making "supersoil" from topsoil foroutdoor

[mschanandlerbong]

i need to know if this will work and what amendments should i use to get the soil ready. i kno topsoil isnt ready to grow plants on its own so ill mix it with amendments (you tell me which you think that will cook fastest, and which will cover all npk and microsi dont have a lot of time its already mid june) a few diff kinds of compost, castings (homemade) and some partially composted horse shit and coco or smoethin for drainage.i dont have money for bagged soil and my native soil is super rocky and digginf 50 + holes is a bitch. my plan was to buy 5-10 gallon grow bags, start the plants inside with the homemade soil, cut the bottoms maybe halfway into july and bury them a little so the roots can continue to grow and i dont have to dig 2 foot holes. ik my posts can be long so a recap

im using cheap bulk topsoil as the base, need a list of amendments to make it perfect and they need to be quick absorbing, ive been lazy this year anddont have much time left. thank u!

 

[mschanandlerbong]

nvm i found a place with loam compost mix, more expensive, buy way easier than than having to cook a perfect soil from scratch

 

[DonBrennon]

nvm i found a place with loam compost mix, more expensive, buy way easier than than having to cook a perfect soil from scratch

Those 'loam' compost mix's are usually loaded with fast, medium and slow release chemical fertilizer pellets. Defo not organic.........unless specifically stated, which I'd doubt very much with a loam based compost.

This subject does arouse my interest though, because I've been thinking of trying to amend a loam based seed/cutting compost (without the chem fertilizers added) and trying that against the conventional 1/3rd peat, 1/3rd humus, 1/3rd aeration. A lot of gardeners here swear by loam based composts for any container growing and I've never seen anybody using it for MJ (perhaps with good reason, but until you try, you don't know)

Anybody else ever tried a loam based compost?

 

[mschanandlerbong]

ok whatcha think about buying topsoil from homedepot and mixing it with just compost from the landscaping place? ive got compost done but its basic ( like grass clippings and leaves) and ive got horse shit compostin, and i plan on mixing alot of that in with the soil/compost and prob coco for aeration. and then obvi the amendments

 

[mschanandlerbong]

with the leftover topsoil im plannin on making some dope soil for next year, im gonna break out the brand new wood chipper and mix the wood chipppings with the soil, its supposed to suck the nitrogen up for the first year but after that they say its the shit
obvi ill put some alfalfa meal or horse shit or somethin high n but im excited for that

 

[Rasta Roy]

From the Internet

"Loam is soil made of 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt and the rest clay. Loam feels gritty in the hand, and the clay helps it retain moisture and nutrients. Compost is the decayed remains of organic matter. It may be plant material only, animal manure or a combination of the two. It provides plants with many nutrients and improves the quality of the soil. Compost loam is a mixture of the two."

I've never used it. I've tried to make a potting mix with top soil though...and I would highly, highly recommend against it. Like if you were an asshole and I wanted you to fail I would tell you to use it. Lol. Top soil is death in pots. Peat moss is ten bucks for 2.2 compressed bale at most home depot type stores and gardening centers.

 

[Rasta Roy]

ok whatcha think about buying topsoil from homedepot and mixing it with just compost from the landscaping place? ive got compost done but its basic ( like grass clippings and leaves) and ive got horse shit compostin, and i plan on mixing alot of that in with the soil/compost and prob coco for aeration. and then obvi the amendments

The landscaping place will have peat moss, grab their compost and some perlite.

An even part mix peat moss, perlite, and compost will give you a solid ass potting mix. A little bit of dolomite lime and you're golden.

Super soil is overrated. Most people I've talked to end with anaerobic soil, or just end up adding stuff at the end anyway.

I grew these with peat moss, compost, and perlite from my local landscape supplier and some Molasses and fish fertilizer every three weeks.

 

[mschanandlerbong]

great idea! thanks roy! those plAnts look great ill do watcha said cheaper nd easier. im broke and need to save for my indoor anyway the outdoor is just for fun, ill letuk how it goes

 

[DonBrennon]

All these plants are in different container soils, some my own mixes and 2 commercial...............guess which plant is in loam based compost
yup,,,,,,,that big fooker on the left. All the plants have always been healthy throughout their lives, but that one has always been more vigorous than the rest. Could be down to the chem ferts in there being more easily available to the plant, but it could also be down to the loam structure of the soil

 

[Rasta Roy]

great idea! thanks roy! those plAnts look great ill do watcha said cheaper nd easier. im broke and need to save for my indoor anyway the outdoor is just for fun, ill letuk how it goes

Good luck I'm interested to see! I should mention I put down a top layer of compost as a mulch of sorts along with doing the even parts compost/moss/perlite for the soil mix.

 

[Rasta Roy]

All these plants are in different container soils, some my own mixes and 2 commercial...............guess which plant is in loam based compostView attachment 3706339
yup,,,,,,,that big fooker on the left. All the plants have always been healthy throughout their lives, but that one has always been more vigorous than the rest. Could be down to the chem ferts in there being more easily available to the plant, but it could also be down to the loam structure of the soil

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've never even heard of loam soil before this post prompted me to look it up lol. It doesn't seem like it has to have chemical ferts, yours does though? Just clay, silt, and sand based soil is what it's supposed to be compromised of. I'd be interested to know what's it's cation exchange rate is compared to peat moss. The moss is known for it's high cation exchange rate which is why it's my go to but I'm always trying to play around and see what I can do. I know I can get sand, I'm gonna see if I can get silt and clay and make my own to try out.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've never even heard of loam soil before this post prompted me to look it up lol. It doesn't seem like it has to have chemical ferts, yours does though? Just clay, silt, and sand based soil is what it's supposed to be compromised of. I'd be interested to know what's it's cation exchange rate is compared to peat moss. The moss is known for it's high cation exchange rate which is why it's my go to but I'm always trying to play around and see what I can do. I know I can get sand, I'm gonna see if I can get silt and clay and make my own to try out.

with clay, its gonn be a high CEC, remember that clay holds and transfers phosphorus very well, and allows it to be used by the plant.
That's crucial
Your hunch on the clay is probably right.
@DonBrennon hey are you sure it's full of synthetics?

 

[DonBrennon]

with clay, its gonn be a high CEC, remember that clay holds and transfers phosphorus very well, and allows it to be used by the plant.
That's crucial
Your hunch on the clay is probably right.
@DonBrennon hey are you sure it's full of synthetics?

I was fairly certain it is, so double checked and found this http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/soil/john_innes/john_innes.php

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I was fairly certain it is, so double checked and found this http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/soil/john_innes/john_innes.php

oh shit...
yea I can see why that mix works...
hoof an horn meal is an interesting nutrient... I imagine it to be identical or nearly to hair or feather meal, being that it's all made from keratin.

 

[DonBrennon]

oh shit...
yea I can see why that mix works...
hoof an horn meal is an interesting nutrient... I imagine it to be identical or nearly to hair or feather meal, being that it's all made from keratin.

Yeah, good slow release source of nitrogen, I have got some, but only used it sparingly. My only hang up with it is the fact they are still slaughterhouse by-products.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Yeah, good slow release source of nitrogen, I have got some, but only used it sparingly. My only hang up with it is the fact they are still slaughterhouse by-products.

yea I hear ya man, but at least it's not from spinal parts...
hoofs and horns don't have disease causing prions in them

 

[Rasta Roy]

yea I hear ya man, but at least it's not from spinal parts...
hoofs and horns don't have disease causing prions in them

What about hoof and mouth disease?

 

[greasemonkeymann]

What about hoof and mouth disease?

yea but that's not a human issue, that's a viral issue with animals, it's evidently extremely extremely rare for it to transmit from animals to humans.
prions are a different thing man, and SCARY as fuck too.
especially when you think of it possibly being the same malady that altzheimers is, and how prevalent that is.
in other words madcow disease may already be an epidemic..

 

[Rasta Roy]

yea but that's not a human issue, that's a viral issue with animals, it's evidently extremely extremely rare for it to transmit from animals to humans.
prions are a different thing man, and SCARY as fuck too.
especially when you think of it possibly being the same malady that altzheimers is, and how prevalent that is.
in other words madcow disease may already be an epidemic..

You just blew my mind!

Prions are the cause of the problems in the novel The Lost World (aka Jurassic Park 2) but they cut that part out of the movie lol. You can't feed a t-rex sheep apparently.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

You just blew my mind!

Prions are the cause of the problems in the novel The Lost World (aka Jurassic Park 2) but they cut that part out of the movie lol. You can't feed a t-rex sheep apparently.

oh it's VERY scary shit man..
prion disease could wipe the entire human race out,
prions are NO joke...
Spongiform encelepathy is the SAME shit as altzheimers, post mortem they are identical, and it just so happens to both have a long incubation period..
I went 3 yrs with never eating a hamburger after reading about prions.
Luckily there is a cool butcher near me that makes hamburger out of ONE cow, instead of hundreds..
Ugh... "fast food nation" was a book that freaked me out too...
"acceptable" amounts of feces in hamburger??!!