Well, What a thread!
I guess I'm "Old-School" as I was called while awaiting for arraignment on "too many plants" in Illinois. Turns out we can't have flowering and Veg at the same time like California.
Well, I am an organic soil guy from way back. Has something to do with my Father explaining how plants grew when i was four years old. Yes I remember.
So I came to believe that a living soil, now known as the Soil Food Web is a real thing and not just what a child believed to be true.
So I host 15 gallons of home-made, multi-generational--organic soil, for my licensed Medical Grow here in the wonderful state of Illinois.
This is year four for the recycling of soil. I believe that Humus has formed and long term nutrients are now plant available.
Each end of season the total soil volume is less after the harvest. The start of each season has me screening new materials through a mesh screen that are then turned in with the soil being recycled.
My process here is to have a living soil the whole grow. I feed the soil to feed the plants. Meaning I don't apply top dressing materials to feed the plants, I feed the soil microbes. Naturally with fifteen gallons of soil and the fact that over time some materials have broken down and become plant ready, means that if done right then excellence in organic growing will show it's magic.

Currently I am seeing results I have not before and this growing the same F2's as last year. That is large fan leaves on five and six node plants. That tells me that nutrients are available that were added one or two years ago and the soil is still a healthy bio-active environment.

I am now liquid-composting. I am watering carefully with fast nutrient and microbe rich 'Tea.' My soils and my liquid-compost Tea are all from Guinea Pig work-products and pine shaving bedding. There is a thread with the recipe generated by Chatgpt 4o on site.

So my advice in Organic soil is we never "cook" we manage a Soil Food Web which is always alive.
My grow is a relaxed-time event. I usually wait for my girls to be ready before I flip.
I know when they ready are because they are really mean with the Terpenes. They spray oils. They react to my mucking about and then my eyes get irritated and I get itchy. They Are Mean Girls!
So once they get to there it's usually time that they can put that energy to better use and go reproductive.
--That's my grow in a page or two.

Anyway : Questions about organic soil for me? I can only say what I do.

As for building a soil with Organic vs. Inorganic fertilizer I wouldn't care either way.

I can see the argument for restricting pot size.

I'm down for whatever is picked.

I mixed compost, horse manure, top soil, worm castings, blood and bone meal, and some kelp meal with top soil for some autoflowers I’m starting.

Totally relevant all organic stuff

How do you guy feel about allowing store bought soil?

cbrians said:

I mixed compost, horse manure, top soil, worm castings, blood and bone meal, and some kelp meal with top soil for some autoflowers I’m starting.

Totally relevant all organic stuff

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Vermiculite and perlite are both expanded volcanic rocks that can be used in gardening, but they have different characteristics and uses:

• Water retention
  Vermiculite retains more water than perlite, and releases it slowly over time. This makes it a good choice for seeds and plants that need a lot of water, like impatiens, or for sandy soils.
  

• 
  
  
• Drainage
  Perlite is better for drainage and aeration, making it a good choice for plants that need well-drained soil, like cacti and succulents. It can also help loosen heavy clay soil.
  
  
• 
  

• Structure
  Vermiculite has a spongy structure similar to crumpled paper or an accordion, while perlite has a popcorn-like structure.
  

• 
  

• Color
  Perlite is white or grayish white, while vermiculite can be white, yellowish, translucent, shiny, light brown, or greenish.
  

• 
  

• Uses
  Vermiculite can be used in seed sowing, propagation, and house plant compost. Perlite can be used in potting compost for plants that need good drainage, like cacti and succulents, and to create an airy compost for seedlings.
  

• 
  

• Safety
  Some vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos in the past, but it's not clear if that's still an issue.
  

• • 
    

Both vermiculite and perlite are approved for organic gardening and won't decompose in soil. However, they can be dusty, so it's a good idea to wear a dust mask when working with them

Natep said:

How do you guy feel about allowing store bought soil?

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I felt fine when I bought my primary soil mix from a Grow-Shop in 21:
They in turn, buy the mix in bulk bags.
I remember buying five bags of ready mix which was enough for 5 15-gallon pots.
I would recommend supporting our business community.
Since then I have recycled my soil three years now.

I am not a purest i toss and turn my indoor soil with different organic amendments, i reuse it in other words. Unfortunitly i also get gnats on the first use. Fruit flies, no see ems whatever you call them. I've got 3 tubs i use labeled 1,2,3. #1 is new mix an could be abit high in N #2 is recycled soil from indoor grows only. #3 is outdoor only soil which is also amended each new season.

Zzzax said:

Vermiculite and perlite are both expanded volcanic rocks that can be used in gardening, but they have different characteristics and uses:

• Water retention
  Vermiculite retains more water than perlite, and releases it slowly over time. This makes it a good choice for seeds and plants that need a lot of water, like impatiens, or for sandy soils.
• 
  
  
• Drainage
  Perlite is better for drainage and aeration, making it a good choice for plants that need well-drained soil, like cacti and succulents. It can also help loosen heavy clay soil.
  
  
• 
  
• Structure
  Vermiculite has a spongy structure similar to crumpled paper or an accordion, while perlite has a popcorn-like structure.
• 
  
• Color
  Perlite is white or grayish white, while vermiculite can be white, yellowish, translucent, shiny, light brown, or greenish.
• 
  
• Uses
  Vermiculite can be used in seed sowing, propagation, and house plant compost. Perlite can be used in potting compost for plants that need good drainage, like cacti and succulents, and to create an airy compost for seedlings.
• 
  
• Safety
  Some vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos in the past, but it's not clear if that's still an issue.

Both vermiculite and perlite are approved for organic gardening and won't decompose in soil. However, they can be dusty, so it's a good idea to wear a dust mask when working with them

Click to expand...

Yeah, I ordered more but I’m inpatient

cbrians said:

Yeah, I ordered more but I’m inpatient

Click to expand...

Also :: Good stuff! Gypsum provides two of the secondary plant macronutrients, calcium and sulfur. Unlike limestone, it generally does not affect soil pH.

Next season it's time for more gypsum in the additions.

Galgrows said:

I am not a purest i toss and turn my indoor soil with different organic amendments, i reuse it in other words. Unfortunitly i also get gnats on the first use. Fruit flies, no see ems whatever you call them. I've got 3 tubs i use labeled 1,2,3. #1 is new mix an could be abit high in N #2 is recycled soil from indoor grows only. #3 is outdoor only soil which is also amended each new season.

Click to expand...

Gnats? those guys eat fruit and stuff. Oh they might be after the blood meal.

Fungus gnats: Adult fungus gnats are attracted to microbially active media, such as blood meal, compost, and vermicompost, because their larvae feed on microbes and fungi. In fact, microbially active media can produce up to five times as many adult fungus gnats.

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Cover the topsoil with pine shavings. Remove them when you add stuff and then recover. Also Yellow Sticky Traps are a wise indoor investment.
An organic world is not a sterile world. Veg is forgiving. Naturally sticky-bud is a different thing. Well unless it's for Green Dragon.

Natep said:

How do you guy feel about allowing store bought soil?

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I have never "made soil" I was going to get promix and add to it.

I suppose I could get a bunch of leaves from the yard and shred them as a medium.

The_Greenist said:

I have never "made soil" I was going to get promix and add to it.

I suppose I could get a bunch of leaves from the yard and shred them as a medium.

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Same, grab some Happy Frog and add to it (what you see fit to your needs) and done. You could get it all separated and mix it yourself I guess, the peat moss and perlite, but, it's already mixed with the Happy Frog.

I'm just here for the popcorn.

I literally do this in 5gal bags every grow. Tried to keep my flowering plants in 1gal this time and top dressing and watering constantly. Tried 2gal last run, not as many top dressings, and still averages 3oz a plant.

2Water said:

I literally do this in 5gal bags every grow. Tried to keep my flowering plants in 1gal this time and top dressing and watering constantly. Tried 2gal last run, not as many top dressings, and still averages 3oz a plant.

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No shit, your banging them out in one gallon with just top dressing? Do you top dress every week?

Week4Bytch said:

No shit, your banging them out in one gallon with just top dressing? Do you top dress every week?

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This grow it is about every 10 days using DTE dry amendments. I just had to up-pot my one female because she was a little root bound, but the other 2 I have going right now will be finished in the 1gals. Pain in the ass with the smaller pots! From my 2gal run and this 1gal run, I'm pretty confident 3gal of good soil could finish an 8-10week cultivar. After I finish phenohunting Sundrops, I am eyeballing some 12-13 week NLD equatorial "sativas" that I want to cross and try running alternating runs of Sundrops (Sativa dom hybrid), and Sun Goddess (almost pure Sativa using 2 heirloom cultivars and 1 highly worked line....)

2Water said:

This grow it is about every 10 days using DTE dry amendments. I just had to up-pot my one female because she was a little root bound, but the other 2 I have going right now will be finished in the 1gals. Pain in the ass with the smaller pots! From my 2gal run and this 1gal run, I'm pretty confident 3gal of good soil could finish an 8-10week cultivar. After I finish phenohunting Sundrops, I am eyeballing some 12-13 week NLD equatorial "sativas" that I want to cross and try running alternating runs of Sundrops (Sativa dom hybrid), and Sun Goddess (almost pure Sativa using 2 heirloom cultivars and 1 highly worked line....)

Click to expand...

Interesting, I swore off on running smaller pots, lot of work involved keeping them happy. But the bigger ones are freakn heavy too.. can't win, either way your gonna be working

Week4Bytch said:

Interesting, I swore off on running smaller pots, lot of work involved keeping them happy. But the bigger ones are freakn heavy too.. can't win, either way your gonna be working

Click to expand...

For real! After this test I'm staying in the 5gals for flowering just for my own sanity!

5 gallon pot max, any soil amendments are allow in soil prep, water only after splash?

Let's go!

@Natep - Let's go, set the rules and grow.

I guess I will just compete against myself like usual.