Opions on mixing additives??

So here is my situation. I am looking to make my own soil mix. I want to add additives such as worm castings, guano, and kelp. I am looking for opinions on how much of these can I add to a gallon of soil and still have it safe to transplant seedlings in.

I have read in soil mix threads anywhere from a tablespoon to a cup or more but, I believe this to be more for plants farther along. Thanks

go to advanced cultivation and look for Subcools soil recipe, he makes his own all organic, personally i use fox farms products for soil and it has all the ingredients your looking for in a bag and liquid ferts

morrisgreenberg said:

go to advanced cultivation and look for Subcools soil recipe, he makes his own all organic, personally i use fox farms products for soil and it has all the ingredients your looking for in a bag and liquid ferts

Click to expand...

Thanks morris it is a great recipe. I have read it both on RIU & High Times. Problem is the recipe is to hot for seedlings. I also considered FF but I have to buy to much of it. This way is cheaper and I can add more than they do. I want a soilless mix light enough for seedlings I start right in and just add liquid nutz later.

your right, even FF for me is too hot, burns anything seedlings or young clones i put in, in this case and if your com[pletly intent on your own mix, go 1/4 to 1/2 strength of subcools mix just for starters, and make a second mix for older plants, as soil goes you cant go wrong with subs mix ingredient and strength wise

honestly, this is just me, i would make a completly soilless mix for seedlings, i use perlite with a hint of vermiculite for water retention, by the time they need nutes i would transplant into a fox farm mix

morrisgreenberg said:

honestly, this is just me, i would make a completly soilless mix for seedlings, i use perlite with a hint of vermiculite for water retention, by the time they need nutes i would transplant into a fox farm mix

Click to expand...

Yes, sounds good. See I want to make a soil that's enriched with nutzs, enzymes, and micro organisms, such as subcool does, but have it light enough I can put germinated seeds right in and be strong enough to sustain them til feeding begins. I am trying to see if I can transplant them, to my big pots alot quicker. Like get them to the first leaves ( forgot the tech name can't imagine why) above the embryo and then to big pots. Then I could start them in much smaller containers for that time.

Well after much searching I have decided to add worm casting, guano, and kelp at a rate of 1 tbs per 1 gallon soil with lime at 2tbs per gallon soil and 1 tsp Epsom salt per gallon. Anyone have any opinions if this is too strong or not strong enough to put seeds directly in?

Anyone here mix their own soil/soil less mixes?? Do I have this thread in the wrong area? I am still pretty new to RIU I just do alot of reading and have not figured out exactly how the site works. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

well, i'm only on my second grow, the first time being very elementary with bagseeds, 1/2 MG, 1/6 each peat, vermiculite, and perlite, and fertilized with different liquids. The for the second time i wanted to go more organic, so i bought some feminized seeds as so to eliminate the need to grow more plants than i need to, and loaded up on natural ferts. In 5 gal pots, it was about 40% soil from a local feed store, 20% perlite, 10% peat and vermiculite, 15% castings, and then i put in a few handfuls of blood, bone and kelp meal (blood<bone<kelp), and about 1 Tbsp/gal of bat guano and lime. I started out the seeds in little peat pots and as soon as they had their second set of leaves developed, i transplanted them to my 5 gal pots with my custom mix. After about a day or two (due to what i assume to be the shock of being transplanted) i have 4 plants that are growing very very quickly, and with very little stress of nutrient shock, so i'm very happy as of yet.

If i could change anything, i'd add more perlite and slightly less castings, only because it's water holding capacity a few inches down is holding up very well, maybe too well. They're still young, so i'm letting the top few inches dry up well before i add a little water just around the plant base. i'm just worried about later when the root system is complete and i'm going to have to be wary about how much to water.

I was mostly concerned about all the required micronutrients being covered since every liquid fertilizer will give you the big three (or at least one of them) but they dont cover all the micronutes, which was the basis for my using so many different types of organic ferts. (make sure you use a mask and gloves when adding the bone/blood meal)

just fyi, all amounts above were approximates that were eyeballed for the most part, and yes, i was terrified i had added too much and was going to burn my plants up

Thanks for the input Bane. Sorry I kind of lost track of this thread. How are they doing know? You see any signs of nutrient burn?

Mr. Homegrown said:

Thanks for the input Bane. Sorry I kind of lost track of this thread. How are they doing know? You see any signs of nutrient burn?

Click to expand...

not too much nutrient burn, less than i had when i was using liquid ferts anyways, but i dont think i used enough lime when i was mixing, cause my pH was way lower than it should have been, so i mixed some lime in my water supply one week and then did a decent flushing so it would disperse appropriately. It was all a crapshoot really, but it appears to have worked since my pH readings have been right around 6.5, and i'm no longer having dry graying of my leaves...

my only problem now is that one plant is already right about 18" and the shortest is aroud 11", so i'm hoping shorty can catch up a bit this week since i'm pretty sure i'm gonna start flowering on monday...

Great to hear it Bane, Thanks. I gave you a +rep for your input. Just as an FYI for you, I use squares of 2x6x6, I cut up, to keep my canopy even. I don't like them to stretch. I did make my own mixture and am using it now with success. I am just waiting for the last seeds to pop above the soil and I will post the recipe and pics. I just want to make sure it is successful. I wouldn't want to miss lead anyone. How long did you let your mix set?

Well I see this thread has had alot of views so if anyone has been following it you can use the link, in my signature, for my grow journal and the soil recipe I ended up with is posted there.

I was mostly concerned about all the required micronutrients being covered since every liquid fertilizer will give you the big three (or at least one of them) but they dont cover all the micronutes, which was the basis for my using so many different types of organic ferts.

Click to expand...

DynaGro http://www.dyna-gro.com/ has the 16 required elements that every plant needs, small bottles are 12.99 each at my local nursery