Soil Plans For Next Season:

Question for all you outdoor growers. I'm planning for my next seasons grow and I would like your opinion and input on the soil I have to work with.

I currently have a 20% worm casting / 80% compost mix that I will be using as a base
to that I plan on adding composted cow manure at a rate of around 10%. Also I will be adding lime, and Azomite ( for buffering and trace minerals ), and bone meal.

Is there anything else I should be looking at to make this a decent blend without going overboard on additional ingrediants? Since this is a low budget grow, and I do like to keep it as simple as is possible, what one or two other additions to this would you recomend. Would this be to hot do you think?

I've only grown one season outdoors and am still getting the kinks worked out.

Well i know a low budget soil Made it up myself. Dont need all that much odd stuff and its cheap. Ask if you want me to tell ya

I would suggest any kind of soil additives that would make your soil more fluffy. Roots like to slide through the soil. I recommend peat moss, buy it by the bale, stuffs really light, and it really does help increase yeild, the plant can go grow as much as its roots can. it Also helps to retain some moisture.

what kind of soil r you working with.


id add some nitrogen. maybe a 50lbs bag of alfalfa pellets. to a 10x10 area. ayt least 4 weeks before planting that stuff gets hot.

stonerman said:

I would suggest any kind of soil additives that would make your soil more fluffy. Roots like to slide through the soil. I recommend peat moss, buy it by the bale, stuffs really light, and it really does help increase yeild, the plant can go grow as much as its roots can. it Also helps to retain some moisture.

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So you figure that the stuff I have is too dense? About what percent peat moss would you be thinking? This is fairly low budget, I have the 20/80 mix already and the cow manure I have already, as well as the other additives that I mentioned. I will be growing 12 of the plants in the grownd, and 12 in 50 gal smart pots.

Thanks for your input, I need all the help I can get

timeismoney1 said:

Well i know a low budget soil Made it up myself. Dont need all that much odd stuff and its cheap. Ask if you want me to tell ya

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I want you to tell me!

id say use at least 25-50% peat moss

worm castings and compost can turn into muddy gloppidy mess when it gets wet

catmando said:

id say use at least 25-50% peat moss

worm castings and compost can turn into muddy gloppidy mess when it gets wet

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Yes, I noticed that. So that much of a percentage. I'll have to do the math and figure what Will need then.

What is the advantage of Peat over coir instead?

ive never used any coco coir, peat moss is readily available at multiple stores in my area in large bales so thats the only reason i use peat moss

i do not know if coco has any qualities that would make it better than peat moss

Randm said:

Yes, I noticed that. So that much of a percentage. I'll have to do the math and figure what Will need then.

What is the advantage of Peat over coir instead?

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Where I am, peat is MUCH cheaper than coir!

If I were you I'd find more $ for your soil. Your plants will only grow and succeed according to how good your soil is. You reap what you sow. That's so true. If you don't have good drainage in your soil, you don't want too much peat...it can retain too much water and drown your roots and cause other problems. Add compost, perlite (plenty), sterilized manure (chicken or cow), feathermeal, kelpmeal, calcium, at least. There's more good stuff to add. Like Micchorizae (I can't spell that OR say it right!). Greensand. Dang....you gotta spend as much on your soil as possible!! Now, go and multiply....good luck to you and work hard..

I agree with grace

peace
doublejj

Coffee grounds are a source of nitrogen and espresso stands often give them away.

Egg shells are a free source of calcium and also add some texture.

what kind of soil r you working with in your outside bed. or pots. if you have a bed id take a soil sample to your local farm store and ask if they can test it. theyll tell you what its missing the ph and whats in it. its cheap to do. all i evry added to my soil was bone meal every yr. and some river sand i got from the river. to break up my clay. soil some. if your going cheap id us fertilizer 10-10-10. and skip the organics or ask in that form

So I found a dairy that will fill my pickup truck ( about a yard and a half ) with cow poop for 35.00. I also bought a yard of coir at the local worm farm, plus 6 large bags of pearlite. This, mixed into the existing soil ( 20% worm castings from last year ) will make up my basic mix.
I am adding Azamax (spelling?) for trace minerals, as well as diatamatious earth ( for bug control, great stuff for killing ground bugs ) and lime.
I'm mixing these together and filling my planter boxes. It should cook down nicely by may/june planting season.

When its planting time I may end up mixing in some blood and bone meal for a little extra 'kick'. Not sure yet on that one. Just concentrating on getting the basic work out of the way.

I can't believe its only early January, the weather has been in the upper 60's for the last week here in NorCal, it feels like spring already. I guess that is the reason I'm getting the 'gardening bug' . Usually I'm scrambling like an idiot trying to get everything done at the last moment just befor planting time. I'm getting a bit of a break so I hope to get most everything done way befor then this year. Plus I'm getting older and wimpier, so I appreciate the ability to take my time.

Haven't decided yet on the strains I will be growing, I've got some seeds on the way from Nirvana. ( Northern Lights, and Wonder Woman ) as well as the Master Kush, Ice, THC Bomb, and White Rhino that I now already have. The White Rhino I'm growing indoors in a scrog at the moment, I will be taking clones from them when I am ready to flip them.The Ice and Master Kush both are being raised as mothers, but won't be ready to clone for another month.

Put the manure in a pile and see that it heats to 131 degrees F for at least 3 days. This will kill salmonella and fecal coliforms. Generally speaking if you're using true worm castings rather than vermi-compost 10% is plenty. More isn't necessarily better as it can become a muddy mess without providing twice the benefit. DE doesn't work too well for bugs when wet, but it is a great soil conditioner. Just some thoughts.

My issue with the home brew soils is that the ingredients list can be fine, but the sum isn't likely to be equal to the parts. How are you going to know what and how much ferts to add when the time comes? How will you know when the time comes or if it is even necessary? Will you be checking the pH of the soil?
When we blend soils we take into consideration the physical properties like porosity and water retention. There are specific targets to hit and a lab is used to verify that they are met. The amounts and types of macro and micro nutrients are assembled to insure they are available to the plant and in sufficient quantity and ratios to gain maximum benefit. The source of these is scrutinized and verified to insure they are clean. Manures from dairies are notorious for being very salty (high eC) and are shockingly prone to clopyralid contamination. It comes from the feed or bedding. Clopyralid is a generalized broadleaf herbicide that is effective at killing plants at levels down to 3 parts per billion. Even plants that can tolerate slightly more are prone to stunted growth and/or irregular growth patterns. Again, all these things need to be tested for in a lab and verified as suitable for use.

I'm not trying to throw cold water on the idea of mixing your own soil. I totally get the appeal of "doing it yourself" and possibly saving some bucks, but this ain't the 1800's. In this world there are things to be mindful of that make sourcing materials a little dicey. If we are talking about a plant being grown for consumption it is a whole different matter than ornamentals. There is good reason that we pay what we do for QUALITY bagged and bulk soils.

ok its 50% mg organic choice. The big bag that states not for pots

25% perlite
25% sphagnum peatmoss. Its what i used for my outdoor plants in pots last year. they grew great! Also if you want add in some FFoF

heres a plant i grew using that





Shes about 7' tall in pic

can you find a chicken farm. or some one with a pet rabbit. even human hair from a hair shop is good. eggs shells go fishing bring back some fish burry them. grass clippings work i like straw bails. i just soak them with water for a week or two dump on nitrogen blood meal. and bone meal. wait 3 weeks. and cut a hole in the bail to put my plant and its ready to go. like a big cub of rock wool. or coir. chicken shit on top of it works great to.