Building A Better Soil: Demonstrations & Discussions Of Organic Soil Recipes

That is awesome SBG!

I think that settles it. Once I work through my plants that are in large pots, I won't worry about potting up. That is pretty sweet.

Hey Sue,

Do you make your aloe juice? Can I get your recipe?
 
Don't know if you have seen this or not but very informative. Another grower had shared it with me.

 
Can anyone tell me if I'm missing any needed ingredients in my soil mix? I'm hoping to do a just add water soil mix. I based it off of supersoil, but with what I already had and a couple of additions. Mostly I'm just missing a couple Meals. Should I add or remove anything from my mix below? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I recently transplated a young sappling and i believe it's to hot for them as the leaves are yellowing and drying at the tips.. i've pulled the light away to try and fix it and prevent it from spreading.. the new growth is green and lush as of now but appears to be yellowing a bit too. I have some other seedlings i'm waiting to break ground and I plan to let them go longer in the just pure Pete/Compost/Wormcastings/Perlite a bit longer before transplanting to their final soil.

I did a PH test of my soil and it was right on about 6.5-6.8

I mix my soils based on need so amounts vary based on pot size. I add extras based on recommended value on package for the gallon size pots i'll be using. My hope is I can "just add water" like supersoil with the ingredients I had locally.

Base:
2 Parts Canadian Peat Moss
1 Part Local Organic Compost/Wiggle Worm - Worm Castings
1 Part Perlite

Additives:
Sunleaves Indonesian Bat Guano 0-7-0
Espoma Greensand
Azomite
Happy Frog Steamed Bone Meal
Epsoma Organic Plant Tone
Epsoma Gypsum
Garden Lime
Xtreme Gardening Mycorrzials

My First Grow - Jack Herer Auto Fem - 250w CFL
 
So I've been thinking about the pot up dilemma my mind is having regarding "NO-Till"

Trying to disturb the soil food web the least amount possible.

When a plant is finished and you remove it, you are probably only cutting out an area not much larger than a solo cup.....

Perhaps I should let the plant get nice a root bout in a solo cup and then go staring in the 7gal. I was reading the with smart pots the roots don't circle, so planting straight into them shouldn't be a problem.

Seems to me the fabric pots make the plant feel more like it's in the ground than in a pot.

Thoughts on that, anyone?

this is the pots that I made

DIY fabric grow pots "Cannabags" made from Eco Felt - Blogs - 420 Magazine ®
 
Yup! Those are the instructions I will be following!

Got all the stuff today, won't get to the project for a day or two, but I'm really excited! And nervous because I've never sewn anything before. It'll be interesting for sure :)
 
That is awesome SBG!

I think that settles it. Once I work through my plants that are in large pots, I won't worry about potting up. That is pretty sweet.

Hey Sue,

Do you make your aloe juice? Can I get your recipe?

I use 200x powdered from BAS. When mixing fresh aloe gel try for a ratio of at least 1 TBS gel to a quart of good water.
 
Medium and feeding:

I'm growing in complete organic soil mixes. I use three slightly different mixes; one for seedlings, one for vegetative growth, and one for flowering.

ingredients1.jpg


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For the seedling mix I combined 3 gallons of Sunshine #4, 1 gallon of FFOF, one gallon of chunky perlite, and 1/2 cup of granulated mixed mycorrizial inoculate. There is plenty of food in the FFOF to feed the seedlings, the Sunshine is not nutrient rich at all, and the perlite improves drainage. Seedlings like this lean, well draining soil.

The base for both the veg and flower soils is the same. Nine gallons of Sunshine #4, three gallons of FFOF, three gallons of worm castings, one and a half gallons of chunky perlite, six cups of Yum-Yum mix, and two cups of Excelerite. Here is a blurb from the Excellerite web-site about this product:

"U.S. Rare Earth Minerals has been blessed with the rights to mine what is widely considered the rarest source of ancient lake bed sediments in Panaca Nevada found to date. A host of scientists recognize it as the richest known source in the world for natural occurring macro, micro and nano nutrients. These minerals and trace elements have been naturally chelated in the presence of Humic and Fulvic acids to produce the powerful combination of Panaca minerals that we call Excelerite; Excelerite is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institude (OMRI) listed, and may be used in certified organic production or food processing and handling according to the USDA National Organic Program Rule.

Yum-Yum mix contains:

Alfalfa Meal: Nitrogen; Vitamins-A, B, E, carotene, thiamine, biotin, pantothenic acid, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, choline; 16 amino acids, co-enzymes, sugars, starches, protein fiber.

Cottonseed Meal: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium.

Kelp Meal: Nitrogen; Potassium; Vitamins-A, B, B2 , C, calcium, pantothenate, niacin, folic acid; minerals-barium, boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, sodium, strontium, sulfur, zinc; 17 amino acids.

Greensand: Iron, Potassium, Silicate, Phosphorus, 30 trace elements.

Rock Dust: Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Boron, Cobalt.

Rock Phosphate: Phosphorus, Calcium, Trace Elements.

Humate: Salts of Humic Acid - improve soil characteristics and aids in releasing other nutrients to plants in usable forms.

Dry Molasses: Carbohydrates, Sugars, Trace Elements - feeds and attracts beneficial soil organisms.

Guaranteed Analysis -Total Nitrogen (N) - 2.0% - Available Phosphate (P2O5) - 1.0%. Soluble Potash (K2O) - 1.0%.

The Yum-Yum is great stuff - a well balanced amendment. It won't burn plants. I've actually put the stuff in my mouth and tasted it - not bad at all.

The only other thing the veg soil gets is 1 cup of 10-1-1 Mexican bat guano.

The flower soil has no Mexican guano. It gets 1 cup of 0.5-13-0.2 Indonesian bat guano, and 1 cup of soft rock phosphate.

Over the course of a couple of grows I've never seen a deficiency or lockout in these mediums. I don't feed the plants anything else. They just get RO water. Well, I have done some minor top-dressing with a little Yum-Yum once or twice but for the most part just RO water. Three previous grows in these soils has produced solid brix readings - harvests at 17.5 and 16, and 16.5.

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Thank you so much PeeJay. This is my second-favorite soil mix. There are a number of growers smart enough to listen to you and they are all very pleased with their results.

I appreciate your taking the time to post this here. It was a perfect ending to my month of celebrating MOTM. :love:

I also appreciate your including the Brix readings. It's one of my goals to get people to pay attention to the health and vigor one should expect from a well-crafted soil. The ease of growing in these soils is just icing on the cake.
 
Medium and feeding:

I'm growing in complete organic soil mixes. I use three slightly different mixes; one for seedlings, one for vegetative growth, and one for flowering.

ingredients1.jpg


thethrreeamigos.jpg



For the seedling mix I combined 3 gallons of Sunshine #4, 1 gallon of FFOF, one gallon of chunky perlite, and 1/2 cup of granulated mixed mycorrizial inoculate. There is plenty of food in the FFOF to feed the seedlings, the Sunshine is not nutrient rich at all, and the perlite improves drainage. Seedlings like this lean, well draining soil.

The base for both the veg and flower soils is the same. Nine gallons of Sunshine #4, three gallons of FFOF, three gallons of worm castings, one and a half gallons of chunky perlite, six cups of Yum-Yum mix, and two cups of Excelerite. Here is a blurb from the Excellerite web-site about this product:

"U.S. Rare Earth Minerals has been blessed with the rights to mine what is widely considered the rarest source of ancient lake bed sediments in Panaca Nevada found to date. A host of scientists recognize it as the richest known source in the world for natural occurring macro, micro and nano nutrients. These minerals and trace elements have been naturally chelated in the presence of Humic and Fulvic acids to produce the powerful combination of Panaca minerals that we call Excelerite; Excelerite is approved by the Organic Materials Review Institude (OMRI) listed, and may be used in certified organic production or food processing and handling according to the USDA National Organic Program Rule.

Yum-Yum mix contains:

Alfalfa Meal: Nitrogen; Vitamins-A, B, E, carotene, thiamine, biotin, pantothenic acid, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, choline; 16 amino acids, co-enzymes, sugars, starches, protein fiber.

Cottonseed Meal: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium.

Kelp Meal: Nitrogen; Potassium; Vitamins-A, B, B2 , C, calcium, pantothenate, niacin, folic acid; minerals-barium, boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, sodium, strontium, sulfur, zinc; 17 amino acids.

Greensand: Iron, Potassium, Silicate, Phosphorus, 30 trace elements.

Rock Dust: Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Boron, Cobalt.

Rock Phosphate: Phosphorus, Calcium, Trace Elements.

Humate: Salts of Humic Acid - improve soil characteristics and aids in releasing other nutrients to plants in usable forms.

Dry Molasses: Carbohydrates, Sugars, Trace Elements - feeds and attracts beneficial soil organisms.

Guaranteed Analysis -Total Nitrogen (N) - 2.0% - Available Phosphate (P2O5) - 1.0%. Soluble Potash (K2O) - 1.0%.

The Yum-Yum is great stuff - a well balanced amendment. It won't burn plants. I've actually put the stuff in my mouth and tasted it - not bad at all.

The only other thing the veg soil gets is 1 cup of 10-1-1 Mexican bat guano.

The flower soil has no Mexican guano. It gets 1 cup of 0.5-13-0.2 Indonesian bat guano, and 1 cup of soft rock phosphate.

Over the course of a couple of grows I've never seen a deficiency or lockout in these mediums. I don't feed the plants anything else. They just get RO water. Well, I have done some minor top-dressing with a little Yum-Yum once or twice but for the most part just RO water. Three previous grows in these soils has produced solid brix readings - harvests at 17.5 and 16, and 16.5.

number_six.jpg

Nice explanation PeeJay. Do you throw away the soil (in the garden) after each stage of growth?
 
Happy to see you out & about PJ.
 
Food For Thought

I was following an organic grow on another site and wanted to share Team Microbe's evolution of his mix recipe.

His initial recipe:

Soil Mix:
1 pt. Peat Moss
1 pt. Rice Hulls
1 pt. Compost/EWC

mixed with:
Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 cup per cubic foot
Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
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
Fish Bone Meal @ 1/2 Cup Per Cubic Foot


This is the revised soil mix that he ended up using. I highlighted changes (except the elimination of fish bone meal, which he covers later).

1 pt. Peat Moss
1 pt. Aeration (15% rice hulls, 85% red lava rock)
1 pt. Compost (Coast of Maine)

Mixed with:
Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 cup per cubic foot
Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
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
Pre-Charged Bio Char
Red Wigglers/European Nightcrawlers
Clover Cover Crops


His reasoning behind the changes:

As stated before, I've altered this mix a little bit compared to the original mix I ran in the beginning of this thread. I've taken out the fish bone meal due to it's high P properties and it's affect on mycorrhizae, incorporated amendments that don't break down over time (like the rice hulls I originally used), added Bio Char (pre-charged) in my aeration for long term nutrient retention/soil fertility, and will be adding worms to my pots for the first time to provide fresh castings and additional aeration from their "tilling" affect. I've also bumped the size of my containers from 10 gallons to 25 gallons for bigger plants/more production. I'll be squeezing (10) 25 gallon no-tills into the 5'x10' tent.


Sometimes I find it helpful to get into the grower's head to follow the reasoning process.
 
Well I guess I lucked out by buying the coast of main worm castings at the local garden center. I was hoping it would end up being nice quality castings and I must say I am very happy. I bubbled some with some molasses and watered my plants and they seemed to love it. It's the first time I've ever made a tea so it was pretty exciting.
 
Well I guess I lucked out by buying the coast of main worm castings at the local garden center. I was hoping it would end up being nice quality castings and I must say I am very happy. I bubbled some with some molasses and watered my plants and they seemed to love it. It's the first time I've ever made a tea so it was pretty exciting.

I'm very happy with my coast of Maine lobster compost. It came highly recommended by COorganics
 
I'd like to get some to send through the worm bin. WORMS! I forgot to feed the worms! Later guys.
 
https://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sGP_VCaL2Js

There are so many uses for aloe vera in organic container gardening that it becomes almost necessary to have at least one plant in residence. Here's a simple and easy way to expand your aloe stock.
 
https://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sGP_VCaL2Js

There are so many uses for aloe vera in organic container gardening that it becomes almost necessary to have at least one plant in residence. Here's a simple and easy way to expand your aloe stock.

Intriguing concept : plant shallow so your aloe roots come out he bottom and form pups at the bottom of a pot.
I've always seen pups form at the soil line. I didn't realize root expoure was the trigger for forming aloe pups.
 
Intriguing concept : plant shallow so your aloe roots come out he bottom and form pups at the bottom of a pot.
I've always seen pups form at the soil line. I didn't realize root expoure was the trigger for forming aloe pups.

I didn't realize that either. How marvelous!
 
how i build my soil please add any info you think might help

i ferment some ingredients in a 20 litre bucket i purposely create bad bacteria because they do a quick job of breaking my stuff down :)
pony/ goat poo or chicken poo 5 liter fresh cow poo much better as they have 3 stomachs and broke down more
25 grams yeast
2 table spoons rock dust
5 tbls mollases
1/2 pint milk
fish blood bone meal 5tbls
bone meal 5tbls
pigeon grit high cal
this time i used some brird feed that broke donw nicely , had lost of berries in it see picture
i also used some malt drink why i dont know but i did ( thats the whole fun part )
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ok that part done i let this brew for at least 3/4 weeks
so i then make up a batch of good bacteria in my tea brewer 30 litre
i get a sock i fill it with my fav compost , irish worm castings it great
i add 10 tbls molasses
a bucket of crushed nettles
kilo some fresh seaweed prewashed with good water (well chopped up)
i let this bubble for 48 hours
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then i add my bad to feed my good , poor little critters doing all that hard work for me just to be killed off lol
i add about 1 and half lires to my 30 litres , the good bacteria love oxygen the bad dont do so well so the good feast on the bad making my good even more stronger :love: see the difference for your self
i let that brew for another 12 hours until i thik the good have won the battle seen here


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so then i use this to drench my soil and hopefully there is a ton of life in there that i just need to feed every week or 2 ..
excuse my writing not the best speller in the world i hope you understand what im harping on about lol :circle-of-love::Namaste:


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ok here is the crab meal , great for cal/mag in soil one cup of this would do 50 litre of soil

organic cal/mag good for led soil growers

Avid gardeners who gravitate toward the organic side of gardening often use crab shell in their soil . Crab shells are among the items that can be used to create a better soil. Crab shells have nutrients that encourage soil health.

This crab meal is a key ingredient in some organic fertilizers.

Features
The crab shells feed the micro-organisms found in soil. The protein, chitin, is a key nutritional element found in crab shells. Chitin functions like bone meal in soil.





got my crab shells , lots of them as ive got them on ebay now lol

washed the remaining meat out of them ,
jumped up and down on them like a mad hatter
washed more meat out of them
brought them in , blasted them in the microwave to dry them and make them more brittle
i then blended them with a heavy duty blender
finished product looks good enough to me

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