Making my own soil

[Gimik]

Hey guys, question for you.

So I went with Coot's style mix:
Base Soil: I mixed up enough for 21 gallons. (~3cuft)

• 1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss (7gal)
• 1/3 EWC (compost) (7gal)
• 1/3 Perlite (Aeration) (7gal)

I then amended the base soil with the following dry amendments: 1/2 cup per cubic foot (1cuft = 7.5 gal)

• Fish Meal (9-4-0)
• Crab Shell Meal (4-3-0)
• Kelp Meal (1-0-2)
• Neem Seed Meal (6-1-2) + Pest Control
• Oyster Shell Flour (Calcium)
• Gypsum (Calcium / Sulfur)
• Glacial Rock Dust (Trace Minerals)

I transplanted from 1gal pots filled with FFOF --> 5gal fabric pots with my soil mix. It is now time to water for the 1st time since transplanting them. However, the soil is hard as a rock!!! I literally cannot poke my finger through the surface. I was using Emilya's watering technique where you let it pool on the surface twice... Well the water literally ran straight through the soil and pooled in the drip tray. Literally none of it pooled. It slowly got absorbed up through the bottom like ghetto flood table but I'm concerned about the soil quality/texture.

Is the hardening because I used so much EWC? How do I remedy this problem? I can add gypsum but IDK the application rate and have not performed a soil test.

Any and all help appreciated!

 

[adudecalledjay]

I follow a similar mix and I've found the same issue if the soil gets too dry.

You could try some kind of ground cover to keep the moisture in the top layer and prevent it from evaporating so quickly.

I've had this happen a couple of times myself and either bottom feeding like you did or gently misting with a spray bottle on top repeatedly with breaks in between were the only methods I found effective.

I ended up buying a "Blumat Tropf System 3m Set". They are gravity fed (or you can buy a hose-adapter) autodrippers that only drip when the soil needs it. Works better than I had expected at keeping the soil moisture just perfect, but it's not cheap (think it was like $130 CAD) for 12 drippers and it can be a pain if you use a reservoir and run out of water.