Super Soil & Organic Liquids?

[Joshua2018]

I've been growing for several years, mostly outdoor (starting indoor), using a variety of different soils/super soils/nutrients. This season I've decided to do a small indoor grow from start to finish. I created super soil a few months ago to use as my medium, with Roots Organic Original as my base for the recipe, as well as my top soil, in fabric pots. I realize that most advise to use water only throughout the cycle, however I'm experimenting a bit with other additives to see what happens. For example, I've watered with aerated worm casting compost teas, as well as nutrient teas with the Earth Juice line. I'm using a blend of all types of different organic nutrients including; unsulphered blackstrap molasses, Hi-Brix MFP, Earth Juice (Grow, Bloom, Catalyst, Meta-K, Microblast), Neptune's Fish Fertilizer, Neptune's Kelp Meal, General Organic's CaMg+, Great White for every Transplant, and I happened to pick up Advanced Nutrient's Organic Big Bud. To clarify, I'm not combining all of this at one time, and not watering as if I had a normal base soil. I've been blending various teas together, adding a 1/2 tsp of this, a Tbsp of that, at much lower than general watering recommendations. My goal is to create cup winning quality, with no real concern for quantity. I'm curious if anyone else has done anything like this with even better results, compared to Super Soil alone? Or, would it be better if I stuck with simple compost teas with molasses to help increase microbial activity, allowing the soil to do all the heavy lifting?

 

[Don Palmer]

I'm in a similar boat as you. I use a custom super soil blend starting when the plants are nearly 2 weeks old (when they root my 3.5", they go into 3gal smart pots with some mykos). Starting at the end of the 3rd week, I give them a compost tea every other weekend, using straight RO water in between.

I've tried a couple of different recipes online, all claiming to be the best. But honestly, using just worm casting compost, molasses and Neptune's Harvest 2-3-1 Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer, I have had results equal to or better than all those complex tea recipes. I cant necessarily say that it has made my bud more potent compared to other recipes (I cannot get the bud tested for THCa levels at a lab, obviously) but the certainly look frosty white and my yields pay the bills and then some. I recommend it to everyone:

In a 5gal bucket:
- add 4gal of RO water
- add 4-5 tbs of unsulphured blackstrap molasses (this is about 1/4 cup, a little more)
- add 3 tbs of Neptunes Harvest 2-3-1 Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer.

Lastly, place pantyhose, or other net, over the entire brim of the bucket (this mix usually foams real close to the top, may overflow if net doesn't there). Place 2 cups of composted worm castings in the net and let bubble for at least 18hrs. Cheers mate.

(EDIT): I forgot to answer the most important part of your question. YES! Using compost teas in addition to super soil is absolutely the way to go. About 2 years ago I started using compost teas with my super soil and I never looked back. The results are just plain better than super soil alone. But the best recipe? That's definitely up for debate.

 

[Joshua2018]

I actually followed Sub’s recipe pretty closely for soil, but I can’t seem to find anyone that has tried boosting it even more with supplemental nutes. Everyone I know either goes through a cycle with water only, or might add light feedings of compost tea and molasses/hi-brix. I’m mostly curious if I can actually gain some more potency and overall quality fooling around with additives. Earth Juice actually has some compost/nutrient tea recipes on their site that I’ve been loosely basing mine off of. So far, all is well. I’ve had some slight nitrogen burn, but went with just water for a week or two and I see no issues on newer leaves at all. I’m curious/excited to see what the results will be! I have never done what I’m doing right now, for better or worse... I went with Neptune’s Fish Fertilizer over the seaweed mix only because it has a touch more phosphorus. I’ve use A LOT more though. Their bottle asks for a 1/4 cup per gallon for compost teas so I’ve gone as high as a 1/2 for 4 gallons. I’ve also been using Veganic Special Sauce in my compost teas with a touch of Raw Humic Acid. Next week I’ll mix up a batch of aerated tea with some Organic Big Bud and see how they respond. I just entered flowering recently so I’m hoping it’ll boost things up a bit. I figure if I’m not burning anything, I should be heading in a good direction. We’ll know for sure in about two months or so... Thanks for your little recipe though. I’ve made batches very similar. I’ve been feeding something almost every watering, aside from seedling stage and about two straight water drenches. I’ll be sure to share some pictures when the time comes...