A few questions about my soil mix

[touretticdiabetic]

Starting my second grow ever; first time making my own soil. I am going to be growing in equal parts sphagnum peat, worm castings, and expanded clay pebbles, with Coast of Maine Stonington Blend added. I am also mixing in about 4 cups of rock dust. I am going to roll my seeds in mycorrhizae, as well as sprinkle some in the hole when I transplant.

I am about to start soaking my peat; do I need to PH balance the water I am using for this?

What else would you recommend I add to my soil? And with a mix like this will I need to allow it to cook?

Happy growing!

 

[PahPahCee]

Depends on how much nutrient blend you add. It never hurts to cook the soil. If anything it at least allows beneficials to get established.


I grow in soil exclusively. I don’t pretreat my peat. I just break it up and mix my soil dry.

 

[touretticdiabetic]

Depends on how much nutrient blend you add. It never hurts to cook the soil. If anything it at least allows beneficials to get established.


I grow in soil exclusively. I don’t pretreat my peat. I just break it up and mix my soil dry.

The nute blend says to add one teaspoon per 6" of pot diameter, or one Tablespoon per square foot.

 

[PahPahCee]

The nute blend says to add one teaspoon per 6" of pot diameter, or one Tablespoon per square foot.

The clay you added puts me out of my comfort zone so I’m not confident in giving too much advice. A few things I notice is;

That’s a lot of worm castings. The dry fert is also worm castings. Nothing wrong with that. Just an observation.

Peat moss is acidic. Usually I would add dolomite lime to offset that.

The fert mix says to add 3 cups of nutrients per 1 Cubic foot for new garden beds.

 

[touretticdiabetic]

The clay you added puts me out of my comfort zone so I’m not confident in giving too much advice. A few things I notice is;

That’s a lot of worm castings. The dry fert is also worm castings. Nothing wrong with that. Just an observation.

Peat moss is acidic. Usually I would add dolomite lime to offset that.

The fert mix says to add 3 cups of nutrients per 1 Cubic foot for new garden beds.

The clay you added puts me out of my comfort zone so I’m not confident in giving too much advice. A few things I notice is;

That’s a lot of worm castings. The dry fert is also worm castings. Nothing wrong with that. Just an observation.

Peat moss is acidic. Usually I would add dolomite lime to offset that.

The fert mix says to add 3 cups of nutrients per 1 Cubic foot for new garden beds.

I like the idea of using stone in place of perlite for aeration. In my mind, the trace minerals in the rock are going to help, and it adds a little red to my plants' diets. :D

Would you recommend lesser worm castings in lieu of something else? All of my research has lead me to believe that a higher ratio of worm castings has little negative effect, and mostly positive.

After doing some more research, I am not adding the rock phosphate to the mix. It does not seem to be soluble in soil above 5.5 pH, and too much P can be detrimental to the microbe population.

I will definitely pick up some dolomite lime; how much would you say to use for the mix above? I am picking up a soil meter tomorrow, so that will help immensely.

I am growing outside in containers, so I assumed I was to use the fert mix measurement for new containers.. would this not be the case?

So sorry for the many questions..I really do not have many in-person resources around..

 

[PahPahCee]

I like the idea of using stone in place of perlite for aeration. In my mind, the trace minerals in the rock are going to help, and it adds a little red to my plants' diets. :D

Would you recommend lesser worm castings in lieu of something else? All of my research has lead me to believe that a higher ratio of worm castings has little negative effect, and mostly positive.

After doing some more research, I am not adding the rock phosphate to the mix. It does not seem to be soluble in soil above 5.5 pH, and too much P can be detrimental to the microbe population.

I will definitely pick up some dolomite lime; how much would you say to use for the mix above? I am picking up a soil meter tomorrow, so that will help immensely.

I am growing outside in containers, so I assumed I was to use the fert mix measurement for new containers.. would this not be the case?

So sorry for the many questions..I really do not have many in-person resources around..

If the stone works as aeration then more power to you. I use Pumice and ricehulls but anything is fine. I personally use what is cheapest. Perlite rises in the soil over time so I try to avoid it.

Naw the worm castings are fine. I would use 30% castings for my soil. You nailed it though, castings won’t hurt your plants.

I would mix it in as you suggested following the new container directions. If you add a bunch of other amendments in you should be wary of adding too much good stuff.

So I’m no expert. I’m learning as you are. I have been following the “Coots mix” and so far I really like the results.

Here’s the recipe:
1/3 aeration
1/3 manure
1/3 peat moss

Per Cubic foot add:

1 cup Crustacean Meal

1 cup Kelp Meal

1/2 cup Neem Cake (I use 1 full cup)

1/2 cup Karanja Cake (I can’t find this locally so I skip it and supplement with neem meal)

1 cup Basalt (I add 2 cups)

1 cup Gypsum

1 cup Calcium Carbonate (Ag Lime)



I will also add bokashi, KnF LAB, and mosquito dunks into my soil when mixing it. Bokashi and LAB will break everything down quickly. the dunks kill off gnats before they even have a chance.


some fun things to add:
Bokashi
Malted barley
Em1
Coconut water
Silica (rice hulls break down into silica)
Aloe

 

[Grower1974]

Just be careful with Stonington blend. It's very hot. Be careful when adding nutes before week 5-6. Go VERY light.