Help making my first mix

[OrganaCanna]

Alright I'm looking to make my own mix but am confused on how many pounds of EWC and lava rock I'll need. I plan on using a nutrient pack like Eureka or Kis sells just to keep things simple on that end. That said I need about 33 gallons of soil so I'm just going to use 6cu.ft of premiere peat moss. What I'm trying to figure out is how many pounds of ewc and aeration material I'll need for this amount of soil? I know when everything is mixed up I'll have leftover soil but It can always be used later. Also is there anything else that's absolutely needed for this mix? Maybe some Mycorrhiza or a different source of compost?

 

[COconnect]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=53792

Organic sticky. Ratios included

 

[Microbeman]

It is better for you to think in terms of volume (ratio/percentage) rather than weight. If you are using straight earth worm castings, with the appearrance of small granuals, you definitely would be better to mix it with some slightly coarser compost. Otherwise it can get quite muddy and compacted. We use homemade unscreened vermicompost (EWC) so it has some coarseness/body to it. Besides this issue, the most common ratio is 33% each of peatmoss, vermicompost/compost & drainage material like your lava rock.

Some people use a bit of topsoil to offset the peatmoss. I like doing this if available. Personally I use less drainage material than most growers at around 15%. I prefer a slower draining media but this is just my own quirk. I like to create a permanent mix which includes some composted/aged wood particles and or biochar which initially contribute to drainage but slowly degrade over time, releasing nutrients and turning to soil.

You can mix in mycorrhizal spores but you are far better of coating the roots with spores when planting (see other posts in forum). Perhaps KIS has myc. spores in their nutrient pack (?)

 

[ct guy2]

It is better for you to think in terms of volume (ratio/percentage) rather than weight. If you are using straight earth worm castings, with the appearrance of small granuals, you definitely would be better to mix it with some slightly coarser compost. Otherwise it can get quite muddy and compacted. We use homemade unscreened vermicompost (EWC) so it has some coarseness/body to it. Besides this issue, the most common ratio is 33% each of peatmoss, vermicompost/compost & drainage material like your lava rock.

Some people use a bit of topsoil to offset the peatmoss. I like doing this if available. Personally I use less drainage material than most growers at around 15%. I prefer a slower draining media but this is just my own quirk. I like to create a permanent mix which includes some composted/aged wood particles and or biochar which initially contribute to drainage but slowly degrade over time, releasing nutrients and turning to soil.

You can mix in mycorrhizal spores but you are far better of coating the roots with spores when planting (see other posts in forum). Perhaps KIS has myc. spores in their nutrient pack (?)

MM,

I'll have to dig up that study I read on EWC. The findings were 20% was the optimal amount (at least for this study). Been doing 50% peat, 30% medium/large pumice, and 20% Oly Fish Compost (best commercial compost in our area). Had good success to date with that ratio.

I want to start experimenting with vermiculite because Steve Solomon and company swear by it. Adds to your CEC and retains water. Not sure if it will make a difference in a biochar soil with already really high CEC but am curious to find out.

The KIS nutrient pack has a small amount of myco in it, but not what I would consider a full application. I would add the mykos or another brand of g. intraradices or g. mossae directly to the root zone when planting your rooted clones. It's as simple as sprinkling it in your hole prior to planting and then watering it in and forgetting about it.