Mixing up some soil

[Bud]

I’ve been making my own mix the last few years now,with good to great results, it’s no biggie,
1. Large Clean garbage can, with lid
1. Plastic liner
1. 1.5 Sf. of ocean forest
25% coco core ( well rinsed )
25% peat moss, 2 lbs. perlite, and that’s it. Very simple, Mix very well
I layered and mixed as I went along... till full. Close liner and lid till ready for use.

 

[fanleaf]

So your just cutting the strength of the FFOF then. No amendments or anything? You must feed heavy teas and food to get you through flower then? Or growing in 30 gallon pots?

 

[MochaBud]

I’ve been making my own mix the last few years now,with good to great results, it’s no biggie,
1. Large Clean garbage can, with lid
1. Plastic liner
1. 1.5 Sf. of ocean forest
25% coco core ( well rinsed )
25% peat moss, 2 lbs. perlite, and that’s it. Very simple, Mix very well
I layered and mixed as I went along... till full. Close liner and lid till ready for use.

Here's what I use...found it...somewhere

1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings
2 Bags (8 Qts) Organic Perlite

EDIT: You have to mix well and water (wet down for cooking) mix daily and wet down every 4 days use after 4 to 6 weeks of cooking

 

[Bud]

I try to double the size of the mix, since I give the girls all the nutrients and supplements they need in a liquid form from the start! This is just a medium like coco without the hassle of watering twice a day. And no cooking needed With the added core and peat to the mix it stays moist longer and I don’t water as much .

 

[DaddyKush]

I always add some lime to stabilize pH.

 

[philthegeek]

Looks a nice mix.

I do Coarse Sand, Composted Pine Bark fines, Coco Peat, A little Dolomite, CaCO3, Osmocote (slow release), Growers Blue (NPK fertiliser). Then mix that up 1:1 with Perlite.

That much perlite and its pretty much impossible to over water and can do low maintenance bottom up watering. Mix has enough air space in it so get nice healthy root zone.

 

[MochaBud]

I try to double the size of the mix, since I give the girls all the nutrients and supplements they need in a liquid form from the start! This is just a medium like coco without the hassle of watering twice a day. And no cooking needed With the added core and peat to the mix it stays moist longer and I don’t water as much .

Oh hell I thought you were trying to make some living organics...and the "cooking" is so everything mixes together and has time to activate and grow a microbial network...
My bad your just in some stuff you can't use again huh gotcha

 

[fanleaf]

I try to double the size of the mix, since I give the girls all the nutrients and supplements they need in a liquid form from the start! This is just a medium like coco without the hassle of watering twice a day. And no cooking needed With the added core and peat to the mix it stays moist longer and I don’t water as much .

Seems like a bale of straight Promix hp would be cheaper and easier then. I've grown with it for a few years now. Dont need to water it every day and you control the food the plants get from day one. I have to water/feed every other day but only when the plants are really going fast and big.

 

[Bud]

I’ve been reusing the soil mix for the last 4 grows without a problem. I do add recharge to the soil and mix up a new batch every year or when needed.lol

 

[fanleaf]

I’ve been reusing the soil mix for the last 4 grows without a problem. I do add recharge to the soil and mix up a new batch every year or when needed.lol

I'm just confused...What are you needing to recharge since you feed your plants from day one with liquid nutrients? You could just keep recycling a bale of promix and be cheaper and easier. I guess I just dont get it. If your feeding any type of synthetics you dont have a living soil regardless so why even add Organic soil to the mix in the first place?

 

[Bud]

Is ffof organic? I added the ffof for the fertilizers that’s in it, I have weakened it by cutting the ff in 1/2 but it still works just not as long or strong as full strength. IMO. I purchase a big bag of ocean forest at my local hydro store for a whopping $$$ 25 bucks. I have no idea how much promix costs? But I’ve been doing this for a while now with this mix....and If it’s not broke,Why fix it? The recharge is only treating the soil. The only synthetic used by me is at the end when flushing!

 

[fanleaf]

Is ffof organic? I added the ffof for the fertilizers that’s in it, I have weakened it by cutting the ff in 1/2 but it still works just not as long or strong as full strength. IMO. I purchase a big bag of ocean forest at my local hydro store for a whopping $$$ 25 bucks. I have no idea how much promix costs? But I’ve been doing this for a while now with this mix....and If it’s not broke,Why fix it? The recharge is only treating the soil. The only synthetic used by me is at the end when flushing!

But you feed everything they need by yourself starting at day 1 so what's in the ffof don't really matter.
Just FYI, a large bale of Promix hp runs me $38 and I would say it's probably as much "soil" as 8 of the large bags of FFOF once the bale gets separated.
Nobody's telling you to fix what isnt broke. I think a few are just pointing out that since you feed your plants what they need anyways, you could save a bunch of time, effort and money going a different route instead of just diluting down ffof soil. That's all. If what you do works for you that's great, just dont stop experimenting.
What nutrients/foods do you use?
I like taking a big bale of Promix hp and adding a large bag of earthworm castings and with very few amendments you have a ton of organic mix.

 

[Bud]

I'm just confused...What are you needing to recharge since you feed your plants from day one with liquid nutrients? You could just keep recycling a bale of promix and be cheaper and easier. I guess I just dont get it. If your feeding any type of synthetics you dont have a living soil regardless so why even add Organic soil to the mix in the first place?

I use the recharge, and I quote ,Recharge is compatible any fertilizer program! It used as a soil amendment to establish colonies of beneficial bacteria,that’s what the bag says on it. Since I reuse my soil over and over it seems like the right thing to do.. OK ?

 

[fanleaf]

I use the recharge, and I quote ,Recharge is compatible any fertilizer program! It used as a soil amendment to establish colonies of beneficial bacteria,that’s what the bag says on it.

Sounds like a bunch of marketing in the "recharge". I wonder how recharge could possibly be compatible in any synthetic hostile environment for microbes...It cant. Microbes need specific environmental conditions. When small condition changes are made, different microbes thrive will other species die off. Maybe it means its compatible in any organic program I guess. Well anyways, glad your mix works well for you. Thanks for sharing.

 

[fanleaf]

Light energy is turned into sugars and carbohydrates which some is expelled through the roots for microbes to use. The thing is that microbes need a TON of elements like Nitrogen etc to grow biomass and explode in populations high enough to supply everything a plant needs. With such a weak soil mix even with "recharge" supplying "colonies of beneficial bacteria" what do the "bacteria" eat to turn into plant food? Theres simply not much at all in that soil to handle any type of healthy microorganism population. Now, if you use chelated organic fertilizers then you are bypassing the need for any type of microlife anyways but your soil on it's own (roughly 50% strength ffof) just dont have a great enough nutrition value for a big population of microbes to be breaking down materials for your plants to go full term.

Microbes need a ton of "food"! I just dont see it there.