Help me make my Home-Made Soil Mix!

T

taozen

Member
So I live in a country where quality organic soil or organic fertilizers are not available. All I can get is nursery soil, which looks dark, a bit composted and has some sand, but seems to be low or very low in nutrients. I have gathered quite a few items to make this season's mix but I have no idea as to the ratios/amounts I should be using so it would be great if you guys can help me out. I will be growing 3 or 4 plants in 1 gallon containers each.

So what I have is the following, what are the ratios and amounts I should use?

Peat Moss
Coco coir
Coffee Grounds
Composted Banana peels
Powdered Eggshells
Cow Manure
Volcanic Sand
Wood Ash
Epsom Salts
Aged Kitchen Scraps Compost
Sand

Thanks!
 
S

SlaveNoMore

Active Member
All that work for 3-4 plants. I respect that you're into the organic thing but why not coco? Open the bag dump some water on it and you're good to grow.
 
S

SlaveNoMore

Active Member
taozen said:
You mean coco coir right? that sounds great but I'm sure it needs some nutrients too? How much of the list above should I put in? thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes I mean coco coir. Yes it needs nutes. Coco is hydro so you add nutes as you go. You might check the Subcool forum under organics to see his soil recipe. I believe there is a sticky for it.
 
justugh

justugh

Well-Known Member
what i am using
1 foot potting soil
1 foot orgainc soil
1/4 foot peat moss
2 feet local woodland dirt
5 cups of perlite

mix it all in a big bag and then scoop into your pots ...........it is working great for me on autos
 
T

taozen

Member
Well I've almost got everything ready for the mix, I will grow 5 plants using dif mediums, soils and nutrients to test them out.
I will use my home made mix for 1 plant (I think I will get some worm castings too!!!) I don't however have perlite :( so I will use river sand instead.
I will use bottled fertilizers coco and sand for the second plant, and a mix of the 2 for the third.
I will also test 2 small plants to see if azomite is in fact worth it and better than the volcanic sand that fell naturally a few years ago.


So:


PLANT #1 (homemade) (GALON POT)
----------------------------------------------


MEDIUM 45%
------------------
Coco coir 80%
River sand 20%


COMPOST 40%
------------------
Dirts 10%
Cow Manure 15%
Coffee Grounds 15%
Composted Banana peels 15%
Kitchen Compost (multi vegs and fruits) 25%
Worm Castings 20%


MINERALS 15%
--------------------
Powdered Eggshells
Volcanic Sand
Wood Ash
Epsom Salts
Sea Sand


---------------------------------------------------------------


PLANT #2 (soil-less & bottled) (GALON POT)
(Coco Coir + River sand) + Bottle Fertilizers


PLANT #3 (Megamix!) (GALON POT)
Same as Plant #1 + Bottle Fertilizers+ Azomite


******************************************


PLANT #4 (azomite) (PLASTIC CUP)
Same as Plant #1 + Azomite


PLANT #5 (no azomite) (PLASTIC CUP)
Same as Plant #1 + Volcanic Sand
 
C

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Your "plant 1" mix is fine as it is.

River sand should work great in place of perlite. You might want to use a bit more than 20% of your "media" part though. It should probably be more like 20% of the whole mix. (edit: i see you have volcanic and sea sand as well.. you have enough sand after all)

You'd probably be fine replacing the coco with peat moss too.

Worm castings are probably the best for the organic part of your mix. That and/or chicken shit.

Mix a few tablespoons of the crushed egg shells into the soil before potting.

taozen said:
Well I've almost got everything ready for the mix, I will grow 5 plants using dif mediums, soils and nutrients to test them out.
I will use my home made mix for 1 plant (I think I will get some worm castings too!!!) I don't however have perlite :( so I will use river sand instead.
I will use bottled fertilizers coco and sand for the second plant, and a mix of the 2 for the third.
I will also test 2 small plants to see if azomite is in fact worth it and better than the volcanic sand that fell naturally a few years ago.


So:


PLANT #1 (homemade) (GALON POT)
----------------------------------------------


MEDIUM 45%
------------------
Coco coir 80%
River sand 20%


COMPOST 40%
------------------
Dirts 10%
Cow Manure 15%
Coffee Grounds 15%
Composted Banana peels 15%
Kitchen Compost (multi vegs and fruits) 25%
Worm Castings 20%


MINERALS 15%
--------------------
Powdered Eggshells
Volcanic Sand
Wood Ash
Epsom Salts
Sea Sand


---------------------------------------------------------------


PLANT #2 (soil-less & bottled) (GALON POT)
(Coco Coir + River sand) + Bottle Fertilizers


PLANT #3 (Megamix!) (GALON POT)
Same as Plant #1 + Bottle Fertilizers+ Azomite


******************************************


PLANT #4 (azomite) (PLASTIC CUP)
Same as Plant #1 + Azomite


PLANT #5 (no azomite) (PLASTIC CUP)
Same as Plant #1 + Volcanic Sand
Click to expand...
 
T

taozen

Member
churchhaze said:
Your "plant 1" mix is fine as it is.

River sand should work great in place of perlite. You might want to use a bit more than 20% of your "media" part though. It should probably be more like 20% of the whole mix. (edit: i see you have volcanic and sea sand as well.. nm)

You'd probably be fine replacing the coco with peat moss too.

Worm castings are probably the best for the organic part of your mix. That and/or chicken shit.

Mix a few tablespoons of the crushed egg shells into the soil before potting.
Click to expand...
Brilliat! that's great to hear! yeah the 20% river sand is a rough calculation, when I mix it all together I'll decided weather it drains well or not, and if it needs more sand.

The reason I'm using coco is beacuse it's more neutral, doesn't peat moss turn too acidic?

and should I increase the amount of worm castings? I don't have acces to chicken shit :(

and yeah I'm mixing it all a month before planting to make sure it cooks well, thanks! :)
 
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