Best soil mix for indoor grow?

[Antonio Bandido]

Hey peeps,

Looking to get ready for my second indoor grow....got some nice seeds but wanted some thoughts on best (and simplest Im not experienced) soil mix/medium? Don't think Im ready for coco for now so kind of want to stick to soil.
I just used organic soil in my first grow with some perlite....the plants seemed pretty happy but I didn't give any plant food until halfway through the grow......thanks to @Emilya who put me onto Mega Crop ( so have plenty of that now
Have got some new fabric grow bags (25L) so also wondered if that size is good for me?
Going to try for 2 maybe 3 plants instead of the 6 I tried for the first grow (2 didn't seem to flower but still take up a lot of space)

...AB....

 

[bobrown14]

Organic soil mix is good all I use. You looking for a recipe??

 

[Antonio Bandido]

Organic soil mix is good all I use. You looking for a recipe??

Yes please

 

[Bryce61]

Hey Bandito whats up. I have a basic mix cooking up in the back room for my next grow. For amendments, use what I used, some, or none of them. It depends on what you like or have at hand. For "parts" I used a 6 gal bucket. (spackle type)
1cf being 7.48 gal I'll make up the difference with soil from my current grow thats is almost the same. I'll be growing 3 plants in 7 gal fabric pots. Here it goes.

1 part Canadian Peat
1 part Perlite
1part composted manure/ EWC (I go a bit heavier with the worm castings)

This is a standard base used by millions! To this I added 7 cups of rock dust from a local quarry and about 5 cups of Bio Char

For additional amends, I used slightly less than 1/2 cup per cf. (My total will be close to 3 cf. of soil mix.) Here it goes.

2 cup Dr. Earth all purpose 2-2-2 fert
2 cup Kelp meal (because I love kelp meal)
1 1/2 cup neem meal
1cup blood meal
1 cup bone meal
1 cup epsom salt
1 cup powdered alfalfa
1 cup gypsum

For liming purposes......equal mix of...
oyster shell flour
dolemite lime
azomite
3 cups of mix

While mixing the soil I used a EWC/seaweed/Manure compost aerated tea instead of water and put it away to cook for
2 months.
Once the plants are in I will mulch with Alfalfa hay. This should be water only for the entire grow. I will use teas here and there if I feel its needed. I like to add a little blackstrap molasses to my teas to feed the microbes also.

I hope this helps Antonio. I'm far from being close to an expert, but im learning. If anyone sees flaws in my mix, feel free to let me know.

B61

 

[SmokingWings]

Hey Bandito whats up. I have a basic mix cooking up in the back room for my next grow. For amendments, use what I used, some, or none of them. It depends on what you like or have at hand. For "parts" I used a 6 gal bucket. (spackle type)
1cf being 7.48 gal I'll make up the difference with soil from my current grow thats is almost the same. I'll be growing 3 plants in 7 gal fabric pots. Here it goes.

1 part Canadian Peat
1 part Perlite
1part composted manure/ EWC (I go a bit heavier with the worm castings)

This is a standard base used by millions! To this I added 7 cups of rock dust from a local quarry and about 5 cups of Bio Char

For additional amends, I used slightly less than 1/2 cup per cf. (My total will be close to 3 cf. of soil mix.) Here it goes.

2 cup Dr. Earth all purpose 2-2-2 fert
2 cup Kelp meal (because I love kelp meal)
1 1/2 cup neem meal
1cup blood meal
1 cup bone meal
1 cup epsom salt
1 cup powdered alfalfa
1 cup gypsum

For liming purposes......equal mix of...
oyster shell flour
dolemite lime
azomite
3 cups of mix

While mixing the soil I used a EWC/seaweed/Manure compost aerated tea instead of water and put it away to cook for
2 months.
Once the plants are in I will mulch with Alfalfa hay. This should be water only for the entire grow. I will use teas here and there if I feel its needed. I like to add a little blackstrap molasses to my teas to feed the microbes also.

I hope this helps Antonio. I'm far from being close to an expert, but im learning. If anyone sees flaws in my mix, feel free to let me know.

B61

The holy trinity of soil mixing is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 aeration (you suggest Perlite) and 1/3 compost or Earth Worm Castings.

When you say 1 Part of each what are you using as your measure. I use a 10 quart pail so the rest of the ingredients you are mentioning comes close to the amounts I would be using. But if I was to use one of my 6 gallon pails as the measure for 1 Part it would throw things off.

 

[Bryce61]

Thanks for the question. I know I wasn’t real clear on that. I said 1 part is a 6 gal bucket for the basic mix. The ready of it is what was actually put in, measured in cups

 

[Bryce61]

Thanks for the question. I know I wasn’t real clear on that. I said 1 part is a 6 gal bucket for the basic mix. The rest of it is what was actually put in, measured in cups

 

[Antonio Bandido]

Hey Bandito whats up. I have a basic mix cooking up in the back room for my next grow. For amendments, use what I used, some, or none of them. It depends on what you like or have at hand. For "parts" I used a 6 gal bucket. (spackle type)
1cf being 7.48 gal I'll make up the difference with soil from my current grow thats is almost the same. I'll be growing 3 plants in 7 gal fabric pots. Here it goes.

1 part Canadian Peat
1 part Perlite
1part composted manure/ EWC (I go a bit heavier with the worm castings)

This is a standard base used by millions! To this I added 7 cups of rock dust from a local quarry and about 5 cups of Bio Char

For additional amends, I used slightly less than 1/2 cup per cf. (My total will be close to 3 cf. of soil mix.) Here it goes.

2 cup Dr. Earth all purpose 2-2-2 fert
2 cup Kelp meal (because I love kelp meal)
1 1/2 cup neem meal
1cup blood meal
1 cup bone meal
1 cup epsom salt
1 cup powdered alfalfa
1 cup gypsum

For liming purposes......equal mix of...
oyster shell flour
dolemite lime
azomite
3 cups of mix

While mixing the soil I used a EWC/seaweed/Manure compost aerated tea instead of water and put it away to cook for
2 months.
Once the plants are in I will mulch with Alfalfa hay. This should be water only for the entire grow. I will use teas here and there if I feel its needed. I like to add a little blackstrap molasses to my teas to feed the microbes also.

I hope this helps Antonio. I'm far from being close to an expert, but im learning. If anyone sees flaws in my mix, feel free to let me know.

B61

Thanks Bryce61,
I will try it out for my next grow, really appreciate your help,
muchas gracias AB

 

[bobrown14]

Coots Mix - Can use repeatedly for many many years:

Clackamas Coot Soil Mix

By volume mix the following...

1/3 Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss (CSPM)
1/3 Aeration - I use 3/8" pumice (aka volcanic glass - completely inert)
1/3 Vermicompost

When it comes to CSPM it does not matter one iota as far as the brand as long as it's designated as CSPMA (Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association) which is a partnership between the handful of authorized harvesters and the Canadian government. CSPMA sets the harvest limit and not market demands.

You should ind this at Home Depot and Lowe's in 3.8 cf bales and if it is not available at your local stores then order it online (HomeDepot.com) and have them 'ship to store' at your store of choice. No charge for shipping and handling!

A cubic foot is about 7.20 gallons or 115 cups...

To this I add the following amendments to each 1 cubic foot..

1 cup kelp meal
1 cup neem meal or an equal amount of neem & karanja mix
1 cup of limestone or more exactly Calcium Carbonate CaCO3 so Oyster Shell Powder/flour can also be used as it is also a pure Calcium Carbonate material
1/2 cup Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) available at all DIY stores but you must get the material in the garden section and not in the home remodel section. There are 2 forms of gypsum so make sure you get the one for soil and not walls...

Finally there is the rock dust which I recommend 3 cups of either basalt or granite. Only these 2 materials are 'paramagnetic' which is an integral part of the CeC discussion (Cation exchange Capacity).

Rock dusts like Azomite, bentonite, zeolite and others are called 'colloidal minerals' - alumina-silicate. For example Azomite is a brand name. A geologist would know it as "Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate" and it's known as "Montmorillonite clay"

This clay has been used in France to built ceramic bread ovens which look like a bee hive. They have a small door in the front of the oven where loaves of bread are move in and out using what is called a peel.

While it makes a great ceramic oven I can't find much to cause me to recommend it in a true living soil that is supposed to last 'forever' if taken care of using organic methods.

 

[Bryce61]

bobrown14 is correct about the peat. to that I would add this. ALWAYS go for the best quality EWC and compost you can find! Best is to have your own worm bin where you control what goes in. Then you know what is comming out! Compost is the same thing. Keep an eye on when the horses or goats or whatever are given de-wormers. You always know if you do it yourself!!! You know, no diseased plants, no shit that will hurt your plants, ect. BUT the best compost and EWC is very important

 

[bobrown14]

Truth @Bryce61

 

[SmokingWings]

Thanks for the question. I know I wasn’t real clear on that. I said 1 part is a 6 gal bucket for the basic mix. The rest of it is what was actually put in, measured in cups

I must have read the msg 3-4 times looking for that info and just never saw it. I can't even blame the weed for that mistake since I waited until I was done with all my internet stuff before lighting up a half joint sitting in the ashtray. Sorry about that.

 

[Bryce61]

Np That sounds like me every morning before my coffee!

 

[013]

So you are saying don’t use sheetrock dope to grow in? That sucks cause last week I troweled some new beans into my grow room walls!!! He, he, he...!

Wondered why they never sprouted!