Recommendations On Nutrients?

[Enjoying]

No, I have not heard of those nutrients. If you want to follow a local guru and his concoctions, follow him completely. If you want a great organic grow that has everything your plants could ever want, and don't want to mess with additional teas, supplements and personal secret grow methods, get @GeoFlora Nutrients. It is good stuff.

The short explanation of Soil Balance is, it contains microbes that are supposedly specific to this plant to help it produce more oil (higher yield extractions), terpenes etc. I got two bags for half price so I figured I could give it a shot.

The compost tea guy as he calls himself just makes his compost tea and sources ingredients from the local nurseries to make different blends of top dresses. I use the tea on everything I grow (my jasmine LOVES it) and the top dresses he makes work great too. I am more interested in figuring out my own soil recipe (my first attempt wasn't to great sadly - the plant seemed to like it then Idk what happened, I lost the bottom half worth of fans, a node and some nodes became half nodes). I will probably just stick to FFOF or the basic 1/3 each of base, aeration and compost. Then use whichever fertiliser line that calls to me that season along with the tea and maybe a top dress here and there.

After reading some of your threads and seeing others input on GeoFlora I am definitely leaning towards this for next seasons grow.

 

[Emilya Green]

The short explanation of Soil Balance is, it contains microbes that are supposedly specific to this plant to help it produce more oil (higher yield extractions), terpenes etc. I got two bags for half price so I figured I could give it a shot.

The compost tea guy as he calls himself just makes his compost tea and sources ingredients from the local nurseries to make different blends of top dresses. I use the tea on everything I grow (my jasmine LOVES it) and the top dresses he makes work great too. I am more interested in figuring out my own soil recipe (my first attempt wasn't to great sadly - the plant seemed to like it then Idk what happened, I lost the bottom half worth of fans, a node and some nodes became half nodes). I will probably just stick to FFOF or the basic 1/3 each of base, aeration and compost. Then use whichever fertiliser line that calls to me that season along with the tea and maybe a top dress here and there.

After reading some of your threads and seeing others input on GeoFlora I am definitely leaning towards this for next seasons grow.

The thing is, you can choose to believe their advertising hype but please know that your compost tea guy, the soil guy, the folks at RealGrower's Recharge, Voodoo Juice, URB, they all understand the microbes and know that there are certain species of them that are good for processing certain nutrients. Your soil guy knows to add the long list of myco fungi that are important to establish in the container, but you can get those in much better concentrations in a bag. There are no super special microbes just for this plant. Your soil and your tea guy do not have some sort of secret, they just know how to generate the microbes that they need in order to process the 19 elements that this plant needs. Its called seeding... you seed your tea with the mineral you are wanting to get processed, and then the microbes specific to working with that particular element thrive in your tea, while others die out. When I made my own actively aerated compost teas in order to get the nutrients out of my organic soil, I did the same thing, and I basically had 4 teas that I could specialize in depending on the time of the grow and what nutrients the plant needed at that time. This information is readily available, but your guys make it seem like some sort of secret, probably just to market themselves. This is not a sin and actually is called good marketing, but again, please know that you can do better on your own just armed with a little knowledge.
Soil has to have a whole list of qualities in order to be good to grow in. Attempting to make a proper soil by starting with a good base and then adding this and that, doesn't work. There are certain proportions that the minerals all need to be in, or you can easily end up locking out something else that is needed. Once a good recipe mix of elements is found, then you need to add organics and soil and humic acid to mix it all together, and then you have to make sure that the resulting mix has a proper water flow through rate and retention rate, the right pH, the right aeration... its not for the amateur to attempt and I would not even try it myself after half a lifetime of experience growing this plant. It is best to go by known and tested recipes, the one I chose was SubCool's supersoil that I successfully used for over 7 years without it failing to provide what was needed, of course with minor additions now and then along the way. I also learned that it is absolutely necessary to "cook" that new soil for a minimum of 3 months before trying to use it to grow plants in. It is a lot of work and it takes some time to produce a quality soil.

Before I found @GeoFlora Nutrients I did all of this. I made and composted my own supersoil and then I produced targeted compost teas for my plants and I grew very successfully for a few years using this TLO method. Still looking for an easier way, I realized that I could use my soil in the same way I had been doing, but without the time and mess of making my own teas, by using instant "targeted" microbes, freeze dried into a bag, RealGrower's Recharge. How ridiculously easy those grows were... simply mix up the soup and pour it in once a week... presto, organic grow.

Then Geoflora came along. Now I didn't even need supersoil. Any soil or even coco, capable of holding up the plants could be used to produce a completely 100% organic grow. All the nutrients are there, all the targeted microbes are there, and miracles happen.

If you want to do it the hard way, by all means, learn to make a proper tea and mix up a 100 gallon batch of supersoil and take the time to get it composted, and go at it. I work for growers who can't do all that like one of my friends who lives in his wheelchair and has one arm to work with. I have shown my hero that he can use any soil over and over again, at least until it gets compacted, and simply top dress the special time release Geoflora granules on the top, once every two weeks. He can do this and is getting amazing grows because Organic doesn't get easier than this, and it really is a purely organic grow that you don't need to tinker with. Even tap water will work with it. I don't care what your local guru has to offer... he can't beat this unless his services are free and he is coming to your house to grow it for you.

 

[Enjoying]

The thing is, you can choose to believe their advertising hype but please know that your compost tea guy, the soil guy, the folks at RealGrower's Recharge, Voodoo Juice, URB, they all understand the microbes and know that there are certain species of them that are good for processing certain nutrients. Your soil guy knows to add the long list of myco fungi that are important to establish in the container, but you can get those in much better concentrations in a bag. There are no super special microbes just for this plant. Your soil and your tea guy do not have some sort of secret, they just know how to generate the microbes that they need in order to process the 19 elements that this plant needs. Its called seeding... you seed your tea with the mineral you are wanting to get processed, and then the microbes specific to working with that particular element thrive in your tea, while others die out. When I made my own actively aerated compost teas in order to get the nutrients out of my organic soil, I did the same thing, and I basically had 4 teas that I could specialize in depending on the time of the grow and what nutrients the plant needed at that time. This information is readily available, but your guys make it seem like some sort of secret, probably just to market themselves. This is not a sin and actually is called good marketing, but again, please know that you can do better on your own just armed with a little knowledge.
Soil has to have a whole list of qualities in order to be good to grow in. Attempting to make a proper soil by starting with a good base and then adding this and that, doesn't work. There are certain proportions that the minerals all need to be in, or you can easily end up locking out something else that is needed. Once a good recipe mix of elements is found, then you need to add organics and soil and humic acid to mix it all together, and then you have to make sure that the resulting mix has a proper water flow through rate and retention rate, the right pH, the right aeration... its not for the amateur to attempt and I would not even try it myself after half a lifetime of experience growing this plant. It is best to go by known and tested recipes, the one I chose was SubCool's supersoil that I successfully used for over 7 years without it failing to provide what was needed, of course with minor additions now and then along the way. I also learned that it is absolutely necessary to "cook" that new soil for a minimum of 3 months before trying to use it to grow plants in. It is a lot of work and it takes some time to produce a quality soil.

Before I found @GeoFlora Nutrients I did all of this. I made and composted my own supersoil and then I produced targeted compost teas for my plants and I grew very successfully for a few years using this TLO method. Still looking for an easier way, I realized that I could use my soil in the same way I had been doing, but without the time and mess of making my own teas, by using instant "targeted" microbes, freeze dried into a bag, RealGrower's Recharge. How ridiculously easy those grows were... simply mix up the soup and pour it in once a week... presto, organic grow.

Then Geoflora came along. Now I didn't even need supersoil. Any soil or even coco, capable of holding up the plants could be used to produce a completely 100% organic grow. All the nutrients are there, all the targeted microbes are there, and miracles happen.

If you want to do it the hard way, by all means, learn to make a proper tea and mix up a 100 gallon batch of supersoil and take the time to get it composted, and go at it. I work for growers who can't do all that like one of my friends who lives in his wheelchair and has one arm to work with. I have shown my hero that he can use any soil over and over again, at least until it gets compacted, and simply top dress the special time release Geoflora granules on the top, once every two weeks. He can do this and is getting amazing grows because Organic doesn't get easier than this, and it really is a purely organic grow that you don't need to tinker with. Even tap water will work with it. I don't care what your local guru has to offer... he can't beat this unless his services are free and he is coming to your house to grow it for you.

I am very aware of marketing and QUITE skeptikal of ALL of it even when I see pictures of what can be achieved in various forums. It's partially if not completely why it takes me FOREVER to pick a product. That and paralysis by analysis.

The compost tea guy doesn't share the ingredients because he knows I will go and make it myself. I don't have a soil guy. I have been reading here mostly, a couple other forums and at Build a Soil. I know there are various recipes for everything that any gardener needs. I got the basic soil recipe from BAS and apparently it is Coots. I have found compost tea recipes and saved a few. I would already be making my own if I had the room for the set up I'd like. Nothing to crazy, a couple five gallon buckets and a couple O2 emitters. However I would need to figure out a better water source as my city water sucks. Are you willing to share your compost tea recipes?

I think you have told me about Recharge (for sure this one) and URB before. I know I have read about them and someone here recommended them. I have seen Voodoo Juice products and they did catch my attention but I haven't specifically asked about them so it's good to now they are useful in this area.

Thanks for taking the time to type such a detailed response! The info on seeding tea makes total sense and will help me when I have the chance to dive into that area. Idk what happened with my soil attempt. I took a soil(baby bu's potting soil) added BioLive from down to earth and let it cook for five months. During these five months I kept it moist with compost tea and added soil balance a few times. This may be the mistake as I am guessing the bacteria got wack during the cooking time. My goal was to boost microbe life and I didn't want to use city water as it's detrimental in doing so. When I put the plant in it(not as a seedling) it seemed really happy and then one day it took a serious down turn as explained in my last post. I tested pH but it was the run off so Idk if that was the right choice, it was at 4.9, I used dolomite lime to adjust. I also treated for spider mites(spinosad) and a couple other things that I no longer remember along with a transplant into FFOF. The plant pulled through and looks a lot better. It's been a few weeks since I took pics(I may today if time permits after it cools down) but they are in my Journal Time link in my sig if you want to look. I think it starts on page 4 or 5. I don't make new ones for new grows, though I may start.

After my attempt at soil I will not try making my own though I wouldn't call what I did making my own. I would LOVE to reuse/recycle my soil though as it's not cheap to buy so any guidance with that is most appreciated! I plan on sticking with FFOF and just want to figure out what to add to bring the nutes back for next grow. Maybe send my soil out for a test saying I'm growing tomatoes and let them tell me what I need and go from there. Maybe just let my soil sit til next season doing nothing to it and using GeoFlora, Cold War Organics or something similar to keep the plant fed. I will continue using the tea regardless unless I see negative things happening.

If I had someone coming to my house to grow it for me it'd take all the fun out of the growing experience and it just feels better being able to say I grew this myself. Obv I know you were kidding...

 

[Emilya Green]

I am very aware of marketing and QUITE skeptikal of ALL of it even when I see pictures of what can be achieved in various forums. It's partially if not completely why it takes me FOREVER to pick a product. That and paralysis by analysis.

The compost tea guy doesn't share the ingredients because he knows I will go and make it myself. I don't have a soil guy. I have been reading here mostly, a couple other forums and at Build a Soil. I know there are various recipes for everything that any gardener needs. I got the basic soil recipe from BAS and apparently it is Coots. I have found compost tea recipes and saved a few. I would already be making my own if I had the room for the set up I'd like. Nothing to crazy, a couple five gallon buckets and a couple O2 emitters. However I would need to figure out a better water source as my city water sucks. Are you willing to share your compost tea recipes?

I think you have told me about Recharge (for sure this one) and URB before. I know I have read about them and someone here recommended them. I have seen Voodoo Juice products and they did catch my attention but I haven't specifically asked about them so it's good to now they are useful in this area.

Thanks for taking the time to type such a detailed response! The info on seeding tea makes total sense and will help me when I have the chance to dive into that area. Idk what happened with my soil attempt. I took a soil(baby bu's potting soil) added BioLive from down to earth and let it cook for five months. During these five months I kept it moist with compost tea and added soil balance a few times. This may be the mistake as I am guessing the bacteria got wack during the cooking time. My goal was to boost microbe life and I didn't want to use city water as it's detrimental in doing so. When I put the plant in it(not as a seedling) it seemed really happy and then one day it took a serious down turn as explained in my last post. I tested pH but it was the run off so Idk if that was the right choice, it was at 4.9, I used dolomite lime to adjust. I also treated for spider mites(spinosad) and a couple other things that I no longer remember along with a transplant into FFOF. The plant pulled through and looks a lot better. It's been a few weeks since I took pics(I may today if time permits after it cools down) but they are in my Journal Time link in my sig if you want to look. I think it starts on page 4 or 5. I don't make new ones for new grows, though I may start.

After my attempt at soil I will not try making my own though I wouldn't call what I did making my own. I would LOVE to reuse/recycle my soil though as it's not cheap to buy so any guidance with that is most appreciated! I plan on sticking with FFOF and just want to figure out what to add to bring the nutes back for next grow. Maybe send my soil out for a test saying I'm growing tomatoes and let them tell me what I need and go from there. Maybe just let my soil sit til next season doing nothing to it and using GeoFlora, Cold War Organics or something similar to keep the plant fed. I will continue using the tea regardless unless I see negative things happening.

If I had someone coming to my house to grow it for me it'd take all the fun out of the growing experience and it just feels better being able to say I grew this myself. Obv I know you were kidding...

Again, if you go with Geoflora, you will not need to make any teas. If you insist on growing with teas, that is a lot more work but it is a fun growing experience. You need a very strong air pump, not an aquarium pump, and a bunch of raw ingredients. Surprisingly, Fox Farm Big Bloom is a very good organic tea and can be used effectively as a base for a lot of your compost teas. I have no personal recipes. I bought a book called TLO, True Living Organics, by The Rev. and I learned how to grow organically in smaller containers, using 1/3 of a container of supersoil and the rest regular old potting soil. I learned how he used layers of raw nutrient and worm castings and how he made vertical spikes of raw nutrients when building his containers. I then learned to make his teas. Here is a bookmark of the primary tea recipes, captured from the book by our friend @StoneOtter - Otterfarm Flooded! NextLight Mega Responsible!

 

[Enjoying]

Again, if you go with Geoflora, you will not need to make any teas. If you insist on growing with teas, that is a lot more work but it is a fun growing experience. You need a very strong air pump, not an aquarium pump, and a bunch of raw ingredients. Surprisingly, Fox Farm Big Bloom is a very good organic tea and can be used effectively as a base for a lot of your compost teas. I have no personal recipes. I bought a book called TLO, True Living Organics, by The Rev. and I learned how to grow organically in smaller containers, using 1/3 of a container of supersoil and the rest regular old potting soil. I learned how he used layers of raw nutrient and worm castings and how he made vertical spikes of raw nutrients when building his containers. I then learned to make his teas. Here is a bookmark of the primary tea recipes, captured from the book by our friend @StoneOtter - Otterfarm Flooded! NextLight Mega Responsible!

Sorry for the late response!

I would probably use an O2 emitter if I made my own teas. I have a few tea recipes saved so I know they take a lot of ingredients. Removing the crap from my tap is the main concern here. Those teas sound interesting for sure! Thanks for the link.

That book sounds interesting I may purchase it. Just for gardening in general. I may get GeoFlora and Cold War Organics to do a side by side just for the mad scientist in me.