Noob homemade soil

BlackBean

Active Member
Hey everyone I’ve been on this site for a while and made a few post. Was having terrible luck first starting out with organics but starting to get the hang of things. Made my mix almost a year ago and at first was way too hot but now that it’s cooked for a while has seemed to mellow out.

Organic mix I made:
Peatmoss
Compost
Manure
EWC
Perlite
Oyster shell
Lime
Blood meal
Bone meal
Fish fert
Alfalfa meal
Kelp meal
Dash of Jobes organic fert

This run I started seeds in promix HP and petite. When I uppotted in one container I did 50/50 my mix to the promix (rectangle)In another pot I used strictly my mix (round)

These plants popped on December 24th.
Bag seed

So far I have used only water. Temps are good humidity is good. Decent light

I just flipped the lights yesterday. Just wanted some input on if I should try to start some teas to get me through flower or if I should just water only this run and see how far it takes me. Any and all input appreciated. Sorry for the blur ole. Will post bette photos later.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone I’ve been on this site for a while and made a few post. Was having terrible luck first starting out with organics but starting to get the hang of things. Made my mix almost a year ago and at first was way too hot but now that it’s cooked for a while has seemed to mellow out.

Organic mix I made:
Peatmoss
Compost
Manure
EWC
Perlite
Oyster shell
Lime
Blood meal
Bone meal
Fish fert
Alfalfa meal
Kelp meal
Dash of Jobes organic fert

This run I started seeds in promix HP and petite. When I uppotted in one container I did 50/50 my mix to the promix (rectangle)In another pot I used strictly my mix (round)

These plants popped on December 24th.
Bag seed

So far I have used only water. Temps are good humidity is good. Decent light

I just flipped the lights yesterday. Just wanted some input on if I should try to start some teas to get me through flower or if I should just water only this run and see how far it takes me. Any and all input appreciated. Sorry for the blur ole. Will post bette photos later.
i would continue the course of water only. if your mix was hot at first, and now has mellowed out, i would say that you're likely good to go for water only. you may want to do some topdressings of kelp during the first 4 weeks of flower to boost the K level a little bit, your mix looks slightly shy in that department. other than that, you should be fine. i'd say topdress once during week 2, and once during week 4, and call it a day. mix a few TBSP with some compost, topdress and water in.
 

BlackBean

Active Member
Thank you for the reply shluby. I was thinking the same thing with the soil being so hot previously. I can do the kelp and compost top dress. Now I know people go back and forth on molasses. Is there a need to try and “feed” my micro herd with something at this point or will the top dressing alone help with that.
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Thank you for the reply shluby. I was thinking the same thing with the soil being so hot previously. I can do the kelp and compost top dress. Now I know people go back and forth on molasses. Is there a need to try and “feed” my micro herd with something at this point or will the top dressing alone help with that.
there is no purpose to adding molasses for a soil feed. you'd be much better off brewing a compost tea, that way the organisms consume the molasses (for the most part) before you water it into the container.

however, if you feel the need to add organisms into your container, you can simply do a compost extract, which is really simple. take several handfuls of EWC or compost, and massage it in some water. not only will you extract organisms that are in the compost, but you will also rinse humic and fulvic acids from the compost into your extract, which is great for the plant and soil organisms! Just youtube "compost extract". it takes literally about 2 min to do, and is the next best thing to brewing an AACT.
 

BlackBean

Active Member
I’ve been doin some research on acct. That’s why I wondered if just top dress in with compost and kelp would be equally beneficial as giving them AACT. So what if I just did an AACT with compost,EWC, and kelp with alitte molasses aerate and serve? I honesty don’t feel like they really need much of anything. But if it is a good idea to “jump start” the micro heard in the beginning of flower to keep from falling behind in the end. So maybe a lite AACT then top dress every two weeks after
 

BlackBean

Active Member
Wow spell check and typing in a hurry makes it sound like I don’t know how to speak English but I do. So i hope that last post made sense
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
I’ve been doin some research on acct. That’s why I wondered if just top dress in with compost and kelp would be equally beneficial as giving them AACT. So what if I just did an AACT with compost,EWC, and kelp with alitte molasses aerate and serve? I honesty don’t feel like they really need much of anything. But if it is a good idea to “jump start” the micro heard in the beginning of flower to keep from falling behind in the end. So maybe a lite AACT then top dress every two weeks after
that would be a fine AACT. bubble 24-36 hours with as much oxygen as you can pump into that thing. the more, the better. if you don't have the means to pump tons of air into the water, then i would suggest going the extract route. a tea can turn to anaerobic conditions very quickly when the populations start to multiply, so having that extra oxygen is crucial to keeping a healthy population of aerobic organisms.

also, your topdressings should stop by the 4th week of flower. otherwise you may end up with delayed finishing times from so much decomp and excess food. I would topdress once in the first week, and once in the third week and then let it ride.
 

BlackBean

Active Member
So I’m goin to start a tea tonight to feed first thing Sunday morning. I only need to do about a gallon. I have a pretty good air pump that has two outlets on it and two stones. In my tea I will put a handful of compost and EWC a tablespoon of kelp into some pantyhose. 1gal of of distilled water and a teaspoon of molasses. Brew for 36hrs then apply a foliage feed and soil drench. Only thing I’m not sure of is if I need to dilute at all and when doin the soul drench do I give the same amount as I would when I water?
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
So I’m goin to start a tea tonight to feed first thing Sunday morning. I only need to do about a gallon. I have a pretty good air pump that has two outlets on it and two stones. In my tea I will put a handful of compost and EWC a tablespoon of kelp into some pantyhose. 1gal of of distilled water and a teaspoon of molasses. Brew for 36hrs then apply a foliage feed and soil drench. Only thing I’m not sure of is if I need to dilute at all and when doin the soul drench do I give the same amount as I would when I water?
no need to dilute unless you need to spread it beyond one plant. if its just one plant, should be good to go :)
 

BlackBean

Active Member
I have an aqua culture 20-60 gallon dual outlet pump. If that’s not sufficient I will get one that is or at least another one of these and have 4 stones goin
 

BlackBean

Active Member
Right on! I shall proceed as planned and hope for the best. I’ll try to get a few better pics and keep you updated. Thank you for your knowledge @ShLUbY
 

BlackBean

Active Member
Plants seem to be doing ok after using he tea. Alitte droopy at first but quickly perked back up. One thing is it seems like some of the new growth is twisting. I didn’t have time to snap a pick this morning but will post one when I get home. Could just be heat stress as the plants are getting taller. Only thing that sucks about that is my lights are at maximum height already. I’ve already tied down all the perimeter growth but all the aux nodes are just taken off and not sure what to do with them. Again I’ll post picks later. Thanks
 

BlackBean

Active Member
Been alitte over a week since my last post as I didn’t get any feedback from anyone. Which is no big deal I appreciate what answers I did get. Been top dressing with kelp and worm castings. Also kelp castings and little molasses bubbles for 36hrs for foliar feed. They seem to really be liking it so I’m sticking to it for 1 more week or so then probably just straight water from on out. The girls have definitely been drinking slot more and I’ve been training them every few days to keep them as low as possible. Thanks to all that have helped and here’s a few pictures
 

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