Buggins
Active Member
This is the current version of my own custom super soil. Can't follow subs recipe because I can't get a few of the same ingredients, most importantly, the quality organic potting mix like roots or fox farm.
Here is what I currently run...
20 gallons organic generic potting soil
5 gallons perlite
5 cups worm castings
150 ML Bat Guano (high phos)
150 ML Fish bone meal (high phos)
300 ML rock phosphate
300 ML Green Sand
400 ML Blood Meal
250 ML Dolomite lime
250 ML Epsom salts
Mix everything extremely well in a cement mixer, and dump into large garbage cans (this recipe fills two large cans) and let sit for a month or so. I then fill 5 gal pots 75% full of this mix, then just the organic potting soil on the top 25% with a little added perlite.
I've also been feeding with some earth worm casting tea (1 cup ewc with 2 tbsp molasses, and 2tbsp liquid kelp) bubbled vigorously for three days and then fed to the girls at a diluted ration of 2 cups of tea mixed into 1 gallon of water. They get this every other week or so.
Plants are currently around 4-5ft tall, 49 days into flowering under 600 watt hps - all plants getting plenty of light, fresh air, and watered when pots feel light to lift.
Problem: at 49 days into flower, I'm seeing very poor results with regard to the bud development. At this point with regular chemical nutes I was about twice as heavy as they are now, and with only a couple weeks to go until chop, I'm concerned I've really wasted my time with the organics this run. I know it's not exactly sub's recipe, but he boasts growth and yield similar to hydro with his organic soil mix, and I'm looking worse than just regular ol sunshine mix #4 and bottled nutes, so obviously I'm not doing something right.
I was hoping you all in the know could take a quick look at my mix recipe, and let me know if there is anything I'm missing, or if I just have been under-feeding or something. I have a very hard time distinguishing nutritional deficiencies, so I just don't know how to tell if they aren't getting enough food, or if I'm over feeding them and burning them.
I'm running multiple strains, and all look healthy, but just dismal yields all around so far.
Again, they look healthy, but the buds just aren't packing on any density.
Important Note: Around 35 days of flowering I started to notice flowering progress slowing down quite a bit. At this point, they had been in the 5 gallon buckets with the 75% super soil for 4 weeks of veg, and 5 weeks of flowering.
Maybe they just ran out of food? I have no idea how to tell what is left in the soil for them to eat, so someone with more experience in organic soil mixes, please help me out.
Thanks in advance.
ALSO: I decided to top-dress each pot with 1 cup of earth worm castings, 2 tablespoons of high P bat guano, and 2 tablespoons of organic power bloom mix (2-9-4), and then water it in good. I've seen a little bit of an improvement over the past three days since I top-dressed, but it's hard to notice.
Ok, so in Summary:
Bug
Here is what I currently run...
20 gallons organic generic potting soil
5 gallons perlite
5 cups worm castings
150 ML Bat Guano (high phos)
150 ML Fish bone meal (high phos)
300 ML rock phosphate
300 ML Green Sand
400 ML Blood Meal
250 ML Dolomite lime
250 ML Epsom salts
Mix everything extremely well in a cement mixer, and dump into large garbage cans (this recipe fills two large cans) and let sit for a month or so. I then fill 5 gal pots 75% full of this mix, then just the organic potting soil on the top 25% with a little added perlite.
I've also been feeding with some earth worm casting tea (1 cup ewc with 2 tbsp molasses, and 2tbsp liquid kelp) bubbled vigorously for three days and then fed to the girls at a diluted ration of 2 cups of tea mixed into 1 gallon of water. They get this every other week or so.
Plants are currently around 4-5ft tall, 49 days into flowering under 600 watt hps - all plants getting plenty of light, fresh air, and watered when pots feel light to lift.
Problem: at 49 days into flower, I'm seeing very poor results with regard to the bud development. At this point with regular chemical nutes I was about twice as heavy as they are now, and with only a couple weeks to go until chop, I'm concerned I've really wasted my time with the organics this run. I know it's not exactly sub's recipe, but he boasts growth and yield similar to hydro with his organic soil mix, and I'm looking worse than just regular ol sunshine mix #4 and bottled nutes, so obviously I'm not doing something right.
I was hoping you all in the know could take a quick look at my mix recipe, and let me know if there is anything I'm missing, or if I just have been under-feeding or something. I have a very hard time distinguishing nutritional deficiencies, so I just don't know how to tell if they aren't getting enough food, or if I'm over feeding them and burning them.
I'm running multiple strains, and all look healthy, but just dismal yields all around so far.
Again, they look healthy, but the buds just aren't packing on any density.
Important Note: Around 35 days of flowering I started to notice flowering progress slowing down quite a bit. At this point, they had been in the 5 gallon buckets with the 75% super soil for 4 weeks of veg, and 5 weeks of flowering.
Maybe they just ran out of food? I have no idea how to tell what is left in the soil for them to eat, so someone with more experience in organic soil mixes, please help me out.
Thanks in advance.
ALSO: I decided to top-dress each pot with 1 cup of earth worm castings, 2 tablespoons of high P bat guano, and 2 tablespoons of organic power bloom mix (2-9-4), and then water it in good. I've seen a little bit of an improvement over the past three days since I top-dressed, but it's hard to notice.
Ok, so in Summary:
- Is my soil mix lacking something, and is this why my buds aren't filling out?
- How can you tell with an organic soil mix when you need to ammend with more food? Should I just always assume that after living in the pots for 8 weeks, they will be depleted?
- How long does it take powdered organic fertilizers like guano to "kick in" so to speak. With chemical nutes, I would see an improvement rapidly if there was a deficiency, but with organics, I have yet to see anything happen quickly. I never know if I've just not added enough extra food, or if there is just a major delayed reaction time between when I feed, and when the plant starts to look better.
Bug
