Ain't no sunshine: Thanks Trump!

[Weaselcracker]

Well it is very close to nutrient free.

I've been using Sunshine for 15 years or so, always treated it as being nutrient free, and used the GH schedule from the get-go. My last seedlings did get some burn, and that was a first. I wonder if the formula has changed recently. I still find it a great hydroponic media. It is very forgiving toward pH, and doesn't require near as much care as conventional hydro methods. It holds a lot of water, drains good, provides aeration of the roots.

I don’t think the formula changed. As long as I’ve been using it I’ve understood it to have that ‘starter charge’ in it. But yes- it’s just a small amount so for the most part the stuff can be regarded as nutrient free.
It’s only relevant to very young seedlings. Also because of those starter nutes I find it’s not very good for rooting clones in, whereas truly nutrient free mediums like coco, rock wool, and perlite work very well.

 

[bobrown14]

Peat moss + per-lite + humus + amendments + rock dust + calcium = soil I grow in

Amendments:

Crustacean meal (lobster/shrimp)
Kelp Meal
Karanja Cake
Neem Cake


Calcium:
Crustacean meal above
Oyster Shell Four
Gypsum

Humus - vermi-compost/compost/EWC - any or all!

Dont forget mycos

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

Peat moss + per-lite + humus + amendments + rock dust + calcium = soil I grow in

Amendments:

Crustacean meal (lobster/shrimp)
Kelp Meal
Karanja Cake
Neem Cake


Calcium:
Crustacean meal above
Oyster Shell Four
Gypsum

Humus - vermi-compost/compost/EWC - any or all!

Dont forget mycos

Indoors in pots? Got percentages? Do you treat it as soil or hydro media. Rock dust can be powdered coal seams(labradorite from coal is cool!). Can you be more specific? Where do youget your "Calcium"? It looks delicious! I've been flying by the seat of my pants for 30 years, and now getting my pilot's license! Can always improve, and if you don't fall down, you're not trying hard enough(skiing).

 

[bobrown14]

Here's the recipe I use - Thanks to Coots!

Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 to 1 cup per cubic foot
Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Malted Barley @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot (ground fine in a coffee grinder)

Gypsum Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Brix Blend Basalt @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Glacial Rock Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Oyster Flour @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot

Mix with:

Quart of EWC (can be as much as 25% of the humus portion)
EWC = earth worm casting
1/3 humus = Compost/EWC/Vermicompost
1/3 aeration = Rice hulls or Perl-lite
1/3 CSPM = Canadian Spagnum Peat Moss (look on bag for country of origin = Canada)

Amend at up pot with 1 cup of the amendment mix and 1 cup EWC then into flower.

This is the soil mix I use - "Coots Mix" as it were. I thank Clackamas Coots for this soil recipe. Can stand behind, on top and in the can with this mix. Can go no-til for several years without needing to change it out. Amend at up pot, water FTW. All you need.

Substitute like you're baking a cake ... not really many subs for the above. It's a balanced soil mix. I get this soil mix tested at our state Extension Service every time we mix a batch and it's damn near perfect every time.

 

[Weaselcracker]

So I got around to grabbing some peat moss from the ditch next to my place. Easy enough digging with just small roots to shovel through. Got around 30 gallons in five minutes. It’s wet and heavy as hell so I’m going to shelve it for a while then start messing around with the additives at some point and see what I come up with.

Peat

• Weaselcracker
• Jul 10, 2019

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

Dolomite, perlite, and then gypsum once you get it to the right pH. That's Sunshine Mix, minus a wetting agent(dish soap?). Best way to dry it is on concrete, and keep turning it. The concrete will suck the moisture out of it.

 

[bobrown14]

Its fresh peat - good stuff. It's already hydrated. Just need to add some aeration and humus + amendments and you're ready to plant.

There were plants growing in and around where you dug it up eh?

It certainly wasn't a barren wasteland.

That should speak volumes.

BTW - that's our future oil reserves you just dug up. lol

They use that stuff in Scotland to make Scotch, gives it that smokey flavor I've herd a lot about.