About to use the coot mix

[LBOrganic]

So i Plan on using the following recipe to mix 9 cu ft of soil for my next grow it will cook for 8 weeks.

#1 The Cootz Mix:

Equal parts of Sphagnum peat moss, some aeration deal (pumice, rice hulls, lava rock - whatever is sitting in the garage) and finally some mix of humus - my compost, worm castings some black leaf mold I bought from the local 'worm guy'

To each 1 c.f. of this mix I add the following:

1/2 cup organic Neem meal
1/2 cup organic Kelp meal
1/2 cup Crab meal (or Crustacean meal when available - it has Shrimp meal with the Crab meal. It's a local product from the fisheries on the Oregon & Washington Coasts)

4 cups of some minerals - rock dust (See Below)

The Rock Dust Recipe
4x - Glacial Rock Dust - Canadian Glacial (Gaia Green label)
1x - Bentonite - from the pottery supply store
1x - Oyster Shell Powder - the standard product from San Francisco Bay
1x - Basalt - from Redmond, Oregon (new product at Concentrates - about $18.00)

No Dolomite Lime, Greensand or SRP was used. Or Azomite.

After the plant is in the final container I top-dress with my worm castings at 2" or so and then I hit it with Aloe vera juice and Comfrey extract. Or Borage. Or Stinging Nettle. Or Horsetail ferns. Whatever is ready.

That's it.

To recycle I've just been letting the root ball breakdown and I remove it. I dump the potting soil into an extra large SmartPot container (50 gallons) and add some new potting soil mix as above. I water it down with Kelp meal and Comfrey tea and let it sit until I need it.

Credited to Some Old Coot



I am gonna use these earthworm castings.http://www.rockymountainwormcompany.com/

Could somebody possibly give me some advice thats used this soil mix before ? Do it dont do it? Im excited to get started!

 

[pseudostelariae]

http://earthfort.com/products/supplies1/worm-castings.html

if you are close by, those castings are produced in Oregon and they give you the option of choosing all plant fed castings. might save on shipping unless you already have those castings.

seems like a solid mix. is there a reason you omitted dolomite? just all the other pH buffering/micro nutrient supplying amendments? i leave it out as well as it's only caused me problems but people seem to swear by it.

 

[umbralindigo]

pseudo, I dont see any other pH buffering amendments there. Dolomite es stupido.

LB, yo man, the Coot mix is a great start or soil mix base to work off of.

Neem, is somewhat of a necessity for many, as fighting off bugs and mildew/fungus with it can be successful. Get Ahimsa brand neem.

Kelp, duh.

Crab, awesome byproduct of crab harvesting on the coast.

While many may find the neem and crab (which has a high chitin content) to be controversial, they within their own rite can constitute a true living soil.

I would consider, after running a run with it, re amend with other things (still using the base 3 if necessary). The Lumperdawg mix from grasscity (i think) should give you some great ideas and give you guide you on proper amounts/ratios. One personal favorite is flax seed meal, another is alfalfa meal.

It is important to make sure your "humus mix" is of the highest grade, and making your own compost can accomplish that, although many arent able to do so. This is the first measure in making an organic soil mix, it should not be overshadowed by "nutrients".
Getting in touch with your compost and making teas with it can really change your perspective of plant life.

One addition I would never leave out is a good quality local topsoil. Not hardware store bagged, but either from a nursery supply or find it yourself, get digging.

Good luck boss. Love.

 

[pseudostelariae]

pseudo, I dont see any other pH buffering amendments there. Dolomite es stupido.

won't the oyster shell flour and glacial rock dust help buffer pH?

 

[Swayze]

won't the oyster shell flour and glacial rock dust help buffer pH?

Yup, and I believe to some degree the crab shell.

 

[bigshrimp]

As will the bentonite. Look into Calcium Carbonate Equivalent for more alternate liming materials.

You may or may not be ok with just the oyster shell, depends really on the quality of your humus. I would just follow the directions for the three way liming mix to be safe, its a good recipe. What ammendments did you leave out?

Biochar would be good too.

 

[LBOrganic]

I didn't leave anything out that is how the mix was presented originally.

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

No fish bone meal, or soft rock phosphate? Coot knows what's up more than any person I have come across, but the mix seems a good place to start at best. There are so many other things that you can add that would help to provide the necessary nutrients.

I swear he had a different mix with more amendments.

 

[GEMiNi GENETiCS]

I'm sure Cootz has a few other mixes but this is probably a good baseline mix and more gets added during reamendment..... can't confuse people w a 20part soil mix ... KISS is best to begin.... its like running an experiment..... make one change at a time to see pro/cons if ya change multiple variables then you won't know what helped or hurt your mix

Sounds like a solid mix.... only thing I have difficulties sourcing is the crab meal....but I'm sure one of my buddies has a source.....I add d.e. to my mix as well....provides micros and worm populations explode with it in the mix.

 

[umbralindigo]

He (coot) did have a different base mix, and it was originally posted under one of his other handles, Lumperdawgz or Lumperdawgz2 I believe.

So, I am confused on the pH buffering. What do you all mean by "buffer" and what would be the point?

I didn't ever take ANY of those amendments to be pH buffering or changing in any way.

 

[umbralindigo]

Soft rock phosphate has been recorded by different companies to contain high levels of some certain radioactive. I do not remember what and have used but wont any longer myself.

Clackamas Cootz original Lumperdawgz (just google it, lots of returned info) mix had greensand, and SRP, and fish meals, and some other things that HE took out for various reasons.

I can literally see the difference between the basic three part Coot mix versus the LD mix. I DO believe Sul-Po-Mag may be playing a big part in that. I advocate its use (other than the mining aspect). I do think flavors and terpenes are becoming more developed as a result of the SPM.

IMO do not overlook the comfrey, Horizonherbs.com has dried Bocking comfrey for sale by the grammage. Its extremely high in potassium (the top dawg for transitioning into flowering)
Chamomile is a great topdressing and foliar addition as the borage. So is burdock root.

 

[umbralindigo]

Hey gemini, I used to add d.e., diatomaceous earth to my mixes. I do not anymore, as it has been subject to discretion based on its possible soil life destroying. It was extremely useful in coco, but with the living soil mix running, I see it as a possible liability to small beneficial soil creatures.

Also, my friend bought a 50+ lb bag of Neptunes harvest crab from Amazon.com, paid like 50 bucks for it, and it took forever to get to him, but it is a substantial amendment.

Also, for those interested, Pro-mix Ultimate Organic mix which can be found at even big name hardware stores is based on Shrimp compost and is what I choose to use for cutting, seedlings, and at $7 a bag (1 cu ft) you cant go wrong.

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

Soft rock phosphate has been recorded by different companies to contain high levels of some certain radioactive. I do not remember what and have used but wont any longer myself.

Clackamas Cootz original Lumperdawgz (just google it, lots of returned info) mix had greensand, and SRP, and fish meals, and some other things that HE took out for various reasons.

I can literally see the difference between the basic three part Coot mix versus the LD mix. I DO believe Sul-Po-Mag may be playing a big part in that. I advocate its use (other than the mining aspect). I do think flavors and terpenes are becoming more developed as a result of the SPM.

IMO do not overlook the comfrey, Horizonherbs.com has dried Bocking comfrey for sale by the grammage. Its extremely high in potassium (the top dawg for transitioning into flowering)
Chamomile is a great topdressing and foliar addition as the borage. So is burdock root.

Soft Rock Phosphate = Polonium 210, and up to 6% fluoride.

I don't think anyone should use it at all, but I did think coot's old mix had it in it. Maybe my memory is bad.

 

[umbralindigo]

I cant edit, so sorry for cloggin up the thread.. but to buffer pH would mean something in the mix is creating a drastic drop or increase in acidity or alkalinity. What on this list is creating a swing of pH to NEED a buffer? Nothing that I see.

 

[umbralindigo]

Eureka, it DID have it in there, you havent gone one toke over the linbe yet buddy! It was just under his other older handle names.

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

Peat moss needs to be buffered with something like oyster shell flour.

 

[Microbeman]

Coots mix is just exemplary. It is just a basic mix of compost or vermicompost at approximately 1/3 with 1/3 sphagnum peatmoss and 1/3 drainage material. This basic mix arose from me and from Cornell. However I prefer less drainage material myself going closer to 15%. There is zero reason to use any dolomite or oyster powder for reasons of offsetting the pH in peatmoss, however I like to use oyster shell and some rock powders for their calcium and mineral content.
Any way to this base Coot adds the following to each cubic foot of potting soil mix:
1 cup kelp meal
1 cup neem meal
1 cup crab meal
4 cups Basalt

He planted directly into this. Cooking was invented by others so far as I know.


My mix (previously included rock phosphate but I only use it now if I am rich because the price has sky rocketed);
39 to 40% vermicompost sometimes blended with topsoil or compost; 39 to 40% low grade Premier sphagnum peatmoss; 13% multi-colored pea gravel. Presently I use rock dust which I get for free and tested against heavy metals at around 1%, homemade biochar from fir/pine shavings at 6 to 8% and add to every 4.6 cubic feet (wheelbarrow) coarse oyster shell 3 cups, kelpmeal 2 cups, rock phosphate 2 cups (if used) and occasionally 1/2 cup of alfalfameal.

 

[Microbeman]

I took the above Coot mix from an email to me some time back. I see that the amendments are double what was posted at the beginning of the thread. Such is the way with these things eh?

 

[LBOrganic]

No fish bone meal, or soft rock phosphate? Coot knows what's up more than any person I have come across, but the mix seems a good place to start at best. There are so many other things that you can add that would help to provide the necessary nutrients.

I swear he had a different mix with more amendments.

What do you think should be added or taken away ?

 

[Eureka Springs Organics]

What do you think should be added or taken away ?

You can see what I use for amendments. MY build your own soil flower mix is nothing but the amendments from my personal soil mix.

http://eurekaspringsorganics.com/build-your-own-soil/build-your-own-soil-flower-mix

Ingredients: Oyster shell flour, gypsum, azomite, Basalt Rock Dust, Bentonite, Crab Shells, Fish Meal,
Bat Guano, Alfalfa Meal, Neem cake, Fish Bone Meal, Kelp Meal, Humates, Diatomaceous Earth

It makes plants very happy.