Proportions off on Subcool's Supersoil

Hi RIU,

I am a bit of a noob and this definitely shows it.

I decided to make a batch of Subcool's Supersoil, seeing the results others were getting. In my excitement I didn't TARE my scale correctly before beginning my venture. As a result my proportions are slightly higher than they should be. In addition I added a few amendments (glacial rock dust, and down to earth's bio-live, perlite) which I have been reading about and seem to help out.

Should I just let the soil "cook" for longer and allow the extra nutrients to cool down a bit?
Am I understanding the reasoning behind the cooking time correctly?
Would adding worms or planting some clover in the meantime help to compost the extra nutrients?

Any help is much appreciated!

google vic high supersoil you will find your answer

urban1026835 said:

google vic high supersoil you will find your answer

Click to expand...

Ok, I tried that and all I got were recipes similar to Sub's. It seems Sub based his off of Vic's but that is about the extent of information. I understand the cooking time is letting the myco colonies form, even though without roots I understand this to be difficult for them.

Would adding worms help to compost the overnuted soil faster?
Will the clover help the myco colonies form or will the clover just end up as more nitrogen in the soil?

honestly i really am not the best source on organics. was just being a smart ass about the origins of said soil.

i am sure some tga guys will be along to help you though...and fyi still love my timewreck

you're timewreck? no idea what you're talking about. Thanks for all the help though!

i could give you bad advice i wont though and just was saying i love my cut of subs tw is all but back on topic of supersoil.....

Boy it's a good thing I would do a little research before taking your bad advice! Thanks again!

Someone not so self absorbed please help me with my questions. I promise I have done enough research to feel the need to just ask these questions.

• Would adding worms help to compost the overnuted soil faster?
  Will the clover help the myco colonies form or will the clover just end up as more nitrogen in the soil?​
  
  
  
  

only self absorbed people here

Hey horse, like I've stated previously to you I'm no expert on the subject but could you just add more of your base to compensate? Just a guess, please don't flame me organic people.

Ill try to do some searching for you though...see if i can help you out

The purpose of letting it cook is to allow the bone meal, blood meal, and guano to be broken down by the micro-organisms into a food that is easier for your plants to digest. It is recommended that you not populate with myco fungi until after it has cooked because if it does get good and hot during cook, the heat will kill off your myco fungi. The truth is that the temps you reach depend a lot on the mass of soil you have. Without enough mass you never get those high temps and it is possible the myco fungi could survive. That's my understanding at sort of a high level and the true organic experts can slap me on the wrist if I'm getting off base.

^^^^ heat will not kill off myco, If doing super soil, when you add worm castings, compost, humic acid, etc...( all the same thing ) you are adding bacteria and fungi and enzymes right of the bat. Plus you should water down with a compost tea after mixing to innoculate the soil mix. . They thrive in the heat. The heat makes them more active.. That's why heat speeds up the cooking process. Cold will make them dormant and / or die off.

to the opp just add more base soil and let it cook longer. cooking is the term for composting ie breaking down of organic material. So nutrients are readily available for and when the plant needs it. The longer the cook the better. Not cooking soil long enough will result in less available nutrients and nutrient deficiencies

I suggest adding glacial or basalt rock dust and kelp meal too the mix too.

I've read that myco does not survive 140F and needs live roots to take hold. Both myths?

Thank you for the correction!

Bugeye said:

I've read that myco does not survive 140F and needs live roots to take hold. Both myths?

Thank you for the correction!

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mycorrhizae needs roots to survive. The others don't. I think bacillus subtillus may need roots too.

Thank you! @bacon and hyroot I thought about just adding more base soil to the mix, and plan on adding about 1/2 bag extra of roots original. I will also allow it to cook longer. I added glacial rock dust to the mix.

I realize there are worms in nature but would they harm a plant if stuck in the same container?

Just passing through...I would not subject those poor worms to this soil. Use worm castings. Unless you are adding organic matter for the worms to eat, they might just die. Plus, this soil is pretty hot by design. I understand what question you are asking and it leads to another point: why not use soil from the last grow to innoculate the new soil with all the beneficials rather than have to start a colony from scratch while the plants are growing.

I understand that 'cooking' is supposed to get the colony started but we, as the builders of the soil, really don't know which colony is dominant when the soil finishes cooking and gets poured into the grow pots.

But, if your grow did well using organics, your plant determined that the good colonies get a great start and why not use this existing colony to knock up the new dirt? Granted new mobile elements need to be added.

Just an idea. Oh, and if I had a big enough area, I would do 'crop rotation' and use nitrogen fixers to build up a good root system and leave those roots to cook in the soil for a few months.

But, I have just four fifty gallon trash cans to build my SS in.

Hey horsetooth, if you want to split a garbage can of worm castings from a local farm its $130 for 150lb

Ill probably get it either way so I guess just let me know if you want some.

I think your over thinking this Horse. Add some soil with no nutes in it or very little. Promix comes to mind. Be more concerned with your soils pH than the worms and mycos. I don't think the worms will hurt, but I don't think they'll eat your nutes so to speak. Get your soils pH right (~6.5ish) than give your babies plain water and see how they react. Add some pH buffering amendments if your pH is too low...something like oyster shell flour. If they show burning, than you'll have to try to flush the nutes out. Start off with some mild veg teas if plants look good. I like to dust my roots with mycos during transplants and that's about all they need. I'll give them one last shot of soluble mycos like the third week of flowering just to make sure they're established and seeing the our favorite plant will be looking for some P around this time. We know the mycos plays a big role with your Phosphorous uptake.

Thanks Dennis! Could I use a Jamaican bat guano tea for the P boost?