Share your soil mix ingredients.
- Thread starter dannyking
- Start date
I am kinda new to "organics from scratch" but this is what I'm working with - there's more explaination after the recipe:
Four-way Mix
Made from equal parts of store bought, easy to find, "buy it by the bag or by the scoop", ingredients. Be sure to use store bought Top Soil because it's a lot lighter and fluffier than "dirt", but you can use "homemade" compost - just make sure it's "plain vanilla" (use low nutrient ingredients).
1 part Top Soil
1 part Compost
1 part Perlite and/or Vermiculite (with no additives)
1 part Steer Manure* (Nutrient Mix)
* the Steer Manure is just a guide line for what is really just a "one quarter" part fertilizer or nutrient mix. You can use any type of "long term" fertilizer or nutrient ingredients you want as long as they are fairly well balanced in N-P-K, secendary nutrients and trace nutrients. Use equal parts of the first three ingredients (Three-way Mix**) as a "filler" so that the "1 part" of "Nutrient Mix" actually equals about 25% of the total volume. It's really not as complicated as it sounds! The only hard part is keeping the "1 part" of nutrient mix at about the same strength (hotness) as Steer Manure.
** Three-way mix is just 3 equal parts of Top Soil, Compost and Perlite and/or Vermiculite. It serves two purposes. Beause it doesn't contain any strong nutrients, it can be used with new seedlings or clones - up through the first month as a "Starter Soil". After that, just transplant into larger pots with Four-way mix.
The other use for Three-way mix is just as a filler to "balance up" the Nutrient Mix portion of the recipe so it equals a full "Part".
I have found this to be a good basic recipe to experiment with. My goal was to start with a well balanced, but modestly fertilized, soil mix. Then augment with "High N" nutes during veg and "High P" nutes during flowering - nothing too fancy just two kinds of Fish Emulsion and two kinds of Bat Guano. Remember at the beginning, I said I was kinda new at this "from scratch" approach.
When I added my first dose of Fish Emulsion - BANG, I got nute burn. That told me that the Four-way Mix is pretty potent all by itself! I'm still workin' at the recipe so it will be more "user friendly" with add-ons. But as a "stand alone" mix, it seems to work just fine!
Oh, by the way - this isn't my own invention, I borrowed (stole) the recipe from someone else, who it was I can't remember (but thanks!) and if it doesn't work so good for you -blame the other guy!
Four-way Mix
Made from equal parts of store bought, easy to find, "buy it by the bag or by the scoop", ingredients. Be sure to use store bought Top Soil because it's a lot lighter and fluffier than "dirt", but you can use "homemade" compost - just make sure it's "plain vanilla" (use low nutrient ingredients).
1 part Top Soil
1 part Compost
1 part Perlite and/or Vermiculite (with no additives)
1 part Steer Manure* (Nutrient Mix)
* the Steer Manure is just a guide line for what is really just a "one quarter" part fertilizer or nutrient mix. You can use any type of "long term" fertilizer or nutrient ingredients you want as long as they are fairly well balanced in N-P-K, secendary nutrients and trace nutrients. Use equal parts of the first three ingredients (Three-way Mix**) as a "filler" so that the "1 part" of "Nutrient Mix" actually equals about 25% of the total volume. It's really not as complicated as it sounds! The only hard part is keeping the "1 part" of nutrient mix at about the same strength (hotness) as Steer Manure.
** Three-way mix is just 3 equal parts of Top Soil, Compost and Perlite and/or Vermiculite. It serves two purposes. Beause it doesn't contain any strong nutrients, it can be used with new seedlings or clones - up through the first month as a "Starter Soil". After that, just transplant into larger pots with Four-way mix.
The other use for Three-way mix is just as a filler to "balance up" the Nutrient Mix portion of the recipe so it equals a full "Part".
I have found this to be a good basic recipe to experiment with. My goal was to start with a well balanced, but modestly fertilized, soil mix. Then augment with "High N" nutes during veg and "High P" nutes during flowering - nothing too fancy just two kinds of Fish Emulsion and two kinds of Bat Guano. Remember at the beginning, I said I was kinda new at this "from scratch" approach.
When I added my first dose of Fish Emulsion - BANG, I got nute burn. That told me that the Four-way Mix is pretty potent all by itself! I'm still workin' at the recipe so it will be more "user friendly" with add-ons. But as a "stand alone" mix, it seems to work just fine!
Oh, by the way - this isn't my own invention, I borrowed (stole) the recipe from someone else, who it was I can't remember (but thanks!) and if it doesn't work so good for you -blame the other guy!
gangjababy
Well-Known Member
40% perlite, 30% peat moss both not miracle grow and 30% mushroom compost. I add 1 tablespoon of dolomite lime per gallon of soil and 1 teaspoon of Hydro organics mycco per gallon to the mix as well.
