Best simple soil mix...

Frosy · Nov 6, 2011

I have read through a dozen great threads on soil now, and it's time to start mixing up my new batch- but to say the least, it gets overwhelming. Can folks recommend some ingredients for me to make a complete soil? I got some Azomite, EWC, and a bag pf pro mix that I should at least use up before buying too much more. I want to add some lave rocks as well, and compost. What am I missing? I have also some Peruvian Seabird guano. I'll be using 7 gallon pots with four plants per. I grow a Grape Krush that is really sensitive to overfertilizing, but my other strains will suck nutes like greedy little piglets. Thank you! :tiphat:

guest2012y · Nov 7, 2011

What I would do in your case....I would call this simple once assembled. After that you can recycle it forever.

1 gal promix
1 gal lavarock
1 gal EWC
1 gal compost
1 gal rice hulls,perlite or DE
1 gal coco husk..saturated with non-chlorinated water and rinsed.
Wouldn't hurt to throw 1 gallon of good quality topsoil in either.

Food/minerals

1 tablespoon of this lime mix: 1 part dolomite/2 parts oyster shell/1 part agricultural gypsum

2 cups kelp meal
1 1/2 cup seabird guano or 2 cups fish bone meal or two cups Phos. bat guano.
2 cups N bat guano..or 1 1/2 cups fish meal
1 cup azomite

Mix well,saturate till moist with an ACT,let "cook" for a minimum of @ least two weeks...or more.

Water only,no need to ph,may need an additional nutrient tea in mid flower.

Frosy · Nov 7, 2011

Thank you Cap'n Cheese1, this looks like even I could do it, lol. 2 points of clarification, what's that DE you mention 4 lines down, and is the compost you recommend just from your own garden compost pile ? take care man , really appreciate the info.

Fastcast · Nov 7, 2011

I seen some mushroom compost at Walmart,not sure on the quality though?PSG is pretty hot stuff so be careful!Safe groing

The DE stands for diatomatcious earth,yes the spelling is wrong but you get the idea.

guest2012y · Nov 7, 2011

Frosy said:
Thank you Cap'n Cheese1, this looks like even I could do it, lol. 2 points of clarification, what's that DE you mention 4 lines down, and is the compost you recommend just from your own garden compost pile ? take care man , really appreciate the info.

Your own compost is the best compost..assuming you have good composting practices. Otherwise look for dark rich compost devoid of a high percent of woody material,stick to types that look more like soil. You should see some sand and a high amount of organic matter.

DE is diatomacious earth...you can get it at NAPA auto parts as the oil absorbing material. Ask Mad L...he knows the part #.

Frosy · Nov 7, 2011

Hello Captain, you've got me on a roll- I have lots of good black mulch and compost in the yard (organic for years!), so it's just outside the door, but how in the blazes do you avoid getting bad bugs and critters in your fresh indoor soil? I have tried this before and gotten mites and other nasties.

tuinman · Nov 7, 2011

Your own compost is the best compost..assuming you have good composting practices. Otherwise look for dark rich compost devoid of a high percent of woody material,stick to types that look more like soil. You should see some sand and a high amount of organic matter.

For those of us still learning on the whole garden compost bit (my current pile is in process, too soon to be used in a mix!) is there a readily available commercial equivalent that can be used?

guest2012y · Nov 7, 2011

Read the topsoil thread in my sig....I explain how I did it,here it is...

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=153542

guest2012y · Nov 7, 2011

tuinman said:
For those of us still learning on the whole garden compost bit (my current pile is in process, too soon to be used in a mix!) is there a readily available commercial equivalent that can be used?

Check Malibu compost...or Vital Earth

http://malibucompost.com/

http://vitalearthsproducts.com/soil-builders

Ninja420 · Nov 7, 2011

Capt.Cheeze1 said:
What I would do in your case....I would call this simple once assembled. After that you can recycle it forever.

1 gal promix
1 gal lavarock
1 gal EWC
1 gal compost
1 gal rice hulls,perlite or DE
1 gal coco husk..saturated with non-chlorinated water and rinsed.
Wouldn't hurt to throw 1 gallon of good quality topsoil in either.

Food/minerals

1 tablespoon of this lime mix: 1 part dolomite/2 parts oyster shell/1 part agricultural gypsum

2 cups kelp meal
1 1/2 cup seabird guano or 2 cups fish bone meal or two cups Phos. bat guano.
2 cups N bat guano..or 1 1/2 cups fish meal
1 cup azomite

Mix well,saturate till moist with an ACT,let "cook" for a minimum of @ least two weeks...or more.

Water only,no need to ph,may need an additional nutrient tea in mid flower.

2 cups of kelp meal in 6-7 gallons?! Is that how much most people are using? If so i'm not using enough.

Cheers,

Ninja

guest2012y · Nov 7, 2011

Ninja420 said:
2 cups of kelp meal in 6-7 gallons?! Is that how much most people are using? If so i'm not using enough.

Cheers,

Ninja

That's what I'm using now,years ago I used to use 2 cups per 5 gallons of soil mix...since have learned that was overkill,but then again we are feeding the microbes..who feed the plant. No issues,nice plants....never had any of these seemingly popular Cal/Mag deficiencies either.

C21H30O2 · Nov 8, 2011

Super simple super cheap mix:

1/3 compost
1/3 rice hulls
1/3 peat moss

Add:
rock dust
kelp meal
dolomite lime
and your choice of alfalfa meal, guano, or nitrogen fixing companion plants (clover)

guest2012y · Nov 9, 2011

C21H30O2 said:
Super simple super cheap mix:

1/3 compost
1/3 rice hulls
1/3 peat moss

Add:
rock dust
kelp meal
dolomite lime
and your choice of alfalfa meal, guano, or nitrogen fixing companion plants (clover)

^^^ that works too....just pay attention to the percentages of food you add.

supermanlives · Nov 9, 2011

fox farm piece of mind. mix with soil and done. theres a few other i am trying that appear as good quality . espoma and kellog

IwannatokeNbone · Nov 9, 2011

ffof=done. u can add things but u really dont need to. get a base nute for flower n your done.

xmobotx · Nov 9, 2011

i got nothing against FF but if someone wants to get into recycling or customizing their mix it gets confusing w/ not knowing exactly how the FF was amended when they preloaded it

that and it can have "hot" spots or regions that lack nuts since the batch mixings not consistent

jaykush · Nov 9, 2011

the most simple yet effective mix

-go outside find some good soil
-mix in some good compost
-add aeration/drainage amendments until it does not puddle on top for more than 3 seconds.
-add rock dusts
-let sit
-add plants
-add ACT if you can make it.
-let the plant do its thing
-dry it
-smoke it

things that make it better are
- decomposing mulch
- living mulch
- fermented plant extracts/dried plant meals

supermanlives · Nov 10, 2011

xmobotx said:
i got nothing against FF but if someone wants to get into recycling or customizing their mix it gets confusing w/ not knowing exactly how the FF was amended when they preloaded it

that and it can have "hot" spots or regions that lack nuts since the batch mixings not consistent

i wont use ocean forest anymore but i love piece of mind dry ferts.

xmobotx · Nov 10, 2011

lol i have some POM dry stuff too i keep forgetting that stuff is FF

C21H30O2 · Nov 12, 2011

Be careful with ffof i have had bags that have burnt full grown plants. Bags are not consistent. Its cheaper and more reliable to create your own soil mix from scratch.

Best simple soil mix...

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