Check My Soil Out!

olylifter420

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
Hello all at RIU, i would just like to post a soil mix i made for some flowers!!!

Here it is, please let me know if it is good. I would liike to know if with what its got, if it will last all the way through the end of flower phase.

Soil
Jiffy Max Moisture Organic potting mix (18 qts)

Miracle Grow Perlite (6 qts)

Dr. Earth's (1/2 cup each per 5 gallon container)
Organic 1 Bulb food 3-15-2 ((enriched with Alaskan fish bone meal, valley-grown alfalfa meal, colloidal sof rock phosphate, high-countr feather meal, naturally mined potassium sulfate blended with 100-Percent pure love))

Organic 2 Starter fertilizer 2-4-2 (( superior blend of alfalfa meal, fish bone meal, feather meal, mined potassium sulfate, soft rock, phosphate, seaweed extract and PRO-BIOTIC seven champion strains of beneficial soil microbes plus Ecto and Endo Mycorrhizae))

Organic 8 Bud & Bloom booster 4-10-7 (( Its blend of fish bone meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, feather meal, mined potassium sulphate, kelp meal, humic acid, seaweed extract, beneficial soil microbes plus ecto and endo mycorrhizae make it the perfect choice for the widest range of plants))


Earth Safe (3 tbsp)
Bat Guano 10-3-1

Miracle Grow Organic Choice (1/2 cup)
Porcine Bone Meal 6-9-0 (7 % Calcium)


NPK total = 25-41-12

Is that too high?



How does that sound? Do you think it will get through flowering without adding fertilizer?

I couldnt find worm castings, so i couldnt add any.
 
Nullis

Nullis

Moderator
olylifter420 said:
NPK total = 25-41-12

Is that too high?
How does that sound? Do you think it will get through flowering without adding fertilizer?
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NPK doesn't exactly work like that; simply adding the numbers together doesn't really produce anything informative unless you're using the same weight/amount of each fertilizer.

Also make sure your Miracle Grow perlite doesn't contain any fertilizer.
 
plantvision

plantvision

Active Member
How did you come up with your fertilizer percentages?

Fertilizer amounts consist of percentage of wieght, for ex. if you use 2# of a product that is 10% N= 2# * .10 = .02# of N.

I would go more in depth but I do not want to confuse.

I think your of to a good start though, watch your plants and they will tell you what they want.
 
olylifter420

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
Cool, thanks guys!

One of dr. earths ferts has leonardite, is that the same as dolomite?

I did use as directed 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, so would that be good Nulis? Or how would I know what is in there?

Thanks
 
olylifter420

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
@ plantvision,

Thanks for helping, well I got those numbers from the package they came in. I thought if by using as directed, that would give me the NPK ratio indicated on the packaging.

Please advise how I should go about getting the true ratios.

Thanks
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
olylifter420 said:
Cool, thanks guys!

One of dr. earths ferts has leonardite, is that the same as dolomite?

I did use as directed 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, so would that be good Nulis? Or how would I know what is in there?

Thanks
Click to expand...
No, not the same, or even related, beyond the *ite* at the end and both being mined. Get some dolomite lime, for sure. It's a 'must have' with peat based mixes, like yours.

The 1/2cup/5 gallons is good, but you didn't do a 1/2cup of all three did you? Like, 1/2+1/2+1/2? That would be 1 1/2 cups/5 gallons and probably on the hot side.

IDK though, I've never used those nutes, so, no experience.

Wet
 
D

dan2581

Active Member
olylifter420 said:
Cool, thanks guys!

One of dr. earths ferts has leonardite, is that the same as dolomite?

I did use as directed 1/2 cup per 5 gallons, so would that be good Nulis? Or how would I know what is in there?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Humic acid is normally derived from leonardite, and humic acid is good. Hopefully leonardite breaks down into humic acid in your soil, but i'm not sure on that process.

There is no way for us to tell if your soil is 'good'. It sounds like you have some great stuff in there, but we cannot tell if it is too strong for your plants. It's most likely not weak though, i'd be more concerned about burning. I'd plant one bagseed and see how it responds, if you see lots of burning and pH fluctuations, cut your soil down with more peat and perlite (assuming this is a peat based soil mix)..

You missed on the dolomite lime though, this is essential to balance your soil pH. With all those ferts it sounds awfully acidic which is going to have a drastic effect on your plants. Dolomite also provides a calcium/magnesium supplement which play huge roles in the plants diet.

Your perlite also sounds a little bit low, I can't really say this with confidence because im not looking at your soil right now and can't see the ratio. But the last thing you want is compacted and shitty draining soil. Fill an empty pot and water it heavily, if it pools up and takes the water forever to drain out of the bottom, add more perlite. Drainage is essential.

Lastly, it doesn't sound like you have an indoor garden/hydro store nearby. I'd order an NPK soil test kit offline. You take a soil sample and add their shit which reacts and gives you a soil NPK level. They also have one for soil pH. When using a guesswork soil mix like this, you need to know these levels. For one, the plant might have more nutes available than others. Second, you don't want to start off with basic/acidic soil because you will never get the results you want.
 
olylifter420

olylifter420

Well-Known Member
WOW!!!! Thanks a lot Dan2581, it is truly great that you are able to share this information with me!!! It really has helped a lot and i will give +rep, or whatever that may be, cause you deserve it.

I will look for those things you recommend and if only you have posted earlier!!! I already transplanted a 4 wk old plant into this soil, so i will see how it goes.

Since i mixed the soil in the 5 gallon square pot and topped it off about an inch from the rim, i went back and removed about 4 inches of the soil and added more perlite and more jiffy organic potting mix plus to the pot. hopefully that will help!!!

WHen all is done with, i will post my results to see how these organic soil amendments work.

thank you very much for the help


dan2581 said:
Humic acid is normally derived from leonardite, and humic acid is good. Hopefully leonardite breaks down into humic acid in your soil, but i'm not sure on that process.

There is no way for us to tell if your soil is 'good'. It sounds like you have some great stuff in there, but we cannot tell if it is too strong for your plants. It's most likely not weak though, i'd be more concerned about burning. I'd plant one bagseed and see how it responds, if you see lots of burning and pH fluctuations, cut your soil down with more peat and perlite (assuming this is a peat based soil mix)..

You missed on the dolomite lime though, this is essential to balance your soil pH. With all those ferts it sounds awfully acidic which is going to have a drastic effect on your plants. Dolomite also provides a calcium/magnesium supplement which play huge roles in the plants diet.

Your perlite also sounds a little bit low, I can't really say this with confidence because im not looking at your soil right now and can't see the ratio. But the last thing you want is compacted and shitty draining soil. Fill an empty pot and water it heavily, if it pools up and takes the water forever to drain out of the bottom, add more perlite. Drainage is essential.

Lastly, it doesn't sound like you have an indoor garden/hydro store nearby. I'd order an NPK soil test kit offline. You take a soil sample and add their shit which reacts and gives you a soil NPK level. They also have one for soil pH. When using a guesswork soil mix like this, you need to know these levels. For one, the plant might have more nutes available than others. Second, you don't want to start off with basic/acidic soil because you will never get the results you want.
Click to expand...
 
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