Starting up.

Ohcrapimdying

Well-Known Member
I’ve always grown using Dyna-Gro and Fox Farm soil. This year I want to try to do a totally organic grow (mainly out of curiosity) but don’t really know where to start.

I was thinking of starting by amending some soil with compost that I make myself. Probably going to order some silica and kelp to amend the soil with.

Any other tips?
 

Dmannn

Well-Known Member
You skipped over a wealth of knowledge already..If you have been using fox farm happy frog or whatever keep it, and just switch to the earth juice line.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Get diatomaceous earth instead of silica. It's organic and will deter pests like gnats plus a good source of silica. Takes awhile to break down much like other dry soil amendments. Because of this you will need to let the recycled mix set for a month after amending to "cook" whatever you add into the soil. The soil will get better every time you recycle it; takes a few recycles before you will get the results you are looking for. Once your mix reaches a supernatural level of microbial activity all you'll need to do is water them but it takes time to get there.
Kelp meal is very good stuff; lots of probiotics and you can use it for compost teas as well. Earthworm castings are the best source of compost for growing cannabis IMO. Having a worm bin is a total game changer for organic growers; best investment you can make. Free compost for life. Alotta noobs overlook compost in favor of NPK inputs.
You are gonna need more amendments than this unless you plan to just use nutrients later on. Diversity is more important than ratios; you want to add lots of different soil amendments in small quantities. I suggest having some soluble NPK inputs on hand like liquid fish. Neptunes harvest is pretty good stuff but there are several others. This book changed the way I think about growing and could help you too; check it out:
https://www.amazon.com/True-Living-Organics-All-Natural-Marijuana/dp/1931160961
 
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