Need Soil and Fertilizer Advice: All-Organic Colombia Autos Outdoors, Round #2

[CBDMed]

Hi all. Long story short, I am still new to growing, and need advice on organic soil and organic fertilizers.

I just tried my first batch of autos, outdoors, and I made all the newbie mistakes. Now I am trying to do much better with Round #2.
Here is some background, in case anyone it helps.
Like I say, I am still somewhat new. I did I think maybe 4 or 5 indoors photoperiod grows when I was in the States. The last 2 were with SubCool's Supersoil and bagged canna-dirt from HomeDepot, so I never had to make soil before.
Now I am Colombia, and everything is different. I *just found the components to make Supersoil last week, but they won't be here for another week (and they take 3 months to compost), so I need to make my own base soil again for this grow (and the next one coming up in about a week).

I am in a gated community here. I asked the community guard if it was ok to grow inside (out of sight), but instead he said I should grow on my roof (and you don't argue with them here).
Only, there are lots of night security lights here, so it never really gets dark. That is great for security, but it also means photoperiods won't work, so I need to grow autos for now (at least until I can get to my next place, where I want to grow inside again).

So, I ordered some autos, and I messed up batch #1. (Ouch.)
Basically, they have what they call "black soil" here in Colombia, which is basically black topsoil, but some of it (including mine) has a lot of clay. I tried to open it up for batch #1, but I needed to open it up a LOT more, so it will have good tilth (and will not clump).

My second problem was that I gave the seedlings wayy too much water (thinking I was doing a good thing) and the growth stopped until everything dried out (which took a really long time).
Now that everything is finally drying out, things are just now starting to grow again, but they are also just now starting to flower, so there isn't really too much to do for batch #1. (I *might get some smalltime bud while I start a new batch, but mostly I just need to let Round #1 finish, and focus on doing much better in Round #2.)

Earlier I asked for soil advice on another thread, and Azimuth, Smoking Wings, Bode, and some other old hands gave me some great soil advice, which I tried to follow. They also recommended Emily's articles on watering an autoflower in a big final pot, which I read twice, and will try to follow to the letter.
So here is my new soil.

Soil Round #2:
I started with Smoking Wings' recommendation of 1/3 compost (and maybe 25% of that was worm compost), 1/3 fine Perlite, and 1/3 coco coir.
Then I added a big handful of rice hulls (hoping for silica), a small handful of superfine eggshell powder (hoping for calcium), maybe 1/2 cup of volcanic rock flour, plus just a pinch of Epsom salts.
The stuff was beyond tilth. You could crush it with all of your hand strength, and it would not even think about clumping. Only, I looked at the stuff and found myself blurting out, "But there is no soil!" And then I started thinking, "What will the plants eat??"

I could not imagine the plants living off of just Perlite, coco coir, and some compost, so my first thought was to add a lot more volcanic rock dust. Only, I do not have nearly enough rock dust for that.
So then I thought, "Instead of rock dust, why don't I mix in some black soil, because plants eat dirt, right?"
So now the mix is @ 1/4 compost, 1/4 Perlite, 1/4 coco coir, and 1/4 black soil".
I was surprised. Even with 1/4 black soil, it still has pretty good tilth. It does not really clump, and it seems nice and light and fluffy (like the soil I used to buy in bags from Home Depot).
I tried to crush it with all of my hand strength, but it would not clump.
I am still concerned about nutrients for the plants, but I don't know how to solve it, at the moment.

I am autistic, so I need CBD, but I don't have any more CBD seeds at the moment.
Long story short, I soaked five Barney's Farm LSD Autos for a couple of hours. (Three were normal sized, and two were little teeny tiny seeds [which I was not happy about], but we will see if they make it.
Hopefully I will have more CBD autos soon, so we can replace whoever does not make it.
Also I will harvest six plants in the next couple of weeks, and hopefully I will have some CBD seeds by then.

Next I filled five 5g soft pots with the new Fluffy Mix #2, and set them on seedling heating pads.
(Normally I use Root Riot cubes, but this soil was so soft and fluffy that I thought I would try to plant direct, like I used to.)
I made five 3/4" soft craters, dusted the holes with some myco powder, put in the seeds, and dusted on a little more myco powder.
Then I backfilled everything with the same fluffy Mix #2, and sprayed maybe 40 squirts from a water bottle on "mist", to get the soil moist the first time. (Tomorrow I will probably use 20 squirts, maybe two or three times, depending. We will see.)
Then I tagged and dated the pots.
Then it was dark.

My questions and concerns:
My soil is light and fluffy, but I think there is almost no dirt in my soil!?!?
What can I do to make sure that the plants get the nutrients that they need, to produce?
How can I fertilize them?

I read on the forum how everyone is using these fancy new organic nutes, but I look them up and they are way expensive to ship (i.e., outside of my budget), so I need to go with organic kitchen and garden solutions.

There are cow paddocks within easy walking distance, so I can happily make cow poo tea.
For autos, do I start giving them cow poo tea when I see the second set of leaves? Or when?

Also, do autos go into stretch when they start to flower? Meaning, do I discontinue the cow poo tea when the first pistils appear? Or when do I discontinue the cow poo tea?

Also, I am told I can make banana peel tea for the bloom phase (and we eat a lot of bananas here). Is that worth trying?

Also, is broccoli or asparagus tea ever good for plants? (Because we eat broccoli and asparagus here also, and there is almost always some leftover tea.)

I have some organic (kitchen?) compost and also worm compost that I can easily turn into tea. Is this approptiate during bloom? (Or does worm compost have too much nitrogen for bloom?)

Are there other organic kitchen and yard nutrients I can feed my little plants? I really don't want to use chemical fertilizers.

Thank you. I would appreciate any sage suggestions or advice.

 

[CBDMed]

Especially right now, it would be great to save money by using organic kitchen and yard solutions, if possible.
Thank you very much.

 

[Azimuth]

Your mix is close to the "Coots Mix" , an all organic, water only (mostly mix) that uses microbes to feed the plant over time, and, if your containers are big enough, you don't have to add anything else along the way.

BUT, it does have to "cook" for several weeks to begin the breakdown process and make the nutrients available to your plants. And that process can heat up the soil much like a compost pile and be too hot for your plants initially.

So, it would be better if you started them off in more of a neutral soil mix until the new stuff was ready. Otherwise the plants may get off to a pretty rocky start.

 

[CBDMed]

Azimuth, thank you very much for your help. Only, I guess I am sitting here feeling a little stunned and confused (or maybe crushed)?

I found the components to SubCool's Supersoil last week, and I hope to get them this coming week.
I know that when they get here, I will have to let that mix ferment for 2-3 months. (I am just guessing it is because the blood meal, bat guano, etc., need some time to ferment? But I don't know that.)

Only, I guess I am confused, and must really be missing something. I did not put any blood meal, bone meal, or anything in these pots.
In these pots there is only dirt, Perlite, coco coir, fully composted (black) kitchen compost and worm compost, rock dust, rice hulls, egg shell powder, and epsom salts.
Which of these components chemically react, and heat up the pot?

Also, if I just killed or crippled my seeds yesterday afternoon ("burying them" instead of planting them), then what do I do for soil now?
Also, should I take my pots OFF of the heating mats (because they will be producing their own heat)?
And if they don't grow, or if they are hobbled, then what can I plant seeds in, until this soil gets some time to cook?

Thank you.

 

[Azimuth]

It's really the mix of organic ingredients and the microbes that cause the reaction as they break the stuff down. Just keep an eye on your pots to make sure they don't get too hot. And, I don't think it's just the temperature that is being referred to when a mix is referred to as "hot." That's why letting the mix sit and have the microbes do their thing for a bit can be very helpful. That will give the microbes a chance to release the nutrients in the mix. Some of the stuff, like the egg shells and rock dusts can take several grow cycles to be released which is one reason the mix can get better with each cycle you use it with.

The finished compost, coco, perlite are all fine. The worm compost you suggest will depend on what state it is in. Is it pretty much finished or is it still breaking down? In worm bins you need to give the worms some place to go if the place where you are feeding them becomes uncomfortable for them, but finished worm castings are mild enough that you could plant seeds directly in them.

Ours is a very resilient plant so I would guess that you'll be ok, but if you start getting weird results the first place to start is with your mix and watering routine.

And what of your seeds? You said you buried them rather than planting them. Can you describe a bit as to what you did there?

 

[CBDMed]

Azimuth, thanks a million.

It's really the mix of organic ingredients and the microbes that cause the reaction as they break the stuff down.

Ok, but I am confused. I put myco on the seed, to get the myco to break things down. Am I supposed to do that before I put the stuff in pots? Or at the time of seeding? Because it says to apply it directly to the roots, or to cover the seed. So I must be missing something.

Just keep an eye on your pots to make sure they don't get too hot. And, I don't think it's just the temperature that is being referred to when a mix is referred to as "hot."

I understand that fresh manure is "hot" unless turned into a tea, and that it will "burn" by stealing the oxygen for the chemical reaction. We are still in winter here, and the girls are outside on the roof, so a little extra thermal heat would actually seem beneficial?

That's why letting the mix sit and have the microbes do their thing for a bit can be very helpful.

Ok that is very good to know. About how long in advance do I myco the soil, or compost it?
Also, once I had cotelydons I was going to give them a small sip of Orca, which also wants to be put directly on the roots. Is that a mistake at this point?

That will give the microbes a chance to release the nutrients in the mix. Some of the stuff, like the egg shells and rock dusts can take several grow cycles to be released which is one reason the mix can get better with each cycle you use it with.

Recharge, meaning to re-use this soil?
Ok, may I please ask, what are you recharging your soils with?
Or what would you recharge a soil like this one with?

The finished compost, coco, perlite are all fine. The worm compost you suggest will depend on what state it is in. Is it pretty much finished or is it still breaking down? In worm bins you need to give the worms some place to go if the place where you are feeding them becomes uncomfortable for them, but finished worm castings are mild enough that you could plant seeds directly in them.

Well, it was bought off the Internet, so I think it looks pretty finished. Only, I have no idea what they fed the little wrigglers, so I have no idea the true N-P-K.
I hope to get bins some day, and we can feed them our egg shells and banana peels, etc. (we eat a lot of each), so we can maybe even customize our vermicompost over time, but at the moment I have no idea what these little guys were eating. Kitchen waste? Farm waste? (No idea.)

Ours is a very resilient plant so I would guess that you'll be ok, but if you start getting weird results the first place to start is with your mix and watering routine.

Ok, I am going to try to follow Em's guide to watering in a final pot very carefully, but I think I already get the idea. I think you want the wet zone to just barely contact the roots, to force them to grow into the wet spot, to force the roots to stretch. Because if you force your roots to stretch, then the rest of the plant grows accordingly? (It seems so intuitive.)

And what of your seeds? You said you buried them rather than planting them. Can you describe a bit as to what you did there?

Sorry, I was trying to make a joke, and it did not work. ("Crickets. Crickets. Crickets...." hahaha).
I was trying to say that if the mix was bad, and I just planted them as night fell, then I had just unwittingly killed my plants--and so instead of planting them correctly I had unwittingly "buried them", haha.
Hopefully they will be ok! It is actually still winter here, and I was thinking about closing up at least one side of the hoop-tunnel frame during the day, and then both sides at night (as right now both sides of the hoop-tunnel are open).
I just kind of figured that autos should probably be ok, because of the Ruderalis genetics, but I don't know that.

So what I really did was to make a shallow crater with my finger, hopefully somewhere between 1/2" and 3/4" deep. Then I sprinkled some dry myco into the hole, put in the seed, and dusted with a little more of the dry myco.
Then I backfilled, made smooth, and then spritzed it 40 times with a bottle sprayer, to get it good and moist.

This morning the surface still looked moist, so I did not give it anymore water yet.
I thought to inspect it after lunch, and if it looks dry, I will give it maybe 15-20 more spritzes.
I plan to check it again after lunch, and then again before dinner.

It is a lot lighter and fluffier than the first batch. I was running short on time yesterday, and I got the seeds in just as night fell. If I stick around here I might want to invest in a used cement mixer, to get an even finer breakup of the soil.

Muchas gracias for your help!
Please ask anything. I very much appreciate your expertise., and want to figure this organic soil thing out.

 

[CBDMed]

Oh, Azimuth, I almost forgot.
This is an Alaskan Purple Auto. I think you remember that everything stalled because I drowned the poor girls, and so I have not been watering for a few weeks, trying to dry everything out, in the hopes that I can at least get some kind of crop.
I bent her over just last week, to try to get some more buds.
Now this morning she finally looks thirsty, and droopy, so I want to water her, but now she is also just starting to show pistils--so now I am not sure whether to feed her cow manure tea (for stretching the roots), or banana peel tea (for flowering).

I hope I will not misquote anyone, but I have been trying to read up, and in one thread it was commented that because photoperiods go into stretch as soon as you flip them over, they can still use nitrogen for another two weeks, as both the top and the the roots are growing vigorously. I think her point was that the roots still need nitrogen for another two weeks, as they are also "going into stretch". Does that seem right to you?

So, I guess my question is, I want to feed my thirsty auto soon, but I am not sure if I should give her cow manure tea (for stretch), or banana peel tea (for flower).
We have cow manure tea in a bucket (from yesterday), and we are making banana peel tea right now.
I am just not sure which one to use.

Thanks.

 

[Azimuth]

Hey el G,

Lot's to unpack there. Let's take it a piece at a time.

It's really the mix of organic ingredients and the microbes that cause the reaction as they break the stuff down.

Ok, but I am confused. I put myco on the seed, to get the myco to break things down. Am I supposed to do that before I put the stuff in pots? Or at the time of seeding? Because it says to apply it directly to the roots, or to cover the seed. So I must be missing something.

Myco vs. microbes. Two different things.

Myco is an abbreviation for Mycorrhizal Fungi, a specialized organism that works with roots in an organic grow to feed the plant. So, you innoculated the seed so that these organisms would be there as soon as the seed sprouts and the relationship is built quickly.

Microbes are a class of organisms including bacteria and fungi (including the myco's) that break down organic matter in almost all environments including at the bottom of the ocean, to ice in the arctic, to highly acidic pools, and also to soils. There are some that thrive in aerobic conditions, and others that thrive in anaerobic ones. We are trying to encourage the aerobic ones in our soils. They break down organic matter and consume one another in a whole circle of life that is too small to see without a microsope. Some of them consume and store nutrients that are then released when they are eaten by others. Fascinating stuff, actually.

In an organic grow, the plant sends out signals in the form of root exudates into the soil including sugars and that feeds the microbes and somehow communicates what nutrient they need at that particular time. The microbes go and retrieve it and give it to the plant in exchange for the root exudates.

So, the whole idea in an organic grow is to load the soil with everything the planty could possibly need over its lifecycle, and then provide microbes (like you do with your worm compost) to kick off the process. So, you're not trying to provide the exact thing you think it needs at the moment, but rather a balanced buffet table with everything that the plant will need eventually and that the microbes will then go and fetch for the plant.

Adding organically brewed teas periodically is an effort to replenish the microbes you really want in your soil since they are always competing with each other. I've stopped brewing teas since the makeup of the tea changes over the brew cycle and without a microsope it's not possible to tell what you have, when.

Now I mostly do extractions which is to steep the item in non-chlorinated water for a bit so that the goodies are released into the water and then dilute and feed that, along with another helping of worm castings in my case.

Just keep an eye on your pots to make sure they don't get too hot. And, I don't think it's just the temperature that is being referred to when a mix is referred to as "hot."

I understand that fresh manure is "hot" unless turned into a tea, and that it will "burn" by stealing the oxygen for the chemical reaction. We are still in winter here, and the girls are outside on the roof, so a little extra thermal heat would actually seem beneficial?

Lot's of ways to supply the needed warmth. A compost pile inside an enclosed space will give off heat as well as CO2 both of which are useful to the plants. Unfinished compost mixed into soil will further breakdown and that is what can lead to uncertain results. If it's finished compost it should be fine. Better than fine, actually. It is preferred.

That's why letting the mix sit and have the microbes do their thing for a bit can be very helpful.

Ok that is very good to know. About how long in advance do I myco the soil, or compost it?
Also, once I had cotelydons I was going to give them a small sip of Orca, which also wants to be put directly on the roots. Is that a mistake at this point?

The microbes will be active in breaking stuff down for the duration of your grow and well beyond. Probably a couple of weeks to really get anything broken down appreciably enough for the plants to use, but they get started right away given the proper conditions. When you added the Myco's you added an extra concentrated helping of this fungi to your soil. Depending on your compost you likely already had some in there to begin with, but if not adding them separately like you did gets that organism represented in the soil. They'll become part of the circle of life in the soil and contribute to the whole.

That will give the microbes a chance to release the nutrients in the mix. Some of the stuff, like the egg shells and rock dusts can take several grow cycles to be released which is one reason the mix can get better with each cycle you use it with.

Recharge, meaning to re-use this soil?
Ok, may I please ask, what are you recharging your soils with?
Or what would you recharge a soil like this one with?

With an organic soil, you can reuse your base mix multiple times over the years, simply re-adding the stuff like compost and worm castings that get used up. The rock dusts and egg shells will take many years to fully break down so they need to be re-added in much lower quantities if any, at least for a few grows.

I hope to get bins some day, and we can feed them our egg shells and banana peels, etc. (we eat a lot of each), so we can maybe even customize our vermicompost over time, but at the moment I have no idea what these little guys were eating. Kitchen waste? Farm waste? (No idea.)

The best worm bins are feed with a varied mix including all the things you put in your mix like the rock dusts, egg shells, and things like that. What I do is add all of my kitchen scaps like fruit peelings, plant stalks, anything organic really to the surface of my worm bin and then cover that with a layer of leaves. The microbes will break stuff down in the pile and the worms will feed on the microbes and the resulting castings have properties above and beyond what they actually fed on. Something happens in the gizzard of the worm that turns it into some magical stuff, hence the nickname "unicorn poop."

Ours is a very resilient plant so I would guess that you'll be ok, but if you start getting weird results the first place to start is with your mix and watering routine.

Ok, I am going to try to follow Em's guide to watering in a final pot very carefully, but I think I already get the idea. I think you want the wet zone to just barely contact the roots, to force them to grow into the wet spot, to force the roots to stretch. Because if you force your roots to stretch, then the rest of the plant grows accordingly? (It seems so intuitive.)

Actually you want a wet/dry cycle. So, a thoroughly wet container that is allowed to dry out. Unless, of course, you are putting a too small plant into a too large container. Manytimes the advice is given to plant an auto into it's final container, and then if you do a full wet cycle you drown the plant. So Em's watering instructions for small plants in large containers (like auto's) help to build an appropriate root structure.

And what of your seeds? You said you buried them rather than planting them. Can you describe a bit as to what you did there?

Sorry, I was trying to make a joke, and it did not work. ("Crickets. Crickets. Crickets...." hahaha).
I was trying to say that if the mix was bad, and I just planted them as night fell, then I had just unwittingly killed my plants--and so instead of planting them correctly I had unwittingly "buried them", haha.
Hopefully they will be ok! It is actually still winter here, and I was thinking about closing up at least one side of the hoop-tunnel frame during the day, and then both sides at night (as right now both sides of the hoop-tunnel are open).
I just kind of figured that autos should probably be ok, because of the Ruderalis genetics, but I don't know that.

Oh, ok. Haha. Good one.

Your seeds should be fine with the process you described. I like to sprout them in a small glass of water first so I know that they're viable, but everyone has their own way of sprouting seeds.

So what I really did was to make a shallow crater with my finger, hopefully somewhere between 1/2" and 3/4" deep. Then I sprinkled some dry myco into the hole, put in the seed, and dusted with a little more of the dry myco.
Then I backfilled, made smooth, and then spritzed it 40 times with a bottle sprayer, to get it good and moist.

This should work out great.

Muchas gracias for your help!
Please ask anything. I very much appreciate your expertise., and want to figure this organic soil thing out.

Remember you are feeding the soil not the plant. The microbes in the soil feed the plant in an organic grow.

I hope I will not misquote anyone, but I have been trying to read up, and in one thread it was commented that because photoperiods go into stretch as soon as you flip them over, they can still use nitrogen for another two weeks, as both the top and the the roots are growing vigorously. I think her point was that the roots still need nitrogen for another two weeks, as they are also "going into stretch". Does that seem right to you?

True dat. And they still need nitrogen throughout the grow, just not in the quantities they needed it during veg.

So, I guess my question is, I want to feed my thirsty auto soon, but I am not sure if I should give her cow manure tea (for stretch), or banana peel tea (for flower).
We have cow manure tea in a bucket (from yesterday), and we are making banana peel tea right now.
I am just not sure which one to use.

Why not both? You're in a transition phase and no reason not to start providing the soil with the P that the plants will call for before too long for flower. But that nutrient is also used to build strong roots so the plant can use some right now. But, for small plants make sure you dilute it well. It should look like a very weak, light colored tea, not a dark, rich tea like it will be straight from your buckets.

If you are interested in making your own organic fertilizers you might reasearch KNF (Korean Natural Farming) and Jadam both of which are based on doing exactly that in a symbiotic way with nature.

The first few pages in the "Alchemy" thread in my signature below provides some of the background on the two systems and explains the differences. I've gone pretty far down that rabbit hole and the rest of that thread descibes some of my experiments as I explore the topic.

 

[CBDMed]

Wow, Azimuth, thank you! I really appreciate your all-organic approach.
My schedule is jammed, so please give me some time to digest this.
I hope to check out your links when I get time.

Only, this:

>> Remember you are feeding the soil not the plant. The microbes in the soil feed the plant in an organic grow.

So, does that mainly equate to the decomposition of organic matter (i.e., compost and worm compost, and a little of the egg shell and rock dust, etc.?
Meaning, when we re-use the soil, we have to recondition the soil by adding whatever decomposes and is eaten by the microbes?

Just out of curiosity, is one able to recondition SubCool's SuperSoil?
And if so, how do we know what it needs?

Thank you again for your help. I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.

 

[Azimuth]

Wow, Azimuth, thank you! I really appreciate your all-organic approach.
My schedule is jammed, so please give me some time to digest this.
I hope to check out your links when I get time.

Only, this:

>> Remember you are feeding the soil not the plant. The microbes in the soil feed the plant in an organic grow.

So, does that mainly equate to the decomposition of organic matter (i.e., compost and worm compost, and a little of the egg shell and rock dust, etc.?
Meaning, when we re-use the soil, we have to recondition the soil by adding whatever decomposes and is eaten by the microbes?

Just out of curiosity, is one able to recondition SubCool's SuperSoil?
And if so, how do we know what it needs?

Thank you again for your help. I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.

Yes, the idea is to replace the stuff that got used up and the rock dust and egg shells take a lot longer for the microbes to fully break down, so they last in the mix for quite a while. So, replacing the stuff like compost and worm castings/compost that get used up faster is what you need to do to reuse your mix.

I've never used SubCool's soil mix so don't know, but most of the organic mixes work the same and need to simply be amended, not replaced, for the next cycle. I'm pretty sure @Emilya used to use his soil when she was getting started so she could problaby answer that one.

 

[CBDMed]

Wow. Fabulous.
I will probably ask her later, after we get this all sorted out.

 

[CBDMed]

I have been trying to absorb what you said (above). I need to go through it again, but now I think I get your comments about the forest floor.

And that is perhaps also why you like leaf mold, is because it approximates the same kind of "controlled rotting" as naturally takes place on the forest floor?

But then that makes me wonder, what environment exactly should we hope to mimic? Because we have a soil mix that is nothing like any forest floor I have ever seen. However, our potting mix does incorporate a lot of compost.

Do you perhaps substitute the leaf mold in for the compost? Or do you add the leaf mold in addition? Or do you perhaps apply a layer of it? Or how to you incorporate leaf mold in your grows?

 

[CBDMed]

Wow. Fabulous.
I will probably ask her later, after we get this all sorted out.

EMILIA SAYS: TO RECONDITION SUBCOOL’S SUPER SOIL:

"Replace the macro nutrients.... N, P, K and calcium. Throw in some Azomite for the trace minerals, a spoonful of Humic acid to get things combining together, a bit of dolomite and perlite because they get used up and a couple of spoons of Epsom salt. Compost for a few months and it will be a nice strong super soil again."

 

[Azimuth]

Your pots are an artificial environment without the scale of the forest floor. So the idea is to get a mix with the right qualities for a pot. Those are something with the ability to hold up the plant and the ability to hold water but also drain well.

There are various mixes that will accomplish that. Some use coco coir and perlite, many use peat moss and perlite. Hempy growers use straight perlite. So it depends how you want to grow and what you want to use for nutrients. My garden is medicinal so I want to grow my garden organically using mostly things I can grow myself in my garden and without the use of any chemicals if possible. So that's why I have explored the things I have.

I use the leaf mold as a substitute for the CSPM for the various reasons cited in my thread. My current mix is the following:

3P Aged Leaf Mold
1P Coots Mix
1P Worm Castings/Biochar (3:1)
1P Sand
2P Perlite

To that I add neem, karanja, and crustacean meals, and some rock dust.

I will say though, that this is a relatively new mix for me and I have not even completed an entire grow with it yet. No one else that I've seen even uses the leaf mold, never mind at the high percentages that I do. This is entirely experimental and I am not suggesting you or anyone else use it.

But I will also say that since I started using it my plants have never looked happier or grown as well so I am very encouraged. The Coots Mix addition is only in there because shortly before I went down this path I had bot all the ingredients and mixed a batch to cook and I didn't want to feel like I had wasted the money. Had I not already had it, it would have been 4 parts of the ALM.

I guess my point is that there are some basic principles that should be incorporated when building your mix, but there are many ways to get there in the end.

 

[CBDMed]

Thank you, Azimuth.
I think I am starting to get the idea.

>> I use the leaf mold as a substitute for the CSPM for the various reasons cited in my thread.

Sorry, do you mean this thread? Or another?
(Sorry, I am running here, and have not had time to go through your threads, but I hope to.)

 

[Azimuth]

Thank you, Azimuth.
I think I am starting to get the idea.

>> I use the leaf mold as a substitute for the CSPM for the various reasons cited in my thread.

Sorry, do you mean this thread? Or another?
(Sorry, I am running here, and have not had time to go through your threads, but I hope to.)

This is the post I am referring to:

Alm v. Coco v. CSPM