Amending the soil

I don’t have a big budget for growing but love to grow so therefore I make it work still ; with that being said I have some questions on how to make the best of my money to better the soil and perform my grow as best as possible ;

What I have done so far this year is dig holes about 2-3’ wide and 16-18” deep then mixed in 2 cubic feet of MG soil now I’m just waiting for seeds to get here in like 2-3 weeks then will start the germ process!!!

So my question is what could I do to make the soil it’s best before I plant into the ground ? I have somewhat sandy acidic soil( great for blueberries ).

Would you add anything to the soil ? If so what?

All thoughts welcome.

Depends, if its mg with time released nutes i wouldn't add anything for a while.

If its the organic version, maybe some crab shell meal & greensand? Hopefully someone who uses MG can chime in.

SPLFreak808 said:

Depends, if its mg with time released nutes i wouldn't add anything for a while.

If its the organic version, maybe some crab shell meal & greensand? Hopefully someone who uses MG can chime in.

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It’s got time release Nutes ; says for 3 months of feed ;

I’m hoping by putting it in the ground appropriately 3 months before planting into it it will be leached out?

If your ground is sandy it probably would leach out overtime, i don't see why you couldn't just veg them out with the time released nutes.

I have no experience with MG, first thing I would do is nail pH at 6.5 (sulfur or dolomite lime, takes 4+ weeks to take effect) and try a test run, you can always reamend before flower.

SPLFreak808 said:

If your ground is sandy it probably would leach out overtime, i don't see why you couldn't just veg them out with the time released nutes.

I have no experience with MG, first thing I would do is nail pH at 6.5 (sulfur or dolomite lime, takes 4+ weeks to take effect) and try a test run, you can always reamend before flower.

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How do I test the pH of the soil ?

I’m guessing it’s going to be on the acidic side.

Look on the bag or do a slurry test.

Get some manure and or compost and mix that in, the microbes in it will help the plant break down nutrients in the soil. Get a good cheap all purpose organic fertilizer like tomato tone or vegetable tone from epsoma. Mix that in at about 1.5 cups per cu ft. Kelp meal is good if you can afford it. Gypsum is super cheap and full of calcium and sulphur which weed plants love. Figure out the ph with a soil slurry test. If it's low add dolomite or calcitic lime at about 1/2 cup per cu ft of soil.

Mg is pretty hot at first but eventually gets better. The one thing is super lacking is magnesium. I would water with Epsom salts every 2 weeks (tbs per gallon of water)

Get a soil test, it may surprise you. I had living soil last season that I planned on reamending with a standard blend from buildasoil but after I got the test results back it showed I only needed a little of this and that and some of the segments we’re way too high (didnt need any additional supplements). Turned out the standard amending blend would have been too much in some aspects and too little in others.

Not the same scenario as you but the test would show where your at currently.

ganga gurl420 said:

Mg is pretty hot at first but eventually gets better. The one thing is super lacking is magnesium. I would water with Epsom salts every 2 weeks (tbs per gallon of water)

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Thanks man!
What kind of epsom salt do you use ?

dubekoms said:

Get some manure and or compost and mix that in, the microbes in it will help the plant break down nutrients in the soil. Get a good cheap all purpose organic fertilizer like tomato tone or vegetable tone from epsoma. Mix that in at about 1.5 cups per cu ft. Kelp meal is good if you can afford it. Gypsum is super cheap and full of calcium and sulphur which weed plants love. Figure out the ph with a soil slurry test. If it's low add dolomite or calcitic lime at about 1/2 cup per cu ft of soil.

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I have one of those pH rest kits where it has a vile and drops and you put the drops in and whatever color it changes dictates the pH ; not as accurate but it will work;

How will I do a pH test of the soil with this type of pH tester ?

Would I make holes in say a solo cup with it half full of soil and some distilled water and use the run off water to test?

Trainwreckertonville said:

Get a soil test, it may surprise you. I had living soil last season that I planned on reamending with a standard blend from buildasoil but after I got the test results back it showed I only needed a little of this and that and some of the segments we’re way too high (didnt need any additional supplements). Turned out the standard amending blend would have been too much in some aspects and too little in others.

Not the same scenario as you but the test would show where your at currently.

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I was thinking about doing this ; where do you get a soil test from ? And how much does it cost ?

StoneWallFlower65 said:

I was thinking about doing this ; where do you get a soil test from ? And how much does it cost ?

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Logan labs, look them up. Only takes a few days. it’s $25 plus another $30 for their recommendation sheet. You’ll want to do a fizz test beforehand to see if you want the standard soil test of the AA8.2 test. If your soil fizz’s get the 8.2 otherwise you’ll waste your money on the standard which will give inaccurate readings. Look up soil fizz test to see how to do it.

Go to your local tractor supply and get a 50 lb bag of garden lime. It costs 5 dollars a bag.

Make sure it is "dolomitic" or "dolomite" limestone and pulverized to fine powder, like flour.

Add some to each hole and mix it in good, with a tater fork preferably.

This will correct acidic soil, and supplement plenty of calcium. It contains magnesium as well. I would use about half a cup per, for holes that size.

Any mag deficiency down the road can be corrected easily with a spoonful in a gallon of water.

Happy gardening!

Maybe more than half a cup. maybe less. More won't hurt.

Remember to mulch your holes good. Keeps the worms and stuff alive.

not trying to spam, but Im not allowed to edit posts..

You already know your native soil is acidic.

I can almost guarantee the mg soil is acidic, because it is peat moss based, fertilizers are acidic, and whatever lime they added to it has probably worn off or wasn't enough. You could Google what the pH typically is of your bag of soil.

The bottom line is, you don't need to worry about testing your pH, because soil buffers pH, lime buffers pH, and light fluctuations don't necessarily hurt, because it allows the plant to experience a full range of nutrient uptake.

Lime is a must and the sooner you add it the better, because it works over time.

Qatman said:

Maybe more than half a cup. maybe less. More won't hurt.

Remember to mulch your holes good. Keeps the worms and stuff alive.

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Qatman said:

Maybe more than half a cup. maybe less. More won't hurt.

Remember to mulch your holes good. Keeps the worms and stuff alive.

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Thanks for all that info!!

I plan on getting the lime very soon

And what do you mean when you talk about mulch ?

cover your dirt with some hay or leaves.. for a few reasons.. mainly to protect your dirt and the microorganisms living in it, who are your friends, from the sun.. helps keep moisture in.. and reduce watering..

i like a "living soil" which is full of worms.. i try to make a little habitat for them.. they keep things nice and airy.. and they feed your plants!

i like to amend with plenty of composted kitchen scraps which they like to eat..