"Super Soil" maintenence requirements?

I've heard so many different opinions on this. I've been told when using "Super Soil" you will not need to feed your plants, no need to flush the soil, no need to monitor the PH. Just water and watch it grow. How true are these statements?

Yeah I was a bit skeptical too. They make it out to be a replication of old school outdoor growing where mother nature dictates your results. I'll definitely try it and report my results on here.

tomuch said:

There is probably someone here who has some experience of it. Best wait for input from these people, but yeah, it is what it is..

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Oh no, I won't be doing anything until my HID setup comes in the mail.

Cannacopia Delight said:

I've heard so many different opinions on this. I've been told when using "Super Soil" you will not need to feed your plants, no need to flush the soil, no need to monitor the PH. Just water and watch it grow. How true are these statements?

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I thought it was pretty good.. I would simply use teas with lots of bacterial activity. Use something like Recharge (Humics, Fulvics, Fungi and Bacteria Innoculant) to water with once a week. PH wasnt too far off for cannabis. Low 6 when I probed it, so the microlife kept it in check. The soil is pretty rich so it needs a long cook time and the runoff is rich enough that you'll get mycellium growth on the side if using fabric pots. I used Promix BX for my soil base.

I like larger pots when running super soil, I can drench it heavy, and it stays wetter longer, let those microbes do their thing.

Its almost too easy when growing this way.. really brings out some of the more delicate aromas.. like some of the chocolates in Girl Scout Cookies. Hydro seems to wash out the chocolate aromas with more lemons and orange tones with fresh flowers.

Cannacopia Delight said:

I should post the recipee I'll be using just so everyone is on the same page. It's some variation of Subcools.

- 5 Bags (12.5 Cubic Ft.) Organic Soil
- 2.5lbs Bone Meal
- 2.5lbs Fish Bone Meal
- 5lbs Oyster Shells
- 5lbs Blood Meal
- 3lbs of Kelp Meal
- 2 cups Azomite
- 1 cup Dolomite Lime
- 4lbs Bat Guano
- 1lb Seabird Guano
- 2 Tablespoons Humic Acid
- 1 cup of epsom salts
- 33lbs of Earth Worm castings
- 1/2lb if Hydron Rocks
- 1/3 bag of perlite
- 3 Gallons distilled water

-Optional: Rock Phosphate & Live worms

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Be Careful liming up your mix too much Dol lime can cause lock up of phos (esp weak brea phos) and mag esp if you dump lots of cal mag in your moisture.

the sweet spot for soil solution in 6.3 so if your using a peat based mix be careful adding a bunch of Dol lime in fact I dont use Dol lime at all in refreshed peat base mix just micronized Azo
I use granulated Azo in new mix.

also consider adding vermiculite to the mix it raises pH and increases CeC . I use various nutes and Nitrogen sources to manipulate pH rather than dumping a bunch of lime which can lock up the nutes in my moisture or soil solution.

of course if your growing outdoors in a high humidity high rainfall region Dol can be used more because it can get leached out with lots of rain esp if gypsum is added or the soil has a high sulfur content.

GhostShadow said:

Be Careful liming up your mix too much Dol lime can cause lock up of phos (esp weak brea phos) and mag esp if you dump lots of cal mag in your moisture.

the sweet spot for soil solution in 6.3 so if your using a peat based mix be careful adding a bunch of Dol lime in fact I dont use Dol lime at all in refreshed peat base mix just micronized Azo
I use granulated Azo in new mix.

also consider adding vermiculite to the mix it raises pH and increases CeC . I use various nutes and Nitrogen sources to manipulate pH rather than dumping a bunch of lime which can lock up the nutes in my moisture or soil solution.

of course if your growing outdoors in a high humidity high rainfall region Dol can be used more because it can get leached out with lots of rain esp if gypsum is added or the soil has a high sulfur content.

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The Fox farm Frog mix I'm using already contains Dol, maybe I should add gypsum. It also has pearlite mixed in, would adding vermiculite on top of pearlite be overkill?

I use perl and verm both at the same time no problem.

most of them do a big detemining factor is the pH of your water due to calcium dissolved in the water

you cant adjust lime efficiently with out a test that tests for cal. I would get a soil pH tester and test for pH and use nitrogen sources, amendments or fertilizer mixes to adjust the soil solution pH.

Once again high or mid lime makes weak brea phos reading inaccurate. you could add gyp but remember this adjust lime by binding then leaching out of the soil.

I would trust a good commercial organic mix really I would just be careful with those cal mag supplements like micronized Azo mite or other and be on the lookout for phos deficiencies due to lockout. and correct by using conservative amounts of micronized phos or something like superphospate if your dont mind chemicals. also be aware that rock phosphate adds silicon too which is beneficial but is what causes its slow decomposition and relatively low bio-avalibility.

GhostShadow said:

I would just be careful with those cal mag supplements like micronized Azo mite or other and be on the lookout for phos deficiencies due to lockout. and correct by using conservative amounts of micronized phos or something like superphospate if your dont mind chemicals. also be aware that rock phosphate adds silicon too which is beneficial but is what causes its slow decomposition and relatively low bio-avalibility.

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Yep, I'll be using granulated Azomite. Now wouldn't the slow decomposition of rock phospahte work to my advantage if I add a ton of it? Possibly I would never have to maintain phos if it's constantly there slowly absorbing into the soil rather then a fast absorbing micronized phos that quickly leaches out.

Cannacopia Delight said:

I've heard so many different opinions on this. I've been told when using "Super Soil" you will not need to feed your plants, no need to flush the soil, no need to monitor the PH. Just water and watch it grow. How true are these statements?

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I grow in SS and love the fact you don't have to be a chemist mixing nutes, PHing, PPMing, air stones, tubes, buckets of water and all that happy horseshit. Takes me all of 10 minutes to water my plants and thats with adding mollasses into my water (I'm in flower).

Sure you suppliment with teas but not nesscesarry as long as you mix correctly and wait the proper cook time you'll love the simplicity of growing in SS.

Smoke is smoother, tastes better, smells better. But to each his own.

B4L

Yes super soil organics is the shit just water add nothing and watch it grow don't listen to idiotic bs. Subs mix is b
Not no were near the best go read first few pages of the role organic ic section and learn don't listen to people that don't no. You need a worm bin for sure. Don't add any bottle shit. You need to add microbes.. if you want organic there is alot of well educated so.e organic guys here. Jump in on a Comvo ask questions and everyone will help organic peeps are usually hippies....we will ALL HELP OUT. IT CAN BE DONE MUCH CHEAPER THEN SUBS MIX AS WELL. If takes some time to get soil prepped, and ready for use.

I used to do super soil years ago. I found that it's a redundant mix. I do coots recipe.

Yes with either you don't have to check ph add nutes or flush.

Now for ph there's natural ph buffers in my mix. Oyster shell flour, crab shell meal, worm castings,

For feeding the amendments you add are the food so to speak. The soil mix has to cook for 2 months. By that meaning activate and everything gets broken down by the microbes in the soil to make the nutrients readily available to the plants. That's what it means to feed the soil nit the plant.

The plant eats what it wants when it wants. The plant is in control like nature. With bottled nutes you are force feeding the plant slowly destroying the quality of the soil.

For flushing. That only removes salts caused and accumulated by chemical and synthetic fertz. So with organics no need to flush even though it's a water only soil aside from occasional tea's like compost tea's and seed sprout enzyme tea's


My mix aka coots mix

33% peat moss, 33% pumice, 33% top quality vermicompost


Per cubic foot of soil

1/4 cup crab shell meal
1/4 cup fish bone meal
1/2 cup kelp meal
1/4 cup neem cake
1/4 cup karanja cake
2 cups oyster shell flour
2 cups basalt rock dust.

Mix and cook then use.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/recycled-organic-living-soil-rols-and-no-till-thread.636057/

Cannacopia Delight said:

The Fox farm Frog mix I'm using already contains Dol, maybe I should add gypsum. It also has pearlite mixed in, would adding vermiculite on top of pearlite be overkill?

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As a rule for FFOF and FFHF ..... I always add an additional 1/2 cup of a liming agent to them,,,,They tend to be kinda light.

Cannacopia Delight said:

I've heard so many different opinions on this. I've been told when using "Super Soil" you will not need to feed your plants, no need to flush the soil, no need to monitor the PH. Just water and watch it grow. How true are these statements?

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YES they are all true.

Cannacopia Delight said:

I should post the recipee I'll be using just so everyone is on the same page. It's some variation of Subcools.

- 5 Bags (12.5 Cubic Ft.) Organic Soil
- 2.5lbs Bone Meal
- 2.5lbs Fish Bone Meal
- 5lbs Oyster Shells
- 5lbs Blood Meal
- 3lbs of Kelp Meal
- 2 cups Azomite
- 1 cup Dolomite Lime
- 4lbs Bat Guano
- 1lb Seabird Guano
- 2 Tablespoons Humic Acid
- 1 cup of epsom salts
- 33lbs of Earth Worm castings
- 1/2lb if Hydron Rocks
- 1/3 bag of perlite
- 3 Gallons distilled water

-Optional: Rock Phosphate & Live worms

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That's a lot of amendments going on there! Don't need that...and mixing 12.5 c/ft IS a pain in the ass...

A very simple solution is variations on the Moonshine Mix from years ago...
This is what Rare Dankness uses and I have gone to it as it's simple and easy and works great. Re use is just as simple - re amend half the fert, none of the mineral (only once a year on that) and 3/4 of the liming agent...

Potters Gold for seedlings and The below mixed with a Tomato feed instead of the bloom for a veg soil works

From Dank's FAQ page.

1 bag of Fox Farm Happy Frog potting soil ½ bag Fox Farm Ocean Forest ½ bag of Black Gold organic soil 2 lbs of earth worm castings. 5 gallons of Chunky / Coarse perilite 1 cup greensand 1 cup dolomite lime (powder) 1 small coco fiber brick 2 cups Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower

For 90% of plants this mix will need only Ph'd (6.7) water through the entire flower cycle. For the other 10% of heavy feeders I recommend feeding at week 3 through 5.

For this feeding per 5 gal of pre ph'd 7.0 water.

Week 3: 2 tblspn of Age Old Organics Bloom ½ oz Maxicrop seaweed 1oz of Mother Earth Tea bloom ½ oz B1 thrive alive bloom

Week 4 & 5 4 tblspn Age Old Organics Bloom 1 oz Maxicrop seaweed 2oz Mother Earth Tea Bloom 1/2 oz B1 thrive alive bloom When feeding make sure 20% of what you put in is peeing out the bottom. Start flushing 12-17 days before harvesting.

I add a cup of Kelp meal
Cup of Alfalfa meal
4 cups of Garden Gypsum
and do the first watering with FULHUMIX
FOR BOTH MIX's

You can swap the Greensand for Azomite......Greensand is a slow release and for the most part will be available in follow on use of the soil when you re-amend/recycle.


This is a nice guide for starters

http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html

Simple way of making a fert mix is to add together all your nutrient choice's ratioed for a bulk amount and then mix them well and put 2-3 cups of the mix in your soil instead of a half of this and a half of that with three quarters of something else.....

Same for the rock or mineral mix

Cpl of thoughts anyway

Have fun

lots of sulfur there ...
what are you trying to leach out ?

Dr. Who said:

From Dank's FAQ page.

1 bag of Fox Farm Happy Frog potting soil ½ bag Fox Farm Ocean Forest ½ bag of Black Gold organic soil 2 lbs of earth worm castings. 5 gallons of Chunky / Coarse perilite 1 cup greensand 1 cup dolomite lime (powder) 1 small coco fiber brick 2 cups Peace of Mind Fruit and Flower

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Thanks for the info! What's the reason for adding 2lbs of earthworm, 1 cup of Dol, and 5 Gal of Perilite if the Happy Frog soil already has them mixed in?

Cannacopia Delight said:

Thanks for the info! What's the reason for adding 2lbs of earthworm castings and 1 cup of Dol if the Happy Frog soil already has them mixed in?

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#1 FF soils are to light on liming agents to start with! The amounts they used to make it are not meant to go over 30 days.....add more! They also are light on Mg - same thing, add more.
#2 Ewc brings so many good things to the mix, including more myco's.....why not......Also fast release of it's nutrients for quickly available nutrition at the initial potting....Helps smooth out course soil.

Dr. Who said:

#1 FF soils are to light on liming agents to start with! The amounts they used to make it are not meant to go over 30 days.....add more! They also are light on Mg - same thing, add more.
#2 Ewc brings so many good things to the mix, including more myco's.....why not......Also fast release of it's nutrients for quickly available nutrition at the initial potting....Helps smooth out course soil.

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Oh yeah. You don't really want to add Epsom straight to a soil mix. You use it in water as a quick Mg def fix......You have plenty of Mg and S already. You don't need more.