Rate my soil recipe

I'm working on a new, organic-ish soil recipe - first it will be used in my container vegetable garden, then if it works well, I'll use it for future cannabis grows.

Right now, it's

3x bag local topsoil (1 cubic foot each)
1x bag organic composted humus and manure (1 cubic foot)
1x solo cup alfalfa meal
1x solo cup bone meal
1x solo cup coffee grounds
0.5x solo cup dolomite lime
Rice hulls to desired consistency (usually around 20%)

I have a gallon of liquid fish and kelp emulsion that will help round out the micronutrients, and a gallon of Root Ruckus that will help provide the mycorrhizal and microbe inoculation. I'll add both to the first watering.

Is there anything missing? How do the amendment amounts look? What would you change?

Maybe something for some more Potassium and Magnesium. Kelp meal (K) and dolomite lime(Mag). Or a little Langbienite for both.

youraveragehorticulturist said:

Maybe something for some more Potassium and Magnesium. Kelp meal (K) and dolomite lime(Mag). Or a little Langbienite for both.

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How much kelp meal and dolomite should I be adding? I have the dolomite, was planning on half a solo cup's worth for the batch. Should I do more?

Oh sorry man, you did have the D-Lime in there. 1/2 solo cup for the batch is probably OK.

Do you know anything about the water you'll be using? If it's Hard Water with lots of dissolved solids and a High pH use less lime. If it's got a lower pH and less. And I guess using top soil instead of peat you won't have to worry about your soil becoming acidic. So you don't need tons of lime to buffer pH.

Bone meal has Cal and Mag. And alfalfa is good for K. Plus you've got the fish guts and kelp in the plan.

Actually man, I think you've thought this out and you're on the right track. Forget what I said. I've never used Top Soil in my containers, but it's got to be pretty loaded with good stuff vs the totally inert peat that I use in my soil. You probably need less everything. I hope you keep us updated so I can learn something.

Maybe, maybe consider a little more aeration to keep your mix fluffy. Maybe something besides the rice hulls for a different particle size and nice soil structure.

No worm castings?

Fatleg77 said:

No worm castings?

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I didn't have any on hand, and I was trying to avoid ordering yet another bag of amendments. Do you think it needs it? I want to keep it simple and was hoping that casings would be redundant with everything else.

PersonaBotanica said:

I didn't have any on hand, and I was trying to avoid ordering yet another bag of amendments. Do you think it needs it? I want to keep it simple and was hoping that casings would be redundant with everything else.

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Hard to say..not sure what your local topsoil looks like? In my opinion worm castings are the most powerful beneficial part of a good organic living soil but plenty of people grow without it. Its really trial and error. Your plants will tell you whats missing if anything.

For me it is easier to use 1 cubic foot of soil as the starting point. I also use alfalfa as a part of a tea instead of in the soil. I also like a lot of perlite for drainage. As for "local" topsoil that to me is an invitation for various buggery. But yes overall your nutrients are on a par I guess. I would use as my top three Blood meal, Bone meal and wood ash for K at 1/2 cup of the blood meal and wood ash using a full cup of Bone meal in a cubic foot of soil. 1/2 cup of powdered dolomite lime and you have all the basics covered. I also add a 32 ounce cup of worm castings.

I'd definitely get some earth worm castings, and Basalt. You should be able to find castings locally, check out Facebook marketplace and Craigslist. They'll be much cheaper, and should be a higher quality than what you order.

GrassBurner said:

I'd definitely get some earth worm castings, and Basalt. You should be able to find castings locally, check out Facebook marketplace and Craigslist. They'll be much cheaper, and should be a higher quality than what you order.

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What is basalt? How much do you use per cubic foot?

It's a rock dust that provides minerals. Coots calls for 3 cups per cu ft when making his recipe.

Good ole Klackamas coot.

For a cheap basic mineral boost with silica in mind mostly I add a 32 ounce cup full of Montromillonite clay floor sweep. Bentonite it is sometimes called and also called calcined clay. I try to remain cheap enough to avoid ordering things that are similar to what I may have laying around.

Use wheat bran, npk of 2.7-2.9-1.6. Real surprised it doesn’t get more attention here, breaks down semi fast and well balanced. I use with epsom salt in a sip setup and it performs. I also use top soil mixed with rice hulls, just be sure to put a 1” top layer of sand on top and seal all edges or you’ll be run over with fungus knats. Sand was the difference between having a thousand of them to a half a dozen

If you're getting ravaged by fungus gnats your mix isn't something you should tout.

When my inputs are bought for $15-20 for a 40 lb bag of alfalfa and wheat bran and the top soil is $7 per 28 litres it’s sure a lot better than buying unnecessary fertilizer from the local grow shop. You failed to understand the point.

Had fungus gnats really bad, came in some cheap soil I bought. They started eating my roots and causing lockouts. Bad.

FredH said:

Had fungus gnats really bad, came in some cheap soil I bought. They started eating my roots and causing lockouts. Bad.

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that’s the point of the sand layer, it stops them from even getting going, if they can’t complete their life cycle they no longer exist

FredH said:

Had fungus gnats really bad, came in some cheap soil I bought. They started eating my roots and causing lockouts. Bad.

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Perhaps you should try no-till indoor gardening.

Northwood said:

Perhaps you should try no-till indoor gardening.

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They came in a bag of soil and really got going in the red solo cups. Only happened once but for sure they are serious plant pests. I still like using containers and doing various soil mixes. I am dialed in pretty much using the current mix, just a few tweaks left.