Side by side organic soil mix's

I'm planning a bit of an experiment with some soil mixes which will be used in around 4 months time, I've not made the biochar yet and I've got to source the pumice yet, it's a bastard to find here, so I'm at least a couple of weeks off mixing it.

The base will be as follows:

60L pre used soil
20L wormcastings
10L Peat
10L coco coir
10L Biochar
10L Pumice

To make a total of 120L or 4.2 cubic feet, so 4 cups minerals per cuft = 16cups

Basalt/volcanic rock dust - 4 cups?
Gypsum - 1 cup?
Oyster shell Flour - 1 cup?
Calcified seaweed - 1 cup?
Bentonite - 1 cup?

I could use a little help with the quantities here, my used soil which forms half the mix is almost ph neutral on the acidic side.

This soil will then be split in 2 making 2.1 cuft each, with the following nutrients added;

Soil 1

1 cup kelp meal 0.5 - 0.08 - 0.2
1 cup neem meal 4 - 1 - 1
1 cup Insect Frass 3 - 2 - 3
1 cup Comfrey meal 0.7 - 0.2 - 1.2

Soil 2

1 cup kelp meal
1 cup neem meal
1/2 cup krill meal*
1/2 cup fish meal*
1/2 cup hempseed meal*
1/2 cup silkworm chrysalis meal*

* these are all cheap and easily available from the local fishing bait shop.

Do you think I should up the calcium carbonate/oyster content in my mineral mix to compensate for lack of crabshell meal?

I 'can' get neptunes crabshell meal imported from France, which has obviously previously been imported from the USA, but the shipping costs are high and it just wouldn't sit right, everything else is local.


I've got 10 regular landrace pakistan valley pure indica seeds by World of seeds, I'm hoping to grow out 2-3 males and 4-6 females(in separate tents), in 5gal fabric pots. Obviously, I'll have pheno variation and I wont be able to predict whats male and female before they go into their final pots, but hopefully I'll get a good enough split between the females in the 2 different soils to give an indication of performance.

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tropicalcannabispatient said:

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It's gonna take a while, so don't hold yer breath pmsl

I think I'll start a proper journal when I've dropped the beans, these are the seeds I'm using



I'm planning on harvesting pollen for storage and back crossing to provide breeding stock dependent on quality of course.

I've also got 10 landrace thai 100% sativa, 6 pure afghan 100% indica and a few packs of F1 hybrid beans that I've got to play with, but that's way down the line.

Does anybody monitor/adjust the ph of their soil while building or re-amending it?

Here's where I'm coming from..............I recently busted up some used soil which had been sat unused for a couple of months, moist and in decent condition. I was potting up some young plants to use as mothers so wanted to lightly amend the soil and refresh with some fresh worm castings.

The last time I'd done this with used soil I didn't check anything and added more liming agent when mixing, in this case, oyster flour and calcified seaweed. After a couple of weeks, the re-potted plants were showing clear mag def which must've been down to lock out, sure enough I tested a few samples of soil and they were all pretty much neutral bordering on alkaline.

This time I though I'd measure/monitor it while building the soil to try to avoid the last mistake. The used soil was pretty much neutral again, I added wormcastings which were slightly acidic and a very small amount of amendments and gave it a thorough mixing before re-testing a few samples. It still wasn't acidic enough for my liking so I mixed some peat in and got the ph down to about 6.5.

It's been my healthiest transplant ever, but there may be other factors


6 days since transplant

Just been down to check up on my diy biochar burner, it's not looking too healthy but I'm hoping to get a few more runs out of her before she bites the bullet



It has a smaller metal can with a seal-able lid and holes in the bottom for gas to escape. This can is filled with feedstock, sealed and is placed on the base of the larger bin and packed all around with wood, build a little fire on top and when it's burning well, pop the chimney on. It takes a little while for the smoke to clear, but then start's burning 'clean', it's very clean environmentaly (the really bad waste gases are burn't off and used as fuel during production, leaving only co2 emissions, which is balanced by the carbon sequestration) and an efficient way of producing biochar. I did quite a bit of reading before making it and adapted a design I'd seen in an excellent biochar workshop I'd seen on youtube.

I'll post up more pics when I fire her this weekend, I need to gather and dry some more good feedstock, which is the most crucial ingredient to quality biochar. Looking at this photo the chimney looks well out of proportion to the bin, but I had to experiment with different lengths to get the correct air-suction going for a clean burn to happen.

Thanks Don. I will be watching this for sure. Great job!!!

Great thread so far, looks to be promising. Subbd-

DonBrennon said:

It's gonna take a while, so don't hold yer breath pmsl

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in the soil 2 you asked if we thought you'd need any additional calcium.
I say no, you got the krill meal, as well as the insect meal, both that and insect meal are LOADED with calcium.
Interesting mix.
And your other question regarding ph, I don't ph anything, ever,
In organics it often fluctuates hourly, you could test 5 times and get five different results.
I think the easiest way is to give it tons of humus, tons of microbial life, and the rest will follow, given sensical acts.
I mean if you start adding a bunch of shit to the water or soil and it'll change a lot.
Some swear by altering the ph, I just don't.

DonBrennon said:

It's gonna take a while, so don't hold yer breath pmsl

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I would probably back off that biochar a speck too, that's a good amount...
and make sure you charge it with a nitrogen before adding it to your soil, and rinse off the biochar after crushing, that's a LOT of soluble ph altering dust.
I LOVE biochar, but I'm using much less than you are.
it may not hurt at all, but I don't know of many that are using that high of amounts of biochar
you'd be the pioneer man

greasemonkeymann said:

I would probably back off that biochar a speck too, that's a good amount...
and make sure you charge it with a nitrogen before adding it to your soil, and rinse off the biochar after crushing, that's a LOT of soluble ph altering dust.
I LOVE biochar, but I'm using much less than you are.
it may not hurt at all, but I don't know of many that are using that high of amounts of biochar
you'd be the pioneer man

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Thanks for your input, I thought I was a little heavy on the bio char in the mix but it's free and I'm really struggling to find pumice. I estimate I'd actually be at around 12% of total soil volume with the small amount of biochar in my re-used soil, which is slightly higher than minimum what's recommended on this website - http://oxfordbiochar.bigcartel.com/product/biochar-for-fruit-veg, here's a quote "We recommend a minimum of 10% biochar in your planting medium. There is no recommended maximum application rate, so far studies have shown that the more you add the better the results."

Are there any other good alternatives to lava rock? or anybody know where it can be sourced for a reasonable price in the uk?
I can get landscaping pumice pebbles for £33 a bag($47) plus delivery, but should I just go the local hydsrostore and pick up a same size bag of clay pebbles £15? After all Terra preta was char+ceramics

I hate smashing it up, it makes a noise similar to crushing polystyrene which goes right through me. I'll be soaking the char with an fpe & fish hydrol solution for around a week.

DonBrennon said:

Thanks for your input, I thought I was a little heavy on the bio char in the mix but it's free and I'm really struggling to find pumice. I estimate I'd actually be at around 12% of total soil volume with the small amount of biochar in my re-used soil, which is slightly higher than minimum what's recommended on this website - http://oxfordbiochar.bigcartel.com/product/biochar-for-fruit-veg, here's a quote "We recommend a minimum of 10% biochar in your planting medium. There is no recommended maximum application rate, so far studies have shown that the more you add the better the results."

Are there any other good alternatives to lava rock? or anybody know where it can be sourced for a reasonable price in the uk?
I can get landscaping pumice pebbles for £33 a bag($47) plus delivery, but should I just go the local hydsrostore and pick up a same size bag of clay pebbles £15? After all Terra preta was char+ceramics

I hate smashing it up, it makes a noise similar to crushing polystyrene which goes right through me. I'll be soaking the char with an fpe & fish hydrol solution for around a week.

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gotcha, somehow my brain wasn't accounting for the old soil, so yea that's just fine then, my bad on the math.
You probably don't need to soak the charcoal for that long, I didn't anyways, I just bubbled it in my dandelion/comfrey ferment for like a workshift, so like ten hrs.
as far as aeration?
I can say, the stuff I use is all available, so to improvise is hard to advise you on that.
I imagine crushing pumice is like scraping your fingernails on a chalkboard though...
Theres' no lava rock for landscaping?

greasemonkeymann said:

gotcha, somehow my brain wasn't accounting for the old soil, so yea that's just fine then, my bad on the math.
You probably don't need to soak the charcoal for that long, I didn't anyways, I just bubbled it in my dandelion/comfrey ferment for like a workshift, so like ten hrs.
as far as aeration?
I can say, the stuff I use is all available, so to improvise is hard to advise you on that.
I imagine crushing pumice is like scraping your fingernails on a chalkboard though...
Theres' no lava rock for landscaping?

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Hahaha, I nearly used the chalkboard line myself, I guess you'll have to be over a certain age to understand that one. It's all white boards, markers and screens now.

The landscapers round here all love heavy rock(not the music) for some reason, must be the wind and rain. I've found forums of advanced rock garden fanatics discussing the same issues whilst searching, it's all decorative stuff and pricey as hell because it's imported. The only stuff I've been able to find is for putting in the bottom of gas BBQ's to collect fat and create flavour, they're still quite expensive but do the job. I'll just have to wait till the stores start stocking BBQ stuff before I can add it to the mix

Sand at the very least or crushed limestone washed well to remove all the powder. Fish tank/ aquarium gravel/rocks. Grow shop should have something plant tailored. I'd try to avoid mail order but if that's all you have then....

DonBrennon said:

Hahaha, I nearly used the chalkboard line myself, I guess you'll have to be over a certain age to understand that one. It's all white boards, markers and screens now.

The landscapers round here all love heavy rock(not the music) for some reason, must be the wind and rain. I've found forums of advanced rock garden fanatics discussing the same issues whilst searching, it's all decorative stuff and pricey as hell because it's imported. The only stuff I've been able to find is for putting in the bottom of gas BBQ's to collect fat and create flavour, they're still quite expensive but do the job. I'll just have to wait till the stores start stocking BBQ stuff before I can add it to the mix

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ahh must be like a porcelain thing?
I've seen those in bbq grills before.
The other thing I use for aeration is rotten tree log chunks, I live in a forest, so I go out a nd find a treelog that's been down for yrs, and if it's rotted enough, I use the spongey chunks for my mix, only if it's rotted to the point where it crumbles in your hand, and I treat it the same as biochar, meaning I charge it prior.
I haven't used that as a sole source of aeration though, not sure it's be safe in that large of quantities.
Probably would be, but I haven't done it firsthand, so I have trepidations with advising in that regard

greasemonkeymann said:

ahh must be like a porcelain thing?
I've seen those in bbq grills before.
The other thing I use for aeration is rotten tree log chunks, I live in a forest, so I go out a nd find a treelog that's been down for yrs, and if it's rotted enough, I use the spongey chunks for my mix, only if it's rotted to the point where it crumbles in your hand, and I treat it the same as biochar, meaning I charge it prior.
I haven't used that as a sole source of aeration though, not sure it's be safe in that large of quantities.
Probably would be, but I haven't done it firsthand, so I have trepidations with advising in that regard

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I have used a large amount of it and it holds more water than I thought. I use rotted wood that I dig out of rotted stumps. The material I grab is like a dark redish brown that feels like a sponge and crumbles when squeezed. Honestly lava rock is the best aeration amendment imo.

Midwest Weedist said:

I have used a large amount of it and it holds more water than I thought. I use rotted wood that I dig out of rotted stumps. The material I grab is like a dark redish brown that feels like a sponge and crumbles when squeezed. Honestly lava rock is the best aeration amendment imo.

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yea, I agree there. BUT I wouldn't ever make a mix without the treelog chunks, or biochar, or pumice.
good to have a variation in my opinion, also I imagine the chunks to act similar to the biochar in its ability to house microbes

greasemonkeymann said:

yea, I agree there. BUT I wouldn't ever make a mix without the treelog chunks, or biochar, or pumice.
good to have a variation in my opinion, also I imagine the chunks to act similar to the biochar in its ability to house microbes

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Agreed, there's always some sort of naturally processed wood in my mix. The best ratio that I seem to come up with is about ten percent of the mix needs to be biochar, another 10 - 20 percent rotted wood depending if there's any native soil or clays, which if there are less is more. Like you mentioned above the wood seems to be a great space for microbes to live. The main thing I notice though is that you absolutely need lava rock or pumice with those kind of amendments. Even rice hulls seem to compact too much and can't hold enough air.
Something I've been toying with lately is taking those rotted wood chunks, grating them through a screen and topdressing with it and some bokashi (the mycelium goes friggin nuts with this wood). My rhizosphere seems to dry at a much more equal pace with the rest of my soil now. I want to try and get it in between the edges of my fabric planters for the same effect as well. But that'll have to wait until spring... I'm out of wood and this sub zero weather isn't my thing ha

One thing I will add though is please charge your wood materials before you use them or preammend your mix heavier in N and let it homogenize a bit longer. I had mixed up a small batch for some other garden plants and grabbed the rotted wood that I hadn't charged and every plant in the mix was completely nitrogen starved, so be warned wood will sequester a lot of Nitrogen from your soil