My first "Organic Soil mix" have a question ❓

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flyawayclyde

Well-Known Member
Good evening y'all
This is my first post on this topic, and I know there is some great information here on RIU.
So I haven't grown indoors for nearly 30 years. And then I was asked by my spouse to grow her some medicine, And so I bought myself some lamps, some seeds some store bought soils, and even a new fangled PH pen, thought I new what I was doing. Because 30 years ago I did some indoor growing with some really good results using a bagged product called "Daisy prep" I was using standard high output florescent grow tubes for veg, and a 400w HPS for flower. Back then "Organic" was a 'hippie' slang term that was rarely used in the gardening arena at the time. Daisy prep was a very good product, that I could fill a pot with, put my cuttings in and grow all the way thru harvest with, while rarely needing to add anything synthetic to it to enhance or add to the yield of my girls.
So fast forward to today, I haven't been able to find (at least here where I live) anything that comes close to that product.
So I need to mix up some soil for myself, because after 4 months of setbacks, with MG soils, and wasted attempts on seeds. And so in gathering the needed parts of this mix. I think I am ready to put this soil together.
So I am asking y'all here to tell me if I have the proper amounts to get this going, I wanted too get it mixed up this weekend. So I can let it setup for the next six weeks or so, so I can get some new girls in the soil around the first week of December.

Soil mix
1........Part Pro Mix................15gls=2cubic feet
1........Part Black Gold..........15gls=2cubic feet
1/2.....Part Peat Humus........7.5gls=1cubic foot
1/2.....Part Topsoil................7.5gls=1cubic foot
1........Part Pumice&Perlite...15gls=2cubic feet
1/2.....Part EWC..................7.5gls=1cubic foot

Mineral amendment
36 cups of Rock dust......This is a 50/50 mix of Rock dust & Azomite

Dry Organics Fertilizers
Blood meal
Kelp Meal
Alfalfa Meal

I also do have a one pound package of Mycorizzile Fungi to add to all this.

Do I / or should I, add Bone meal to this mix, at this stage of mixing so it is all in there, for when the plants are needing it, it is available for them?

Thank you all in advance.
Flyaway
 
Weedvin

Weedvin

Well-Known Member
flyawayclyde said:
Good evening y'all
This is my first post on this topic, and I know there is some great information here on RIU.
So I haven't grown indoors for nearly 30 years. And then I was asked by my spouse to grow her some medicine, And so I bought myself some lamps, some seeds some store bought soils, and even a new fangled PH pen, thought I new what I was doing. Because 30 years ago I did some indoor growing with some really good results using a bagged product called "Daisy prep" I was using standard high output florescent grow tubes for veg, and a 400w HPS for flower. Back then "Organic" was a 'hippie' slang term that was rarely used in the gardening arena at the time. Daisy prep was a very good product, that I could fill a pot with, put my cuttings in and grow all the way thru harvest with, while rarely needing to add anything synthetic to it to enhance or add to the yield of my girls.
So fast forward to today, I haven't been able to find (at least here where I live) anything that comes close to that product.
So I need to mix up some soil for myself, because after 4 months of setbacks, with MG soils, and wasted attempts on seeds. And so in gathering the needed parts of this mix. I think I am ready to put this soil together.
So I am asking y'all here to tell me if I have the proper amounts to get this going, I wanted too get it mixed up this weekend. So I can let it setup for the next six weeks or so, so I can get some new girls in the soil around the first week of December.

Soil mix
1........Part Pro Mix................15gls=2cubic feet
1........Part Black Gold..........15gls=2cubic feet
1/2.....Part Peat Humus........7.5gls=1cubic foot
1/2.....Part Topsoil................7.5gls=1cubic foot
1........Part Pumice&Perlite...15gls=2cubic feet
1/2.....Part EWC..................7.5gls=1cubic foot

Mineral amendment
36 cups of Rock dust......This is a 50/50 mix of Rock dust & Azomite

Dry Organics Fertilizers
Blood meal
Kelp Meal
Alfalfa Meal

I also do have a one pound package of Mycorizzile Fungi to add to all this.

Do I / or should I, add Bone meal to this mix, at this stage of mixing so it is all in there, for when the plants are needing it, it is available for them?

Thank you all in advance.
Flyaway
Click to expand...
Here's what I know about organic grows ( organics period). There's no topsoil worth the name on the market(s). Loam is the ultimate for what we do.
Clay ( calcium bentonite) 1/3
Sand (silica, the only sand that doesn't hold moisture)1/3
Silt ( contains around 1% nitrogen) use EWC 1/3
You can purchase online ✔
Now you have loam.
2- parts loam
1- Prt. compost, or castings and 1-prt silica sand to each bushel (32-qrts) add 4- cups raw bone meal (4-12-0) and 4- cups greensand.
 

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m4s73r

m4s73r

Well-Known Member
id replace that top soil with more pro-mix.
id replace the peat humus with more of the EWC and Black Gold
Id replace that perlite with vermiculite. Will ad another silica source to what you have. And the promix has perlite in it already.
So 1.5 part Promix, 1 part Compost and 1 part pumice/vermiculite. Then ad a bag of composted mulch to put on the top of all your pots so your peat doesnt go hydrophobic.
As for minerals/nutrients, Craft blend from Buildasoil.com is top notch.

And to answer your question, yes add it now so its got time to be available for them. If you used peat loam, you may need to ad some dolomitic lime to balance out the acidity of it.
 
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flyawayclyde

Well-Known Member
Super, because I have the perlite and pumice on hand. And everything I have for this mix, I had to order. And I don't have time to wait for another order for something else to come in. I do have DE on hand already.
At what ratio do you think I should use?
Thank you in advance
 
S

Slartibart4242

Member
So I would use the DE for other reasons. It would be more for a natural pest control than a silica boost. You already have silica in your azomite mix. Basically the azomite/rock dust is your cal mag/silica and trace minerals. The myco fungi is used to break down these nutrients and naturally pH the water. The DE would be used to protect against fungi gnats and other pests.

The azomite/rock dust goes a long way. You currently have almost 68 gallons worth of soil not counting the meal amendments. You would only need about a quart total of the azomite/rock dust. Or 2 cups of each.

the DE could be used at a ratio of 1 to 2 cups per gallon.

as for the myco there are two schools of though. You can get it premixed in a bag of soil, but two spores have to come together and mate and the soil has to be damp for it to grow towards the roots. The other option is to add it to the soil on the hole that you dig when you transplant. I personally would do both that way the soil is breaking down nutrients through out, but also make sure that it is growing right at the roots of the plant as well. When you mix in the soil I wouldn’t use much. I would use only a cup or two in the soil so half as much as the azomite/rock dust. And you only need a teaspoon to a tablespoon at the base of the hole when you transplant.
 
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flyawayclyde

Well-Known Member
Slartibart4242 said:
So I would use the DE for other reasons. It would be more for a natural pest control than a silica boost. You already have silica in your azomite mix. Basically the azomite/rock dust is your cal mag/silica and trace minerals. The myco fungi is used to break down these nutrients and naturally pH the water. The DE would be used to protect against fungi gnats and other pests.

The azomite/rock dust goes a long way. You currently have almost 68 gallons worth of soil not counting the meal amendments. You would only need about a quart total of the azomite/rock dust. Or 2 cups of each.

the DE could be used at a ratio of 1 to 2 cups per gallon.

as for the myco there are two schools of though. You can get it premixed in a bag of soil, but two spores have to come together and mate and the soil has to be damp for it to grow towards the roots. The other option is to add it to the soil on the hole that you dig when you transplant. I personally would do both that way the soil is breaking down nutrients through out, but also make sure that it is growing right at the roots of the plant as well. When you mix in the soil I wouldn’t use much. I would use only a cup or two in the soil so half as much as the azomite/rock dust. And you only need a teaspoon to a tablespoon at the base of the hole when you transplant.
Click to expand...

Hello my friend
So the recipe I was using, I found over on GrassCity forum. And the (Rockdust/Azomite) Mineral amendment portion, called for 4cups per cubic foot of soil!
This is my first time making a soil like this, and you know my trails here in the past better than anyone. So I just want to do this right this last time. I have plenty of the Azomite & the rock dust to do the 36 cups called for. And I do know that I don't have to follow a recipe completely. All I want to do is put this together so I can get to growing... ;)
But I do need to know today, so I can get this mixed up or I have to wait till next weekend again to have the time to do this.
 
S

Slartibart4242

Member
Honestly, since it’s just ground up rock you can’t really put too much. It’s just the more you add the sandier the soil will seem. I just figured it made sense to go on the slightly lighter side since you could always top dress with your meals later if they need more rather than end up on the heavy side again. But I put closer to twice as much as I suggested in my soil mix. So it would be about 8 cups but I wouldn’t really do more than 16.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
When I mix mine I follow the 4 cups per cuft rock dust.

If you could find some dry fertilizer like Dr Earth or Gaia,these have a good blend of inputs.Feather,bone,fish meals greensand basalt lime ect.

When testing clones in different mixes the 40/20/40 peat/compost/aeration did better then the 1/3,1/3,1/3 mixes.
 
m4s73r

m4s73r

Well-Known Member
Slartibart4242 said:
Honestly, since it’s just ground up rock you can’t really put too much. It’s just the more you add the sandier the soil will seem. I just figured it made sense to go on the slightly lighter side since you could always top dress with your meals later if they need more rather than end up on the heavy side again. But I put closer to twice as much as I suggested in my soil mix. So it would be about 8 cups but I wouldn’t really do more than 16.
Click to expand...
Not sure this is true anymore. I been seeing more and more reports of heavy metal increases with too much rock dust. I wouldnt go over 4 cups/cuft.
 
lakesidegrower

lakesidegrower

Well-Known Member
No matter what you use specifically, make sure it’s 1 part water retainer (like peat), 1 part high quality compost or ewc, 1 part drainage (perlite, pumice). Don’t swap the perlite for vermiculite / they are totally different / perlite creates pore space in the soil to promote oxygenation while vermiculite simply soaks up and holds water (much like peat)

Pay attention to the npk on the dry amendments you are using, look for a nice balance when it’s all put together. 4 cups of rock dust per cubic ft is bang on, then I roll with about 1-1/2 cup dry amendments per cuft, I also add activated biochar, and use perlite and ricehulls for drainage, a few other things as well like gypsum.

Let the soil ‘cook’ for at least 30 days and be careful on the bone and blood meals - they can be pretty hot right off the bat and I’d honestly cook for at least another couple of weeks of using any of that heavily. I’d even brew up a compost tea to water the soil with before you cook it.

Don’t add myco to the mix - this needs direct contact with the roots so it’s wasteful to just mix it in. You can sprinkle directly on the roots st transplant; at also water myco in every couple of weeks. Let me know if you have questions
 
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flyawayclyde

Well-Known Member
I was going to use Bone & Blood meal exclusively for the fertilizer part of all this, plus the Alfalfa & Kelp meals.
Also was going to let this COOK together for 6 weeks minimum. Was going to shoot for using it the 2nd week of December.
 
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