Organic soil mix question about proportions

Rodger3

Member
Hey guys, I have started my first grow, and I'm trying to keep it as organic as possible. I'd like to know what proportions to put in of everything I've got:

Organic Potting Mix
Peat Moss
Perlite
Vermiculite
Blood & Bone Meal
Dolomite Lime
Bat Guano 12-2-2 (using for veg)
Fish Emulsion "Neptune" 2-4-1
Worm Castings

Any help would be appreciated. I know you want 20% perlite 10% vermiculite but I dont know for the rest of them. I am feeding bat guano at about 250ppm with every watering and I have put some in the soil prior to transplanting, no nute burn apparent. I will be feeding fish emulsion during flowering with watering.

My question is, what proportions to mix for: vegetative & flowering mixes. I am repotting this week for last vegetative phase then final repot for flowering.
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
Start by mixing whatever amount of Peat Moss you want to into the potting soil to give it the consistency you're looking for. Some potting soils will already have all the Peat Moss they need already mixed in. Next, mix 3 parts potting soil, 1 part Worm Castings and 1 part Perlite. The amount of Worm Castings and Perlite will vary slightly depending on how much, if any, is already in the soil. Add 1.5-2 TBS each of Bone & Blood Meals per gallon of soil. Wet the soil, test the Ph and adjust if necessary. Get rid of the vermiculite and save the Guano and Fish Emulsion for fertilizations. Try to find a source of Potassium.
 

Rodger3

Member
Thanks for the info. The peat moss was to bring the soil Ph down since it is very high right now, but there is no blood and bone meal in it also. I will try the mix you gave me, but what would be a good source of potassium (organic?). Also I am waiting on a Ph pen, what is the opinion on soil testers? I have one but I dont think it's very accurate.
 

smokin tree

Well-Known Member
Kelp meal is an organic source of potassium plus its rich in alot of micro nutrients and amino acids, add it to your soil at the same ratio as the bloodmeal which was suggested at 1TBsp per gallon ( the bonemeal should actually be twice as much as the blood / kelp...blood/kelp = 1TBsp per gallon, bone = 2TBsp per gallon ) you can also add in greensand to supplement the K but you need to compost the soil for quite a while cause its very slow release. The lime is added at 2TBsp per gallon and contains cal / mag. Also the lime acts as a ph buffer. This is all from a tried and true recipe known as LC's mix....I've done hydro and soiless using foxfarm and pure blend nutes but LC's mix has grown the healthiest lookin plants ever and theres no guess work involved, just add water :)
 

Rodger3

Member
Alright thanks. The problem with my blood and bone meal is that they are premixed together at 7-7-0...But I guess it wont matter too much. I can alway buy some bone meal alone and top feed it/brew it later on.

I'll try to find some Kelp meal, I know the store I went to had all I needed, I found Neptune fish fert, they had hydrolysed fish fert and alska fish fert 5-1-1 but I didn't look for kelp meal.

Thanks for all the info!
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
The mixed together stuff will be fine. Check for instructions for potted plants and if there are none, you could try 3TBS per gallon of soil. As Smokin mentioned, Kelp Meal has Potassium but usually not much. Maxicrop soluble seaweed powder (1-0-4) is great stuff for everything from starting seeds to foliar feeding. It's very similar to Kelp fertilizers and provides roughly the same nutrients, just more K. The powder also has a very long shelf life and is lightweight for shipping. While Kelp & Seaweed fertilizers can provide enough K for vegging, a stronger Potassium source should be reccomended for flowering. This is what we use: http://www.planetnatural.com/site/organic-potash.html It's cheap and very strong so a bag lasts a long time.

For Ph testers, I like to suggest getting one probe-type soil tester, one capsule-type soil test kit and one liquid-type Ph test kit. The latter two can be had for as little as 5$ each. Use the capsules to verify the probe's readings from time to time, as they frequently go bad.
 

Rodger3

Member
Yeah I've got a digital probe ph tester. I am using seaweed flakes at .5-.2-1.5 mixed at 2 tbsp per gallon of soil.
 
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