QuentinQuark
Well-Known Member
Hola all,
After wrestling with the idea for several years, I have decided to give organics a try. Coming from chemical/salt hydro and I just can't bear the thought of continuing to use that horrible stuff, knowing where it comes from and where it ends up. Plus from what I read organic buds can't be beat for quality (when done right) and I'm just growing for myself. My goal is primarily simplicity and low maintenance, I'm not overly concerned with quantity although the more the better of course
Since making this decision, I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about soil mixes. I understand that with organics, it's all about the microbial environment of the soil, i.e. tiny critters eat raw nutrients and minerals, and their waste and carcasses are then consumed by slightly larger critters, etc. Bacteria, fungi, sounds like a party.
I would like to prepare a mix that will require nothing but water for the duration of the grow. The only mix I can find that makes this claim is Subcool's Super Soil. This mix has instructions to water it and let it "cook" somewhere warmish for 30-60 days. I gather this would be the "tiny critters eat raw nutrients and minerals" phase I mentioned above. So my first question is, where do these first wave of critters come from? From the thread, the "cooking" is essentially aerobic composting, i.e. fermentation/decomposition by aerobic bacteria. So do I have to use a starter culture of some sort? When I make lacto-fermented veggies, I use whey as a starter, but that process is anaerobic and involved lactic-acid-producing bacteria, quite different I'm sure. Even making yogurt requires some existing yogurt for the starter culture.. So how do I get things started with a soil mix that needs cookin'?
Secondly, I can't find a decent organic soil mix nearby, I spent the weekend touring multiple hydro shops (well, two actually, there's not that many where I am) and nurseries (even worse selection), no luck with Roots or Biobizz or Fox Farm or Harvest Moon or ... well you get the point. So what I was thinking was this, since the good organic soil blends have basically the same stuff as the Super Soil, how about if I make a batch of SS using coco coir instead of soil, and just use a lighter mix for the top of the container? Say 25% concentrate in the top, 50% concentrate in the middle, 100% in the bottom like Sub says? Seems like it should work well, but I thought I would get some expert opinions first. The rest of the stuff I'm not having trouble sourcing (bone meal, blood meal, fish bone meal, guano, lime, etc).
And lastly, I would like to use sub-irrigation for the pots. For those of you unfamiliar, sub-irrigation is where the bottom of your container acts as a water reservoir and a small portion of your medium is submerged (kind of like a hempy bucket) and the moisture wicks up through the medium. The reservoir is filled from the top of the container by a tube or pipe or something that transports the water down past the medium into the reservoir (unlike a hempy bucket which is top watered). Very low maintenance, very water efficient, no soil compaction from top watering, and the capillary action always keep the perfect level of soil moisture. Would this work for cannabis, and would it work for a coco-based Super Soil, in layers as discussed above?
Thank you very much for reading, I welcome your thoughts.
After wrestling with the idea for several years, I have decided to give organics a try. Coming from chemical/salt hydro and I just can't bear the thought of continuing to use that horrible stuff, knowing where it comes from and where it ends up. Plus from what I read organic buds can't be beat for quality (when done right) and I'm just growing for myself. My goal is primarily simplicity and low maintenance, I'm not overly concerned with quantity although the more the better of course
Since making this decision, I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about soil mixes. I understand that with organics, it's all about the microbial environment of the soil, i.e. tiny critters eat raw nutrients and minerals, and their waste and carcasses are then consumed by slightly larger critters, etc. Bacteria, fungi, sounds like a party.
I would like to prepare a mix that will require nothing but water for the duration of the grow. The only mix I can find that makes this claim is Subcool's Super Soil. This mix has instructions to water it and let it "cook" somewhere warmish for 30-60 days. I gather this would be the "tiny critters eat raw nutrients and minerals" phase I mentioned above. So my first question is, where do these first wave of critters come from? From the thread, the "cooking" is essentially aerobic composting, i.e. fermentation/decomposition by aerobic bacteria. So do I have to use a starter culture of some sort? When I make lacto-fermented veggies, I use whey as a starter, but that process is anaerobic and involved lactic-acid-producing bacteria, quite different I'm sure. Even making yogurt requires some existing yogurt for the starter culture.. So how do I get things started with a soil mix that needs cookin'?
Secondly, I can't find a decent organic soil mix nearby, I spent the weekend touring multiple hydro shops (well, two actually, there's not that many where I am) and nurseries (even worse selection), no luck with Roots or Biobizz or Fox Farm or Harvest Moon or ... well you get the point. So what I was thinking was this, since the good organic soil blends have basically the same stuff as the Super Soil, how about if I make a batch of SS using coco coir instead of soil, and just use a lighter mix for the top of the container? Say 25% concentrate in the top, 50% concentrate in the middle, 100% in the bottom like Sub says? Seems like it should work well, but I thought I would get some expert opinions first. The rest of the stuff I'm not having trouble sourcing (bone meal, blood meal, fish bone meal, guano, lime, etc).
And lastly, I would like to use sub-irrigation for the pots. For those of you unfamiliar, sub-irrigation is where the bottom of your container acts as a water reservoir and a small portion of your medium is submerged (kind of like a hempy bucket) and the moisture wicks up through the medium. The reservoir is filled from the top of the container by a tube or pipe or something that transports the water down past the medium into the reservoir (unlike a hempy bucket which is top watered). Very low maintenance, very water efficient, no soil compaction from top watering, and the capillary action always keep the perfect level of soil moisture. Would this work for cannabis, and would it work for a coco-based Super Soil, in layers as discussed above?
Thank you very much for reading, I welcome your thoughts.
