My first grow: making an organic soil mix?

W

wander1ng

New Member
Hey people, I'd love your take on this.

I'm starting my first grow. 1.2x1.2x2m Secret Jardin grow tent, 5 plants - 2 CBD OG Kushes, 1 Canadian Kush, 2 Grapefruit Kushes from feminized seeds. (I plan to order 5 seeds of each - is that enough to make sure I'll get at least 1-2 sprouts?)

Rhino pro kit -> extractor fan + carbon filter 4inch + ducting. I'll also grab a light timer, PH meter and a 5 inch oscillating fan for inside the tent (to make the stems stronger). Lighting - Roleadro 4*300w COB LED lights.

Soil: this is probably a bad idea for a first grow, but I felt compelled to mix my own. Also, supposedly I wouldn't have to use nutes if this is done right?

The plants would be in 5 fabric pots of 3 gallon each. So, the soil mix goes as follows: 20l Irish peat moss, 20l Perlite, 10l Biobizz worm humus, 10l Melcourt SylvaGrow organic compost, 7 cups of rock dust, 2 cups of lime, 1.5 cups of crabmeal, 1.5 cups of neem, 2.5 cups of kelp, 2 cups of bokashi, 1 cup of oyster shell powder. Considering adding alfalfa meal? Trying to keep it simple, though.

Also, is 3 weeks enough time for the soil to cook if it turn it over every week?
 
O

Offcenter

Active Member
is all of that, 18 cups of amendments going into 15 gallons of soil? i use half that for 20 gallons. so 2-3 cups of amendments per 1 cubic foot of soil.

you can always topdress later on, you cannot take the stuff out if it starts to burn and stunt your babies.

check the organic section and the soils they make over there, very solid mixes and tips in there.
 
Tx-Peanutt

Tx-Peanutt

Well-Known Member
wander1ng said:
Hey people, I'd love your take on this.

I'm starting my first grow. 1.2x1.2x2m Secret Jardin grow tent, 5 plants - 2 CBD OG Kushes, 1 Canadian Kush, 2 Grapefruit Kushes from feminized seeds. (I plan to order 5 seeds of each - is that enough to make sure I'll get at least 1-2 sprouts?)

Rhino pro kit -> extractor fan + carbon filter 4inch + ducting. I'll also grab a light timer, PH meter and a 5 inch oscillating fan for inside the tent (to make the stems stronger). Lighting - Roleadro 4*300w COB LED lights.

Soil: this is probably a bad idea for a first grow, but I felt compelled to mix my own. Also, supposedly I wouldn't have to use nutes if this is done right?

The plants would be in 5 fabric pots of 3 gallon each. So, the soil mix goes as follows: 20l Irish peat moss, 20l Perlite, 10l Biobizz worm humus, 10l Melcourt SylvaGrow organic compost, 7 cups of rock dust, 2 cups of lime, 1.5 cups of crabmeal, 1.5 cups of neem, 2.5 cups of kelp, 2 cups of bokashi, 1 cup of oyster shell powder. Considering adding alfalfa meal? Trying to keep it simple, though.

Also, is 3 weeks enough time for the soil to cook if it turn it over every week?
Click to expand...
As far as the seeds go buddy since your buying feminized seeds u don’t have to worry about not getting a female since there feminized.. And if your growing for personal smoke a keeper is nice to have but I would just pop enough to fit in the tent no point in wasting beans unless your Pheno hunting...Also if your buying from a reputable seedbank they should all sprout atleast mine have except for one from HSO that I bought from seedsman but it could have been my fault who knows... Sorry I can’t give u advice on soil I cheat and buy fox farms soil but I am thinking about making my own .. Keep us updated on how it works out for u
 
J

jahboy

Active Member
wander1ng said:
Hey people, I'd love your take on this.

I'm starting my first grow. 1.2x1.2x2m Secret Jardin grow tent, 5 plants - 2 CBD OG Kushes, 1 Canadian Kush, 2 Grapefruit Kushes from feminized seeds. (I plan to order 5 seeds of each - is that enough to make sure I'll get at least 1-2 sprouts?)

Rhino pro kit -> extractor fan + carbon filter 4inch + ducting. I'll also grab a light timer, PH meter and a 5 inch oscillating fan for inside the tent (to make the stems stronger). Lighting - Roleadro 4*300w COB LED lights.

Soil: this is probably a bad idea for a first grow, but I felt compelled to mix my own. Also, supposedly I wouldn't have to use nutes if this is done right?

The plants would be in 5 fabric pots of 3 gallon each. So, the soil mix goes as follows: 20l Irish peat moss, 20l Perlite, 10l Biobizz worm humus, 10l Melcourt SylvaGrow organic compost, 7 cups of rock dust, 2 cups of lime, 1.5 cups of crabmeal, 1.5 cups of neem, 2.5 cups of kelp, 2 cups of bokashi, 1 cup of oyster shell powder. Considering adding alfalfa meal? Trying to keep it simple, though.

Also, is 3 weeks enough time for the soil to cook if it turn it over every week?
Click to expand...
I like what you have planned here, it's nice to have a good idea of what you want to do before you actually start. As far as the seeds I would personally go for 5 of each like you said, that way at say week four/five you can pick out the best of each. You can pheno hunt a little like TX peanut said, find the strong plants and work with that genetics, clone from the stronger plants and get to know the strain, or save some seeds for your next go and sit with a complete different plant. It's up to you. Also, I see your planning on growing cbd kush, do you like cbd strains?
I'm almost sure you'll germinate all the seeds, as long as you read up a little on how to do it correctly. Don't stress that to much, germination is easy.
Your soil mix sounds good, problem is your going to throw all your eggs into one basket with a soil you don't really know yet. I would either have it lab tested and get to know all the values, or go with something that you know will work.
If you decide to use your own soil I would flush the soil once or twice before using it, that way you have a milder soil with less chance of encountering problems a few weeks into the grow.
If you pull through with it I hope it works for you. Theres not really any other way to find out I suppose, try half with your mix and half with a store bought mix. I personally like to use a milder mix so I can add nutrients instead of having a super soil that runs straight through without having to add anything.
Here is a analysis of a soil mix I recently made, both batches were made from raw materials so its slightly different from what you are doing, by no means am I saying these are the values you should be aiming for. It's what I have been experimenting with.Screenshot_20180325-160647.png
You might have a winner with your soil mix, you never know. I see some people getting super good growth at three/four weeks with good soil mixes. Best of luck to you.
 
W

wander1ng

New Member
I think I'll just save some seeds for next time and make things simpler. Haha, if the soil ends up frying them, at least I'll have a backup :D

That's a great idea, did it cost a lot to get the soil tested?

Yea, I think CBD strains are very good for during the day, at work etc. cause they fix up anxiety without really affecting you.

What strains are you growing?

jahboy said:
I like what you have planned here, it's nice to have a good idea of what you want to do before you actually start. As far as the seeds I would personally go for 5 of each like you said, that way at say week four/five you can pick out the best of each. You can pheno hunt a little like TX peanut said, find the strong plants and work with that genetics, clone from the stronger plants and get to know the strain, or save some seeds for your next go and sit with a complete different plant. It's up to you. Also, I see your planning on growing cbd kush, do you like cbd strains?
I'm almost sure you'll germinate all the seeds, as long as you read up a little on how to do it correctly. Don't stress that to much, germination is easy.
Your soil mix sounds good, problem is your going to throw all your eggs into one basket with a soil you don't really know yet. I would either have it lab tested and get to know all the values, or go with something that you know will work.
If you decide to use your own soil I would flush the soil once or twice before using it, that way you have a milder soil with less chance of encountering problems a few weeks into the grow.
If you pull through with it I hope it works for you. Theres not really any other way to find out I suppose, try half with your mix and half with a store bought mix. I personally like to use a milder mix so I can add nutrients instead of having a super soil that runs straight through without having to add anything.
Here is a analysis of a soil mix I recently made, both batches were made from raw materials so its slightly different from what you are doing, by no means am I saying these are the values you should be aiming for. It's what I have been experimenting with.View attachment 4111686
You might have a winner with your soil mix, you never know. I see some people getting super good growth at three/four weeks with good soil mixes. Best of luck to you.
Click to expand...
 
W

wander1ng

New Member
Offcenter said:
is all of that, 18 cups of amendments going into 15 gallons of soil? i use half that for 20 gallons. so 2-3 cups of amendments per 1 cubic foot of soil.

you can always topdress later on, you cannot take the stuff out if it starts to burn and stunt your babies.

check the organic section and the soils they make over there, very solid mixes and tips in there.
Click to expand...
Hey man, I don't think the rock dust technically counts as an amendment (although it provides minerals) - according to my main soil-research source - Easy organic soil mix for beginners on the grasscity forum (can't post link cause I'm a new user, if you search on google the exact post will come up).

You are kind of right, though. I left the same quantitiy of amendments and upped the soil to 25 gallons (5gallons per plant, cause people pointed out 3 gallons is too little), so hopefully this should work.
 
J

jahboy

Active Member
wander1ng said:
I think I'll just save some seeds for next time and make things simpler. Haha, if the soil ends up frying them, at least I'll have a backup :D

That's a great idea, did it cost a lot to get the soil tested?

Yea, I think CBD strains are very good for during the day, at work etc. cause they fix up anxiety without really affecting you.

What strains are you growing?
Click to expand...
Yes yes, I agree. Only problem I have had in the past is, you end up with so much weed. When it's harvest time in my house we smoke quite a few grams a day and it seems like the cbd strains just don't cut it. I agree with you though, you get a nice body high without being mentally affected. Good for when you are at work.
It shouldn't be too expensive, probably less than what your seeds cost:) at this time I have just harvested some white widow and I am vegging a few strawberry amnesia, deep cheese and Skunk no.1.
So what's the deal? Have you made your mix yet? When are you getting those seeds in the soil?
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Sounds like your soil will be very good just one suggestion though. I would cut your mix down for starting seedlings and give it an extra week to cook all that in. 3 weeks might be enough time but 4 should definitely do it. Add some coco coir and perlite to a bit of your finished mix for starting seedlings..
I would also add fresh worm castings if possible. Bagged compost is pretty good but nothing is as effective for cannabis as fresh EWC. Better yet start up a worm farm and get fresh EWC free for life. Vermicompost and a clean water source will ensure you won't need nutrients.
 
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