[acespicoli]

In the quest for the perfect cannabis soil indoors or outdoors we all have had success and failure im sure?

I want to hear about it all the hopefully we can help each other.
The first "popular" recipe I tried did not do very well at all.

It was very dense, the nutrients were too hot for seedlings, clones...
There was also a lack of K (potassium)

Here is the recipe I used kinda
(im sure there is a better way to mix it?)
Advice appreciated!

[acespicoli]

I think this is the first part I messed up (8 - 1.5 cubic ft bags of high quality base soil)
I used a heavy organic soil very compact poor drainage...
Then I had nutrient problems deficiencies excess nutrients toxicity
So I was going to get it tested and I didnt want to waste money on a fancy test if it was not the right test.
I went over the recipe and added up some numbers


Anyone have any suggestions for veg and flower NPK ?
Hemp or cannabis cultivation nutrient recommendations?

[dank.frank]

Don't see the recipe you used in your post?

Check the link in my sig if you want to see a time line of different soils used and how they affected the same plant. Bit of a read, but it really goes in depth to show how minor/major adjustments really play into plant expression and performance.

Feel free to ask any questions related to that post in PM or this thread.

As far as soil test, go for the Mehlich 3.



dank.Frank

[acespicoli]

I added a picture dont know why its not showing up?

8 - 1.5 cubic ft bags of high quality base soil 12cu ft
1 33lb. bag of Worm Castings
2.5 lbs. Fish Bone Meal 3 16 0
5 lbs. High Phosphorus Bat Guano 1 10 1
5 lbs. Blood Meal 12 0 0
2.5 lbs. Bone Meal 3 15 0
3 cups. Oyster Shell
3 cups. Kelp Meal 1 0 2
3 cups Alfalfa Meal 2.5 0.5 2.5
3/4 cup Epsom Salt 22.5 41.5 5.5 These were my totals from above :(
1 cup Dolomite Lime
2 cups Azomite
2 TBS powdered Humic Acid

To the side is the NPK then the totals they look better in the spread sheets

Im just getting into looking at your* recipes,
You have some nice looking formulas there
Are you adding the basic ammendment mix to the personal potting mix?

[dank.frank]

Originally Posted by acespicoli

Are you adding the basic ammendment mix to the personal potting mix?

Yes. The intention of that thread is to give people a basic starting point from which to build on and further refine to their own liking. I don't view it as the end all be all. I have an amendment recipe that is proprietary that I prefer to use over the basic formulation. It will however, allow someone who has never grown cannabis to have a very successful crop of which the quality will be superior to any back of the bottle directions you'll find. Follow directions and water. Can't be any simpler.

The potting media itself, is exactly what I use.

The personal potting media can actually be used with ANY organic fertilizer recipe, which is in part why the listing is for a 1.5 cu ft batch. (standard commercial bag of potting soil) A potting soil is all about proper tilth. You have to have the right combination of drainage + plus water retention. You have to have porosity for oxygen in the root zone to help sustain an active biological presence. You have to have enough basic organic matter for decomposition into humus.

I've grown in lots of different media types and at the end of the day personally prefer a media that is largely based on actual SOIL. Peat/Coir based medias have there cons and perks, but there is something special about using real dirt. Go figure.



dank.Frank

[acespicoli]

Soil can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.

I wanted to grow organically,and limit processed chemicals when possible.

I luckily have free municipal compost, if you dont consider gas money and sweat to load it
EWC (Earth Worm Castings) purchased from a composter down the street a retired veteran farmer.
I can also get oyster shell flour for next to nothing locally.

Still the soil was very compact and didn't drain very well... :(
I added a lot of builder sand (3 bags) it was like $2 a 40 lb bag at the hardware store
The builder sand was nice because it had a lot of silt in it
The play sand was very clean not what I want for this project (silt is good!)

Also I picked up a square bale of peat moss it was very inexpensive, the mix felt great

Now you could take a handful make a ball and throw it in the pile
and it would crumble apart (perfect)

I got this cheap soil test $15



After I take what I can get locally and mix it, add some amendments
I added some blood meal for N (nitrogen) some lime to bring up the PH to 6.5
Still I didnt have a good source of K (potassium)

[acespicoli]

In the search for potassium I looked into potash
im always cooking bbq and have hardwood charcoal ashes to throw in the garden.
This is approximately 10% (K) potassium by weight I believe correct me if im wrong on any of this please.

The other thing I found that seemed attractive was langbeinite

Langbeinite is a potassium magnesium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula K2Mg2(SO4)3.


Evaporite is a name for a water-soluble mineral sediment that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution.
There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits,
and non-marine,
which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes.
Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments.

This I found very interesting ... Water soluble nutrients high in K (potassium) ?
I guess the rain falls dissolves minerals then run into the creeks to the streams rivers and eventually in to the ocean deposits.

Polyhalite is used as a fertilizer since it contains four important nutrients and is low in chloride:

48% SO3 as sulfate
14% K2O as from sulfate of potash
6% MgO as from magnesium sulfate
17% CaO as from calcium sulfate

hmmm anyone ever tried Polyhalite?

[acespicoli]

I was off on my wood ash and potassium heres some organics hope it helps someone

Planning on adding Ph values as I find them


I would like to add these to the forum in spread sheet format open office. I will add a link soon...

[acespicoli]

Here are some inorganics alot easier to work ppm with this ?
Maybe not if I know percentages of NPK and Ca Mg SO2


I would like to add these to the forum in spread sheet format open office. I will add a link soon...

[dank.frank]

What exactly is your end goal? You can guess all day long at what you theoretically can do to the soil.

Until you grow something in it to see how it performs or get a REAL soil test to access what is actually in the soil, you really aren't addressing any actual soil problems. Only theoretical one.



dank.Frank