greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
hard to say without knowing for sure, but i'd say no, considering you are already having a premade soil as the backing of the mix
the happy frog is already amended.
Starting a new mix got questions.
- Thread starter phillk6751
- Start date
the happy frog is already amended.
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
You're wrong about pearlite. It *does* break down into white sand. I've seen it with my own eyes.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
you'll have plenty of microbial life in the mix already, I doubt the manure would add anything that's not there already.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
ok man, whatever you say, I've never seen that before. My mix has had perlite in it for close to ten yrs and it's never degraded.
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
This is my favorite soil aerator. Special kitty from wal mart. 25 lbs for $4
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
In fact, I mixed a fresh batch of Gritty Kitty this morning. It has become my favorite mix, hands down.
Recipe: Equal parts Promix HP, coco coir, clay kitty litter
Recipe: Equal parts Promix HP, coco coir, clay kitty litter
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
that's settling from a bag or something, that's different.
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
You could be right, but it's definitely silica powder. Could have been growstone residue.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
yea, but it's still just smaller aeration though, sand is solid.
check out these cool pics I found on the internet.
first one is the perlite
then this one (super cool) is the sand
Yodaweed
Well-Known Member
Have you ever tried pumice? I used perlite for a few years than moved to pumice and never looked back, its doesn't leave that gross residue or float to the top and has lots of minerals in it and works great for aerating. No harmful perlite dust that can cause lung damage either. I use pumice / rice hulls at a 2:1 ratio. Also i'd suggest using some pre-charged bio-char, its gonna make a huge difference.
http://buildasoil.com/collections/aeration/products/pumice
http://buildasoil.com/collections/aeration/products/rice-hulls-replacement-for-perlite
http://buildasoil.com/collections/amendments/products/bio-char
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Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
No, I haven't tried pumice. It might be a good addition to Gritty Kitty...
Yodaweed
Well-Known Member
I'd suggest using some gypsum with that gritty kitty, it will keep it from clumping up too much.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
that clay is golden for CEC, nothing better, as long as it doesn't clog over time, but mixed with pro-mix I bet it works well.
my favorite for high CEC is leaf compost it works like millions of tiny pure-humus sponges.. great shit
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
you should man, it's the best aeration in my opinion, retains more water than perlite, is more dense too.
I have SO much aeration in my mixes, mostly it's pumice and volcanic rock, but I have a lot of perlite from the base vermifire mix and happy frog mixes that I used as the base yrs and yrs ago.
but I have a bunch of vermiculite too, rotten wood chunks, shit I even use little strips of coco wool to keep my soil from compacting over time, aeration is your buddy, that's for sure.
I guesstimate that my mix is about a 50/50 of aeration and compost. VERY fluffy.
you can have the absolute perfect growing soil mix, but if it's lacking in aeration it'll suffer badly, and conversely really well aeration can get you through a very weak mix more so than the opposite... don't believe me? just ask the guys using promix as the base, promix is basicly inert, but that mixed with a teensy bit of compost or manure and it'll grow good nugs, because of the aeration.
But I prefer a mix of all kinds of aeration, that way there are no weak links, sorta my philosophy on nutrients as well.
Chunky Stool
Well-Known Member
This particular kitty litter is non-clumping, which is very important. It is called calcined clay and has the consistency of ground up clay bricks.
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
Hey, how has build a soil been working for you? It was a night and day difference from "Super soil" in my case! I still have about 15lbs of "craft blend" sitting here...
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
is it just me? or when you hear the phrase "gritty-kitty" it makes me think of a girl that doesn't cum easily during oral sex.
" damnit baby, I think at this rate, we'll have to get down to the gritty-kitty in order to get you off tonight"
yea.. that's where my mind went..
Yodaweed
Well-Known Member
I don't use their soil , I make my own, just easy to cite them for sources.
bravedave
Well-Known Member
Hey,
So what does the coco bring to the table that the Promix isn't?
My damn Walmart didn't have the plain clay. Saw what was probably the right stuff at a farm store but it didn't say calcined. About 3 weeks away from needing to mix.