Would This Soil Mix Work ???

i want to use the Roots Organic soil and the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 together. but here is how i would like to work it. i want to have half the container filled with RO on the bottom. then topped off with the SMA#4. would this be a good mix together? im looking for something as organic as possible. i will also be using BioCanna Nutes.

any suggestions will be highly appreciated!!

thanks for the move. i was confused on where to put this topic.

Sounds fine to me, also may want to throw in some worm casings, perlite, bat and/or seabird guano's, and definitely some Mycorrhizae to your mix!! These are all very good soil amendments and will help make your soil even more powerful!!

I use a combination of FFOF and Happy Frog mixed 50/50 with additional perlite, worm casings, peruvian seabird guano, mexican bat guano, jamiacan bat guano and indonesion bat guano...I also added some Mosquito dunks (BTi) ground up for fungus gnat prevention and Mycos Maximum...

oHsiN666 said:

i want to use the Roots Organic soil and the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 together. but here is how i would like to work it. i want to have half the container filled with RO on the bottom. then topped off with the SMA#4. would this be a good mix together? im looking for something as organic as possible. i will also be using BioCanna Nutes.

any suggestions will be highly appreciated!!

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I would mix the 2, not layer them and add dolomite lime before use.

The amendments that IM mentions would also be a great benefit.

Wet

great! thanks for the help! i have heard from a Veganics grower friend that has been growing for roughly 20 years. that the Roots is the best! so much yummy stuff he says. but he also likes the Fox Farm soils. but he said to mix them. i personally am not hip on FF. i do not like the ease of there products. i know it sounds lame. but i have not heard anything good enough form people, and all the people that i question there practices, use FF. and its not that have anything against it, in general i like i to hear why a product is good. not just "cuz its good" type of answers. and that is all i hear when i hear about FF. the Roots is the shizz!! my mother is sitting in some Roots. she loves it. i want to move to a fully organic, or veganics grow here within the next few months. i am going ot switch my nutes to BioCanna. i have been informed that is some good stuff!!

I use Roots Organic with Happy Frog along with guano, blood and bone meal, worm castings, kelp, and molasses. This way you don't need any nutrients, just water.

oHsiN666 said:

i want to use the Roots Organic soil and the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4 together. but here is how i would like to work it. i want to have half the container filled with RO on the bottom. then topped off with the SMA#4. would this be a good mix together? im looking for something as organic as possible. i will also be using BioCanna Nutes.

any suggestions will be highly appreciated!!

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Why would you want to do that? Mix them thoroughly, if not you'll get a water pressure differential between the two mediums resulting in an effective reduction in the container size (basically). Not to mention the top would compact and dry very quickly while the bottom would not. Mix them.

well, have you any information on Subcools Super Soil mix? that is how he suggests you use it. his SS mix on bottom and the Roots on top. that is where i got the idea. but your advise is appreciated. i have heard about mixing the FF, however i was told that if i have access to the Roots, to use the Roots. i am also in the process of making my own Super Soil, not at this present moment, but here within few weeks, maybe a month, me a my buddy are making the whole damn shabang! and letting it sit for the full 6 months. i hear with this Super Soil recipe, you need NO nutes, and NO ph meter. just water and some love! seems easy enough for me. all posts are appreciated!!!

and for the record, i found out my buddy, does not have a full feldged Veganics medium. its borderline...the guano is what makes it non Veganics. so i had to correct myself.

oHsiN666 said:

well, have you any information on Subcools Super Soil mix? that is how he suggests you use it. his SS mix on bottom and the Roots on top. that is where i got the idea. but your advise is appreciated. i have heard about mixing the FF, however i was told that if i have access to the Roots, to use the Roots. i am also in the process of making my own Super Soil, not at this present moment, but here within few weeks, maybe a month, me a my buddy are making the whole damn shabang! and letting it sit for the full 6 months. i hear with this Super Soil recipe, you need NO nutes, and NO ph meter. just water and some love! seems easy enough for me. all posts are appreciated!!!

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Yes I'm familiar. But you're talking about using two vastly different soil mixes (Roots is primarily coco based), the only difference with Sub's super soil and the base soil is the added amendments. The base soil is the same, so there will be no water pressure differential. If you want to follow Sub's style, then do it by the book, don't try to improvise unless you're very knowledgeable about such things. Don't take that the wrong way please... And if you do go super soil, you don't need to feed at all.

I am subbing this thread. I approve of all that has been said here and look forward to what else will be said! Happy growing buddies!

Wolverine97 said:

Yes I'm familiar. But you're talking about using two vastly different soil mixes (Roots is primarily coco based), the only difference with Sub's super soil and the base soil is the added amendments. The base soil is the same, so there will be no water pressure differential. If you want to follow Sub's style, then do it by the book, don't try to improvise unless you're very knowledgeable about such things. Don't take that the wrong way please... And if you do go super soil, you don't need to feed at all.

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you usually have good advise, so no i won't take it the wrong way. but i have gone over it and have gone against it. my buddy (grower of 20 years) has explained to me my best bet. so im just going to wait. im just not to happy with the SMA#4. and i want to use the Roots, but have been told to add amendments. and i don't know how much of each, so i am going to wait til my buddy has time to help me. he live 140 miles away. if i use Roots by itself, for now, will it be better then the SMA#4? will it burn my seedlings? can i start seedlings in the SMA#4 and the transplant into the Roots when they are more developed. any insight would be appreciated.

and thanks for subbing.

oHsiN666 said:

you usually have good advise, so no i won't take it the wrong way. but i have gone over it and have gone against it. my buddy (grower of 20 years) has explained to me my best bet. so im just going to wait. im just not to happy with the SMA#4. and i want to use the Roots, but have been told to add amendments. and i don't know how much of each, so i am going to wait til my buddy has time to help me. he live 140 miles away. if i use Roots by itself, for now, will it be better then the SMA#4? will it burn my seedlings? can i start seedlings in the SMA#4 and the transplant into the Roots when they are more developed. any insight would be appreciated.

and thanks for subbing.

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I'm not a huge fan of SMA#4, I tried it for a couple of grows but I don't like it's water retention. It will be fine to start seedlings though. It's very low in nutrient content, so you'll have to feed them, and no it will not burn anything. IMO Roots is far superior to SMA4, especially for our purposes. I'm curious what your buddy says is the "best bet"...

Icemud said:

Sounds fine to me, also may want to throw in some worm casings, perlite, bat and/or seabird guano's, and definitely some Mycorrhizae to your mix!! These are all very good soil amendments and will help make your soil even more powerful!!

I use a combination of FFOF and Happy Frog mixed 50/50 with additional perlite, worm casings, peruvian seabird guano, mexican bat guano, jamiacan bat guano and indonesion bat guano...I also added some Mosquito dunks (BTi) ground up for fungus gnat prevention and Mycos Maximum...

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What is the ratio for the myco max? I have seen people say to add 1tbs of myco max to your soil but the jar says 4oz per 1.5-3cuft. Is this different from biotone starter plus?

he says MY best bet is to just add a few amendments to the Roots. he loves Roots. like some more guano , worm casting. but i'm not sure what he uses personally at the moment. would it be safe to start seed sin the SMA#4, and when they get about 2-3 weeks old transplant to the Roots? or can i just start in the Roots? i know i should really figure out the different amendments to add to the Roots and use that.

Wolverine97 said:

I'm not a huge fan of SMA#4, I tried it for a couple of grows but I don't like it's water retention. It will be fine to start seedlings though. It's very low in nutrient content, so you'll have to feed them, and no it will not burn anything. IMO Roots is far superior to SMA4, especially for our purposes. I'm curious what your buddy says is the "best bet"...

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I also had the same problems with SMA #4 that Wolverine had. It compacted on me also and wouldn't retain water well in the last month of flowering. Roots hasn't had that problem for me either, but if you are looking for a soilless that doesn't compact, look towards Pro-Mix. Great stuff, use the OMRI Pro-Mix if you can, if not use the Orange or the High Porosity. I love the high porosity, but it doesn't have the "Organic" cert that I like to have in anything that I use. Both are great for organic growing though. If everything you use is OMRI or organic except for your soilless mix, I would still basically consider you organic. Your plants aren't going to take a whole lot from the soilless mixes out there. They are going to take up what you give them. So if you are running an organic nutrient regimen, and the only thing not organic is your soilless, I wouldn't sweat it that much.

Roots is good, but if you are looking for a long time nutrient providing soil, Roots doesn't last that long. In 1 gal and going from 1 gal to 5 gal buckets, my RO organic soil mix needed nutrients after about 2-3 weeks. RO is very light and if you want to use it for longer than a couple of weeks, you have to amend it. It is by far my favorite base soil to use because of its high porosity. It is almost too porous for me. I like my nutrients to retain a bit more water and my RO mix takes and holds about half the nutrients or water that my Pro-Mix runs do.