Is dolomitic lime neccessary for a good soil mix?

[Snak]

Well I had initially bought some organic potting soil from Miracle Grow, but discovered it was auto-fertilizing so I ditched it.

I want to be able to add my own nutrients that I've bought from Fox Farm (Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom, Grow Big) so I put together a soil mix of roughly 40% peat moss, 30% mushroom compost, and 30% perlite.

I planned on adding dolimitic lime (I had read its a good additive) but have been unable to find it anywhere! I've checked all the hardware stores and nurseries, no luck.

So I'm wondering if I can do without the lime? I've heard its neccessary to balance out pH, if I don't have lime in this mix, will I encounter some serious problems?

Or is there a substitue for dolomite lime I can use?

Thanks!

 

[demonic1]

Lime is used to balace out the PH of the soil. Its not important if you PH your water and the soil your using is well balanced. Since your mixing up your own soil, its not that important. Are you growing outdoors or indoors? If it is indoors, I believe that mushroom compost can really stink.

 

[Snak]

Lime is used to balace out the PH of the soil. Its not important if you PH your water and the soil your using is well balanced. Since your mixing up your own soil, its not that important. Are you growing outdoors or indoors? If it is indoors, I believe that mushroom compost can really stink.

This will be an indoor grow.

The shroom compost is pretty stanky, but it's nothing overpowering. You have to stick your face right in it for it to be gag-worthy.

So will I only have to worry about keeping the pH balanced from this point on? And what are the odds that using Fox Farm nutrients (I'm not planning on using full strength) will throw my pH out of whack?

 

[Johnny Purple Seed]

How hard did you look for the stuff? You'll often times find it with the grass seeds/ferts because it's a common additive for making your lawns greener. The reason you won't find it online much is because the stuff is so cheap. I've seen big 2 cubic foot bags of the stuff for much less than $10. For your intended purpose, you will only use a few tablespoons per pot at most, so it's basically a lifetime supply.

 

[demonic1]

This will be an indoor grow.

The shroom compost is pretty stanky, but it's nothing overpowering. You have to stick your face right in it for it to be gag-worthy.

So will I only have to worry about keeping the pH balanced from this point on? And what are the odds that using Fox Farm nutrients (I'm not planning on using full strength) will throw my pH out of whack?

I believe shroom compost really does not smell much until you water it..... Then watch out. I have spread some in my backyard over the flowerbed, it stinks for a few days, and you could smell it 4 to 5 houses down. Maybe your mix is not as strong as what I had but it sure did stink.

As for the Fox Farm nutes, I have never used it however I would think it is pretty good since allot of others do for there grows and seems to be one of the more popular fertilizers. Although I would think, you would not need any fertilizer for a long time with that mushroom compost since it is the reason people use it because it is a natural fertilizer already. Adding more might make it too hot, especially for smaller plants.

 

[st1cky]

dolomite lime raises ph levels

 

[CrockPot]

I was able to find it at a local farmer's co-op if you have something like that nearby. It was about 10 bucks for a 40 pound bag

 

[Snak]

Alright thanks guys.

I went to a place here and did find something near the top-soil that said Pebbled Limestone, next to that there was another bag with some sort of limestone powder but it did not say dolomite.

Is this what I'm looking for? It was pretty cheap too.

 

[HAT TRICK STEVE]

pulverized limestone is lime no difference,... peat moss is generally acidic so some lime will be needed to balance that out,.. just avoid " hydrated lime" it can burn plant roots,.... if you have a southern states farm supply nearby it has this lime and pro mix soil very cheap,.... i use a lot of this lime in the bottom of my rabbit cages to absorb pee odors its about 3 dollard for 40 lbs

 

[Moldy]

I found prilled dolomite in a large high end nursery. It was a 1-2 lb. box for about 4 bucks. It was the same thing that Jorge pictures in his Med Bible. I use about 2/3 cup per 3 gal pot w/66% Fox Farm soil and 33% Light Warrior FF. The time I didn't use it I had bad yields. I also like to add some clean, fine sand at about 3%. Good luck!!