Soil questions from a noob

  • I'm about to plant my plants into 30 gallon holes and I was wondering what combination of soil I should use the natural soil surrounding the hole has a decent amount of clay in it, that may cause issues with drainage but I'm not quiet sure. Should I mix fox farm ocean forest with foxfarm happy frog? Or should I just use ocean forest? How much perlite should i add the the mixture? If you have other amendments or mixtures that you may want to share, feel free to type away :)


 

smokentoken

Active Member
ocean forest is good but very hot, you may want to try mixing it equal parts with some quality top soil for seedlings/new plants.

:peace:
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
well ,here goes if i was gonna go the way you want,it would be just ocean forest,now you have a big clay base,takes time to resolve this issue,but you can break your clay up with gypsum,if your going the ocean forest route,just dig your hole bigger than planned and get some gypsum in that soil to start breaking up,in the past i mixed sheetrock busted all up and sand to help along the way,.
here is a tip that could save you money,take a 1 quart size mason jar,put 1 cup of water in it,then put 2tbsp of calgon or ivory soap, then 1 cup of the soil from your hole,shake that fucker to no end ,after a couple minutes,and completly shook up,place the jar on a even surface and let it sit undesturbed for 24 hrs,this is the out come of test,all your sand will sink to the bottom,then your clay,then silt.
what you are looking for is a even balance of all three,there will be no problem identifying these levels because colors are diffrent,all your compost,coco perlite all your air amends will float to the top,then water then the three we are talking about,if it turns out they are all equal then you can just add your disired amends and air products,growing organic,is about keeping your soil alive and not killing all your bennies and bioligy,all that comes into play after you get your soil right.now if you want to save money on amends ,just go to kelp4less.com and look at the soil cutter starter,has everything in 1 package and doesnt need reamended for at the least 2 yrs,depends on your feeding methods,its cheaper this route or was for me,,you mix this stuff with any garden soil or soil,a entry level box of 10 lbs does 5 cu ft,so your 30 ft hole would just about be perfect,hope you understand all this ,its easy as hell will show you exactually what your soil needs for the equal amount of a perfect base,and if you decide you want to purchase the soil cutter,enter oldskol4evr in coupon box for 15% off
 

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
well ,here goes if i was gonna go the way you want,it would be just ocean forest,now you have a big clay base,takes time to resolve this issue,but you can break your clay up with gypsum,if your going the ocean forest route,just dig your hole bigger than planned and get some gypsum in that soil to start breaking up,in the past i mixed sheetrock busted all up and sand to help along the way,.
here is a tip that could save you money,take a 1 quart size mason jar,put 1 cup of water in it,then put 2tbsp of calgon or ivory soap, then 1 cup of the soil from your hole,shake that fucker to no end ,after a couple minutes,and completly shook up,place the jar on a even surface and let it sit undesturbed for 24 hrs,this is the out come of test,all your sand will sink to the bottom,then your clay,then silt.
what you are looking for is a even balance of all three,there will be no problem identifying these levels because colors are diffrent,all your compost,coco perlite all your air amends will float to the top,then water then the three we are talking about,if it turns out they are all equal then you can just add your disired amends and air products,growing organic,is about keeping your soil alive and not killing all your bennies and bioligy,all that comes into play after you get your soil right.now if you want to save money on amends ,just go to kelp4less.com and look at the soil cutter starter,has everything in 1 package and doesnt need reamended for at the least 2 yrs,depends on your feeding methods,its cheaper this route or was for me,,you mix this stuff with any garden soil or soil,a entry level box of 10 lbs does 5 cu ft,so your 30 ft hole would just about be perfect,hope you understand all this ,its easy as hell will show you exactually what your soil needs for the equal amount of a perfect base,and if you decide you want to purchase the soil cutter,enter oldskol4evr in coupon box for 15% off
Where the fuck did you learn that? Brilliant shit, and that's what this site should be about. +rep
 
well ,here goes if i was gonna go the way you want,it would be just ocean forest,now you have a big clay base,takes time to resolve this issue,but you can break your clay up with gypsum,if your going the ocean forest route,just dig your hole bigger than planned and get some gypsum in that soil to start breaking up,in the past i mixed sheetrock busted all up and sand to help along the way,.
here is a tip that could save you money,take a 1 quart size mason jar,put 1 cup of water in it,then put 2tbsp of calgon or ivory soap, then 1 cup of the soil from your hole,shake that fucker to no end ,after a couple minutes,and completly shook up,place the jar on a even surface and let it sit undesturbed for 24 hrs,this is the out come of test,all your sand will sink to the bottom,then your clay,then silt.
what you are looking for is a even balance of all three,there will be no problem identifying these levels because colors are diffrent,all your compost,coco perlite all your air amends will float to the top,then water then the three we are talking about,if it turns out they are all equal then you can just add your disired amends and air products,growing organic,is about keeping your soil alive and not killing all your bennies and bioligy,all that comes into play after you get your soil right.now if you want to save money on amends ,just go to kelp4less.com and look at the soil cutter starter,has everything in 1 package and doesnt need reamended for at the least 2 yrs,depends on your feeding methods,its cheaper this route or was for me,,you mix this stuff with any garden soil or soil,a entry level box of 10 lbs does 5 cu ft,so your 30 ft hole would just about be perfect,hope you understand all this ,its easy as hell will show you exactually what your soil needs for the equal amount of a perfect base,and if you decide you want to purchase the soil cutter,enter oldskol4evr in coupon box for 15% off
Lol I'm a tad bit confused, your saying I test the natural soil for a good combanation, and if it's good, I can use it for a medium to grow in?
 
Lol I'm a tad bit confused, your saying I test the natural soil for a good combanation, and if it's good, I can use it for a medium to grow in?
well ,here goes if i was gonna go the way you want,it would be just ocean forest,now you have a big clay base,takes time to resolve this issue,but you can break your clay up with gypsum,if your going the ocean forest route,just dig your hole bigger than planned and get some gypsum in that soil to start breaking up,in the past i mixed sheetrock busted all up and sand to help along the way,.
here is a tip that could save you money,take a 1 quart size mason jar,put 1 cup of water in it,then put 2tbsp of calgon or ivory soap, then 1 cup of the soil from your hole,shake that fucker to no end ,after a couple minutes,and completly shook up,place the jar on a even surface and let it sit undesturbed for 24 hrs,this is the out come of test,all your sand will sink to the bottom,then your clay,then silt.
what you are looking for is a even balance of all three,there will be no problem identifying these levels because colors are diffrent,all your compost,coco perlite all your air amends will float to the top,then water then the three we are talking about,if it turns out they are all equal then you can just add your disired amends and air products,growing organic,is about keeping your soil alive and not killing all your bennies and bioligy,all that comes into play after you get your soil right.now if you want to save money on amends ,just go to kelp4less.com and look at the soil cutter starter,has everything in 1 package and doesnt need reamended for at the least 2 yrs,depends on your feeding methods,its cheaper this route or was for me,,you mix this stuff with any garden soil or soil,a entry level box of 10 lbs does 5 cu ft,so your 30 ft hole would just about be perfect,hope you understand all this ,its easy as hell will show you exactually what your soil needs for the equal amount of a perfect base,and if you decide you want to purchase the soil cutter,enter oldskol4evr in coupon box for 15% off
What exactly will adding gypsum to the clay soil at the bottom of the holes do to the clay?
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
Where the fuck did you learn that? Brilliant shit, and that's what this site should be about. +rep
30 yrs of gardening my friend,give it a try,idea behind it is to get all the main elements in place,then amend as much as your heart desires,you have these three things in check a plant will survive to also include your own front yard,lmao.most folks dont know that plants will adapt and overcome there envoriment,might not get the results you need but will survive,from 5.0 to 11.0,even at 11.0 there are plants that will grow if they thrive for those levels.
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
Lol I'm a tad bit confused, your saying I test the natural soil for a good combanation, and if it's good, I can use it for a medium to grow in?
exatually what im saying,those 3 element described is what all life is rotated around,dirt is what we all come from and go back to in the end,if you have a clay dominant scratch of dirt ,it can be worked to the utilize what you have in mind,like i said gypsum breaks up clay,it takes time and if there was such a thing as a liquid form of it,would more than triple the process
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
What exactly will adding gypsum to the clay soil at the bottom of the holes do to the clay?
it pretty much does the same thing as lime for example,lime will raise the ph of that clay to a nuetral 7.0,but if you dont add sand to the clay,it will be anerobic in no time because clay will get as hard as a brick,by adding sand all tthe clay is still there but cant form up like a rock,i have a scratch of land and on that land is what is called sandy loom,fought that bitch ass garden for years trying to put veggies on my table,no need for a soil sample here,solid ass clay,to fix the problem,i put a ton of ag lime on it,then went to a sandy road and shoveled 3 truck loads of some good sand and mixed all the lime and sand together plowing under and discing back flat,this is a 2500 sq ft garden,so everything sounds like a lot,after plowing and disc it and then leveling,i found a demolition house the city wanted tore down,took all the sheetrock out and literlly took days for me to walk on the shit and bustup into small pieces that would take several years to break down,anyway,spread all the gypsum on the garden and plow again then disc flat,i went back out every 2 weeks and repeated process,anding a good drench in bettween so moisture dissolved the gypsum,buy doing all this turning and watering ,i then done the test i mentioned,with the jar,still short on sand level ,so added another truck load of sand,did the trick by spring my garden was ready for magic.
with all factors of working and adjusting levels of 3 main elements,i could now go to a notill setup,the more you dig and rotill or whatever the longer it takes for the bioligy to get settled in,if your soil is built right weeds are a minimum and takin care of with a hoe,if all these things are in great balance there is no need for fertilzers,soil does all the work,i put chicken shit cow shit and mushroom compost in as my amends while working the soil ,that was my fertilizer,and from then on water only.dont till dont disc or plow,jsut get that hoe in your dick skin and getafter it,you would be surprised how easy it is when you stay on the job
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
What exactly will adding gypsum to the clay soil at the bottom of the holes do to the clay?
i thought you were going to use bag soil until your soil broke down,answer is all that soil you dug out of hole work that shit to the jar method,by crushing and placing in bottom of hole the liqud form of the break down will work its way futhure into soil over time breaking the rock base to a workable soil,doesnt matter how much or little you do,comes out the same way,sand ,clay silt
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
Lol I'm a tad bit confused, your saying I test the natural soil for a good combanation, and if it's good, I can use it for a medium to grow in?
yes if a three are balanced spend your money on amends ,doesnt have to be some name brand shit to grow the bud ,bud,and if you pick your amends right,you want have to do it again for some time and years,stays just a lovely spot to plant your herb,soil bioligy will keep it in check,when your not using the hole put a bunch of compost on it let it break down and feed your soil
 

old shol4evr

Well-Known Member
What exactly will adding gypsum to the clay soil at the bottom of the holes do to the clay?
gypsum will disolve when feed or water,there for sinking into the soil below it,breaking it down the sand you make the three part mix or test from to get equal comes into play by water running threw it taking it from compact to loose,you dig what im saying sand clay silt equal means air and food for the roots and live below the top of pot
 
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