Soil composition

S

Sunzen

Member
Hey all, my ladies are getting big and will need to be transplanted into their final 400 gallon homes in a month at the latest. So it's time to start cooking my soil, hopefully I'll be able to transplant before the end of may.

Here is my list of ingredients, I'm curious if the quantity of each item is too much and was wondering if someone with more experience in this size (as this is my first) could help me out:

25 lb kelp
25 lb bone/fishbone meal
25 lb alfalfa meal
25 lb blood meal
20 lb neem meal
20 lb crab meal
22 lb green sand
10 lb various guanos
120 lb worm castings
20 lb glacial rock dust
10 lb rock phosphate

My soil is composed of a local blend cut with local compost with about 33% perlite.

I appreciate any insight you may give :peace:
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
Sunzen said:
Hey all, my ladies are getting big and will need to be transplanted into their final 400 gallon homes in a month at the latest. So it's time to start cooking my soil, hopefully I'll be able to transplant before the end of may.

Here is my list of ingredients, I'm curious if the quantity of each item is too much and was wondering if someone with more experience in this size (as this is my first) could help me out:

25 lb kelp
25 lb bone/fishbone meal
25 lb alfalfa meal
25 lb blood meal
20 lb neem meal
20 lb crab meal
22 lb green sand
10 lb various guanos
120 lb worm castings
20 lb glacial rock dust
10 lb rock phosphate

My soil is composed of a local blend cut with local compost with about 33% perlite.

I appreciate any insight you may give :peace:
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Nice :)
 
W

waterproof808

Well-Known Member
The smarter thing to do is to get a soil test done, then figure out what is missing.
I'd skip the greensand as it doesnt even become available to the plants for a long time. Doesnt look like you have a calcium source either, I'd add oyster shell flour or gypsum.
Leave out the blood meal if you are using alfalfa and neem. Soft Rock Phosphate has heavy metals in it, fish bone meal has plenty of P in it.
 
S

Sunzen

Member
waterproof808 said:
The smarter thing to do is to get a soil test done, then figure out what is missing.
I'd skip the greensand as it doesnt even become available to the plants for a long time. Doesnt look like you have a calcium source either, I'd add oyster shell flour or gypsum.
Leave out the blood meal if you are using alfalfa and neem. Soft Rock Phosphate has heavy metals in it, fish bone meal has plenty of P in it.
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Thank you very much for the advice. I will get oyster shell flour and drop the green sand. Heavy metals good for the plant or should I skip? Thanks

I was wondering if those amounts were alright for a 400 gallon pot, what do you think?

Peace
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
waterproof808 said:
That’s not true
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Neem is an antiseptic ....and kills bad bacteria. However it kills good bacteria as well. Now I don't know about neem meal vs oil...but everything I read said that even spraying the plants to be careful not to get it on the soil because it will kill the benifical bacteria
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
P.s. I do know it's good stuff and a source of food...but I add beni fung. And bacteria to my soil....and there is Too much debate on the Web about neem and this.
 
GreenHighlander

GreenHighlander

Well-Known Member
waterproof808 said:
That’s not true. You can topdress with neem and moisten it a little and it will grow that white fuzz overnight.
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ganga gurl420 said:
Neem is an antiseptic ....and kills bad bacteria. However it kills good bacteria as well. Now I don't know about neem meal vs oil...but everything I read said that even spraying the plants to be careful not to get it on the soil because it will kill the benifical bacteria
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I actually think you are both right. I do not use neem meal, but I do spray with neem in veg. I do see folks using neem meal in their soil mixes with great success. I just do not have a source for the meal. I also wonder if the meal is somehow different from the cold pressed neem oil?

Cheers :)
 
S

Sunzen

Member
Interesting read friends I've never heard of this til now. I'm the type of grower that brews aerated teas every watering so i'm sure I won't have a shortage of Bennis. Maybe the crab meal and its chitin content is enough to deter pests without the neem
 
ganga gurl420

ganga gurl420

Well-Known Member
GreenHighlander said:
I actually think you are both right. I do not use neem meal, but I do spray with neem in veg. I do see folks using neem meal in their soil mixes with great success. I just do not have a source for the meal. I also wonder if the meal is somehow different from the cold pressed neem oil?

Cheers :)
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Lol on this topic I want to be wrong. I almost used it this year. Then I Googled it and read enough debate on it to think twice. I do think it is amazing stuff...but I personally do not want to take the risk. However yes...many growers use it. And once again I truly hope I am wrong.
 
GreenHighlander

GreenHighlander

Well-Known Member
It has been a part of the east Indian diet for hundreds of, if not thousands of years. I only use in veg. I would not spray in flowering what so ever. It is the only thing I have used for many many years now. I have not had mites, whiteflies, PM, thrips etc.
Again I cannot comment on the meal in the mix other then to say I have seen many people use it in theirs with great success.
Cheers :)
 
too larry

too larry

Well-Known Member
GreenHighlander said:
It has been a part of the east Indian diet for hundreds of, if not thousands of years. I only use in veg. I would not spray in flowering what so ever. It is the only thing I have used for many many years now. I have not had mites, whiteflies, PM, thrips etc.. . . . . . . . . .
Cheers :)
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When the mothers of the Peach and Rotten Stinking Bastard strains were wrapped up in bud worms, I sprayed the hell out of them in flower. It did mess with the taste, even after washing the buds. But I was up against the wall. I had always grown Darwin Dope sativa strains before that, and the plants were too busy staying alive to attract moths. Since then I have got danker strains, and have incorporated neem oil into my IPM.
 
S

Sunzen

Member
Alright my new plan is to take out the rock phosphates, replace neem meal with blood meal and I think I should be good to go! 400 gallons is a lot of area, I think I'll take a chance with my measurements hah! Thanks all
 
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waterproof808

Well-Known Member
Blood meal is way worse than neem in my opinion. It attracts wild animals and It’s full of hormones, antibiotics, and toxins from the livestock industry. Alfalfa alone is good enough source of N and triacontinol but it can burn plants if you use too much. If you don’t want to use neem meal other seed meals are good sources of N too like flax or organic soybean meal, don’t use cottonseed. The amount of soil biology negatively impacted by neem meal is completely negligible in the grand scheme of things. Plants will not be affected negatively at all by using it.
 
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