What am I Missing?

Hi all,

I just took a very long drive in search of organic supplies, which are difficult to locate in Winter. I came home with the following, earthworm castings, mushroom compost, and a base organic potting soil. I got lucky on the soil, very lucky. I found a whole pallet of it at Lowe's of all places, the manufacturer is out of Georgia. I checked the labeling and found no chemicals. In the past, I have amended my own outdoor garden soil with very good result. Only as I have posted and discussed here w/Rrog, I always have gnat problems. So rather than dealing with that issue, I figured it was better to blend my own from scratch. Yet, my outdoor native plant garden(coneflowers etc)and the herb both love the soil.

Should I just go with what worked in the past, or does everyone think I could use those 3 ingredients...or I could even amend my outdoor soil with the other stuff. But then, I would have to deal with the bugs. I also would like to re-use this medium.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, I have cracked beans ready to go.

TY!

A simple problem with gnats can be resolved by putting coffee grounds on the top of your soil. They do not like the acid and it is nitrogen for the plants.

personified said:

A simple problem with gnats can be resolved by putting coffee grounds on the top of your soil. They do not like the acid and it is nitrogen for the plants.

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I'm glad the ground has not frozen yet, I'm heading out back to get soil. I want microbes already in existence, then I can use the rest to blend a nice medium.

Do coffee grounds change your Ph?...I have a strain here that prefers acidic soil.

too much coffee will change the ph. a layer of sand will help with the gnats if they arise or they have better things like azamax. if you have access to it, just get pro-mix or a seed starting mix and blend with the compost for a good mix. if not get some peat moss and perlite and you can mix with the compost and castings to make your own soil. dolomite lime would be helpful. i can help you with ratios if you need.

Do you have any idea what was causing the gnats? A lot of things that would be helpful, and ordered online, for example dolomite lime, bat guano, etc-are not necessarily associated with gnats to my knowledge.

Sure anything changes pH this is an acid. The tell tale sign you soil is to akaline are the gnats. Realize that Ph is not an issue with organics as long as you are feeding the soil microbes. That is why you want organic matter to ad acidity during the break down cycle; your soil probably lacks humic. Humic substances are formed by the microbial degradation of dead plant matter so you next batch of soil add composted material or just add coffee grounds into the mix both degrade and feed teh rhizosphere.

When a plant takes up nitrogen as ammonium it releases hydrogen ions which will make the rhizosphere more acid. When a plant takes up nitrogen as nitrate, it releases hydroxyl ions which make the rhizosphere more alkaline. This action doesn’t usually affect the bulk pH of the soil.

farmerjoe420 said:

too much coffee will change the ph. a layer of sand will help with the gnats if they arise or they have better things like azamax. if you have access to it, just get pro-mix or a seed starting mix and blend with the compost for a good mix. if not get some peat moss and perlite and you can mix with the compost and castings to make your own soil. dolomite lime would be helpful. i can help you with ratios if you need.

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I lived with the gnats all last Summer, they're annoying but don't really harm anything. 2 months ago I dumped them along with the used soil back into the garden. I looked up the bag of soil from Lowe's I grabbed, the link is below. Upon opening the bag, I found it to be somewhat on the sandy side...too sandy actually. So, I mixed it 50/50 with the outdoor soil. Normally, I would use mushroom compost to amend sandy soil...no?. At any rate, I have the mushroom compost here along with the straight worm castings(expensive stuff)and leftover perlite as well.

http://www.timberlineyard.com/products.htm

I think my base medium is on solid ground at this point, but would much like to know what the proper ratios would be to maximize the overall medium.

Thanks!

kamut said:

Do you have any idea what was causing the gnats? A lot of things that would be helpful, and ordered online, for example dolomite lime, bat guano, etc-are not necessarily associated with gnats to my knowledge.

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The gnats are in my outdoor garden soil I have been amending over the years.

Sunbiz1 said:

I lived with the gnats all last Summer, they're annoying but don't really harm anything. 2 months ago I dumped them along with the used soil back into the garden. I looked up the bag of soil from Lowe's I grabbed, the link is below. Upon opening the bag, I found it to be somewhat on the sandy side...too sandy actually. So, I mixed it 50/50 with the outdoor soil. Normally, I would use mushroom compost to amend sandy soil...no?. At any rate, I have the mushroom compost here along with the straight worm castings(expensive stuff)and leftover perlite as well.

http://www.timberlineyard.com/products.htm

I think my base medium is on solid ground at this point, but would much like to know what the proper ratios would be to maximize the overall medium.

Thanks!

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is that soil 100% organic?? it didnt really say anything on the ingredients. i think the texture is the main thing you will be after and i would just mix in some compost and castings and a bit of perlite and mix until its real light to the touch. its a shame you dont live close to the store because with some peat moss and dolomite lime, i could give you a pretty good ratio to go from as this is what i use to mix my soil. it seems like the soil is the blame of the gnats and while they arent a huge problem, they sure are annoying. a layer of sand on top of your pots will help disrupt their life cycle if the need arises.

personified said:

Sure anything changes pH this is an acid. The tell tale sign you soil is to akaline are the gnats. Realize that Ph is not an issue with organics as long as you are feeding the soil microbes. That is why you want organic matter to ad acidity during the break down cycle; your soil probably lacks humic. Humic substances are formed by the microbial degradation of dead plant matter so you next batch of soil add composted material or just add coffee grounds into the mix both degrade and feed teh rhizosphere.

When a plant takes up nitrogen as ammonium it releases hydrogen ions which will make the rhizosphere more acid. When a plant takes up nitrogen as nitrate, it releases hydroxyl ions which make the rhizosphere more alkaline. This action doesn’t usually affect the bulk pH of the soil.

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im quite sure gnats are not a tell tale sign of akaline soil. if that was the case, fox farms and roots organics probably wouldnt sell as much soil as they do. in fact both of these companies have problems with gnats. i think the issue is when organic matter is decomposing, it is a inviting environment for pests, gnats included. with that being said, it is probably almost impossible for soil makers to eliminate the risk of bugs so the risk is always there when working with a living soil. it seems from your post you may have some knowledge of how decomposition works in soil, and for that i would ask you why you would suggest to someone growing cannabis indoors for quality would use coffee grounds as a source of humus? i understand how organic mediums work and how microbes buffer soil ph to their liking, but i dont understand where coffee grounds have their place in the soil?

farmerjoe420 said:

is that soil 100% organic?? it didnt really say anything on the ingredients. i think the texture is the main thing you will be after and i would just mix in some compost and castings and a bit of perlite and mix until its real light to the touch. its a shame you dont live close to the store because with some peat moss and dolomite lime, i could give you a pretty good ratio to go from as this is what i use to mix my soil. it seems like the soil is the blame of the gnats and while they arent a huge problem, they sure are annoying. a layer of sand on top of your pots will help disrupt their life cycle if the need arises.

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Here are the ingredients as listed on their label, I see now it is not on the site link I posted:
Organic Material
Aged Pine Bark
Cow Manure Compost
Sedge Peat
Sand
Perlite

Should I add some peat to this?, I have access to pretty much everything...took the drive for the worm castings originally.

Edit: I think I'll simply go easy with the mushroom compost and casings?. When I mixed the above soil blend with my outdoor, it should work without additional amendments no?...

you shouldnt need any peat with that. i thought you meant you took a long ride because you didnt have access to everything. yeah some mushroom compost and castings should do good and some dolomite lime would benefit you if you have it. i use 1/2 cup to 1 cup per cu ft. what are gonna use for ferts?

when i started looking to mix my own soil i started from a post called " lc's soilless mix " and kind of went from there. both base mixes are good and i have started using espoma bio-tone as a fertilizer source. its a good post to read and gives you some different ideas. thats what i meant about the peat and lime. in the recipe it uses peat, compost or castings, perlite , and lime. the texture is good and i havent looked back since using the formula. its a good place to start for a base, and then you can just figure out what ferts to use. i think what you have should be fine.

My experience is this with my worms and the soil created. When my soil is alkaline I have gnats when I add coffee grounds within two days I have none. When I have gnats around my plants I put coffee grounds on the top and within 2 days there are gone.

If you have ants or slugs add coffee grounds. Insects do not like acidic it is simple; thefore the soil is to akaline if you have insects.

The way soil works was posted to iterate that Ph really has nothing to do with organic dirt. Why even have a pH meter?

farmerjoe420 said:

when i started looking to mix my own soil i started from a post called " lc's soilless mix " and kind of went from there. both base mixes are good and i have started using espoma bio-tone as a fertilizer source. its a good post to read and gives you some different ideas. thats what i meant about the peat and lime. in the recipe it uses peat, compost or castings, perlite , and lime. the texture is good and i havent looked back since using the formula. its a good place to start for a base, and then you can just figure out what ferts to use. i think what you have should be fine.

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I have Holley Farm fertilizer here as well, an Epsoma product. I use it for outdoor in-grounds during summer. Looks like I'm good to go, a tad of the worm casings added to the original blend seems good.

Thank You for the assistance,

Happy Holidays!

personified said:

My experience is this with my worms and the soil created. When my soil is alkaline I have gnats when I add coffee grounds within two days I have none. When I have gnats around my plants I put coffee grounds on the top and within 2 days there are gone.

If you have ants or slugs add coffee grounds. Insects do not like acidic it is simple; thefore the soil is to akaline if you have insects.

The way soil works was posted to iterate that Ph really has nothing to do with organic dirt. Why even have a pH meter?

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i have no doubt the coffee works in the worm bin, but with all due respect, we dont grow in our worm bins or straight castings. i totally agree that ph is kind of irrelevant in an organic medium, thats why i dont have a ph meter either, but my experience is when i go dumping too much maxwell house on my plants, i run into problems. i just dont see how coffee grounds is the solution to gnats and furthermore i think it is crazy to suggest to someone to add coffee grounds to the soil as a source of humus. if that was the case no one would use things like azamax, or gnatrol, they would use maxwell house.

Sunbiz1 said:

I have Holley Farm fertilizer here as well, an Epsoma product. I use it for outdoor in-grounds during summer. Looks like I'm good to go, a tad of the worm casings added to the original blend seems good.

Thank You for the assistance,

Happy Holidays!

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i hope everything works out for you. happy holidays.

farmerjoe420 said:

i hope everything works out for you. happy holidays.

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Thanks FJ,

I'm having a bit of an issue, the blend came out a bit on the heavy/dense side. I'm a bit concerned that the mix will become too compacted over time. Would you recommend adding more perlite?, I barely used any to begin with.

Thanks again!

Sunbiz1 said:

Thanks FJ,

I'm having a bit of an issue, the blend came out a bit on the heavy/dense side. I'm a bit concerned that the mix will become too compacted over time. Would you recommend adding more perlite?, I barely used any to begin with.

Thanks again!

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for sure. in the future, try to use peat moss with the compost and castings along with perlite. this way your soil will have a nice balance of texture being rich and light with good drainage. the sand in your soil is what probably makes it feel heavy and thats what i dont like about most soil companies they add alot of filler products. if you can try to dig up that thread i mentioned and that is a good base mix for next time. add some more perlite and you should be golden. if you can get dolomite lime too you will be glad you did.

farmerjoe420 said:

for sure. in the future, try to use peat moss with the compost and castings along with perlite. this way your soil will have a nice balance of texture being rich and light with good drainage. the sand in your soil is what probably makes it feel heavy and thats what i dont like about most soil companies they add alot of filler products. if you can try to dig up that thread i mentioned and that is a good base mix for next time. add some more perlite and you should be golden. if you can get dolomite lime too you will be glad you did.

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I re-mixed it before planting the remainder, it seems much better now. Plus they are in small containers to begin with, so I can keep perfecting the blend as I go along/transplant. Those worm castings are very dense, that's what I had to compensate for.
TY again!