New To Growing, Trying To Figure The Whole Soil Thing Out. Need Tips Or Any Help That You Can Give.

[Dothtsht]

Hi! Im planning on starting a outdoor grow here in about 3-5 months and am trying to get help with my soil, if anyone can give me some tips or help with the amounts that would be much appreciated!!
Compost: 150g
Sphagnum Peat Moss: 150g
Perlite: 150g
Kelp Meal: 1.5g
Humic Acid: 1.5g
Mycorrhiza: .35g
Vermicompost: 70g
Bat Guano: 20g

Dont know the brands yet, i believe it needs more amendments but dont know! If you want to anything else about the grow please ask.

 

[4plant]

Looks like you've already found a pretty good recipe. Add up the n-p-k values and see what your final total is. I've had more success mixing a mild "super soil" and then using a higher nitrogen compost tea in veg and a bloom specific tea in later flower.

 

[oldskol4evr]

Looks like you've already found a pretty good recipe. Add up the n-p-k values and see what your final total is. I've had more success mixing a mild "super soil" and then using a higher nitrogen compost tea in veg and a bloom specific tea in later flower.

cant really tally up NPK VALUE that way friend,those npk numbers is what the whole bag or box contain,you could do it this way with a lot of math involved,example is 1 cup of bone meal,box say 13 for you k you have to break that number down buy the volume used,you get what im saying?

 

[Madmax]

Whats the ph of the soil your using..sandy,loam,clay.these will determine what ammendments you add etc and how big are your holes.....or are you using huge gallon smart pots.

 

[oldskol4evr]

Whats the ph of the soil your using..sandy,loam,clay.these will determine what ammendments you add etc and how big are your holes.....or are you using huge gallon smart pots.

lot of truth here,folk seem to forget about clay and its benifits,i start every batch of new soil at the texture level,for my weed i run more silt than clay and sand,just so i can feed more regular,for the veggie garden ,even numbers across the board which give you sandy loom texture,with outdoors the clay is what keep your squash ,cucmbers,tomato plants from having blossom end rot plus holds moisture longer giving you chance to not water as much when your to far from a source of water if you dig.
after the soil texture test and ideal levels,then work with your NPK values

 

[crimsonecho]

cant really tally up NPK VALUE that way friend,those npk numbers is what the whole bag or box contain,you could do it this way with a lot of math involved,example is 1 cup of bone meal,box say 13 for you k you have to break that number down buy the volume used,you get what im saying?

Arent those ratios?
I mean if a fertilizer is 1-1-1. Then wouldnt it have 1n to 1p to 1k.
Lets say you amend with two fertilizers.
One with 3-2-1. You use 1 cup.
Then there is another one with 1-2-3 and you use 2 cups of it.
Cant you calculate it with the following calculation.
3-2-1x1=3-2-1
1-2-3x2=2-4-6
3-2-1+2-4-6=5-6-7/3=1,6-2-2,3
I am really asking not making any claims here.
Also myco will be there in the soil most likely, i wouldnt add myco on top of this recipe.

 

[oldskol4evr]

Arent those ratios?
I mean if a fertilizer is 1-1-1. Then wouldnt it have 1n to 1p to 1k.
Lets say you amend with two fertilizers.
One with 3-2-1. You use 1 cup.
Then there is another one with 1-2-3 and you use 2 cups of it.
Cant you calculate it with the following calculation.
3-2-1x1=3-2-1
1-2-3x2=2-4-6
3-2-1+2-4-6=5-6-7/3=1,6-2-2,3
I am really asking not making any claims here.
Also myco will be there in the soil most likely, i wouldnt add myco on top of this recipe.

yes correct,you add all together and number increase,BUT what size are your volume? get it,if a 40 lbs bag of 0-46-0 is that it is from 40 lbs of volume,so 1 cup wouldnt equal 46 right ,if you bought say 4lbs of each of what you describe ,all containers the same and you use all the products for your mix your numbers be dead on.
hell ya add mycos,always the best,all im saying is by combination of what you mention,what is the real value,only isolated test would be correct if you dig,and if it were that easy and did work that way it would be so concentrated you couldnt add that much,if you dig,so what ive done over the years is a basic start.
get several samples of the soil in all difrent spots,combine and mix well,get out all debri ,sticks clumps and shit like that,anyway fill your jar 3/4 full with your soil,fill jar with water shake it for 1 min,set jar on a level counter top or window ledge,wait 10 min,down on very bottom be a sand line,you will see it,take a black marker make a line on jar were the sand line is,wait a hour and you will see your silt line,do the same with marker,wait 24 hours and do the same with clay line,ok from there take the water and do your NPK testing with that water,this is when you really know what you have and were to amend in whats needed if you dig,before you dump out the soil you used before the jar test take a little and do your ph test ,so all bases are covered.it would be nice at this point to be able to just do as your mentioning of adding the numbers,but not real.
so if you want to amend extra stuff after all this testing is done,and have figured out your value correct,more than likely your ph is gonna swing high from the add ins,mine is always higher ,i do outdoor veggies and indoor medicine haaha the main reason i keep check on texture is from watering with 200 ft of hose and dont have energy to water every day hahahah,inside the tent i go with lighter mix of texture,more silt were i can feed more often,outdoors my mix i only feed every 2 weeks,to much work playing fireman hahahah,anyway probally confused you,have myself haahah,but if your great with math all that you mentioned can be done on smaller scale as you mentioned,im just a old guy that was born to work a farm and didnt have school ,so always shoot from the hip if you dig.
here is a example the bottles of nutrients you buy,the math is broke down to what the bottle says for NPK,it is concentrated were all in all about 1 tbsp of all combined nutrients in the bottle the rest is water

 

[crimsonecho]

yes correct,you add all together and number increase,BUT what size are your volume? get it,if a 40 lbs bag of 0-46-0 is that it is from 40 lbs of volume,so 1 cup wouldnt equal 46 right ,if you bought say 4lbs of each of what you describe ,all containers the same and you use all the products for your mix your numbers be dead on.
hell ya add mycos,always the best,all im saying is by combination of what you mention,what is the real value,only isolated test would be correct if you dig,and if it were that easy and did work that way it would be so concentrated you couldnt add that much,if you dig,so what ive done over the years is a basic start.
get several samples of the soil in all difrent spots,combine and mix well,get out all debri ,sticks clumps and shit like that,anyway fill your jar 3/4 full with your soil,fill jar with water shake it for 1 min,set jar on a level counter top or window ledge,wait 10 min,down on very bottom be a sand line,you will see it,take a black marker make a line on jar were the sand line is,wait a hour and you will see your silt line,do the same with marker,wait 24 hours and do the same with clay line,ok from there take the water and do your NPK testing with that water,this is when you really know what you have and were to amend in whats needed if you dig,before you dump out the soil you used before the jar test take a little and do your ph test ,so all bases are covered.it would be nice at this point to be able to just do as your mentioning of adding the numbers,but not real.
so if you want to amend extra stuff after all this testing is done,and have figured out your value correct,more than likely your ph is gonna swing high from the add ins,mine is always higher ,i do outdoor veggies and indoor medicine haaha the main reason i keep check on texture is from watering with 200 ft of hose and dont have energy to water every day hahahah,inside the tent i go with lighter mix of texture,more silt were i can feed more often,outdoors my mix i only feed every 2 weeks,to much work playing fireman hahahah,anyway probally confused you,have myself haahah,but if your great with math all that you mentioned can be done on smaller scale as you mentioned,im just a old guy that was born to work a farm and didnt have school ,so always shoot from the hip if you dig.
here is a example the bottles of nutrients you buy,the math is broke down to what the bottle says for NPK,it is concentrated were all in all about 1 tbsp of all combined nutrients in the bottle the rest is water

Yeah ok, i agree it will not give you absolute numbers but, this type of calculation should give you a basic idea of what you put into your soil. Of course not the npk value of the soil itself. At that point the volume of the soil and the npk ferts in the soil comes into calculation and it is impossible to calculate those without any lab tests.
But you can find the npk value of what you are adding at least.
The myco thing is just a suggestion, i know it works really good but, if you are using soil from a field, it would already be in there. In anycase it will not hurt to add more off course.
I am actually using peat mix so the texture is very different. No clay or sand or so on. But i agree if you are doing proper soil, texture needs to be on point too.

 

[oldskol4evr]

Yeah ok, i agree it will not give you absolute numbers but, this type of calculation should give you a basic idea of what you put into your soil. Of course not the npk value of the soil itself. At that point the volume of the soil and the npk ferts in the soil comes into calculation and it is impossible to calculate those without any lab tests.
But you can find the npk value of what you are adding at least.
The myco thing is just a suggestion, i know it works really good but, if you are using soil from a field, it would already be in there. In anycase it will not hurt to add more off course.
I am actually using peat mix so the texture is very different. No clay or sand or so on. But i agree if you are doing proper soil, texture needs to be on point too.

doesnt matter,soil or peat,i concentrate more on PandK nitrogen can add every month if you choice,a top notch compost have all these and do great alone ,thats my plan due to medical shit,i just add compost ,when the plant sluggs a little bit add new compost,if the microbes and such are working compost goes quick if you dig.
i gave up on my cornbed this spring,so went got
1 yrd of top soil
2 yrds of compost
1 yrd kiddie play ground wood chips
1 yrd of high grade compost with granite
50 lbs of oyster shell crushed
4 lbs blood meal
4 bone meal
10 lbs of fish bone meal
8 lbs kelp
turned it all in,been sitting out unused for 2 months,did ph and NPK test,ph was right on with 6.5,N and K were adequte,P wasnt even a trace,so ya here is a example right,so went got 10 lb bag of 0-46-0 called for 3 to 6 lbs per 100 sq ft,so 10 lbs on the 200 sq ft bed,put the 46 on and done,easy because of the whole bag was used

 

[oldskol4evr]

im adding 8lbs sea bird guano next month,so the kelp and guano will be filling that void,for now i got winter shit going in a few days,that take care of the slow to med release im looking for