Post your Organic Soil Mix

[OldSmokie76]

Just mixed a new recipe. Gonna let it cook a month or so before using it. Any thoughts, criticisms, suggestions?

This makes up approx 40 gallons of fluffy mix.The gallon measurements were approx using a five gallon bucket.

Soil base:
2 cu ft bag of FFHF
2 gal mushroom compost
2 gal humus and cow manure
5 gal perlite

Amendments:
3 c blood meal
3 c bone meal
2 c kelp meal
2 c Dr Earth apf
2 c bat guano (high p)
1 c epsom salt
2 c garden lime
1 c mykos
3 c azomite

Mix thoroughly. I used a tarp and shovel. Really not a lot to deal with. Perfect for my needs. I place it in clean garbage can and water with a gallon of quality water. Let cook in the heat of the sun for at least a month.
This soil mix will be used to finish established clones in. This mix placed in bottom of containers and plant backfilled with straight FFHF. Water and compost teas till harvest.

My next group of clones are gonna be the guinea pigs.

 

[BombBP]

Simple mix here

Promix organic potting soil
Worm castings
Lime
Epsom salt
Jobes organic fruit and nut granular

 

[JWM2]

40% FFOF
40% Canna Coco
20% Perlite

A handful of dolomite lime for ph buffering, added calcium and magnesium. I feed with BioBizz nutes. Pretty simple stuff.

 

[OldSmokie76]

Simple mix here

Promix organic potting soil
Worm castings
Lime
Epsom salt
Jobes organic fruit and nut granular

View attachment 828572

I've considered that fruit and nut granular before. Use it before? Seems to be doing the trick on those gals. Use any nutes to help them finish or straight water?

 

[BombBP]

I've considered that fruit and nut granular before. Use it before? Seems to be doing the trick on those gals. Use any nutes to help them finish or straight water?

Been using it for the last few grows and I love it. The only thing I add is light feedings of fish ferts. High N for veg, high P for flower, of course. I usually use only Neptune's harvest but switched it up a lil and use Earth Juice grow for veg and Neptune's Harvest rose and flower for flower.

 

[DismalDude]

Not my mix but what I'm using.
Nectar#4

Ingredients: Washed Coco Coir Fiber, Alaskan Humus, Perlite, Yucca, Pumice, Diatoms, Worm Castings, Feather Meal, Fish Meal, Kelp Meal, Paramagnetic Rock, Limestone, Rock Dust, Mycorrhizae Fungi (Xtreme Gardening custom blend)

 

[StonedBlue]

I've got the following easily available.
Can I make a soil out of these or do I need something?
Dirt
Ecoscraps omri listed
Fox farms
bush doctor
Cow and compost
Mushroom compost
peat humis
Bat guano

 

[Jimster]

This is the same recipe I've used for decades and never had a problem other than bugs.

1 Bale Promix
1 Lg Bag composted cow manure
6x 6 gallon buckets
20-20-20
Wood ashes

I know there are a lot of growers that will roll their eyes over such a minimalist setup and will say that I need tons of magical and expensive potions and tinctures. Jimmy Carter was POTUS when I was taught this method and I never really saw anything that improved on it that was notable. Save the wood ashes for blooming.

 

[StonedBlue]

This is the same recipe I've used for decades and never had a problem other than bugs.

1 Bale Promix
1 Lg Bag composted cow manure
6x 6 gallon buckets
20-20-20
Wood ashes

I know there are a lot of growers that will roll their eyes over such a minimalist setup and will say that I need tons of magical and expensive potions and tinctures. Jimmy Carter was POTUS when I was taught this method and I never really saw anything that improved on it that was notable. Save the wood ashes for blooming.

Do you need to use fertilizer with this?

 

[oldskol4evr]

all with 5 gal bucket measurements,old school what can i say lmao,
1/2 bucket of kiddie playground wood chips
1/2 bucket of vermiculite
1/2 bucket sand
1/2 bucket clay,both combined equal top soil
full bucket of high grade garden soil containing crushed granite,all minerals come from it
1 cup blood
1 cup bone
1 cup epsome salt
1 cup kelp
1 cup sea bird guano
3 cups bokashi home made
1 cup wood ash
1 cup fish bone meal

mix all together check ph,usally high,add peat moss to drop ph to 6.5 ,water is about a gallon on the top of the mix,put lid on cook for 30 days min,open once week to make sure it cooking ,from condensation in bucket lid keeps every thing doing there bizz,then i feed with korean natural farming technic,once week to keep life happy,i use this mix indoors and outdoors,more watering outside of course,veggies only get feed every 2 weeks,tent gets feed once week

 

[Jimster]

Do you need to use fertilizer with this?

Yes. I typically fertilize with 20-20-20 every 2 weeks, then weekly as they get bigger. I mix a couple spoonfulls of slow release flower fertilizer mixed deep into the soil. When blooming, I cut back a little on the nitrogen and add a couple tsp of wood ashes to the water, which will also help raise any ph issues that acidic fertilizers might cause. I think the key is the manure, as it provides most micro nutrients, iron, holds water a little better than straight promix, and seems to buffer things so that you never have a problem. During budding, I typically feed them once a week. The very last week I let them get hungry a little, which finishes off any excess fertilizer. I don't know if it helps or hurts, but this is what I've always done. Not to be nasty, but sometimes a little urine might slip in there as well.

 

[Jimster]

20-20-20 is like jacks..........my issue is I had salt build up somehow in that pro mix

Promix is usually pretty good at shedding salts, but maybe it is my watering method, as I use a LOT of water and it usually runs out of the bucket every time I water...after a while I have to put a catch basin under them to keep enough water there. I typically use a gallon to 1.5 gallons/day/plant indoors. My only bitch with Promix is that it tends to shrink as the grow continues...at the end it is hard to find the promix for the roots! It makes it difficult to keep watered on a daily basis without a little wilting..but these are almost 7 ft plants too. I've never used this outdoors other than to fill buckets. 6 gallon makes a notable difference over 5's if you can get em.

 

[Kepp89]

anyone have experience with reds biochar? thats what i'll be using i think unless you guys know thats a bad idea

thanks

 

[OrganicLit]

Hey all I just got through reading these 43 pages of info and man was it some good stuff. I've been reading here along with other organic gardening books and I follow some no till/organic growers on YouTube and it's been a great help. I'm going to be making the jump into organic soon as well. After studying a bit I think I have a mostly solid plan for soil, let me know what you think.

Base Mix- mine is 6cuft​

25% peat
25% worm castings
25% FFOF/happy frog
25% aeration: 50/50 perlite & clay balls
6C ea brown rice/oats/cover crop

Lime Amendments​

Still unsure about lime and amounts needed, from what I've read I was planning on a 50/50 of Espoma garden lime and DTE oyster shell @ 1C per cuft. Please clarify for me if you can.

Mineral Mix: 4C/cuft?​

Espoma Greensand
DTE Azomite

Nuterient Amendments: 3C/cuft?
Veg soil mix​

Espoma bio tone
Espoma alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, and kelp meal

Flower soil mix​

Espoma plant tone
Espoma bulb tone
Espoma alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, and kelp meal

For the flower and veg mixes the soil is seperated and amended as such, not as one giant mix with both Amendments in it. I hope this part makes sense. Thanks in advance for the input!

How do you like ocean forest? I have a few bags I'm thinking of mixing up.

 

[fishbuds]

I just checked pricing. that biochar shit is very expensive.

i take lump charcoal, smosh it up a bit, add compost, compost tea, viola, free biochar.

$$$$$

 

[AngryBeeman]

Morgans composting (Gregs mix)

 

[Funkadelic]

I just checked pricing. that biochar shit is very expensive.

i take lump charcoal, smosh it up a bit, add compost, compost tea, viola, free biochar.

$$$$$

Dont use charcoal briquettes! Oh no bad bro. The flammable chemical added to the charcoal is nasty stuff and the reason not to.

FWIW - this is an old thread, but biochar is now included in many soil amendments with other great stuff (e.g. Bigfoot Mycorrhizae, Buffaloam soil additive, etc). The word is out.

Horticultural charcoal is affordable and at Lowes, Orchard Supply (rest in peace, seriously) type garden sections of good hardware stores. Or online.

Biochar has grown as a sold bagged product, too. Prices have come down to reflect supply/demand and market competition. Way way cheaper now. And you dont mix more than... 10% volume.

You can make it by the ton with a BioCharlie Log and rice hulls and fire place or pit area. Thats what I do. Super duper cheap and easy.

Just be sure to charge it (soak in nutrients or pee a week or more). Easy.

 

[fishbuds]

not the kingsford briquets for sure.

but the oak charcoal is just fine. and its viitually free compared to the biochar in the store.

NOONE, with a little time and space to work with, ever needs to spend big money on fire dust. go make a fire in your backyard, cool it fast with some water, boom lump charcoal. mix with compost, again viola, super expensive biochar for pennies on the buck.

More snakeoil for the masses to lap up.

i could see purchased biochar for the apartment guy, but thats it. .02

 

[TerpyTyrone]

Morgans composting (Gregs mix)

Dairy doo with smelt hulls? Manure with ashes?

 

[brian77]

Hey everyone I've seen a couple threads with different soil mixes in them and I was thinking It might not be a bad idea to compile them into this thread. I'm also interested to see what mixes everyone is working with. So here goes this is my soil mix I've been messing around with lately.

Soil Mix:
3 cubic ft Master Nursery potting soil(peat based)(1.5 bags)
25lb Napa floor dry(diatomite)(1 bag)
.5 cubic ft Ancient Forest Humus(1 bag)
1 1/6 cup mykos(mychorhizae)
3.5 cups insect frass(2-2-2)
2.25 cups Neem Seed meal(5-1-2)
6oz rock phosphate(0-3-0)
9 oz azomite(0-0-.2)(Trace Minerals)
9oz fish bone meal(3-16-0)
2 cups Dolomite lime(Calcium/Magnesium)

:hi

My first every grow with using nothing but this. Going well