Worms in SIP turned soil into castings?

Hey y’all I had a 12 gallon SIP of coots mix that I’ve had for 3 rounds. I tried to start a clone, but it started to burn so I let it gone. I ended up taking all of the soil out so I could do a soil test, however the soil compacted quite a bit. It also looks like worm castings.

Has this happened to other no-till growers?

How should I reamend it? Coco coir?

what did you use for aeration and did you use enough would be my first question?

Mostly pumice, but there’s hydroton in there too, 33% top dressed with worm castings quite a bit

DankTankerous said:

Hey y’all I had a 12 gallon SIP of coots mix that I’ve had for 3 rounds. I tried to start a clone, but it started to burn so I let it gone. I ended up taking all of the soil out so I could do a soil test, however the soil compacted quite a bit. It also looks like worm castings.

Has this happened to other no-till growers?

How should I reamend it? Coco coir?

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Did you add any Epsom salt magnesium ?
or is kelp salty
Yes same here and found out it was ca deprived and na spoilt
Never add mg to soil it will copplase n go hard

cast are fine and easy to move through normaly and don’t burn ma seeds

I tested round 5 coot following with daft levels of pk and no ca and loads salt

DankTankerous said:

Mostly pumice, but there’s hydroton in there too, 33% top dressed with worm castings quite a bit

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I like to add some pumice in too when I add EWC.

This is my main issue with sips.

To really grow in same container multiply rounds you need large surface area and plenty of companion/ cover crops. The roots of those green manures provide future aeration more than any added perlite or pumice. Sips are fun but I would just recycle your mix every round in them. During recycle add equal amounts aeration to castings if reammending

DankTankerous said:

Mostly pumice, but there’s hydroton in there too, 33% top dressed with worm castings quite a bit

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Don’t be afraid of the dreaded perlite either. It only floats for people who don’t know how to treat soil right TLC. My soil is a homogeneous thing. All areas are glued together with the biology and perlite doesn’t go anywhere no matter what “they” tell ya.

green_machine_two9er said:

This is my main issue with sips.

To really grow in same container multiply rounds you need large surface area and plenty of companion/ cover crops. The roots of those green manures provide future aeration more than any added perlite or pumice. Sips are fun but I would just recycle your mix every round in them. During recycle add equal amounts aeration to castings if reammending

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Adding more peat helps too if the soil's all broken down into compost. But ya the roots help for sure.

PadawanWarrior said:

Adding more peat helps too if the soil's all broken down into compost. But ya the roots help for sure.

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For sure. A lot of times cutting used soil with 10-15% Peat moss is much more beneficial that shooting from the hip wit extra additions.

PadawanWarrior said:

Adding more peat helps too if the soil's all broken down into compost. But ya the roots help for sure.

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Actually about once every four rounds I just mix in promix hp and replant. My idea always was to correct for too much humus and spread out the inputs from top dressing back into soil. Then start the whole process over again.

green_machine_two9er said:

Actually about once every four rounds I just mix in promix hp and replant. My idea always was to correct for too much humus and spread out the inputs from top dressing back into soil. Then start the whole process over again.

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Do you reamend with nutrients too? I’m just wondering how much I should re-amend with nutrients and minerals, but a soil test should help with that

I typically have worms on my pots. I've always considered it a good sign and when I break up used soil I add the worms to the worm bin.

DankTankerous said:

Do you reamend with nutrients too? I’m just wondering how much I should re-amend with nutrients and minerals, but a soil test should help with that

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It really depends on how the last crop performed. Ran out of N to early? Add a heavy hand of nitrogen heavy amendments. Ran out of K. Heavy on K.
No fade whatsoever? Then not much at all. Maybe a too dress pre flower and just the castings/ perlite peat depending on consistency of your soil.

soil test can only tell you so much imo. How the plants have acted are much more valuable info.

What would y’all think about adding Coco coir instead of peat moss? I’m thinking the peat moss would make the soil more acidic, which more than likely already is

I’d stay away from coco. Peat moss is broken down over 1000s of years and isn’t going to change structuraly much in your container over time. Coco on the other hand will turn to humus material/worm food. And it won’t ever wick and move water as well either or harbor microbes as well. That’s my humble opinion, actually I was anti peat for a hot minute there. Lol. After more research I don’t think there will ever be an alternative for container growing.

Damn bro, I'm reading this thinking why? lol I add 1.4g of veg A and 0.5g of veg B to a gallon of water and that's all. Just reading this gave me a headache because of all the complication

SamRD said:

Damn bro, I'm reading this thinking why? lol I add 1.4g of veg A and 0.5g of veg B to a gallon of water and that's all. Just reading this gave me a headache because of all the complication

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The dark side is not for everyone. Lololol

It’s confusing, but it’s intuitive. It’s nature and it easy once you dive in. Come join us it’s nice over here!

And your smoke will be tastier, cheaper to grow, and sustainable to the planet!

SamRD said:

Damn bro, I'm reading this thinking why? lol I add 1.4g of veg A and 0.5g of veg B to a gallon of water and that's all. Just reading this gave me a headache because of all the complication

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One viable grow method works as well as the next once a system is set up and a rhythm established.

I like living soil because I have cheap/free resources readily available, and because once it's all set up, it's just watering and monitoring.

I want to try another method maybe someday.

GenericEnigma said:

One viable grow method works as well as the next once a system is set up and a rhythm established.

I like living soil because I have cheap/free resources readily available, and because once it's all set up, it's just watering and monitoring.

I want to try another method maybe someday.

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Right you are sir! I’ve seen lots of successful grows in many different styles. Depends on the gardeners love/ commitment over one method or the other.

GenericEnigma said:

One viable grow method works as well as the next once a system is set up and a rhythm established.

I like living soil because I have cheap/free resources readily available, and because once it's all set up, it's just watering and monitoring.

I want to try another method maybe someday.

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Yes of course, I’m sure you’re growing great bud and I would love to try it. It just sounds very intimidating to me