome little Sony CyberShot for years but it's finally failing. I take a camera almost everywhere....time to relace this one.

Respect

 

[pop pop]

BurnOne, you asked that I let you know how I did. Sorry it has taken so long, but thanks to you and the others here I actually did fine. So I wanted to let you know and to say thanks to all who helped me.

RipVanWeed I think your pics are beautiful and can only wish that someday I'll be that successful!

My best to all of my friends here at ICM.

Pop Pop

 

[GranDadPurpler]

Very help is there a good mix for me, i have a thread up lmk thanks

 

[LesterBallard]

Great thread.

 

[P@ssw0rd]

I am new to organics and have been experimenting with aact's over the past year or so with great success. The plants seem to love them but i have felt like following up there application with my chemical salt nutes is probably taking away from there potential. To further my experimentation i decided figured i would need to try a 100% organic plant or 2. I am a poor man however and a med patient so after evaluating a few options i decided on cooking up a small batch of Subcools super soil recipe, I think i got the math right my mix was made up of

1 bag of Roots organic soil
6 lbs ewc
0.625 lbs blood meal 12-0-0
0.625 lbs bone meal
0.625 lbs High P bat guano
1.5 tbsp epsom salts
1 tbsp lime
1 tbsp azomite
.75 tsp granular humic acid

I mixed well and moistened this mix on 1-27 before putting it in a rubbermade tote with a spare seedling heat mat i had sitting around, its in my basement on the cold floor so the heating mat is just to keep if at a reasonable temp. So by my math it should be just about ready now.

 

[P@ssw0rd]

Afew questions for the experienced organics crowd. I mixed up a batch of the supersoil recipe listed above and i would like to use it but i understand that it should not be used straight.
See normally i am a promix user so i dont have anymore organic soil like the roots i used to fill the top part of the pot with so can i use promix for the top of the pot and layer the bottom half with the supersoil? I know ideally i would use more of the roots for the top half but i am broke and would rather use what i already have if possible. This plant will be fed only water and aact's from the time it hits this mix.
I also wondered what size plant would best be used aswell as container size, I have a small rooted clone in a cup aswell as a plant thats probably about 20". The smaller have plant has not been fed yet while the larger one has been on a diet of GH floraduo. Which of these plants would be better to transplant into my layered supersoil container?

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

Afew questions for the experienced organics crowd. I mixed up a batch of the supersoil recipe listed above and i would like to use it but i understand that it should not be used straight.
See normally i am a promix user so i dont have anymore organic soil like the roots i used to fill the top part of the pot with so can i use promix for the top of the pot and layer the bottom half with the supersoil? I know ideally i would use more of the roots for the top half but i am broke and would rather use what i already have if possible. This plant will be fed only water and aact's from the time it hits this mix.
I also wondered what size plant would best be used aswell as container size, I have a small rooted clone in a cup aswell as a plant thats probably about 20". The smaller have plant has not been fed yet while the larger one has been on a diet of GH floraduo. Which of these plants would be better to transplant into my layered supersoil container?

Pardon me, what's in the Roots Organic soil? Never seen the stuff before