Looking for Some Organic Options

DancesWithWeeds said:

I wouldn’t make so much but great grandpa seems to be the family grower and chemist (medicine man if you will).
I used all my soil when my two people needed RSO. That used almost all my RSO so I’m trying to replenish the stock. There has been cancer and I had enough to them but now we need maintenance doses.

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This SS will be enough for 14 bags, 7gal. And considering the reuse of the soil with just freshening with some of the stored stuff it starts not being so expensive.

Another thing, with a big batch it can cook long enough to do good. Subcool said in his original recipe to let it cook in the sun for 6 weeks.

DancesWithWeeds said:

This SS will be enough for 14 bags, 7gal. And considering the reuse of the soil with just freshening with some of the stored stuff it starts not being so expensive.

Another thing, with a big batch it can cook long enough to do good. Subcool said in his original recipe to let it cook in the sun for 6 weeks.

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Fuck me cook in the sun for 6 weeks.

I think @EvansInUK maybe a U.K. grower and we’ve literally just had a 3 day heat wave and we’re back to raining lol.

6 weeks of sun would be lovely but in my 42 years on this planet 6 weeks of sun has never been seen in the U.K. lol.

ok well lets give this a shout;

jondamon said:

Fuck me cook in the sun for 6 weeks.

I think @EvansInUK maybe a U.K. grower and we’ve literally just had a 3 day heat wave and we’re back to raining lol.

6 weeks of sun would be lovely but in my 42 years on this planet 6 weeks of sun has never been seen in the U.K. lol.

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you are right there lol. Summer was 3 days and that;s it sadly

could this not be used with my

Soil/worm casting mix?

Verdanta 2-0-6 Organic Fertilizer - I can stop the use of this last 2 weeks, while it still gets the phosphorus.

the microbes wouldn;t be affected it has no high P's, and its decent enough for veg/flower at 2-0-6?

My first crack at organic I did the simplest one,1.5 cups kelp and 1 cup fertilizer so anything like Gaia 444 or tomato tone 448 etc.To one cuft of mix.
4 cups rock dust and 1 cup dolomite lime.
Mix was peat/compost/perlite.
This worked well and I haven't strayed too far from this recipe.

jondamon said:

Fuck me cook in the sun for 6 weeks.

I think @EvansInUK maybe a U.K. grower and we’ve literally just had a 3 day heat wave and we’re back to raining lol.

6 weeks of sun would be lovely but in my 42 years on this planet 6 weeks of sun has never been seen in the U.K. lol.

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LOL. It doesn’t have to be in the sun. Only warm. I doubt Subcool ever grew in Oklahoma and he is the one that said it. The two bags I just filled were only 3 weeks in the sun but it will still be another couple of weeks before the plants go in. That that is still in bags won’t be used until this one plant is finished.
God, I’d love a 3 day heat wave. Our heat wave started when the rain stoped and drought started about day. It’s been near over 100F I think for over a month. That’s one of the reasons I like this soil.

DancesWithWeeds said:

LOL. It doesn’t have to be in the sun. Only warm. I doubt Subcool ever grew in Oklahoma and he is the one that said it. The two bags I just filled were only 3 weeks in the sun but it will still be another couple of weeks before the plants go in. That that is still in bags won’t be used until this one plant is finished.
God, I’d love a 3 day heat wave. Our heat wave started when the rain stoped and drought started about day. It’s been near over 100F I think for over a month. That’s one of the reasons I like this soil.

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Monday and Tuesday last week were 40C here.

today it’s 18C and raining like fuck!

EvansInUK said:

could this not be used with my

Soil/worm casting mix?

Verdanta 2-0-6 Organic Fertilizer - I can stop the use of this last 2 weeks, while it still gets the phosphorus.

the microbes wouldn;t be affected it has no high P's, and its decent enough for veg/flower at 2-0-6?

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Pot is a little fussy but not so that you have to do it this way or it doesn’t work.
Just remember that you be god to that plant. Try not to abuse it by putting crap in. Pot will grow better in some things than others. My money says you are going to be absolutely delighted with your grow.

Most of the things you are putting in are ok. Just be careful when someone suggests adding stuff. I travel all over here and the most problems I’ve seen were people adding stuff to their plants because other people do.
You can also top dress with SS if you use a base soil like Roots Organic. That soil will be loose enough to wash nutes down into the soil, find of like flushing but not all the way.

jondamon said:

Monday and Tuesday last week were 40C here.

today it’s 18C and raining like fuck!

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Oh, for just a little rain.

myke said:

My first crack at organic I did the simplest one,1.5 cups kelp and 1 cup fertilizer so anything like Gaia 444 or tomato tone 448 etc.To one cuft of mix.
4 cups rock dust and 1 cup dolomite lime.
Mix was peat/compost/perlite.
This worked well and I haven't strayed too far from this recipe.

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So what exactly was the mix

1.5 cup of kelp (meal or powder) ?
1 cup of Fertilizer of tomato origin, based
4 cups rock dust (what kind please) soft rock phosphate>?
1 cup dolomite lime

The Pete/Compost Idea I leaning towards now as well, but with Worm castings and Vermiculite

EvansInUK said:

So what exactly was the mix

1.5 cup of kelp (meal or powder) ?
1 cup of Fertilizer of tomato origin, based
4 cups rock dust (what kind please) soft rock phosphate>?
1 cup dolomite lime

The Pete/Compost Idea I leaning towards now as well, but with Worm castings and Vermiculite

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Kelp powder gaia,Glacier rock dust gaia,Food is gaia 444

General rule of thumb is

no more then 3 cups food per cuft.....7.5 gallons
1 cup lime
4 cup rock dust

I mix 40/20/40 peat,compost/ewc,perlite.
Ive since added vermiculite into my soil,5% ish by volume maybe more.
My soil is approx 2 yrs old now.I cycle it so cook then grow then re amended cook etc.

EvansInUK said:

So what exactly was the mix

1.5 cup of kelp (meal or powder) ?
1 cup of Fertilizer of tomato origin, based
4 cups rock dust (what kind please) soft rock phosphate>?
1 cup dolomite lime

The Pete/Compost Idea I leaning towards now as well, but with Worm castings and Vermiculite

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Isn't there a ban on peat taking effect in 2024 for most gardeners over there in the UK? If so you probably would want to look into mixes that don't contain peat if you're not going to be able to get it in the future.

EvansInUK said:

how would you suggest I go about it then; this is what I was looking at;

an Organic Compost - with added biochar

Gaia Green Kelp Meal (1-0-2)

Discover the Gaia Green Kelp Meal 1-0-2GAIA GREEN Kelp Meal is a rich source of plant nutrients. Particularly high in potassium, Kelp Meal adds organic matter to the soil to enhance plant nutrition and improve resistance to abiotic stress. Due to the slow breakdown of kelp meal over time...

canadagrowsupplies.com

4 pounds Organic Rock Phosphate Fertilizer Soft Rock for soil garden compost | eBay

Powder rock phosphate and very small granular mixed together. Available Phosphate. .3%. Total Phosphate..20%. Derived from mined Soft Rock Phosphate.

www.ebay.co.uk

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354152723136?hash=item527525b2c0:g:abAAAOSwfUdixuFw&amdata=enc:AQAHAAAA4Dv7fdyFo0EOeZDnvm/zwahuMcaYVkfmC6jOfFLPYfEpTDg/hCNDdZWYHTod+mJ4AdOxymzfpgDKyAoh/ycEjolJ/ZOnVKEVkW5+efMUW57+QqZr2mwJj/TyiyIwE+Ci1vZk+OWR1xNVJBCBjU2FMvuB2+mq8SI18xw2ufyEjgnrot1tTUfToHydNh2+2i7EyRHKVbXGoEWjW/nbe+qfzbWCA7BMVhnbJuK2M5WkHcsk18p57CC06/0Tw2GWbHc8rx5pmnUigCzBwnDLFnTCS99HqA62d07hv/z3Rp6lnDTe|tkp:BFBM2ufphcZg u got this
and work castings

I am assuming their "Dry" Amendments right? Also the compost would be the main base to go directly into; so are those above useless?

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I've never used Gaia since it's expensive here. But this is a good thread for it.

EvansInUK said:

As people are mixing the point of my question up:

What ORGANIC mix/mixes has anyone had success with; I mean from experience, and what mix and how much did you use - if you don't mind sharing this info. The worm castings brand I know which one I want. Also I can get plenty of organic mixes, like Kelp/Rock Dust etc off of ebay,

I was thinking of doing this mix up; But mix ratios are unknown but this was just an idea

Organic Soil (100% organic compost from green veg waste)
Perlite / Vermiculite I guess 1 to 2 Parts Soil mix
Gaia Green Kelp Meal 1-0-2 Mix formula - provides the N and K
Worm Castings - Phosphorus mix (I presume) as well as some rock dust. Worm Castings I only wish to top dress later on
Rock Dust - for basic food from planting - providing main source of P
Finally some Biowar roots and nutes pack. (always wanted to try this out)

During Veg stage I could even add this just to boost N? https://www.planetnatural.com/product/age-old-microsynergy/ then drop later on?


Anyone got any suggestions, see any issues or problems with this? if so, feel free to criticize but in a positive way please, This is new to me.

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For a base mix I've settle on a simple 1/3 each of *Aeration(volcanic rocks, hydroton, or perlite if that's what available) / *Worm castings / *Some type of rather inert soil& peat mix(promix , happyfrog, or just sphagnum peat moss-if only peat ill ad some compost)

Then I amend that which I keep really simple with a pre-made amendment mix which usually has the Long list of ingredients you see when people buy each individual ingredient. I mix my base Soil with an all purpose, below examples are a 4-4-4 and a 4-6-3. I mix per instructions for potted plants, usually per the gallon. To make everything easy I measure the base mix in 5 gallon buckets. 5 gallons promix, 5 gallon volcanic rocks, 5 gallon worm castings = 15 gallons, amendments at 1/4 per gallon for example . Then I add a bit of like to act as a ph buffer as my tap water is pretty alkaline.

That pretty much carries my plants through veg water only, then once flower sets in I top dress with the premixed flower amendments per top dress instructions. Keep some light organic liquid mix like Kelp or fish or even compost tea to help the plants during the stretch before your flower top dress starts breaking down.

1/3 aeration, castings, peat plus premixed amendments gets the job done. Amendment lists can be as vast as you'd like but someone's already likely done it. Below are 2 example of different sets of all purpose and flower amendments. Rock Dust is already in gaia products.

If you use 100% green veg compost for your soil element your end mix will probably be pretty hot thays pretty much straight hummus, it's great to use but i'd cut that with some sphagnum peat moss to stretch it out and help with drainage. Using it in your mix will be great for the food web/living soil.

If I'm not mistaken Vermiculite is used for water retention and not aeration/drainage. Your better off with good drainage and watering more frequently than a heavy dense soil where air doesn't exist.

EvansInUK said:

As people are mixing the point of my question up:

What ORGANIC mix/mixes has anyone had success with; I mean from experience, and what mix and how much did you use - if you don't mind sharing this info. The worm castings brand I know which one I want. Also I can get plenty of organic mixes, like Kelp/Rock Dust etc off of ebay,

I was thinking of doing this mix up; But mix ratios are unknown but this was just an idea

Organic Soil (100% organic compost from green veg waste)
Perlite / Vermiculite I guess 1 to 2 Parts Soil mix
Gaia Green Kelp Meal 1-0-2 Mix formula - provides the N and K
Worm Castings - Phosphorus mix (I presume) as well as some rock dust. Worm Castings I only wish to top dress later on
Rock Dust - for basic food from planting - providing main source of P
Finally some Biowar roots and nutes pack. (always wanted to try this out)

During Veg stage I could even add this just to boost N? https://www.planetnatural.com/product/age-old-microsynergy/ then drop later on?


Anyone got any suggestions, see any issues or problems with this? if so, feel free to criticize but in a positive way please, This is new to me.

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I find alot of these organic soil builder type additives a little pricey online, i use some coco, and then i purchase bags of light mix, i also compost which i only started a few grows ago so i had to spend some ££ but going forward i’ll be re using and reammending for future grows,

i use things like charge and some biosys which is really good to maintain the microbes, theres 101 things you can do to stay organic and my advice is to not follow the youtubers and there expendive products,

you can make feeds from grass, from fruit and theres tons of ways to get all the plants need in to pots, the very basics is getting a good soil mix going but i like to add various things in along the way with eye on maintaining microbes. I’ve added a few pics of my current grow think theres one there where i’ve took a picture of a few products i use.

Alot is personal choice and best to find your own ways of working in organics

Some of the products i use, i only ever use the fish shit and algemic as a foliar spray through out the veg, the tub of charge is £20 but its one of the best products i’ve used especially if you run in to any issues, or you have plants that have been neglected this will bounce them back quicker than most things out there.

i also add two teas in a week made with the biosys which again i highly reccomend and helps maintain the microbes, last one had small amounts of molasses and also a little coconut water which contaims phytohormones and acts like a bio stimulant, there like natrual PGR’s for plants ( non synthetic )


Too many dive in to organics thinking they all need a ton of addivtives that these you tubers are pushing out, your best of talking to the old school gardeners and they will keep you right, i’ve seen people with A4 paper lists of products they need to build a soil.

i know some out there are using fruit fermentation type mixes and not much else by way of feed.

Ive had good luck with 1:1 Coco or peat mixed with good quality compost as a base. EWC, Biochar, Nerm/kelp and coconut meal, basalt dust as amendments.

I usually add 1 cup each of Neem, kelp and coconut meal, a few cups biochar and half a cup basalt per 30L. I'll add a few tbsp microbe boost (4-1-1) to activate it and let it sit for a week or so and then mix it with uxp pumice, rough limestone and zeolite for aeration.

PadawanWarrior said:

Too bad. I liked the sig. It showed who the real troll is.

I just mentioned Langbeinite as an example. It's actually in tons of mixes and lots of us use it. You just know nothing about this topic, but want to pretend you do.

The Gaia is pretty soluble too. They even mention using it as a tea. Check out the analysis.

Guaranteed Minimum Analysis

• Total Nitrogen (N)……….......…....…4.0%
• Water Soluble Nitrogen (N)...............3.0%
• Water Insoluble Nitrogen (N)............1.0%
• Available Phosphoric Acid (P₂O₅).....4.0%
• Soluble Potash (K₂O) ………….……4.0%

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I've been looking to get some langbeinite for a while, glad you jolted my memory. The only potassium heavy organic amendments I have is coconut and kelp meal ATM. I could use the sulphur as well. I've been using gypsum for sulphur as it's all I really have with it, but I was already too heavy on calcium to begin with last run.