A soil question

[HappyParadox]

Hello all, this is my first post here.

I have been in the planning stage of my first grow for the past couple weeks. I have narrowed down all the ins and outs of what I would like to try for my first time but I need some advice. I want to try Roots Organics soil for my first grow, because I don't really have the time or space at the moment to make my own LOS and it seemed like a good compromise. My question is this, with many nutrients already inside the soil, what nutrients will I require during veg or flower? I would love to have soil that gives all the ladies require but I think that might be a bit over confident. Any experiences or advice for me? I will be using a PlatinumLED E300 for my light in a 4x2x5 tent. I have heard that LEDs can cause some deficiencies so I thought I'd throw that info out there. Also I plan to grow a Sativa photo strain (haven't decided which strain yet) using LST and Topping.

If you require any more info to help me answer my question just let me know, many thanks.

~HP

 

[bobrown14]

I've used the soil you are referring to in the past. It will work but you need to add in a few amendments to get it to last an entire grow.

Amenments to add:
Neem cake meal
Alfalfa meal
Limestone dust &/or dolomite lime and gypsum
Crab shell meal
Kelp Meal
Glacial rock dust
EWC - earth worm castings

I don't know how much soil you are mixing so let me know and I'll help you with the qty's

I still have a few no-til pots that have Roots soil, I think it was the 707 mix. It's not optimal but it will get you started and your soil used straight like that will run out of gas.

Read up on ACT - aerated compost tea - this will help you a great deal.


Here's a tip for you, topping a plant will lower yield by at least 1/2. Review or google Apical Meristem <-- that is your top and is akin to your plants brain, chop it off, plant will have to grow another and then decide which of 2 new ones become dominant, loosing valuable flowering time and yield. Bend the plant over but do not top it. Anyone telling you different is full of crap.

3 things:

Plants in crappy soil will grow like shit
you cannot amend yourself to good soil
Get your EWC right and the rest will follow.

 

[HappyParadox]

Thanks for the words of wisdom! After I posted this I kept checking out grower journals and have learned so much! I watched a very long video on the scientific part of ACT and felt it was a bit over my head. But then I found some more videos that had practical applications and recipes that made sense to me. Yum Yum mix was also suggested as an amendment in a journal I read. It seems to cover the minerals very well. The neem cake, along with Yum Yum with Roots Organics soil seems like a good fit? Let me know what you think, and also, will I need to "cook" it in the sun before using?

I will only be doing 2-3 plants this grow, so 1.5 CF of soil or so probably.


Ty Ty
~HP

 

[bobrown14]

Thanks for the words of wisdom! After I posted this I kept checking out grower journals and have learned so much! I watched a very long video on the scientific part of ACT and felt it was a bit over my head. But then I found some more videos that had practical applications and recipes that made sense to me. Yum Yum mix was also suggested as an amendment in a journal I read. It seems to cover the minerals very well. The neem cake, along with Yum Yum with Roots Organics soil seems like a good fit? Let me know what you think, and also, will I need to "cook" it in the sun before using?

I will only be doing 2-3 plants this grow, so 1.5 CF of soil or so probably.


Ty Ty
~HP

I checked out the yum yum stuff - looks fine a little pricey actually way pricey but it will work.
(All us no-til folks like to source our ingredients and buy in bulk and mix our own to save $$)

Roots will work ok it will run out of steam tho so adding in some quality EWC will help and don't forget the neem cake meal - for insects, mold & general all around good healthy plants.

neem cake meal add in 1cup to your mix.

I'd bet you could water the mix and plant established seedlings/clones right into it, no cook time required.

regarding the ACT - very easy just get a bucket of water throw in a handful or 2 of EWC/compost and aerate with a bubble stone - if you don't have an air pump/air stone you can just stir it every few hours or so then the next day add in some yum yum stuff a few table spoons will work and stir and let sit another 24 hrs and water your soil.

It's feed the soil so the living soil can feed your plants.

This works for all trees and plants including cannabis. Highly recommend doing the ACT, it will make a huge difference.

 

[HappyParadox]

I checked out the yum yum stuff - looks fine a little pricey actually way pricey but it will work.
(All us no-til folks like to source our ingredients and buy in bulk and mix our own to save $$)

Thanks for checking on the Yum Yum. I will keep in mind what you said bout buying in bulk when I have more space to work with. I will mix in some EWC, Neem Cake Meal and Yum Yum to the Roots Organics soil. I see your suggestion for 1 cup of Neem Cake Meal for my 1.5 CF of soil, thank you for that. I'm sure Yum Yum will have some directions on the bag for amounts to mix in. As far as EWC, I see alot of people top their plants soil with it, but wondering what ratio to add to my 1.5 CF of soil?

Thanks for helping me out Bobrown14! The community here is very helpful and friendly.

~HP

 

[bobrown14]

Thanks for checking on the Yum Yum. I will keep in mind what you said bout buying in bulk when I have more space to work with. I will mix in some EWC, Neem Cake Meal and Yum Yum to the Roots Organics soil. I see your suggestion for 1 cup of Neem Cake Meal for my 1.5 CF of soil, thank you for that. I'm sure Yum Yum will have some directions on the bag for amounts to mix in. As far as EWC, I see alot of people top their plants soil with it, but wondering what ratio to add to my 1.5 CF of soil?

Thanks for helping me out Bobrown14! The community here is very helpful and friendly.

~HP

Re: yum yum - I'd put at least a cup in regardless of directions.

EWC - add in all of what you have - never too much EWC.


What I do is
1/3 ewc
1/3 aeration (perlite)
1/3 Peat moss
amendments

The Roots Organics has "some" aeration - you can just add in as much of the RO soil as you have ewc and add more aeration if you have it. Aeration is just as important as good soil.

If the soil gets wet with not enough aeration your roots get waterlogged and the plants suffer or worse, die.

If you add in too much aeration all you will have to do is water more slightly more often - which is better specially when you are starting out. You will get the feel of watering which is VERY important.

If you don't have additional aeration (perlite) then I'd just add in a 1/2 gallon of the EWC (8 cups) or so...

Remember we aren't building a rocket or baking a cake so ingredients can be subbed and the mix is just a "general" rule with the 1/3 thing ^^^^ the guideline.

Are you working on doing some ACT??


I worry more about what goes into my worm bin that into my soil, as our home made VC (vermicompost) is THE most important ingredient.

 

[HappyParadox]

Yeah I have a pretty firm grasp of ACT now, so I will definitely be brewing up some EWC/Compost along with the Yum Yum and maybe a tablespoon of Molasses here and there.

Rice hulls work okay as a aerator I've heard, so I can add some of that to try to balance out the addition of the EWC to the RO soil. Then amend with the Neem Cake Meal and Yum Yum.



~HP

 

[bobrown14]

Yeah I have a pretty firm grasp of ACT now, so I will definitely be brewing up some EWC/Compost along with the Yum Yum and maybe a tablespoon of Molasses here and there.

Rice hulls work okay as a aerator I've heard, so I can add some of that to try to balance out the addition of the EWC to the RO soil. Then amend with the Neem Cake Meal and Yum Yum.



~HP

You should be good to go then. I top dress with neem as well as mix in. The bugs really HATE neem so sprinkle a little on the surface for shits and giggles it will help.

Rice hulls break down over time - so if you are thinking of going no-til which you can with your mix, the rice hulls will break down after a few runs and you will have to re-mix. I'm re-mixing after 5 runs in my soil and I had coco in there for some aeration in the beginning which is similar to rice hulls.

 

[HappyParadox]

I hadn't thought about the longevity of the rice hulls! Thanks for that. Also thanks for the suggestion of sprinkling Neem on top of the soil. I'm starting to get excited about this project.

~HP

 

[bobrown14]

I hadn't thought about the longevity of the rice hulls! Thanks for that. Also thanks for the suggestion of sprinkling Neem on top of the soil. I'm starting to get excited about this project.

~HP

The rice hulls will be a future minor issue, time to get the party started .... woohoo we get excited every time we mix up soil, put seeds out for germination, switch from VEG to flower, harvest time, trimming, test smokes and finally into the nug jars for curing.

Gardening is a crap load of fun, specially when I don't have to work very hard. Indoor container gardening is about as easy as it gets, I LOVE it.

"Get your compost dialed in and there's not much else to worry about." Coots feller

^^^ that's my holy grail of container and raised bed gardening.

Sticky nugs are in our future!! Get those seeds a crackin!

Hey there HP - you should start a journal, its a lot of fun and educational.

 

[HappyParadox]

I will definately be creating a journal when I finally start. I'm guessing a couple month from now. Until then, I really enjoy learning as much as I can from the grows here.