Organic mix 1st grow

4bblformby

New Member
Can i grow my plants in organic humas and manure compost without adding extra nutrients? Can i grow my plants in prof. Potting soil called "just natural" organic with worm castings without adding nutrients? Do i need to combine these together? I have 1 bag of humas compost, 2 bags of just natural organic container and potting mix w/worm castings. I have 2 bags of manure compost (chicken/cow) also. I have one bag of sand. I have 16qts of vermiculite and a large bag of perlite i can add. Can anyone tell me how to make a mix out of all these ingredients? I was going to get a bail of spagnum peat moss to add to this mix but i dont have it yet. Can someone please have mercy on a da newbie and help me with some advice as to how and what to mix? Thank you
 
Can i grow my plants in organic humas and manure compost without adding extra nutrients? Can i grow my plants in prof. Potting soil called "just natural" organic with worm castings without adding nutrients? Do i need to combine these together? I have 1 bag of humas compost, 2 bags of just natural organic container and potting mix w/worm castings. I have 2 bags of manure compost (chicken/cow) also. I have one bag of sand. I have 16qts of vermiculite and a large bag of perlite i can add. Can anyone tell me how to make a mix out of all these ingredients? I was going to get a bail of spagnum peat moss to add to this mix but i dont have it yet. Can someone please have mercy on a da newbie and help me with some advice as to how and what to mix? Thank you
A basic organic soil mix ratio is
1/3 Candian Sphangum Peat Moss
1/3 EWC/compost
1/3 aeration
You should add oyster shell flour (liming) at 1 cup per cubic foot (7.5 gals)
If you're going to use pre bagged potting soils and mix in extra's just be careful not to overload it. You can always top dress later on.

The sand I would add 2 cups per cubic foot.
 
Does the '"just natural" organic with worm castings' have anything else in it?
I'd mix it all together but only half-bag of the cow, and a quarter-bag of the chicken. I don't use vermiculite, but a quarter of what you've got if you like.. No sand.. Add an additional 10-20% of this total mix in perlite. Mix well, water until moist, not wet, store for as long as possible in bins or tubs in a warm spot, 2/3 weeks minimum.. You could also add the sphagnum but I wouldn't bother... Try coco-coir instead; mix in another 10-50% total.. You want the mix to be spongey in your fist when moist. You can always add stuff later but you can't take it out, so just go light and easy, your base mix (potting mixes, coco, humus whatever) will have some nutrients already. You want to encourage life in the soil mix, so perlite and coco etc gives them some where to live and places to store air and water..
This would be a good starter mix. If you need more nutes later, just add some manures (composted) or earth worm castings to the top of the soil and water in.. Or buy some organic fish-based liquid ferts..
Too easy!
 
If you can't wait for it to sit for a month or so, use less manures to start with in the mix.. Esp. the chicken. Cow is not so bad if composted but chicken shit can be "hot" and burn roots...
 
I love coco. I get good stuff, and with my own compost and some EWC, various amendments, rock dust etc, I'm getting great roots and healthy plants. And coco last a while. I recycle all root balls and the worms eat most of the roots for me... LOS is easy with minimal effort! Lots of hardcore organics growers here, lots of info! But easy is best for the lazy gardener. Like me. And LOS is easy to get started with only the minimum of knowledge... Work up to the hardcore from there!
 
I love coco. I get good stuff, and with my own compost and some EWC, various amendments, rock dust etc, I'm getting great roots and healthy plants. And coco last a while. I recycle all root balls and the worms eat most of the roots for me... LOS is easy with minimal effort! Lots of hardcore organics growers here, lots of info! But easy is best for the lazy gardener. Like me. And LOS is easy to get started with only the minimum of knowledge... Work up to the hardcore from there!
I would defiantly say I am one of the more hardcore organic growers, I try to tone it down for beginners lol. What is LOS? Haven't had my coffee yet, lol. That's great that you are getting good results!! I love making my own EWC, and crafting new soil mixes. This year I am trying 2 year old dairy manure as the 1/3 EWC in my mix with Clackamas Coot nutrient and minerals from Buildasoil. I also grind up my egg shells and feed that through the worm farm for top dresses. So much you can do with organics and it's pretty forgiving with any mistakes.
 
Yeah, man that's why I like it.. I don't care about pH or anything like that... If they look like they need a feed, a bit of tea or some generic fish fert.. I am lazy..!
LOS. Living Organic Soil.. All about getting the herd up and running, and I find so far that the basic work just as well.. I also use eggshell but straight in my mixes... Almost burnt, powdered in a blender! Not much immediate benefit maybe, but 6/12 months, that recycled soil should be better than before.. Just chuck in a bit more EWC, water in some seaweed and molasses, and it's ready to go. I mix about half recycled soil to every new mix to keep it as fresh as possible, while also trying to use newly-available benefits..
 
Yeah, man that's why I like it.. I don't care about pH or anything like that... If they look like they need a feed, a bit of tea or some generic fish fert.. I am lazy..!
LOS. Living Organic Soil.. All about getting the herd up and running, and I find so far that the basic work just as well.. I also use eggshell but straight in my mixes... Almost burnt, powdered in a blender! Not much immediate benefit maybe, but 6/12 months, that recycled soil should be better than before.. Just chuck in a bit more EWC, water in some seaweed and molasses, and it's ready to go. I mix about half recycled soil to every new mix to keep it as fresh as possible, while also trying to use newly-available benefits..
Sounds like you have a great soil food web going on there. Have you tried No-Till? Just leaving the root ball in and transplanting a clone in so you don't disturb the soil. I water in a Neem/Kelp tea once a month. Top dress EWC ans mulch with alfalfa hay.
 
Hey Prep; sorry, went to bed!
No no-till here yet; I don't do clones at the moment.. Only fem seeds due to space/stealth issues..
I wanna set up veggie gardens this season; they'll be no-till.. I also have to set up a proper vermicompost bin. Once that's done, I'm good to go all diy. I use same soil mixes for all potted plants. Raised beds in no-till will be slightly different in that I won't use as much, if any, coco or perlite... Haven't decided exactly how yet. If I can get a landscaping supply place to pre-mix everything, I'll get some coco in there.. Roots just love it, and not as acidic as peat moss.... BTW, sphagnum or plain old peat is really expensive here, so coco is a good cheap alternative (you're right about the salt issue but decent quality (expensive!) coco is pretty good for removing most of that).
Plus, peat is non-sustainable.. Once it's all gone, it's all gone.... Coco is very sustainable and cheap to produce.
The reality for me is here in Australia, we just can't get the various exotic ingredients that Coots recipe calls for..
Our border control on organic plant life etc is very strict, given we're an island... Got to stop the bad bugs and weeds getting in..
Look out on 420mag here for bobrown14, PeeJay and DocBud, to name a few.. Good examples of full-on organic, mostly DIY.. Doc is high brix, sells his own 'kits', and has some of the frostiest buds I have ever seen.. bobrown (not high brix), grows, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful MJ plants you will see anywhere.. And PeeJay; well, he's another master... So many good growers here.. Look up TheCapn (here on 420) and Subcool.. Also good reading for soil building..
 
Hey Prep; sorry, went to bed!
No no-till here yet; I don't do clones at the moment.. Only fem seeds due to space/stealth issues..
I wanna set up veggie gardens this season; they'll be no-till.. I also have to set up a proper vermicompost bin. Once that's done, I'm good to go all diy. I use same soil mixes for all potted plants. Raised beds in no-till will be slightly different in that I won't use as much, if any, coco or perlite... Haven't decided exactly how yet. If I can get a landscaping supply place to pre-mix everything, I'll get some coco in there.. Roots just love it, and not as acidic as peat moss.... BTW, sphagnum or plain old peat is really expensive here, so coco is a good cheap alternative (you're right about the salt issue but decent quality (expensive!) coco is pretty good for removing most of that).
Plus, peat is non-sustainable.. Once it's all gone, it's all gone.... Coco is very sustainable and cheap to produce.
The reality for me is here in Australia, we just can't get the various exotic ingredients that Coots recipe calls for..
Our border control on organic plant life etc is very strict, given we're an island... Got to stop the bad bugs and weeds getting in..
Look out on 420mag here for bobrown14, PeeJay and DocBud, to name a few.. Good examples of full-on organic, mostly DIY.. Doc is high brix, sells his own 'kits', and has some of the frostiest buds I have ever seen.. bobrown (not high brix), grows, in my opinion, some of the most beautiful MJ plants you will see anywhere.. And PeeJay; well, he's another master... So many good growers here.. Look up TheCapn (here on 420) and Subcool.. Also good reading for soil building..
Check out hugelkultur for your outdoor garden!
420-magazine-mobile956801403.jpg
 
Ha! If I was 20 years younger, I'd give it a crack! I might throw a bunch of fish heads and local timber chips/compost in a trench in bottom of each bed, though..
 
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