New soil mix

[spook719]

Here's a mix I'm thinking about using for a 200 gal pot that will be in a gh..Tell me what you think like if I should take an ingredient out or add more of one.

Base mix in gallons
89 peat
30 worm castings
35 compost
26 coco coir
26 lava rock/ pumice or perlite

Dry amendments Each at 1 cup per cubic foot

Dolomite lime
Gypsum
Azomite
Oyster shell flour
Glacial rock dust
Soft rock phosphate

Dry amendments each at 2 Tablespoons per gallon.

Kelp meal
Crab meal
Neem seed meal
Alfalfa meal
Soybean meal
Feather meal
Fish bone meal
Bone meal
Indonesian guano
Mexican guano

Also one tablespoon per gallon of langbeinite

I have some alpaca manure and some horse manure mixed with oat hay to play around with.

I know I have to let the soil mix breakdown I'm hoping a month will be enough time and I can plant by early may.

 

[spook719]

One thing I thing I forgot to say is that the compost I will be using is veggie compost from a local landscaping/ material company..

The plants will be in this mix 6-7 months Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OrganicBuds]

Why the coco and peat? From what I am told, and now have researched, peat beats coco in soil grows. Also, your aeration options, don't go with the lava rocks. I personally would chose pumice, then perlite over lava rock. As for the rest of your amendments and amounts, they seem sound to me. The only true way to know is mix it all up, let it cook, and get a soil sample done. Good luck.

 

[Tree dogg]

New soil mix

Also, your aeration options, don't go with the lava rocks. I personally would chose pumice, then perlite over lava rock. .

What's the difference between pumice and lava rock?

 

[vonforne]

Why the coco and peat? From what I am told, and now have researched, peat beats coco in soil grows. Also, your aeration options, don't go with the lava rocks. I personally would chose pumice, then perlite over lava rock. As for the rest of your amendments and amounts, they seem sound to me. The only true way to know is mix it all up, let it cook, and get a soil sample done. Good luck.

all three are from volcanic rock. lol

Soil mix

Drop the dolomite lime and the SRP. You don´t need them.

And do you consider the coco as an aeration amendment? If not that would leave you with less than a 30% aeration rate, if so then you are right at 30%.

BTW lava rocks will work fine just reduce their size to about 1\4 to 1\2 inch in size

 

[spook719]

Ok thanks for the input guys. Ya I was thinking the coco would help lighten the mix up a bit and I've read that lava rock and pumice are better than perlite because they don't turn into dust which is better for worms.
I'm gonna go ahead and leave out the SRP and dolomite but do you think i should add any more of the other minerals I have ?

 

[Gascanastan]

Why the two types of bone meal? Just curious....

I use coco soaked in EWC slurry mixed w/peat in my base mix for a couple reasons. The availability of a course textured soil building filler I can just go buy in almost any major city helps if this type of texture/fiber amendment can't be sourced naturally by myself. Some alternatives might be any sort of naturally occurring material in my local environment that fits the bill....perhaps the husks of walnuts,forest duff,etc.
Coco loosens a soil mix and adds bulk...plus the aeration factor is up there. Also the fibers act like little wicks for water and little highways for microbial life. Faster population of the overall soil bioshpere and better water penetration while that soil mix is young.
After about a year or so the husk is nowhere to be found. As the soil ages and gains colonies of fungi and microbial life,builds more humic value from organic matter inputs,and soil critters work on it,less concern is placed in that area of the soil bulking for texture and structure. Just keep up with drainage/aeration.

I would never use coco as the main component of bulk for a soil mix...coco sucks compared to peats function in the soil.....but it had it's place and now it's part of the humic content.

 

[Durdy]

Get some worm bins going with that manure / straw combo!

Add some char to em

Top dress your beast around late July right before flower!

 

[spook719]

Ok thanks, i was thinking the two types of bone meal will add diversity in the mix. What's a good source of char, I've read reviews about the cowboy brand being very inconsistent.

 

[Durdy]

You can make your own.

What do you mean by inconsistent?

Most people I know using the cowboy product are "charging it" (Soaking in compost tea or EWC slurry etc.) than crushing it into the proper size pieces.

 

[Neo 420]

Most people I know using the cowboy product are "charging it" than crushing it into the proper size pieces.

Word... Works like a charm!!

 

[RanchoDeluxe]

21 tbs. of amendments per gal. not including your mineral mix? Seems a little hot to me. I would surely test a plant or two.

 

[Neo 420]

21 tbs. of amendments per gal. not including your mineral mix? Seems a little hot to me. I would surely test a plant or two.

He will be alright.... As long as his mix sits for 3 to 5 months

 

[spook719]

well some the amendments that im using are slow release.Do you really think I need to let this soil mix sit for 3-5 months Neo??

 

[spook719]

Ive heard the cowboy can be in big chunks sometime, thats what I meant but if your supposed to crush it then i Can see why that it wouldnt matter. So i probably will add some char to mix as well, any recomendations on how much per gallon or cubic foot??

 

[OrganicBuds]

all three are from volcanic rock. lol

Breast, goat, and cow milk are all milk.......


Cation Exchange Capacity: According to the supplier, Twin Mountain Rock Company, lava sand has a negligible cation exchange capacity (CEC) of only 4.0 milliequivalents (meq) per 100 grams. Therefore, lava sand holds essentially no nutrient cations (potassium, iron, magnesium, ammonium, etc.) on its surfaces. In contrast, the natural smectite clay in Dallas-area soils has a CEC of 80 to 100 meq per 100 grams. And colloidal organic humus typically has a CEC of 180 meq per 100 grams, or greater.

The unit of measure for CEC is defined as the sum of exchangeable cations (also called
bases) per weight of soil. Cation exchange capacity is usually expressed as milligram equivalents
per 100 g. The abbreviated units were expressed as meq•100 g-1. The abbreviation now used in
the scientific community is cmol(+)•kg-1., which is essentially equivalent to meq•100 g-1. A
substrate’s CEC will depend on several factors, particularly the individual components in the
potting mix. Composted or decayed organic components usually have higher CECs than fresh
organic materials. Some examples of CECs for soil or potting mixes or their components include
(in meq•100 g-1):
humus 200 vermiculite 150 sphagnum peat moss 100 - 200
fine clay soils 55-65 (2:1 v/v) barkerlite 24 (1:1 v/v) peat:vermiculite 141


They have their differences, and all I said is I wouldn't use lava rocks. I have used them in the past and the air exchange rate is much different than pumice, also cec. Pick up a bone dry bucket of lava rocks, then pick up a bone dry bucket of pumice and you think they would be the same? Then take said buckets, weigh them bone dry, and then fill with water to the brim and let soak for 5 min each, then drain. Wait 24 hours and weigh the buckets. Your hypothesis is they should be the same? Water retention, weight/volume/mass, air exchange and the ability to hold or not hold nutrients all seem important to me, but what the fuck do I know?

 

[Neo 420]

well some the amendments that im using are slow release.Do you really think I need to let this soil mix sit for 3-5 months Neo??

When I first start out making my mixes I was still under the guise more is better and would add the highest recommended amount of amendments. I would see strange effects (burnt tips,leaves twist, clawing, etc) in early growth but as the plant matured, it would continue on fine.
My second or third batch sat around for quite some time with the heavy amendments and produced some damn fine cannibus with no issues. I attributed that to the long composting time but I maybe wrong..

Now I put more focus on the the microbes. And you add considerably less when re-amending or running no till.

I believe no more than 20% to 25% of the soil for char. If you soil is already decent, then 10%. If memory serves me right...

 

[xmobotx]

organic buds off paper; in the real world, lava rocks make a nice aeration amendment

many nurseries use it exclusively

may not be optimum and i would tend to diversify my drainage component if/when i employ lava rocks but; certainly not to be advised against or discouraged

 

[Neo 420]

Breast, goat, and cow milk are all milk.......


Cation Exchange Capacity: According to the supplier, Twin Mountain Rock Company, lava sand has a negligible cation exchange capacity (CEC) of only 4.0 milliequivalents (meq) per 100 grams. Therefore, lava sand holds essentially no nutrient cations (potassium, iron, magnesium, ammonium, etc.) on its surfaces. In contrast, the natural smectite clay in Dallas-area soils has a CEC of 80 to 100 meq per 100 grams. And colloidal organic humus typically has a CEC of 180 meq per 100 grams, or greater.

Are you talking lave rocks or lava sand? Lava sand is sand size and smaller...

I use lava rock for its microbe holding environment, water and air rention and as it breaks down it releases that goodness to the plant. But to each his own... As long as it support living soil......

 

[OrganicBuds]

organic buds off paper; in the real world, lava rocks make a nice aeration amendment

many nurseries use it exclusively

may not be optimum and i would tend to diversify my drainage component if/when i employ lava rocks but; certainly not to be advised against or discouraged

Off paper? I gave a real world example that I personally have noticed??? I am not saying it wouldn't make a nice aeration amendment, I clearly stated of the three choices I would pick pumice, and lava rock last.

Are you talking lave rocks or lava sand? Lava sand is sand size and smaller...

I use lava rock for its microbe holding environment, water and air rention and as it breaks down it releases that goodness to the plant. But to each his own... As long as it support living soil......

I am talking lava rocks, but that quote was from lava sand, you are right. I was just trying to show that there are differences, and I didn't have time to search out the correct link. Thank you.