Help me build a water only soil
- Thread starter Muss2388
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st0wandgrow
Well-Known Member
Compliments of Rrog. He has a great thread in the Michigan patients sub-forum if you're looking for info ....
- The Base - This is the core of the soil
1/3 Sphagnum Peat from Premier Peat or Alaska Peat
1/3 Aeration material (pumice and lava rock) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Normal-Pelle...item48573e3886
1/3 EWC Much better to use your own worm compost, but you can do that later.
Per Cubic Foot of the above Base Soil, (That’s 2.5 gallons of each of the above) add the following:
The Mineral Package: Very important. This provides years of slow mineral release.
3 cup Charcoal (activated) GET LOCALLY. Crush Bagged charcoal (not Kingsford)
4 cups Rock Powders (4X Glacial, 1X Bentonite Clay, 1X Pyrophyllite Clay, 1X Basalt)
Glacial- http://www.gaiagreen.com/rockdust.html
Bentonite Clay (Calcium)- http://www.groworganic.com/fertilize...ments.html?p=6
Pyrophyllite Clay- http://www.vitalityherbsandclay.com/...-products.html
Basalt- http://cascademineralsnw.com/consumer.html
1 Cup Sul-Po-Mag http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Wisdom...words=sulpomag
The Lime Package: 1/2 cup this 3 part lime mix:
1/8 Cup powdered dolomite lime http://www.sea-of-green.com/nutrient...mite-lime.html
1/8 Cup agricultural gypsum http://www.amazon.com/Espoma-Organic...ultural+gypsum
1/4 Cup powdered oyster shell http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Pearl-...m/B007DL0AGI/2
The Nutrient Package: The microbes will get busy storing this stuff.
1/2 Cup Neem Meal (2 g / L) http://www.neemresource.com
1/2 Cup Crab Shell Meal www.OrganicGrowers.com
2 Cups Kelp Meal www.OrganicGrowers.com
2 Cups Fish Meal http://www.amazon.com/Down-to-Earth-...arth+fish+meal
2 Cups Fish Bone Meal http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Earth-722-3...ords=fish+meal
1/2 Cup Alfalfa- GET LOCALLY
1 cubic foot = 7.5 gallons.
Optional: Moisten with Fresh Aloe (2 Tbs Juice with 1 gallon water) and Accelerant Tea (Comfrey, Yarrow, Horsetail or Nettle)
I pre-inoculate with BTI http://www.thatpetplace.com/mosquito...FYxcMgodrQsA8A and Nematodes http://www.naturescontrol.com/thrip.html#pn
Let this rest for 4 weeks.
GOOD OVERALL SOURCE TO CHECK OUT: http://www.groworganic.com/fertilize...ments.html?p=6
Here's my arsenal for pests:
#1 Vermicompost. Fresh stuff will help protect both the soil and leaves.
#2 Neem Meal- Also good nutritionally when it decomposes, this is a great pest suppressant, especially in its whole form.http://www.neemresource.com
#3 BTI dunks Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis bacteria. Mosquito dunks. Any hardware store has mosquito dunks. These feed on larvae.http://www.thatpetplace.com/mosquito...FYxcMgodrQsA8A
#4 Nematodes- These will travel around in search of larvae to infect and explode. http://www.naturescontrol.com/thrip.html#pn
#5 Crab Shell- The shell contains chitin. This attracts bacteria that eat chitin, and these bacteria multiply like crazy. Larvae have jawbones made of chitin. Bacteria then eat the jawbones. Shell releases a lot of great minerals and Calcium also. www.OrganicGrowers.com
kratos015
Well-Known Member
Definitely go with subcool's recipe. The first time I made it I followed his instructions to a T, using everything he said at the proper ratios. What I got from it is what turned me onto organics so much, the man is a genius for sure!
After that harvest, I was low on funds due to car repairs and was unable to afford the necessary ingredients. Not only that, I didn't let it sit for the required 30 days (although I did feed with tea, but still). My yield suffered drastically and it was because I didn't know as much about organics as I thought I did. All of the ingredients are necessary because they are what will be creating your soil web. In an organic grow, you water the soil web and not the plants itself. The soil web is what will be providing your nutrients to your plants, without this soil web you have no nutrients and just water. As a result your yield suffers badly. This is why you must take great care to get rid of chlorine/chloramine before watering your supersoil, otherwise you will be killing your supersoil rendering it useless. When this happens, you can brew a guano tea to get a soil web going again. The problem is it will be a new soil web created from your tea, not the supersoil.
So, tl;dr. Make sure you let your water sit out for 24 hours, or purify it so you aren't killing your supersoil. Make sure you let it sit for no less than 30 days or you risk burning your plants. Be sure to have extra supersoil on hand also, just in case your girls eat everything in the soil you'll have some to topdress for them to have more to eat!
If I can also make a recommendation, go with 7 gallons if you can afford the veg time. Supersoil and other amended soils are for larger containers, in containers smaller than 7 gallons the plant tends to use up all the nutes in the soil before it's done. If you still want to use 5 gallon pots, you could just topdress but I'd recommend going with the 7 gallon if possible. I used the full recipe,
Full Recipe
8 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings
5 lbs steamed bone meal
5 lbs bloom bat guano
5 lbs blood meal
3 lbs rock phosphate
¾ cup Epson salts
½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)
½ cup azomite (trace elements)
2 tablespoons powdered humic acid
I used 4 bags of roots organic and 2 coco blocks which yielded 11 cuft of soil, or 82 gallons. For 4 7 gallon pots, you'll only need 3.5 gallons of SS per pot so you would only need 14 gallons of supersoil. Might I recommend the 1/4th recipe.
1/4 Recipe
2 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings
1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal
1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano
1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal
3/4 lbs rock phosphate
3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite)
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid
This will yield you roughly 30 gallons of supersoil. This may sound like overkill, but it will leave with enough to top dress your girls if they need it. This topdress will be great because it will be sitting for much longer and be that much better! If it isn't all used, then you can save it for your next harvest! Welcome to organics!
After that harvest, I was low on funds due to car repairs and was unable to afford the necessary ingredients. Not only that, I didn't let it sit for the required 30 days (although I did feed with tea, but still). My yield suffered drastically and it was because I didn't know as much about organics as I thought I did. All of the ingredients are necessary because they are what will be creating your soil web. In an organic grow, you water the soil web and not the plants itself. The soil web is what will be providing your nutrients to your plants, without this soil web you have no nutrients and just water. As a result your yield suffers badly. This is why you must take great care to get rid of chlorine/chloramine before watering your supersoil, otherwise you will be killing your supersoil rendering it useless. When this happens, you can brew a guano tea to get a soil web going again. The problem is it will be a new soil web created from your tea, not the supersoil.
So, tl;dr. Make sure you let your water sit out for 24 hours, or purify it so you aren't killing your supersoil. Make sure you let it sit for no less than 30 days or you risk burning your plants. Be sure to have extra supersoil on hand also, just in case your girls eat everything in the soil you'll have some to topdress for them to have more to eat!
If I can also make a recommendation, go with 7 gallons if you can afford the veg time. Supersoil and other amended soils are for larger containers, in containers smaller than 7 gallons the plant tends to use up all the nutes in the soil before it's done. If you still want to use 5 gallon pots, you could just topdress but I'd recommend going with the 7 gallon if possible. I used the full recipe,
Full Recipe
8 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings
5 lbs steamed bone meal
5 lbs bloom bat guano
5 lbs blood meal
3 lbs rock phosphate
¾ cup Epson salts
½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)
½ cup azomite (trace elements)
2 tablespoons powdered humic acid
I used 4 bags of roots organic and 2 coco blocks which yielded 11 cuft of soil, or 82 gallons. For 4 7 gallon pots, you'll only need 3.5 gallons of SS per pot so you would only need 14 gallons of supersoil. Might I recommend the 1/4th recipe.
1/4 Recipe
2 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings
1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal
1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano
1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal
3/4 lbs rock phosphate
3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite)
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid
This will yield you roughly 30 gallons of supersoil. This may sound like overkill, but it will leave with enough to top dress your girls if they need it. This topdress will be great because it will be sitting for much longer and be that much better! If it isn't all used, then you can save it for your next harvest! Welcome to organics!
Rising Moon
Well-Known Member
Keep it simple/cheap/effective, avoid bags with combined ingredients...get everything on this list and follow this recipe, and come back and tell me those were not some of the best plants you have ever seen. No blood meal or bone meal from slaughter houses needed, or fancy combinations of this and that.
The better the quality compost you use, the better the plants/soil will be. Find a local health food store with a bulk herbal tea section, and you will find all sorts of goodies to use, that are cheap, organic and support American organic farms and a local store.
This mix is PERFECT for new people getting into living soils, that are overwhelmed with the idea of buying/mixing a bunch of things, and want a SIMPLE LIVING ORGANIC water only mix, that is reusable, over and over.
BASE MIX:
1/3 compost
1/3 peat moss
1/3 perlite and/or volcanic rock
FOOD MIX:
1 cup crab meal per cuft
1.5 cups kelp meal per cuft
1 cup dandelion root or 1/2 cup neem meal per cuft
MINERAL MIX:
4 cups glacial rock dust
1 handful of locally available earthworms per pot.
(red wigglers, fishing worms or native worms from the forest/good soil)
(These will provide aeration in the pots, break down organic matter in the soil to feed your plants, and regulate/optimize the soil food web.)
Before filling your pots with soil, gather some sticks/twigs, break them into small pieces (4-8 in) and loosely fill the bottom of your pots, 2-3 inches deep.(This provides good drainage, fungal/bacterial feedstock and long term organic matter/humus building)
Topdress/mulch the filled pots (1 inch deep) with dried herbs from your health food store... Chamomile, Dandelion root, Nettle, Comfrey, Yarrow, Red Clover, Horsetail, Lemon Balm, Basil, Thyme. Dried grass clippings from the yard (if your yard is organic) are excellent as well and free.
In combinations, or by themselves, whatever you can find that is cheap and organic.
(in most cases, all the herbs listed should be easily found, and cost around 1-3$ per ounce)
This finished soil can be used over and over, getting better with each round, as the life in the soil breaks down the elements into more soluble forms.
With proper mulching/topdressing of the herbs I listed above, this is a perfect water only mix, that will last upwards of 3-5 cycles before needing small amounts of the "food/mineral mix" topdressed in.
Re-amend @
(1/8 cup, of each from the "food mix", and 1/2 cup glacial rock dust, or "mineral mix")
The better the quality compost you use, the better the plants/soil will be. Find a local health food store with a bulk herbal tea section, and you will find all sorts of goodies to use, that are cheap, organic and support American organic farms and a local store.
This mix is PERFECT for new people getting into living soils, that are overwhelmed with the idea of buying/mixing a bunch of things, and want a SIMPLE LIVING ORGANIC water only mix, that is reusable, over and over.
BASE MIX:
1/3 compost
1/3 peat moss
1/3 perlite and/or volcanic rock
FOOD MIX:
1 cup crab meal per cuft
1.5 cups kelp meal per cuft
1 cup dandelion root or 1/2 cup neem meal per cuft
MINERAL MIX:
4 cups glacial rock dust
1 handful of locally available earthworms per pot.
(red wigglers, fishing worms or native worms from the forest/good soil)
(These will provide aeration in the pots, break down organic matter in the soil to feed your plants, and regulate/optimize the soil food web.)
Before filling your pots with soil, gather some sticks/twigs, break them into small pieces (4-8 in) and loosely fill the bottom of your pots, 2-3 inches deep.(This provides good drainage, fungal/bacterial feedstock and long term organic matter/humus building)
Topdress/mulch the filled pots (1 inch deep) with dried herbs from your health food store... Chamomile, Dandelion root, Nettle, Comfrey, Yarrow, Red Clover, Horsetail, Lemon Balm, Basil, Thyme. Dried grass clippings from the yard (if your yard is organic) are excellent as well and free.
In combinations, or by themselves, whatever you can find that is cheap and organic.
(in most cases, all the herbs listed should be easily found, and cost around 1-3$ per ounce)
This finished soil can be used over and over, getting better with each round, as the life in the soil breaks down the elements into more soluble forms.
With proper mulching/topdressing of the herbs I listed above, this is a perfect water only mix, that will last upwards of 3-5 cycles before needing small amounts of the "food/mineral mix" topdressed in.
Re-amend @
(1/8 cup, of each from the "food mix", and 1/2 cup glacial rock dust, or "mineral mix")
OLDSCHOOLSOUR
Active Member
Do you still do consulting on rooms?
Havnt seen a post in a long time but finally in a position to jump into things and your the guy I want in my corner ! Hope all is well !
Havnt seen a post in a long time but finally in a position to jump into things and your the guy I want in my corner ! Hope all is well !
swedsteven
Well-Known Member
!!!
JustBlazin
Well-Known Member
Do yourself a favor
Pick up a bale of promix and Gaia green all purpose 4-4-4 and power bloom
Mix at the recommended dosage but I would mix 3/4 all purpose to 1/4 power bloom or even 2/3-1/3
Let it cook for at least a few weeks preferably a month, also top dress with both at about 50/50 at around 1-2 weeks of flower and you can top dress every 2 weeks after with your mixing getting heavier on the power bloom the later In flower you get last top dress should be all power bloom.
You could go spend a shit ton on all the ingredients in subs mix but what's the point when Gaia has already made it pretty much fool proof for what $50 for the 2 small jugs (all purpose and power bloom)and a bag of pro mix that will last you multiple grows to boot.
Ok NM just noticed this was from 2014
Oops
Just my 2 cents
Hope that helps
JakeBakeADK
Well-Known Member
I have a pretty killer recipe that I’ve used with great success check out my grow 
can’t beat organically grown
can’t beat organically grown