Organic soil mix design! Help!

[stealthnstoned]

Hey guys, so im just nearing the end of my first grow and i have some babies ready for my next run. Currently I am using LC's mix # 2 with nute mix # 1 with the blood meal bone meal kelp meal. I find that its working great but im getting some small deficiencies when i use it. Maybe im not putting in big enough containers As i have read this works best in larger containers. Mine are alway 1 gallon or less.

Anyways, I just got a new job so i kinda went on shopping spree on fertilizers and i was hoping to get some help with making some awesome organic soil mix's.

I am trying to make 2 mix's one for veg and one for flowering.

This is what I have in ingredients and I can get any other ones that i might need. anyone have any ideas on some good mixes I can throw together with what i got ? I was thinking I would stick with the LC#2 mix of 6 parts promix HP 2 parts perlite 2 parts EWC and 2 tablespoons per galloon of lime, then just add the following as ammendments.

Dolomite lime
EWC
Alfalfa meal
kelp meal
jersey greensand
bone meal
blood meal
glacial rock dust
soft rock phosphate
magnesium sulphate ( epsom salts )
langebenite ( k-mag )
Liquid Karma

I'm willing to get any other ammendments i might need but from what i have read i have enough for mostly the basics. I was thinking to get some guano but i wasnt sure to get the high N or high P one. and the guano is expensive!

I'm not really sure where to start and how much to put in once im throwing it all together. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

[EatMoGrass]

I just picked up some Neptunes Harvest crap shell today. I have never used it but others here seem to like it. You should also consider some oyster shell. And maybe some AZOMITE.

I myself have always stayed away from the blood and bone meal but so many others are having excellent results with the stuff. I have been looking for some fish bone meal as an alternative but cannot find any locally.

Good score on the glacial rock dust. I have been trying to find the stuff locally for over 4 years now and nobody will order the stuff for me. As a matter of fact people look at me like I'm freekin' nuts when I ask for the stuff. Same with the langbeinite.

 

[stealthnstoned]

Ohhhhh i saw some fishbone meal too but that was a little pricy too.. I knew i forgot to look for something. azomite. I dont recall seeing it tho, cuz if i did im sure i would have grabbed it.

Yea I was hesitant to use the blood and bone meal but at the time when is tarted it was all i could really find easily, but now that i have shopped around a lot mroe i find that i can pretty much find most of the stuff i see ppl posting. Thats also kind of why i started this, to see if i can try to move out of using the blood and bone meal.

Oyster shells, like can i go buy some oysters and eat em ( fresh ones ) then just crush up the oyster shell ? hahaha or can u buy crushed up oyster shells ? Is that mostly for calcium ? im lazy and dont really want to bother with that, is there any other way to get it in there?

 

[EatMoGrass]

I forgot to mention that I think your list looks very good. And I also forgot to say that I have read good things about neem seed meal and other seed meals. Cottonseed is the one I have been told to stay away from as cotton is usually treated with chemicals.

I think you have a great list of amendments there and hopefully some more knowledgeable members than myself will chime in here shortly with some more suggestions. I'm hoping to learn everything I can here also.

 

[stealthnstoned]

Yea, I was just trying to get all the best ammendments i can then put together two mixes. Thats what im not sure about how much to mix and what to mix in for the diff flowering and vegging periods. I know i want more N in vegging and more P and k ? for flowering.

Heres a few pics of what i have getting ready in my veg chamber.. Just finished uploading pics.. Had to post em somewhere.

Heres a pic of my 4 White rhino



Heres a pic of the two OHxSK1



Heres a pic of the 4 Bog bubble ( one mutant. Thread in bogs forum formore info )



Heres all the clones i have going now too ( 6 diesel, 3 ice, 3 White widow, 6 purple kush )



Heres my moms up top ( diesel, ice, ww )

 

[Zendo]

I just picked up some Neptunes Harvest crap shell today. I have never used it but others here seem to like it. You should also consider some oyster shell. And maybe some AZOMITE.

I myself have always stayed away from the blood and bone meal but so many others are having excellent results with the stuff. I have been looking for some fish bone meal as an alternative but cannot find any locally.

Good score on the glacial rock dust. I have been trying to find the stuff locally for over 4 years now and nobody will order the stuff for me. As a matter of fact people look at me like I'm freekin' nuts when I ask for the stuff. Same with the langbeinite.

I went through the same issues, and just ended up ordering from planet natural..They have the 50# for $18.95..shipping to me cost $25, so it came to $45, but, that'll last me for a LONG time and is more than worth the diversity IMO. You can calculate your shipping costs before ordering, and they ship out of Montana. Mine shipped to Mich, so we are close in costs.

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/glacial-rock-dust.html

 

[xmobotx]

MJ turned me on to chitin when i mentioned composting dead crickets and gecko poo

clackamas then confirmed that chitin to be present in crab shell

the presence of chitin encourages such predators (large and small) as eat insects - making it a piece of the puzzle in organic pest management

i like to think in terms of a balanced mix and liming considerations (cal-mag) is a big element of that consideration - easiest is just to use dolo lime

many gurus do recommend a liming mix (and i m also a big proponent of diversity) this is not the easy method though

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

Bigger plants in smaller pots will run out of nutrients even if they're pretty heavily amended to start with. Two ways to get the mix to hold more nutrients are lime to buffer against PH swinging low and less non organics like perlite. Lowering the perlite, or raising the non nutritive organics like coco, makes the soilmix hold more water, so better watering skills are needed. But, the added ability of the mix to hold water and nutes means a bigger possible yield. A third suggestion would be to begin using compost teas as the plant reaches a potbound state.

 

[stealthnstoned]

Bigger plants in smaller pots will run out of nutrients even if they're pretty heavily amended to start with. Two ways to get the mix to hold more nutrients are lime to buffer against PH swinging low and less non organics like perlite. Lowering the perlite, or raising the non nutritive organics like coco, makes the soilmix hold more water, so better watering skills are needed. But, the added ability of the mix to hold water and nutes means a bigger possible yield. A third suggestion would be to begin using compost teas as the plant reaches a potbound state.

ahhh ok. Heres teh thing tho I was hoping with all the stuf fi had i coudl throw together two different mixes one for veg and one for flowering. Then i can just add normal water all the time cuz i also ordered some blumats, so once i get thos all i wanan do is just leave regular water in there.

Any of the pros out there able to help me out with designing a mix ? I'm not sure how to like make a proper mix. I have no idea hwo much of what to put in in the right amounts.

 

[VerdantGreen]

Bigger plants in smaller pots will run out of nutrients even if they're pretty heavily amended to start with. Two ways to get the mix to hold more nutrients are lime to buffer against PH swinging low and less non organics like perlite. Lowering the perlite, or raising the non nutritive organics like coco, makes the soilmix hold more water, so better watering skills are needed. But, the added ability of the mix to hold water and nutes means a bigger possible yield. A third suggestion would be to begin using compost teas as the plant reaches a potbound state.

wise words mr G!

indeed reducing any inert elements like perlite will effectively increase the amount of soil you have, but with pot sizes 1gal or less, that will usually be your limiting factor, and once the plant becomes rootbound you have lots of roots that arent really in contact with the soil anyway - leaving liquid feedings as one of your only options. i find the old 'leave the pot standing in a saucer of runoff/nute solution for a few hours' method the best way to try and feed a potbound plant.

i use rock phosphate at 5g/litre of soil as a secondary source of P if that helps

good luck

V

 

[stealthnstoned]

wise words mr G!

indeed reducing any inert elements like perlite will effectively increase the amount of soil you have, but with pot sizes 1gal or less, that will usually be your limiting factor, and once the plant becomes rootbound you have lots of roots that arent really in contact with the soil anyway - leaving liquid feedings as one of your only options. i find the old 'leave the pot standing in a saucer of runoff/nute solution for a few hours' method the best way to try and feed a potbound plant.

i use rock phosphate at 5g/litre of soil as a secondary source of P if that helps

good luck

V

Hey Verdant, do you mind posting your soil recipe? 5g/litre is that about 1tsp/litre? I dont haev a scale... hahaha

 

[stealthnstoned]

hmm looks like im just gonna mix a new batch. and im gonna throw in 1tbsp/gallon of everything i have with LCs mix #2. hahahaha

 

[JackTheGrower]

MJ turned me on to chitin when i mentioned composting dead crickets and gecko poo

clackamas then confirmed that chitin to be present in crab shell

the presence of chitin encourages such predators (large and small) as eat insects - making it a piece of the puzzle in organic pest management

i like to think in terms of a balanced mix and liming considerations (cal-mag) is a big element of that consideration - easiest is just to use dolo lime

many gurus do recommend a liming mix (and i m also a big proponent of diversity) this is not the easy method though

I have good things to say about Shrimp shell meal and the quality of the buds grown with I believe chitin in that shrimp shell meal. It seems great and I just have to get over the cost of #50 since no one is selling #5 bags anymore.

 

[VerdantGreen]

Hey Verdant, do you mind posting your soil recipe? 5g/litre is that about 1tsp/litre? I dont haev a scale... hahaha

hey mate sorry for the late reply, here is my soil mix

3 parts peat
2 parts quality topsoil (westland is good, make sure it hasnt any ferts added) if you are going to use native topsoil then consult my 'topsoil in the mix' thread
3 parts perlite
1 part mushroom compost
1 part wormcasts
dolomite lime 5g/litre

and the ferts, the guano doses are for cavemans (UK Brand which isnt that strong), i reduce the N guano a little for sensitive strains but that mix has never burned anything. obviously for seedlings i leave all the ferts out except the seaweed meal

N guano - 4g/litre
P guano - 4g/litre veg, 8g/litre flower
Rock phosphate 5g/l
rock potash 5g/l
seaweed meal 5g/l

the i just add water amended to around pH 6 with Citric acid. ive been reading recently that the citric acid helps convert the rock phosphate into usable P

VG

 

[VerdantGreen]

check out this thread for weights of stuff to tablespoons
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=141411

 

[stealthnstoned]

Awesome!! Thanks man! I appreciate it. Ohhh so you use mostly teas for your nutes eh ? Im trying to stay away from teas cuz i dont really haev any space to brew it. I'm in a pretty small place and i already packed enough stuff in it. Hahaha i just ordered another tent.. this time a DR150W.. I dont have any lights for it though. IM debating just using the 600w with cooltube i have or getting more LEDs. Altho the LEDs are really pricy I do raelly like em. My place is starting to get really warm already even with just LED's and CFL's going.. I know when summer starts realy heating up im gonna have some issues. I got a A/C unit. but its making me paranoid cuz its REALLY REALLY loud. haha

 

[VerdantGreen]

hey stealthnstoned - tbh ive never made a tea in my life. i just add water to that mix. if they look like they are hungry use a bit of biobiz bloom - but not usually necessary, perhaps molasses at 1tsp per gallon a couple times near the end.

VG

 

[stealthnstoned]

hey stealthnstoned - tbh ive never made a tea in my life. i just add water to that mix. if they look like they are hungry use a bit of biobiz bloom - but not usually necessary, perhaps molasses at 1tsp per gallon a couple times near the end.

VG

ohhh
ok shit when u gave teh measuring amoutn as g/L it tripped me out and made me think you were mixing teas. hahaha i just reread it. hmmm Well i just went ahead and laraedy made my next batch as i really needed to as i was runnign out of mix and i have a bunch of clones / babies coming up.


So heres what i did. I had about 2 gallons leftover of LCs#2 mix with nutes#1.. that was cooked for like 1.5 months now i guess ? Too that i just added 6 parts Promix HP 2 parts EWC 1 part Perlite ( ran out of perlite )

Then i just added
1 cup powdered dolomite lime
1/2 cup of bonemeal
1/2 cup of blood meal
1/2 cup of jersey greensand
1/2 cop of rock phosphate
1/2 cup of epsom salts
1/2 cup of glacial rock dust
1/2 cup of kelp meal
1/2 cup of alfafa meal

I'm currently wetting it with Liquid karma and gona let it cook abuot 2 - 3 week.s However long i can push it.

 

[stealthnstoned]

I'm looking at it now and i think i may have over done it. hahaha oh well.

 

[beejium]

Awesome!! Thanks man! I appreciate it. Ohhh so you use mostly teas for your nutes eh ? Im trying to stay away from teas cuz i dont really haev any space to brew it. I'm in a pretty small place and i already packed enough stuff in it. Hahaha i just ordered another tent.. this time a DR150W.. I dont have any lights for it though. IM debating just using the 600w with cooltube i have or getting more LEDs. Altho the LEDs are really pricy I do raelly like em. My place is starting to get really warm already even with just LED's and CFL's going.. I know when summer starts realy heating up im gonna have some issues. I got a A/C unit. but its making me paranoid cuz its REALLY REALLY loud. haha

Check the filter of the a/c (slip panel in front), be careful not to knock the temp probe out of place. Some filters will rattle in the slip panel when they get plugged. When not in use UN PLUG THE A/C, remove front panel, and slide the cage off the a/c. Blow a/c out with air compressor (fins electronics everything) and clean the filter. Be sure all internals are tight (don't crank 'em down too tight). Then put that heavy beast back together. Also place weather stripping above and below the a/c and make sure the glass is tight in the window frame (window putty or caulk might be needed). Secure the side valances that slide out to the window frame. Sometimes the plastic front panel gets cracked moving the a/c around, this is one of the few times i suggest duct tape. This might seem like a lot of work, but it's really not that bad.

Besides it's summer... All you hear walking up the road is a constant hum from all the a/c's. I don't think they are such a security risk. Hell my new one does heat and a/c this one will be in all year long and removed two times a year for cleaning and inspection.