soil recipe suggestions PLEASE

Hi orgrowers,
am organizing an outside set up organic soil and i bought some stuff but i need some suggestions from you experts about the best combination.

The starting point is :

- excellent soil of my garden 25%
(a clay-ferrous soil with good Ph for the plant)
- earthworms humus 25%
(made from Horse manure by Californian Red Earthworm)
- perlite 20%
(from Germany)
- volcanic soil 10%
(from GuanoKalong)

what about the remaining 20% ?

and here my question is : in which percentage you suggest me to add the others elements ?
considering that i will do AACT and SST brewer with some of them (i need suggestions in brewers too)

i could add in the starting mixed soil :

leonardite
dolomite lime
azomite granular
azomite powder
zeolite granular
zeolite powder
bentonite

ascophyllum nodosum
ekclonia maxima
lithotamnion calcareous seaweed
gracilaria brown algae (GuanoKalong)

molasse
bat guano (GuanoKalong)
fish powder (GuanoKalong)

potting soil from the greenhouse
alfalfa meal
neem cake
coffee grounds
dried banana peels
dried figs

palm ash (GuanoKalong)
ash from a local tree (no pesticides)

P.S. Nettles, Alfalfa sprouts and Comfrey are waiting to be brewed

P.P.S. the mixed "soil" should go directly in a deep hole in the garden
in the overall percentage am not considering the bottom drainage

ANY SUGGESTION IS MORE THAN WELCOME

how about half of 1% total for "feed" type amendments & 1% total for mineralizing amends including "lime" {Ca}

xmobotx said:

how about half of 1% total for "feed" type amendments & 1% total for mineralizing amends including "lime" {Ca}

Click to expand...

is it 20% the total amount of them ?

Click the link in my signature and go from there...

There is a link to BurnOne's Organics for Beginners in that sticky as well.

It's nice that you have a good amount of amendments available to you, just take the time to start at square one - that means lots of reading.



dank.Frank

dank.frank said:

Click the link in my signature and go from there...

There is a link to BurnOne's Organics for Beginner's in that sticky as well.

It's nice that you have a good amount of amendments available to you, just take the time to start at square one - that means lots of reading.



dank.Frank

Click to expand...

thx...Frank....i already start to read

while reading am waiting for other users' suggestions

it's 1.5%

more drainage is probably a good idea w/ how heavy your mix will be using soil

xmobotx said:

it's 1.5%

more drainage is probably a good idea w/ how heavy your mix will be using soil

Click to expand...

ok but the lack is 20%...not just 1point5percent...how to balance it ?

do you think One/fifth of perlite is not enough??

I'd be changing several things here, personally.

Since you seem to be content working in this percentage paradigm that I'm not quite sure I understand, but, EWC shouldn't really be more than 18-20% of the total volume.

Drainage and aeration amendments should be around 25-30% of total volume, depending on the type of aeration you are using.

I'd be adding some peat moss to the mix as well. Since you have about 35% being various soils, I'd be adding peat at whatever remaining difference exists in your desired 100% equation. I think it'd be about 15% peat moss.

Cannabis performs best in a light, airy, soil that drains well.



dank.Frank

Vaporizzando192 said:

do you think One/fifth of perlite is not enough??

Click to expand...

Depends somewhat what the other 4/5ths are. I hate buying perlight due to overall % of cost but I am going with 33% atm. I was running 40%..... IMO / IME as a cold beginner heavier ratios of perlight where critical to the how to water learning curve.

I find that mix can be relative to cultivar. I can personally attest that one size does not fit all when it comes to mix. Cultivar variances / cultivar dependencies are yuge IMO / IME.

So. Whatcha growin?

I don't agree with that Mr. Soul - no offense. What plants need may differ, but how that is taken from the soil, as long as it is present, is completely controlled by the individual plant.

Roots exudates control the bacteria and in turn control what populations exist and what is being converted from raw form to ionic form. If it is present in the soil, then the plant will be able to sequester what it needs, when it needs it, and in what quantities.

A mix shouldn't have to be different at all for different strains or for that matter different species of plants as long as they prefer the same general pH ranges.



dank.Frank

Hey Frank! Maybe you can help me understand better then. What you are saying is that a mix for running a green crack or a super lemon haze would work just as well for a cheese candy or a pure / hierloom / landrace sativa?

I'm fresh off the boat and I'm finding the contrary. Perhaps it's not cultivar dependent but amendment dependent?

None the less I am still interested in what's being grown.

i agree w/ that. there is no need w/ organics to vary your mix from cultivar to cultivar

in living soil, the plant dictates it's own needs

when you're first starting out {before soil life is well established} a light mix is preferable

my problems w/ organics soil have all been contamination ~including me contaminating by making excessive additions

OK. It's Living Soil dependent.
I am still using a mix .
Currently 2 mixes cover all but one of the cultivar I'm running.

So what is the answer to the OP question?

I'm going go pound sand now.

#radio silence.

@Frank

I saw you veg on 24H? I personally don't veg on anything other than 16/8 because my plants seem to respond to it better and I'm not cramped for time so slower growth is fine. But the main reason I don't use 24H, I thought darkness was needed for the majority of root exudation to take place?

I think "living soil" is just a marketing terminology for the purpose of creating a brand, ie ROLS, TLO, etc...

Soil itself, is a living ecosystem, and there really is no need to differentiate from that bit of fact unless you are trying to make something seem superior to something else.

Every soil has living micro-biology in it...even the stuff you go dig out of your front yard. While it may be common practice to supplement these bacteria with specific species for the purpose of taking advantage of scientific data and research, it does not negate or diminish the fact that ALL soils, to some extent, contain living elements.

Cannabis growers are honestly some of the most advanced organic gardeners on the planet. Truly - we are more passionate and extreme in our methodologies than any other type of general agriculture. I think this is a great thing because it is a clear example of how much effort we have exerted in order to learn and produce the best.

I would call any structured soil...one that is custom designed and specifically amended and contains so many various individual components, a bit of an anomaly to what MOST people would consider "organic". Do realize, I'm not talking about the various amendments themselves, but rather the various components that make our basic planting media. It's not the same as "soil" as it is spoken of in the classical sense.

Diversity of amendments is for the purpose of supporting diversity within the bacterial and fungal communities...not necessarily for providing short term/long term N-P-K. It goes back to that old adage of feeding the soil and not the plant.

I like organics because it forces me to remove myself from the equation and to simply allow nature to take over and do what it does.

Just stop and consider how many places do trees or grass or flowers grow that are never specifically "cultivated"...lol...that is the result of a living, self-fluctuating, self-controlled, independent ecosystem.

Never forget to realize that science is merely trying to explain the observations we see within the natural world. There are millions of things we observe that we are trying to still understand and there is much to be learned...or rather, interpreted from observation into a functional, conversational knowledge.

Don't get stuck on branding and fail to realize that simply because you aren't marching to the beat of the same drum, that your soil or "mix" is not living, to some extent or various degree.

BUT - STILL - it does not take multiple mixes to properly grow different cultivars. In hydro, people talk of dialing in the plant. In organic soil, we talk of properly amending the soil so the plant can be in control and dial itself. If the plant isn't performing to expectations, it's because it isn't being pumped full of chemical steroids to make it look or behave a specific way...and when a plant under performs in organic soil, we don't try to find a new magic bottle to fix the problem, we simply cull the garbage and sprout more seed.



dank.Frank

Well said sir....

i agree with the recommendations to the OP regarding increasing aeration, limiting EWC, and adding peat.

i definitely agree with frank that a well built living soil is a happy home for any cultivar and many other plant species as well. i grow a wide range of varieties from 8 week wld to 14+ week nld all in the same soil in the same environment.

i disagree with the statement that living soil is a marketing term. i consider "living soil" to be a descriptive term. afaik it was coined by microbe man as such. any mix can be a living soil if its biology is cultivated and nurtured and its mode of action is the interplay of root exudate signaling and microbe response to digest organic material providing the necessary nutrients for plant growth.

if the term has been coopted by someone trying to sell something, then fuck them, although i'm not surprised.

TLO obviously is a brand. veganics is a brand. ROLS is practically a brand because of the dogma and the forum split. the same is happening to no till practices right now. shameful really.

i have implemented living soil and no till methods across a variety of soil mix recipes. IMO these are farming practices, not lifestyle brands.

methodologies become brands because human nature is such that every asshole with a wallet becomes a marketing guru when the opportunity arises. Painfully common, as the transformation comes compromise and a shift of focus from the plant to the income stream.

"cash rules everything around me!"

Everyone grow up so poor and hungry they need those custy bucks?

Thankfully paper monies, disires and magiks have no dominion over me.

FWIW I consider living soil is a "real" thing. I define it as establishing soil and maintaining a favorable microbe profile for your plants over several seasons. Parallel to what happens in the aquarium industry.

So many stoners such little time

There's one entity that I always try to learn from because she is true and all knowing is mother nature.

Follow her lessons and you will not go wrong. Using the understanding that man has gathered from her and using it will bring you to your own living soil reality.

Thoes who profit are just more cogs in the machine. This can be done with little cost as mother nature provides.

More then one way to skin a cat.