Amended Soil Build

Hi all,

First off, I'm not looking to envoke a super soil debate, or be told to browse around before posting bc I've literally spent months reading through thousands of posts in order to familiarize myself with this matter. I only post this because it seems that accepted information has changed quite a bit throughout the years.

I'm currently in Subs SS. Went that route to free myself from the ball and chain that is the hydro shops. I've semi-accomplished that, but now I want to take it a step further, and possibly eliminate the need for $20+ a bag roots organics. Dont get me wrong I'm fucking loving the results im getting, I have zero gripes with roots organics and if it were more affordable this wouldnt be a post..

Also, im passionate about all that goes into cultivating this miracle plant, I'm sure we all have that in common, so to fully understand all aspects of the process I feel its important to build my own base soil and amend it myself.

Basically im asking for some help/suggestions from those more experienced in building base soil and amending it. I'm not demanding anyone build my mix for me, if you want to advise recomended amounts/ratios that'd be awesome because my head is fucking spinning trying to figure out conversions for recommended ratios. If you smoked a bowl and feel chatty, please chime in. If you think im an asshole for posting this when there may be other posts out there addressing this matter, id prefer you refrain, but if need be feel free to tell me to go fuck myself I've got girlfriend induced immunity from that, so be warned..

But in all seriousness, im just looking to gain some knowledge from you DIY organic vets out there, so heres what ive got going on:

Base mix:

• 1 Bale Pro-Mix HP (maybe i should use 2?)
  
• 45lbs EWC
• More Perlite if necessary
• DE
• Dolomite Lime
• 1/2 bag coco ive got laying around from my nute days

Amendments on Hand:

• Fish Bone Meal
• Indonesian Bat Guano
  
• Epsom Salts
• Kelp Meal
  
• Azomite
  
• Blood Meal
• Crab Shell Meal
  
• Humic Acid
  
• Epsoma Tomato Tone(dont have this but i read elsewhere it is useful, ingredient list seems legit at a quick glance.)

Thanks in advance, I really do appreciate all the knowledge I've gained from this community.

-Tranq

Here's what I'm using that has been working great:

Base:
1cf sphagum peat
1cf coco coir (rinsed)
1cf home made worm castings
1cf aeration bits (currently using rice hulls and perlite)

To that I add per cf:
1/2 cup alflafa meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup neem seed meal
1/2 cup crab shell meal
1/2 cup Espoma Garden Tone (or something similar)
1/4 cup oyster shell flour
1/4 cup garden gyspum
3 cups rock dusts

Wet that down with a compost tea, then leave it be for 6 weeks.

From your list I would gas the following: Dolomite Lime, Bat Guano, Epsom salts, Blood meal, and Humic acid. These ingredients are either not needed, or can be replaced with something better.

Below is the mix I am using these days (or at least this is what was in it when I first mixed it). It has been re-amended, recycled and reused for about a year now, and continues to improve.

I second the suggestion to ditch the Epsom salts and blood meal. You can substitute equal parts neem seed meal, crab meal, and alfalfa meal for the blood meal. Epsom salts have no business being added to soil. If and only if you see a magnesium deficiency, you can always give them a foliar spray with the Epsom salts.


Base Mix:
-Equal parts Alaska Peat, Perlite (wide range of particle sizes), and worm castings. I also added some Alaskan Humus at about 5% or so for a little extra diversity.


Nitrogen Sources:
- Crab Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal
- Alfalfa Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal
- Neem Seed Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal


Phosphorus Source:
- Fish Bone Meal --2 TBSP/gal


Potassium, micronutrients, etc:
- Kelp Meal -- 1.5 TBSP/gal


Rock Dusts, Minerals, etc:
- Powdered Dolomite Lime -- 2 TBSP/gal
- Azomite -- 2 TBSP/gal
- Soft Rock Phosphate -- 1 TBSP/gal

st0wandgrow said:

Here's what I'm using that has been working great:

Base:
1cf sphagum peat
1cf coco coir (rinsed)
1cf home made worm castings
1cf aeration bits (currently using rice hulls and perlite)

To that I add per cf:
1/2 cup alflafa meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup neem seed meal
1/2 cup crab shell meal
1/2 cup Espoma Garden Tone (or something similar)
1/4 cup oyster shell flour
1/4 cup garden gyspum
3 cups rock dusts

Wet that down with a compost tea, then leave it be for 6 weeks.

From your list I would gas the following: Dolomite Lime, Bat Guano, Epsom salts, Blood meal, and Humic acid. These ingredients are either not needed, or can be replaced with something better.

Click to expand...

SpicySativa said:

Below is the mix I am using these days (or at least this is what was in it when I first mixed it). It has been re-amended, recycled and reused for about a year now, and continues to improve.

I second the suggestion to ditch the Epsom salts and blood meal. You can substitute equal parts neem seed meal, crab meal, and alfalfa meal for the blood meal. Epsom salts have no business being added to soil. If and only if you see a magnesium deficiency, you can always give them a foliar spray with the Epsom salts.


Base Mix:
-Equal parts Alaska Peat, Perlite (wide range of particle sizes), and worm castings. I also added some Alaskan Humus at about 5% or so for a little extra diversity.


Nitrogen Sources:
- Crab Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal
- Alfalfa Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal
- Neem Seed Meal -- 0.5 TBSP/gal


Phosphorus Source:
- Fish Bone Meal --2 TBSP/gal


Potassium, micronutrients, etc:
- Kelp Meal -- 1.5 TBSP/gal


Rock Dusts, Minerals, etc:
- Powdered Dolomite Lime -- 2 TBSP/gal
- Azomite -- 2 TBSP/gal
- Soft Rock Phosphate -- 1 TBSP/gal

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your mixes, the similarities are reassuring.

You both left out the bat guano. Seeing some negative posting about it is what made me question the mix. Whats up with it?

st0wandgrow without adding lime will any of the other amendments you listed help regulate ph?

Guano works fine, but the way it's harvested is... Uh... Not so environmentally friendly.

I can't speak for Stow, but I'm guessing there is some kind of lime included in the "rock dusts". Lime is just ground up limestone, after all.

Tranquileyes said:

Thanks for sharing your mixes, the similarities are reassuring.

You both left out the bat guano. Seeing some negative posting about it is what made me question the mix. Whats up with it?

st0wandgrow without adding lime will any of the other amendments you listed help regulate ph?

Click to expand...

The oyster shell flour together with the garden gypsum provides more than enough Ca. On top of that I use a lot of egg shells in my worm bin so that helps too. Plus I cut 1/2 of the very acidic peat moss out of my base and replaced it with the more neutral coco coir .... so I suppose all things considered I have no need for Dolo Lime. Having said that I don't really see anything wrong with using it, I guess I just don't view it as necessary.

st0wandgrow said:

The oyster shell flour together with the garden gypsum provides more than enough Ca. On top of that I use a lot of egg shells in my worm bin so that helps too. Plus I cut 1/2 of the very acidic peat moss out of my base and replaced it with the more neutral coco coir .... so I suppose all things considered I have no need for Dolo Lime. Having said that I don't really see anything wrong with using it, I guess I just don't view it as necessary.

Click to expand...

I thought I might be putting too much egg shell in my bin, so thats good to know. Unfortunately I cant use my own castings yet, I've only been vermicomposting for about 2 months now. A couple questions the worm bin if you dont mind:
-Do you use straight vermicompost or sift for castings in your mix?
-Are mites in the bin normal, I've seen some threads say its a sign of a healthy bin and the mites present shouldnt be confused with spider mites, others say the bin must be scrapped...

Additionally, do you guys supplement your mix with anything else such as teas or topdresses in flower? I've been supplementing with an occasional scoop of super soil, liquid kelp, and molasses AACT, and one top dressing of bat guano (oops..) in flower. Those for microbial activity, not in response to dificiency. I also dilute the tea and foliar feed, and ebsom salt foliar for the needy girls.

Unrelated, any thoughts on Teaming with Microbes? Although I feel I've read it in full via everyone referencing it around here, I have some time to chill and I'm planning to read it formally within the next few days.

Thanks again guys.

I read Teaming with Microbes a few months ago and would consider it a must read for organic gardening. I actually just purchased it to have around for reference. I just last week read through Jeff Lowenfels' other book, Teaming with Nutrients and would also recommend that you read that, they are both incredibly informative and the way he writes makes it fairly easy to understand quite complex subjects.

thay5212 said:

I read Teaming with Microbes a few months ago and would consider it a must read for organic gardening. I actually just purchased it to have around for reference. I just last week read through Jeff Lowenfels' other book, Teaming with Nutrients and would also recommend that you read that, they are both incredibly informative and the way he writes makes it fairly easy to understand quite complex subjects.

Click to expand...

I'm about halfway through, you're not kidding this is certainly a must for the organic gardener.

Any input on the worm bin mites?

Tranquileyes said:

I'm about halfway through, you're not kidding this is certainly a must for the organic gardener.

Any input on the worm bin mites?

Click to expand...

I have worm bin mites too. They've been there since day one. I don't know for certain if they're beneficial, but they certainly don't seem to be harming anything. I like to keep the population of them in check though, so I just lay a cantaloupe rind down on top of the bedding and then either toss the rind once it's full of mites or rinse it off and repeat.

st0wandgrow said:

I have worm bin mites too. They've been there since day one. I don't know for certain if they're beneficial, but they certainly don't seem to be harming anything. I like to keep the population of them in check though, so I just lay a cantaloupe rind down on top of the bedding and then either toss the rind once it's full of mites or rinse it off and repeat.

Click to expand...

Thanks st0w, I'll give that a go.