[GMT]

Then change the store bought premixed soil to a different store bought premixed soil. Factor the cost of your time in, and I've never seen anything more expensive than mixing your own.
As for pests, yeah that is an issue but pre opening the bag and watering it, leave it in the garage for 7 to 10 days and anything that needs to eat, will hatch/move out or die.

[bigbadbiddy]

I do have account for the fact that you have had a huge increase in quality and availability of premixed soils since legalization.

My impression is that you do have good premixed soilmixes available, just don't have them here, hence my stance on them but in the states should be fine I guess.

[slownickel]

Gentlemen,

I have been testing mixes for growers a couple of years now. The results are horrible.

Depending on which wormcasting you get, 90% of it is toxic with Fe and Al, no Mn. Can't get there that way!

Using Coots, you will have all your calcium in carbonate forms, if you have alkaline water, oops, no Ca! The lab will say you do, but if done using the right soil analysis procedures developed by the PGA, you will quickly see the issue behind using other forms of Ca, especially those low in Mg.

If you want to hear a bit more, go visit the slownickel lounge thread here on ICMAG. On the first page of the thread there is a great video to watch that explains the importance of understanding what you have in a soil, testing is everything. Everything else is bro science and guessing. Throw the bottles of woowoo juice in there and the resulting quality sucks. A lot of the organic quality sucks too. I have at least 15 analysis of different worm castings. Only a couple were decent. The rest are horrible. The reason folks don't see "negative" results that often is because all those elements are buffered by humus molecules, making uptake somewhat selective, but realize the issue is competition between elements, such as Fe/Mn. Read up in the thread mentioned and read the analysis presented plus listen to the folks that have tried working with a bit more "real" science instead of the bro stuff that gets deep in these forums.

I produce my personal crops organically, but I work with lots of folks that are conventional. Nutrition is nutrition, period.

[~star~crash~]

Slow...with all due respect (and i sincerely mean that )

I'm reading this as U telling us that ALL pre-mixed soils and/or soil formulations are not good?? many growers use simple premixed soils all the time ...what are we doing wrong?

[slownickel]

Originally Posted by ~star~crash~

Slow...with all due respect (and i sincerely mean that )

I'm reading this as U telling us that ALL pre-mixed soils and/or soil formulations are not good?? many growers use simple premixed soils all the time ...what are we doing wrong?

Not at all. They can all be fixed! Just how do you start blindly? You of all people know that.

From hydro, to coco, to mediums, to soils, you have to dial it in.

You want to start with some mix, fine. But figure out what is in it prior to planting out! I have seen growers get crap from the store that the conductivity was off the chart. Starting with 20% plus K, sorry. Most mixes have absurd K/P levels. Sorry.

No mix has enough Ca. Really sorry...

Fe/Mn ratios that are silly. I will now stop apologizing, haha..

[~star~crash~]

Ok now i understand what U are saying ... dude i'm dying to learn ...this season i've a field of dreams @ my disposal & working with native soil , but i fear to amend to ur specs would be physically impossible ??? i want to learn how to feed my crop the best within my framework of abilities

[slownickel]

Originally Posted by ~star~crash~

Ok now i understand what U are saying ... dude i'm dying to learn ...this season i've a field of dreams @ my disposal & working with native soil , but i fear to amend to ur specs would be physically impossible ??? i want to learn how to feed my crop the best within my framework of abilities

Crash,

I do this on thousands upon thousands of acres, mostly sugar cane. Wanna talk about a low budget per acre? LMAO.

Those growers that have chosen to learn, do their analysis and dial in their grows are killing it. Greenhands13 Sunset Sherbert CO2 extract won the Emerald Cup. Terps were off the chart. His flower amazing.

Easygoings' outdoor at the Emerald Cup and his concentrates were show stoppers. CritiCal was selling his Diamonds on the premium menu at $120/GRM!

Read my thread, you will see the same discussions over and over. Using real science is 1. less expensive, 2. more productive, 3. allows you to reach another level.

Without high Ca, balanced Fe/Mn rations, and everything else balanced, you can't convert simple sugars into complex ones. That means genetic expression is going to be a fraction of what is the real capacity of the plant. This is all about genetic expression.

[~star~crash~]

i'm over at ur thread

[MedResearcher]

1 Bag Happy Frog

1 Bag CoCo Coir

1 Bag Worm Castings

1/2 bag perlite ( 2 cubic feet )

4 cup dolomite lime

4 cup bone meal

2 cup kelp meal

1.25 cup blood meal

1 cup azomite


Basic, easy, typically common amendments. Its a slightly tweaked version of Blazeoneup's soil recipe. Has enough fertilizer for a short veg and flower in it, as long as the pot is large enough for the size of the plant. Although a little top dress or some feeding won't hurt, and should be used as needed.

I typically use it or something close as a starter mix for seedlings, clones, or to do a quick breeding cycle indoors. Blazeoneup had really simple, clean, productive rooms. Not sure if you can find his threads anymore, iirc he eventually got busted.

Could always be dialed in further, but it will get you headed in the right direction.

Soil can have a bit more of a learning curve than Coco/Hydro imo. Getting the watering right is more crucial. Pure Coco is almost foolproof as far as irrigation cycles go.

Gl,

Mr^^

[RiddleMeThis]

Gonna suggest Coot's mix as well.

My mix consists of:
1/3 Premier Peat (Lowes/Home Depot)
1/3 Compost (50/50 mix of fresh worm castings and Malibu Compost)
1/3 Aeration (Rice hulls, Pumice, and 10% bio-char per cubic foot)

Amendments (all per cubic foot):
Kelp meal(1/2 cup)
Neem/Karanja meal (1/2 cup)
Crab meal (1/2 cup)
Milled Malted Barley (1/2 cup)
Fish Bone Meal (1/2 cup)
Alfalfa Meal (1/4 cup)

Minerals (4 cups/cubic foot):
Gypsum (1 cup)
Basalt (1 cup)
Glacial Rock Dust (1 cup)
Oyster Shell Flour (1 cup)

Barley straw for mulch, handful of worms, and your good to go.

Once a week for the first 6-7 weeks of flower the girls will receive some sort of brew. Not nearly as intensive as the BAS schedule, but similar. I use the following as I see necessary:

Kelp/Alfalfa (once or twice within first 4 weeks of bloom)
Aloe/Ful-Power/Agisil solution (as often as possible, replacing aloe with coconut late bloom)
Sul-po-mag (once or twice within first 4 weeks of bloom)
Compost tea (usually week before bloom, and once mid-bloom)

All components are fairly inexpensive, with the exception of the Aloe flakes and Ful-power. Truth be told, you could probably get away with plain water throughout the grow, and without the alfalfa, and malted barley, and glacial rock dust. I have definitely seen the benefit of using them, but was still beyond impressed with the results without them. This is my 3rd and 4th run with this mix, and it has only gotten better.

All girls are in 10 gallon pots, and new girls are transplanted directly into the pots. Pull the straw back, lightly till the top layer, add an inch or so of fresh compost/amendment mix (scaled down slightly from the original mix above), water in with compost tea, and you're good to go. I have been lightly top-dressing with the same mix 2-3 times during flower, but not sure how necessary it is.