The Rev’s vs Subcool’s Super Soil

phil k said:

really?? this is a two gallon bucket.. with our system... which is a soil system... veg should never have a bad look to it.. a monkey should be able to keep a plant hearty as hell in veg especially when running soil systems properly. but thats my opinion View attachment 3441479

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DonPetro said:

I find the Rev's soil mixes to be very overwhelming for a newb and with alot of unnecessary amendments that an experienced growers knows he doesnt need. Plus who wants to dig out a book to read the crazy recipe everytime you wanna mix up some soil. Man, 1/2 cup of this, 3/4 cup of that, 2 cups this...urghh. No time for that. Same goes for spikes and layers. Even his tea recipes are nuts. If i've learned one thing about organics it's to keep things simple and put the plant in charge. Truth be told, the Rev can grow some killer bud but so can I. He is a super cool cat though and one hell of a nice guy with a fine stable of genetics.

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Richard Drysift said:

You can certainly omit half the shit Rev includes in his tea recipes. I too am guilty of trying to throw too much at my plants. This was my first truly organic run & I had a hard time getting away from the mentality that if some is good more is better....totally wrong.
TLO is supposed to be a mostly just add clean water method with the occasional tea to keep the microlife popping in the rhizosphere. I think it is because the teas he brews are supposed to end up around 2 gallons diluted 2:1 with straight water. That's going to be a stretch if you've got several large hungry plants in big pots. The TLO methods outlined in the book are intended for small plants in tinyass pots which makes for a fast turnover to the flowering cycle - personally I prefer to veg out a bit longer & grow larger plants that yield more than a zip or 2.
You certainly do not need to dump as much crap into the soil as the Rev is suggesting either but it's nice to have a baseline reference in the book to refer to and some clue as to what to add by how much. I don't even measure the amendments I add to my recycled TLO soil bin- just sorta eyeball it.

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Dr.Pecker said:

You should read this book. View attachment 3441774

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Greenhouse;save said:

Yea and that's why I'm doing my dambdest to get a hold of some.........but the shipping cost is crippling it.........

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Dr.Pecker said:

You should read this book. View attachment 3441774

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Dr.Pecker said:

do you know anyone with cows or chickens?

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ButchyBoy said:

Definitely read that book!!! It totally changed the way I look at soil.

I started out mixing super soil and had OK results. The plants would burn tips then fade out early so I changed the amendments that I use.

No more blood meal or bone meal. No more dolomite lime, no more organic dry ferts.

I also reduced the amounts of amendments added to the soil. I re-use my soil and have for over a year and a half.

I mix 18 gallons at a time since I use 18 gallon tubs. My current mix is working very well, here is what I do.

1/2 used soil
1/4 Pro-Mix HP
1/4 Happy Frog soil conditioner
aeration material to taste

To this I add 1/4 cup of each amendment. Yes, only 1/4 cup!!!

alfalfa meal
kelp meal
crab meal
oyster shell
humic acid
azomite
epsom salt (could most likely do without this)
green sand (again I re-use my soil)

Dry mix then water and mix again. None of that layering bull crap!
I plant directly into this without cooking and they get 1/2 to 1 gallon of clear water at roughly 7.14 ph every 7-10 days.

Currently I make it to around day 44 or so before I see any fade which is way better than the super soil that started fading around day 18.
I also have discontinued the use of teas. Every time I use any it results in curling, burning, fading or margin yellowing so I just don't do it any more reinforcing the less is more ideology.

I made the changes after reading Teaming with Microbes and am very happy I did. I also have retired my roto-tiller and no longer till my garden.

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DonPetro said:

That was great. You have a nice soil mix man. I too believe less is more. They way you are doing it, your soil will only get better with time. It's all about that humus and broken down roots is great stuff. Rock on!

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ButchyBoy said:

Definitely read that book!!! It totally changed the way I look at soil.

I started out mixing super soil and had OK results. The plants would burn tips then fade out early so I changed the amendments that I use.

No more blood meal or bone meal. No more dolomite lime, no more organic dry ferts.

I also reduced the amounts of amendments added to the soil. I re-use my soil and have for over a year and a half.

I mix 18 gallons at a time since I use 18 gallon tubs. My current mix is working very well, here is what I do.

1/2 used soil
1/4 Pro-Mix HP
1/4 Happy Frog soil conditioner
aeration material to taste

To this I add 1/4 cup of each amendment. Yes, only 1/4 cup!!!

alfalfa meal
kelp meal
crab meal
oyster shell
humic acid
azomite
epsom salt (could most likely do without this)
green sand (again I re-use my soil)

Dry mix then water and mix again. None of that layering bull crap!
I plant directly into this without cooking and they get 1/2 to 1 gallon of clear water at roughly 7.14 ph every 7-10 days.

Currently I make it to around day 44 or so before I see any fade which is way better than the super soil that started fading around day 18.
I also have discontinued the use of teas. Every time I use any it results in curling, burning, fading or margin yellowing so I just don't do it any more reinforcing the less is more ideology.

I made the changes after reading Teaming with Microbes and am very happy I did. I also have retired my roto-tiller and no longer till my garden.

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YesMamNoSir said:

If it were between these two soils only I would probably go with the rev, but since I am a free human with desires and ambitions I choose to craft my own soil based on people that learned how to grow plants and not marijuana.

Neem cake, kelp meal, alfalfa, crab, and rock dust you can forget about everything else but the compost going in the soil………….the compost is the ONLY determining factor in your success when it comes to soil. barring any devastatingly dumb mistakes.

Neem oil on the leaves, malted barley and aloe in the water tank with some of the same neem, kelp and alfalfa you used in the soil to make a tea every now and then.

Can it get any easier?

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ButchyBoy said:

Definitely read that book!!! It totally changed the way I look at soil.

I started out mixing super soil and had OK results. The plants would burn tips then fade out early so I changed the amendments that I use.

No more blood meal or bone meal. No more dolomite lime, no more organic dry ferts.

I also reduced the amounts of amendments added to the soil. I re-use my soil and have for over a year and a half.

I mix 18 gallons at a time since I use 18 gallon tubs. My current mix is working very well, here is what I do.

1/2 used soil
1/4 Pro-Mix HP
1/4 Happy Frog soil conditioner
aeration material to taste

To this I add 1/4 cup of each amendment. Yes, only 1/4 cup!!!

alfalfa meal
kelp meal
crab meal
oyster shell
humic acid
azomite
epsom salt (could most likely do without this)
green sand (again I re-use my soil)

Dry mix then water and mix again. None of that layering bull crap!
I plant directly into this without cooking and they get 1/2 to 1 gallon of clear water at roughly 7.14 ph every 7-10 days.

Currently I make it to around day 44 or so before I see any fade which is way better than the super soil that started fading around day 18.
I also have discontinued the use of teas. Every time I use any it results in curling, burning, fading or margin yellowing so I just don't do it any more reinforcing the less is more ideology.

I made the changes after reading Teaming with Microbes and am very happy I did. I also have retired my roto-tiller and no longer till my garden.

Click to expand...