My soil mix, good for all growth stages ??

Hi fellow organic growers.

This is a bit long, but here we go..

I'm hopefully will be doing a 5-9 seed auto flower outdoor organic soil grow, I live in NZ.

Ps. I'm not good with Ph and pph.

I have grown organically in the past ( year ago ). For this grow I would like to be mostly organic if not 100% organic.

The soil mix i will be using follows... I would like to know if this soil is good for all the growth stages and would not harm the baby seedlings !?

I would like to not use any store brought fertilizers as i will make my own organic fertilizer tea with sheep manure.

I will just be watering these plants with water only apart from the sheep manure tea. saves money !! yeyy.

The 1 problem with living in NZ is there is not big soil brands like america does ( eg. fox farms )
There is a garden center down the road and they do there own products !.

Heres my Mix:

* "Organic Compost" - Soil Conditioner in a Super-Big Bag
premium quality composted organic material, the complete soil conditioner and plant food source for every garden. It increases worm populations in the soil, promotes water retention in the soil by increasing soil humus, and also helps to break down clay.

* "Pelletised Sheep Manure" - Pelletised Fertiliser and Soil Conditioner
This sterilised, organic fertiliser is for all trees and shrubs in your garden. It increases worm populations in the soil, promotes water retention in the soil by increasing soil humus, and also helps to break down clay. Easily the best all-round boost for your garden.
N.P.K. 4 / 2 / 6 plus trace elements and minerals.

Also: perlite, peat moss, blood and bone and dolomite lime.

If i can find some: i will be adding worm casting, bat guano.


Is this mix got sufficient enough drainage, and nutrients ect. for the plants for 3 months.

would this give my seedlings nute burn ?


Please comment, give me suggestions and help me out !

Much appreciated.

Cheers organic growers

Also last year when i went semi-organic, in my soil mix i had ants crawling in the mix and there were larvae at the bottom of the pot. But they didn't seem to hurt the plants. I also Have pumice to that i can add.

Cheers

REP FOR ANY 1 THAT HELPS ME OUT !!!

I found out N.P.K. N is leaf development. P is root development and K is Bud development. so the blood and bone meal is great for veg and the sheep manure is good for flower and making tea for flower.

So i should just start my seeds in compost, peat and perlite ? because i think the bone meal and manure will give my plants nute burn ????!!.


Can someone help ! rep for any 1 that does

That sounds like a decent lineup of nutrients. As to whether this will cause nute burn, that really depends on how you mix it up. You didn't list any quantities or what you're using as a base.

Are these going into the ground or in pots?

If in the ground, you will need to dig the stuff into the soil and you don't want to use too much of it.

If you're talking about growing in pots and you aren't using some kind of soil(or peat, coco coir, etc) base, then this is going to be WAY too strong to plant directly in.

One thing I do with the bloodmeal is add it to some water and shake it up and water the plants with it. it's not truly water soluble, but this gets the nutrients into the root zone fairly well.

I just don't think you're going to be able to put all of the nitrogen for a 3 month growth cycle into the ground. You will need to make a moderate mixture at first and then add nitrogen as the plant grows, no matter what. You can, however use the compost or the worm castings as a side dress and use the blood meal + water technique that I described above to make your own cheap nitrogen.

There's no way to really judge it if you're putting this stuff into the ground, but you defnitely want to try things first and see how your plants react before going full-nore with these nutrients. blood meal can burn your plants pretty easily if you overdo it, though I've never managed to do it. always start with less and add more if it seems like it's taking well.

I don't know enough about the sheep manure - but I think as a tea it might not be the best idea. Most manures generally need to compost in the ground for a while before they become useful - you could end up burning your plants, or just putting in stuff that isn't really getting absorbed in time. If it were me I would dig the sheep manure into the ground at the beginning but not try to use a tea technique.

Keep in mind that compost is a complete plant food, and there is little that is better than it. I didn't really have any access to a fast acting source of potassium, so I simply took a few handfuls of compost and put it right at the base of the plant and watered right through it at every feeding, while I was feeding with the blood meal and water mixture.

You mentioned that you are not good with PH - I would stay away from the dolomite lime as this could potentially raise the ph in the soil significantly, and you might not know what the problem is.




As an aside,

I WISH we had a garden center around here that made their own products... It's all made in china crap that you find in places around here. Don't always rely on the "big brands" like many do. People have been practicing agriculture for thousands of years before somebody thought to stick a label on a bottle of nitrogen.

Just saw your newest - for germination and the very first stages - plain peat. no nutes.

Hey Rtoke,
Just got your PM. Your soil is going to come out great. Be careful with the Dolomite Lime, remember that most plants including our beloved Mary are acidic plants. In soil grows your pH should be in the 6 range. Now about nute burn (Nutrient Toxicity/Build-up/Lock-out) this is impossible in a completely organic growing environment. What makes organic growing so beautiful is the fact that your working with living soil. When you have things like Guano, worm castings, bone/blood meal, fish emulsion, alfalfa meal extract, seaweed extract and others, this creates an environment where beneficial microbes can deliver nutrients to your plants the way nature intended. Soil Fungi, and Bacteria work to control your growing medium's optimum pH as well as converting these raw ingredients to use-able and easily assimilated plant nutrients. These organisms find there way into your soil naturally one way or another but it an essential practice for organic growers to supply these organisms in abundance and even quality. I buy super-strains of bacteria and fungi for my soil.
The pumice will create a great way for your medium to drain better. remember when your mixing your soil, to think of a freshly baked cake; porous, light, fluffy, DARK, mmmm..

happy growing from America the land of the sick. home of the morally deprived.

Dubs' post is a bit misleading ---- manure and blood meal in particular have some readily soluble nitrogen and WILL burn plants if too much is used or it is not properly broken down.

hey guys, thanks for that !

The garden centre does have soil but it has slow release ferts in it !!
Yes In 5-10 litre pots, starting in peat pots inside for 2 weeks then transplanting outdoors into the pots
I was thinking and heres my mix:

Seedling mix for first 2 weeks until transplant- out of 10 parts: peat moss (3 parts), compost (3 parts), perlite (2 parts) and vermiculite (2 parts).
tell me what you think ?

For pots outdoors- out of 10 parts: compost (5 parts), perlite (2 parts), peat moss (1 parts), sheep manure (1 part), vermiculite ( 1 parts). ^^^

for veg will make weak tea out of blood and bone starting feeding at 1.5 - 2 weeks. N.P.K is 6/7/0 . after that will make weak tea out of sheep manure. NPK is 4/2/6.


THEY DO HAVE OTHER STUFF THEY SELL. please tell me what to get. ^^^^^ these are just some cheap ingredients that are organic.

TELL ME THE BEST SOIL MIX AND I WILL SEE IF THEY HAVE IT !!!!!!!!

And i will also buy a PH meter !

Forgot to say this is there soil mix. and i will have to go to the store and check what other soil mix they have.

This is there soil mix:"Super Potting Mix" - Ready To Use Garden Medium
An excellent garden medium consisting of granulated bark, peat moss, pumice, and slow-release fertilisers enough to feed for two months. Add to the soil when planting in your garden to improve soul structure and nutrients.

and also this:

"Container Mix" - Ready To Use Potting Medium
The ideal planting mix for all containers, pots, troughs and baskets. Consisting of granulated bark, peat moss, pumice, slow-release fertilisers enough to feed for eight months, water crystals and a wetting agent.


cheers guys

I wouldn't put the compost in the seedling mix. I've had poor luck with any amounts of compost when used on young plants of any variety(mj, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc). Also, for your transplant mix, 5 parts compost to 1 part peat is too much. Maybe 3 and 3?

Hey every 1 good news they do supply other potting mix.

They have living earth, yates and tui soil - has any 1 used any of these ???? please help.

Link to living earth soil - http://www.livingearth.co.nz/

link to Yates soil - http://www.yates.co.nz/products/pots-and-potting-mix/

Lint to tui soil - http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/show.php?pageid=115#Mulch

Please look at all the soil mixes and help me out. remember if i can use the same soil from start to finish would help me out and i can allways mix soil and add compost !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OHK.

Im thinking bout using seed raising mix for the first 2 weeks then into some of the mixes above^^^ some of the mixes allready have sheep shit and blood and bone

That Living Earth stuff looks pretty good - no experience with any of these you listed though.

Listen I gotta get to bed it's 2 am here. I think you're on the right track, but keep in mind to take it slow with the nutes. You can always add more nutes, but if the plants are burned badly or in shock for three weeks, it's gonna be a lot harder to recover.

Cheers mate !!

How about starting seeds in a peat pot with seed raising mix for first 2 weeks

Rtoke said:

Hi fellow organic growers.

This is a bit long, but here we go..

I'm hopefully will be doing a 5-9 seed auto flower outdoor organic soil grow, I live in NZ.

Ps. I'm not good with Ph and pph.

I have grown organically in the past ( year ago ). For this grow I would like to be mostly organic if not 100% organic.

The soil mix i will be using follows... I would like to know if this soil is good for all the growth stages and would not harm the baby seedlings !?

I would like to not use any store brought fertilizers as i will make my own organic fertilizer tea with sheep manure.

I will just be watering these plants with water only apart from the sheep manure tea. saves money !! yeyy.

The 1 problem with living in NZ is there is not big soil brands like america does ( eg. fox farms )
There is a garden center down the road and they do there own products !.

Heres my Mix:

* "Organic Compost" - Soil Conditioner in a Super-Big Bag
premium quality composted organic material, the complete soil conditioner and plant food source for every garden. It increases worm populations in the soil, promotes water retention in the soil by increasing soil humus, and also helps to break down clay.

Click to expand...

It sounds like you're growing in containers and if so don't use compost. That's an in-ground soil amendment. You want a potting mix with a nutrient package. The best place to find those are at nurseries and farm supply stores. List of New Zealand Farm Supply Stores.

* "Pelletised Sheep Manure" - Pelletised Fertiliser and Soil Conditioner
This sterilised, organic fertiliser is for all trees and shrubs in your garden. It increases worm populations in the soil, promotes water retention in the soil by increasing soil humus, and also helps to break down clay. Easily the best all-round boost for your garden.
N.P.K. 4 / 2 / 6 plus trace elements and minerals.

Click to expand...

I recommend decomposed sheep manure over pellets for the simple reason it will mix easier with your potting soil.[/quote]

Also: perlite, peat moss, blood and bone and dolomite lime.

If i can find some: i will be adding worm casting, bat guano.

Click to expand...

Beg borrow or steal the earthworm castings. Make them 20% of your grow medium.

Is this mix got sufficient enough drainage, and nutrients ect. for the plants for 3 months.

Click to expand...

In the right proportions, yes. I'd recommend:

4 parts fortified potting soil
2 parts decomposed sheep manure
2 parts earthworm castings
1 part perlite (dependent on perlite in potting soil)
1 part combination of kelp meal, fish meal, alfalfa meal and oyster shell dust
i tablespoon of neem meal per gallon of grow medium.

Use a brewed AACT drench and foliar application twice during vegetation, once during early flower and just drench midway through flower.

would this give my seedlings nute burn ?

Click to expand...

No, if they're at least 2-3 weeks old. Plain potting soil with perlite only up until then.

Please comment, give me suggestions and help me out !

Much appreciated.

Cheers organic growers

Click to expand...

You live in a lovely country. I spent three weeks driving all over the islands.

Click to expand...

Cheers dude !!!!!!!!!!!