Soil
- Thread starter RasIsaac
- Start date
mogie
Well-Known Member
It is much easy and many times cheaper to buy remade. Fox Farm carries a good line.
GrowFAQ : Soil & soilless : Soil & soilless mixes
Vic's Super Soil recipes & notes
Added by: scribbles Last edited by: 10k Viewed: 81 times Rated by 19 users: 8.69/10 Contributed by the BC Growers Association.
Super Soil Mix
Original Recipe, as it was given to me.
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix
2 L Bone Meal - phosphorus source
1 L Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
1/2 - 1 bag chicken manure (steer, mushroom, etc) - nitrogen & trace
elements
- Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Revised Recipe, after several failures due to bad manure sources, I now use the following recipe. Results have been excellent and the clones seem to take off right away instead of having a slow growing settling in period.
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings
- Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Substitutions
- The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs
Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano
Bugs
On a couple of occasions, I've ended up with fungus gnats with this soil mix. They are more of an irritation than anything but may harm weak or young plants. Some have said that putting a layer of sand on top of the soil in the pots stops the gnats from reproducing. Others can get rid of them by doing a soil drench with gnatrol or vectobac (BTI). Personally, I prefer to simply introduce fungus gnat predators (Hypoaspis miles). Once established, they not only control fungus gnats, but also thrips and mites. When there is no insect food available, they survive on dead plant material, so remain even after pests are gone to prevent future infestations. Actually, since they have been introduced, I've had no pest problems in over a year and I don't filter my intake.
Recycling Soil
Used soil - Reusing soil has a few downsides such as it makes it easier for diseases, viruses, and pathogens from entering your garden. Also peat based soils break down and become acidic. If you fertilize with chemicals you'll end up with salt buildups that will slow growth. Unless you like to take chances, have a good eye, and a good horticultural understanding, you may be better off with staying with fresh new soils. That said; I grow strictly organic and I've always reused my soil. I don't sterilize the soil between plantings as my soil is full of microbes and predatory bugs that keep the bad bugs under control. After each crop, I chop up the soil and root balls with the leaves, stalks, etc and let compost for about 3 months. I then mix it up and add about 2 - 3 cups of lime for every 50 gallons composted soil. I also add about 1/2 cup epsom salts, 2 liters bone meal, 1 liter blood meal, 1 liter kelp meal, 1 tsp trace elements, and enough perlite to regain the porosity of the original soil. I used to add a bag of manure, but I was getting fertilizer burn and so have stopped now.
As I've been fine tuning this, the plants just keep getting healthier and I haven't had any real pest problems for quite a while. I know this is a controversial approach and maybe even risky, but it allows me to keep my garden pretty much self contained. I don't attract attention by buying bales of soil every 3 - 4 months year around, or in the disposal of leaves and soil after each crop. It's definitely not for those who want sterile crops and those that use pesticides and chemical ferts. I believe in working with nature, not against it. After several generations, a nutrient imbalance developed which was only solved by leaching the soil thoroughly. My hunch is that one of the micro-nutrients was building to toxic levels. I guess farmers don't get this problem because they have the winter rains to leach excess nutrients from their fields.
Last modified: 18:51 - Nov 30, 2000
[FONT=verdana,arial]Quicklink: http://overgrow.com/growfaq/428[/FONT]
GrowFAQ © 2000-2004 Overgrow
faq:428 "Vic's Super Soil recipes & notes"
GrowFAQ : Soil & soilless : Soil & soilless mixes
Vic's Super Soil recipes & notes
Added by: scribbles Last edited by: 10k Viewed: 81 times Rated by 19 users: 8.69/10 Contributed by the BC Growers Association.
Super Soil Mix
Original Recipe, as it was given to me.
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix
2 L Bone Meal - phosphorus source
1 L Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
1/2 - 1 bag chicken manure (steer, mushroom, etc) - nitrogen & trace
elements
- Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Revised Recipe, after several failures due to bad manure sources, I now use the following recipe. Results have been excellent and the clones seem to take off right away instead of having a slow growing settling in period.
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings
- Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Substitutions
- The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs
Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano
Bugs
On a couple of occasions, I've ended up with fungus gnats with this soil mix. They are more of an irritation than anything but may harm weak or young plants. Some have said that putting a layer of sand on top of the soil in the pots stops the gnats from reproducing. Others can get rid of them by doing a soil drench with gnatrol or vectobac (BTI). Personally, I prefer to simply introduce fungus gnat predators (Hypoaspis miles). Once established, they not only control fungus gnats, but also thrips and mites. When there is no insect food available, they survive on dead plant material, so remain even after pests are gone to prevent future infestations. Actually, since they have been introduced, I've had no pest problems in over a year and I don't filter my intake.
Recycling Soil
Used soil - Reusing soil has a few downsides such as it makes it easier for diseases, viruses, and pathogens from entering your garden. Also peat based soils break down and become acidic. If you fertilize with chemicals you'll end up with salt buildups that will slow growth. Unless you like to take chances, have a good eye, and a good horticultural understanding, you may be better off with staying with fresh new soils. That said; I grow strictly organic and I've always reused my soil. I don't sterilize the soil between plantings as my soil is full of microbes and predatory bugs that keep the bad bugs under control. After each crop, I chop up the soil and root balls with the leaves, stalks, etc and let compost for about 3 months. I then mix it up and add about 2 - 3 cups of lime for every 50 gallons composted soil. I also add about 1/2 cup epsom salts, 2 liters bone meal, 1 liter blood meal, 1 liter kelp meal, 1 tsp trace elements, and enough perlite to regain the porosity of the original soil. I used to add a bag of manure, but I was getting fertilizer burn and so have stopped now.
As I've been fine tuning this, the plants just keep getting healthier and I haven't had any real pest problems for quite a while. I know this is a controversial approach and maybe even risky, but it allows me to keep my garden pretty much self contained. I don't attract attention by buying bales of soil every 3 - 4 months year around, or in the disposal of leaves and soil after each crop. It's definitely not for those who want sterile crops and those that use pesticides and chemical ferts. I believe in working with nature, not against it. After several generations, a nutrient imbalance developed which was only solved by leaching the soil thoroughly. My hunch is that one of the micro-nutrients was building to toxic levels. I guess farmers don't get this problem because they have the winter rains to leach excess nutrients from their fields.
Last modified: 18:51 - Nov 30, 2000
[FONT=verdana,arial]Quicklink: http://overgrow.com/growfaq/428[/FONT]
GrowFAQ © 2000-2004 Overgrow
faq:428 "Vic's Super Soil recipes & notes"
Green Cross
Well-Known Member
Manure is $5 a bag. I can't see how using sunshine mix or "foxfarms" is appealing or affordable for any serious organic container gardener.
One part each
1. Moo Doo composted cow manure
2. Mushroom compost
3. Canadian sphagnum peat-moss or coco
4. Pearlite
5. Any Good top soil
Mix well
Then add
2 bags Earthworm casings
High nitrogen sea bird or desert bat guano (optional) or just skip this ingredient and foliar feed with Alaska fish emulsion (5-1-1) (also contains micro nutrients).
Green sand (0-0-3) supplement contains silica, iron, magnesium, and 30 other trace minerals)
4 - 8 cups Hydrated lime (to raise PH and provide calcium)
I figure I can make 500 - 1000 quarts (20 - 40 cubic ft) of very high quality potting mix for half the price of Fox farms ocean forest which is like $20 for 1.5 cubic feet, at my local hydro store.
skinnydude778
Member
So how much would 500-1000 cost total to make?
I mix my own soil, and I'm getting better at it! I end up at about the same cost as a bag of FoxFarm Ocean Forest. The real difference is, I end up with 4 bags!!!
It ain't "Rocket Science" it's just "Economics"!
"Four-way Mix"
1 part "Store Bought" Topsoil.
1 part Compost.
1 part Perlite or Vermiculite.
1 part "Steer Manure".
The 1 part "Steer Manure" can actually be made up of any combination of "Nutrients", "Fillers" and/or "Fertilizers" that you care to use, as long as:
1. It equals a full "25% Part" of the overall, finished, volumn.
2. It is about the same potency as "Plain old composted Steer Manure".
3. The N-P-K numbers should be "about" equal (roughly balanced N-P-K).
SpaaaceCowboy
Well-Known Member
would this have to cook ? or can you mix it, and put the plant into it ?
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
This is the Coot soil recipe I use.
33% Sphagnum Peat Moss
33% Aeration
33% High Quality EWC and/or Vermicompost
(some people run 50%/25%/25% Ratios)
To each 1 c.f. of this mix I add the following:
1/2 cup organic Neem meal
1/2 cup organic Kelp meal
1/2 cup Crab meal
4 cups of some minerals – rock dust (See Below)
The Rock Dust Recipe
4x – Glacial Rock Dust
1x – Bentonite – from the pottery supply store
1x – Oyster Shell Powder – the standard product from San Francisco Bay
1x – Basalt
Depending on what you have available some adjustments can be made.
P-
33% Sphagnum Peat Moss
33% Aeration
33% High Quality EWC and/or Vermicompost
(some people run 50%/25%/25% Ratios)
To each 1 c.f. of this mix I add the following:
1/2 cup organic Neem meal
1/2 cup organic Kelp meal
1/2 cup Crab meal
4 cups of some minerals – rock dust (See Below)
The Rock Dust Recipe
4x – Glacial Rock Dust
1x – Bentonite – from the pottery supply store
1x – Oyster Shell Powder – the standard product from San Francisco Bay
1x – Basalt
Depending on what you have available some adjustments can be made.
P-
Diabolical666
Well-Known Member
If youre new to the soil thing, I would just get the no brainer nutes in soil. Making your own super soil can be an expensive lesson to learn. I would leave it to the pro's. Theirs much to learn about how plants feed. I use pro mix, fox farm ocean forest, fox farm happy frog all combined. I dont have to feed for the 1st 6 wks. Thats good for about 12 -5-7gallon pots. Around 80 quid. I use a kiddie pool to mix it all in. Also make sure any soil you decide to get is of high quality and pasturized , if not expect to have bugs and shit.
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
I get worried when there are no bugs in my soil.
Diabolical666
Well-Known Member
wtf lol
Pattahabi
Well-Known Member
Bugs are part of the soil food web. Running a sterile organic grow is like an oxymoron imo. Learning to identify what was actually in my soil was really eye opening. If you have a little extra $$$ I find those USB microscopes worth the money in entertainment value alone. It's a living breathing ecosystem down there!
P-