Making a veg soil mix without the need for "cooking?"

Hello to everyone,

I'm in a situation where I need to start urgently some autoflowers and I'm out of soils like Biobizz All Mix etc. With the lockdown here the only way to get them is to order them online since no growshops are open. Ideally I don't want to do that.

I have a gardening soil which consists of peat, vermicompost and perlite without any fertilizers added. I can also order extra vermicompost and perlite as well as fertilizers from other garden shops which are less "shady".

In terms of fertilizers right now I have:
1) kelp meal,
2)a fertilizer with 7-3-12 NPK,
3)a fertilizer with 6-9-5 N-P-K + 12% CaO,
4) bat guano (1-10)
5) gypsum
6) dolomite
7) attapulgite
8 ) zeolite

Could I make a combination of those ferts+soil conditioners in order to make a soil mix for vegging the autos without burning them? They will be sitting in 4 gal pots. I have already made a "flower" soil mix for them but I want to cover the top 1 gallon of the pot with a less strong veg mix without waiting for it to be "ready".

Normally, in order to avoid waiting time for"cooking" of the soil I cover the top 1 gallon with soils like Biobizz All Mix - and I make a small hole in the middle covering it with Biobizz Light Mix in order to start the auto seedlings without burning them.

In essence I want to substitute the Biobizz All Mix soil with a soil consisting of the ingredients I have at my disposal without waiting.

Thank you for taking the time to read that

Yeah it'll work is all about the ratios. I haven't bought a bagged soil in years but I will tell you once you make soil from scratch it's really hard going back

I've been making my own soils from scratch for years but each time I buy Biobizz All-Mix soil to cover the top 1 gallon - in fear of the soil being too hot or incorrect ratios. I should have just used the previous soils lightly amended as veg mixes and then amending stronger for the flower soil mix. Now the question is at what ratios do I mix the fertilizers I have at my disposal for the veg stage. And wondering if the ~2 weeks which will have passed until the seedlings reach the veg mix will be ok and not burn. I can't risk it with autoflowers.

paparov said:

I've been making my own soils from scratch for years but each time I buy Biobizz All-Mix soil to cover the top 1 gallon - in fear of the soil being too hot or incorrect ratios. I should have just used the previous soils lightly amended as veg mixes and then amending stronger for the flower soil mix. Now the question is at what ratios do I mix the fertilizers I have at my disposal for the veg stage. And wondering if the ~2 weeks which will have passed until the seedlings reach the veg mix will be ok and not burn. I can't risk it with autoflowers.

Click to expand...

I know the trouble with autos first hand. I'm still in a learning curve with them. I've grown them about 3 times now and the first time with them was the best. Last round and my current round Im just focused on making seeds. I'm trying to make enough seeds that I should last me through the learning curve.

Good luck with your project man, sounds interesting! It's a big downside buying new auto seeds for each round, especially if you are playing with SOG techniques. Autos are in fact more difficult to grow than photos. Everything has to be set for their first few weeks otherwise we run into the danger of growing plants which give something like 10-15 grams each. I'm making 3 layers of soil for them. Say for example i'm growing one in a 3 gallon pot:

1) For the bottom 2 gallons i use my soil mixes. 2) For the top 1 gallon I use a soil like Biobizz All- Mix (will experiment more in the future re-using my previously used soil 3) A small hole (~500 ml) in the middle with a light soil like Biobizz Light Mix. That way things usually go smoothly. What is absolutely nescessary is to not fuck it up with over-watering - I'm judging by the weight of the pot and I'm not giving them any water even if the surface looks really dry. If someone wants to max out the yield, they should be growing autos hydroponically. With the fast rates hydroponics offer during the veg stage, yields will be really great. Anyways...Thinking I will just risk it and buy 2 x 50 lt of Biobizz All-Mix to do it my traditional way...

So far ive been leaning on the pre mixed organic fert like gaia 4-4-4.Like what you have.I think there going to get the ratios better then what i can.
From reading around here take 5 gallons of your peat /garden soil add 1 cup of your NPK fert, lime if you think your garden mix needs it and call it done.

You can always just put a slow release fertilizer and/or something w/ low npk value along with compost and any inert soil conditioners like perlite, etc. without cook time. If you add a lot of mineral inputs like D-lime and whatnot you should give time for ph to normalize. That’s all cook time is.

paparov said:

Hello to everyone,

I'm in a situation where I need to start urgently some autoflowers and I'm out of soils like Biobizz All Mix etc. With the lockdown here the only way to get them is to order them online since no growshops are open. Ideally I don't want to do that.

I have a gardening soil which consists of peat, vermicompost and perlite without any fertilizers added. I can also order extra vermicompost and perlite as well as fertilizers from other garden shops which are less "shady".

In terms of fertilizers right now I have:
1) kelp meal,
2)a fertilizer with 7-3-12 NPK,
3)a fertilizer with 6-9-5 N-P-K + 12% CaO,
4) bat guano (1-10)
5) gypsum
6) dolomite
7) attapulgite
8 ) zeolite

Could I make a combination of those ferts+soil conditioners in order to make a soil mix for vegging the autos without burning them? They will be sitting in 4 gal pots. I have already made a "flower" soil mix for them but I want to cover the top 1 gallon of the pot with a less strong veg mix without waiting for it to be "ready".

Normally, in order to avoid waiting time for"cooking" of the soil I cover the top 1 gallon with soils like Biobizz All Mix - and I make a small hole in the middle covering it with Biobizz Light Mix in order to start the auto seedlings without burning them.

In essence I want to substitute the Biobizz All Mix soil with a soil consisting of the ingredients I have at my disposal without waiting.

Thank you for taking the time to read that

Click to expand...

Not sure how On auto flower but I always use "used" soil for my starts. Just something that's been ran through a whole flower cycle. Maybe mix in some perlite.

Promix hp
Gaia green 444 1 cup every 5gallon
or other brand

Day1 in there final pot

17days later

Then i use the gaia green284 1/2 cup with worm casting 1cup for the first top dress and mid topdress same but only 1/2 cup off worm casting !
Molasses is good if you want a little extra but not to much