Soil Mixing and curing questions

[DarkStar420307]

I mixed up a batch of soil and it's been curing/cooking for 48 days. I'll post the complete recipe below but its a Coots Mix base that I included all the additional amendments found in KIS Organics' complete soil mix; and Tad even gave me recommendations on the amount of each amendment to add. The last time I checked (2-3 weeks ago) the pH was right at 6.5, according to my Accurate 8 Soil pH Probe. However, when I checked it today, one container was showing 4.6 and the other one was showing 5.2! Now, I did add some biochar that I had crushed into small pieces and charged with some biology using Recharge, Great White Micorrhizae and a soil bacteria and probiotic called BiotaMax. I added those inoculants to some pH'd (6.5) water and made a slurry with the biochar that soaked for several days before I added it. I also watered the soil once with slightly alkaline water (pH 7. with some unsulphured molasses, thinking that it'd feed the microbes in the soil. I'm not sure whether one of these two things caused the pH of the soil to drop so much but I know I need to do something......just need some help with what that something is?

Question 1: Should I just add some AG lime to raise the soil pH? This seems like the simple solution but I don't know if it's the best answer. Also....How should I apply it? Should I add a cup to 10-ish gallons and then test the pH and keep doing this until I hit 6.5? Or, should I add a cup and let it sit for a bit again before testing it and then add more?

Question 2: Is there something else I should be doing to raise the pH

Question 3: What could cause this drastic pH drop?


Here's the ingredient list:

3.75 Gallons Lambert Sphagnum Peat Moss
1.25 Gallons of Compost and EWC
2.50 Gallons of Pumice
4 Cups Basalt
4 Cups Glacial Rock Dust
4 Cups Gypsum
4 Cups Oyster Shell Flour
3 Cups Malted Barley meal
2 Cups inoculated BioChar

1 Cup Insect Frass
1/2 Cup Kelp Meal
1/2 Cup Neem/Karanja meal mixed 50/50
1/2 Cup Crustacean meal
1/2 Cup Alfalfa meal
1/2 Cup Feather Meal
1/4 Cup Fish Bone Meal
1/4 Cup Rock Phosphate
1/4 Cup N Bat Guano
1/4 Cup P Bat Guano

I know that getting a full blown soil test from Logan Labs would be the BEST thing I can do but I can't afford it right now. So, I'm looking for the next best thing - some RIU advice!

 

[ShLUbY]

I mixed up a batch of soil and it's been curing/cooking for 48 days. I'll post the complete recipe below but its a Coots Mix base that I included all the additional amendments found in KIS Organics' complete soil mix; and Tad even gave me recommendations on the amount of each amendment to add. The last time I checked (2-3 weeks ago) the pH was right at 6.5, according to my Accurate 8 Soil pH Probe. However, when I checked it today, one container was showing 4.6 and the other one was showing 5.2! Now, I did add some biochar that I had crushed into small pieces and charged with some biology using Recharge, Great White Micorrhizae and a soil bacteria and probiotic called BiotaMax. I added those inoculants to some pH'd (6.5) water and made a slurry with the biochar that soaked for several days before I added it. I also watered the soil once with slightly alkaline water (pH 7. with some unsulphured molasses, thinking that it'd feed the microbes in the soil. I'm not sure whether one of these two things caused the pH of the soil to drop so much but I know I need to do something......just need some help with what that something is?

Question 1: Should I just add some AG lime to raise the soil pH? This seems like the simple solution but I don't know if it's the best answer. Also....How should I apply it? Should I add a cup to 10-ish gallons and then test the pH and keep doing this until I hit 6.5? Or, should I add a cup and let it sit for a bit again before testing it and then add more?

Question 2: Is there something else I should be doing to raise the pH

Question 3: What could cause this drastic pH drop?


Here's the ingredient list:

3.75 Gallons Lambert Sphagnum Peat Moss
1.25 Gallons of Compost and EWC
2.50 Gallons of Pumice
4 Cups Basalt
4 Cups Glacial Rock Dust
4 Cups Gypsum
4 Cups Oyster Shell Flour
3 Cups Malted Barley meal
2 Cups inoculated BioChar

1 Cup Insect Frass
1/2 Cup Kelp Meal
1/2 Cup Neem/Karanja meal mixed 50/50
1/2 Cup Crustacean meal
1/2 Cup Alfalfa meal
1/2 Cup Feather Meal
1/4 Cup Fish Bone Meal
1/4 Cup Rock Phosphate
1/4 Cup N Bat Guano
1/4 Cup P Bat Guano

I know that getting a full blown soil test from Logan Labs would be the BEST thing I can do but I can't afford it right now. So, I'm looking for the next best thing - some RIU advice!

wow... this looks like a really hot mix.... tad gave you this recipe orrrr?

like you only need 1cup of GRD, gypsum, basalt, MBM and a half cup of OSF. the other additives are ok in amount but you have a lot of redundant ingredients in that mix.

you could have easily made a great mix with just the basalt, gypsum, malted barley meal, biochar, insect frass, kelp, neem/karanja, crustacean and alfalfa.

 

[DarkStar420307]

wow... this looks like a really hot mix.... tad gave you this recipe orrrr?

like you only need 1cup of GRD, gypsum, basalt, MBM and a half cup of OSF. the other additives are ok in amount but you have a lot of redundant ingredients in that mix.

you could have easily made a great mix with just the basalt, gypsum, malted barley meal, biochar, insect frass, kelp, neem/karanja, crustacean and alfalfa.

I was trying to imitate KIS' Water-only Biochar soil. The ingredients are listed here: https://www.kisorganics.com/collections/organic-soil-for-sale-bulk-potting-soil-mix/products/kis-organics-biochar-soil-mix My Dyslexic arse messed up on the math on the mineral mix and used 4 cups of each ingredient instead of 4 cups of the mix which should be made up of ONE cup of each ingredient. Lol! Its wasteful/ unnecessary but I don't think extra rock dust, basalt or gypsum would do any damage. Hey, at least I'll be able to reuse it for a LONG time without worrying about the micronutrients! LOL! Now I thought the extra OSF might have raised the pH too high BUT, it my problem is the pH still being low. Good catch on noticing that. I sent Tad the ingredient list and asked him for recommendations on the amounts of each one that I hadn't gotten off his article on building soil. He was kind enough to give them to me but he said that he was recommending "lighter" amounts and to 'start there.' The only things that I added that didn't come off the ingredient list for his soil is the 2 guanos. I love having some bat shit in my soil, though. The article on soil building points out that there's an advantage to having a lot of diversity in a soil mix, which made sense to me. So, that's why I went for the whole buffet table. Hey, the worst thing that can happen is...it won't work. Haha! I've broken a lot of other things before; so, if I break this it won't be out of character for me.

I am going to also mix up a more simple batch, like the one you suggested, next. I wanted to compare the two. But, I figured I'd start with an imitation of what KIS puts in bags.

 

[Wetdog]

You didn't 'break' it, but you sure bent the hell out of it.. That's just WaaaaY too hot!

The only thing that might help is to add another (mixed first), amounts of peat moss and pumice that you used and NOTHING ELSE and blend it in with the hot mix.

This will cut those amendments by 1/2 and will still be a fairly hot mix, but should be useable, IDK.

Don't worry about the pH right now. With 4 cups of OSF *I* suspect your pH meter more than anything, especially if it cost less than $75 or more. 4 cups of OSF wpould buffer 5x the amount of soil you mixed.

Wet

 

[crimsonecho]

I don’t really trust probes. A slurry test is a better way to go imo. Take equal amounts of your mix and distilled water, mix well, let it sit 15 mins, dip your ph meter (not soil probe).

 

[ShLUbY]

I was trying to imitate KIS' Water-only Biochar soil. The ingredients are listed here: https://www.kisorganics.com/collections/organic-soil-for-sale-bulk-potting-soil-mix/products/kis-organics-biochar-soil-mix My Dyslexic arse messed up on the math on the mineral mix and used 4 cups of each ingredient instead of 4 cups of the mix which should be made up of ONE cup of each ingredient. Lol! Its wasteful/ unnecessary but I don't think extra rock dust, basalt or gypsum would do any damage. Hey, at least I'll be able to reuse it for a LONG time without worrying about the micronutrients! LOL! Now I thought the extra OSF might have raised the pH too high BUT, it my problem is the pH still being low. Good catch on noticing that. I sent Tad the ingredient list and asked him for recommendations on the amounts of each one that I hadn't gotten off his article on building soil. He was kind enough to give them to me but he said that he was recommending "lighter" amounts and to 'start there.' The only things that I added that didn't come off the ingredient list for his soil is the 2 guanos. I love having some bat shit in my soil, though. The article on soil building points out that there's an advantage to having a lot of diversity in a soil mix, which made sense to me. So, that's why I went for the whole buffet table. Hey, the worst thing that can happen is...it won't work. Haha! I've broken a lot of other things before; so, if I break this it won't be out of character for me.

I am going to also mix up a more simple batch, like the one you suggested, next. I wanted to compare the two. But, I figured I'd start with an imitation of what KIS puts in bags.

the excess minerals are going to affect your soil porosity by filling in all the air spaces with with rock dust and what not, but hey if you want to try it go for it.

if I were you, i'd just add another three parts of base, and then adjust the other nutrition amendments accordingly. then you'd have 4 cu.ft. of soil and less of a problem.

yes diversity in the soil is good... but who wants to handle bat shit at all? i know i don't! besides, you already have plenty of N and P in your mix from other ingredients...

if you're using a pH meter that costs less than 40$, i would not trust it. better off getting test strips, take 5 g of soil and 30ml of RO water, put it in a vile and shake shake shake for 5 min. get a paper filter (pre rinse with RO water) and then filter the slurry, and test the pH of the water.