Super Soil Recipe Question!

[vrai]

Hi all,

I need feedback on the ingredients and the ratio of it. After doing plenty of research this is
my recipe for the super soil

- potting soil : 20kgs
- coco coir : 20 kgs
- perlite : 2 kgs
- vermicompost: 5 kgs
- chicken manure: 500 gms
- bone meal: 500 gms
- rock phosphate: 1 cup
- oyster shell : 1 cup
- kelp meal : 1 cup
- alfalfa meal : 1 cup
- epsom salts : 3 tablespoon
- dolomite lime : 1/4 cup
- neem : 1 cup
- mycorhhizae : 1/2 cup
- humic acid : 1/2 tablespoon


My super soil has been cooking for 23 days now. After the mix i moisted it with ACT brewed for 24 hrs.
My observation:
1.the smell of bone meal is still strong and I can still see bits of it still unbroken. The question is how long does bone meal take to completely break down and the smell to fade away.

2. I measured the PH of the super soil and its around 5.8 My base soil is coco coir about 20 % of the mix. is the coco coir too much causing the soil to be acidic? Also I only put about 1/4 cup of dolomite lime; could this also be the reason for acidic readings ? How can I fix this issue.

3. After the cooking is complete later on, can i use only this as my potting mix for 5 week old cannabis plants or should i mix with it with regular potting mix ?

Answers will be much appreciated,
Regards

 

[Dankman_420]

Screenshot_20191109-203255.png

• Dankman_420
• Nov 9, 2019

This is the recipe I've used for my last couple of grows. Worked out great! No additional nuits or tea's just straight r.o. water. Your going to love organics

 

[Dankman_420]

For my mix I veg in 1 gallon pots of fox farm ocean forest soil. Never feeding, water only. Then up pot into final container of super soil. I've grown all the way to day 75 in flower with no signs of deficiency in a #3 gallon. So 2 gallons of fresh SS chugged along the whole way through. Checkout my journal for more info

 

[bobrown14]

Soil pH will be fine. Don't worry about it that much as the plants and the micro-organsisms will adjust it to their liking. I like my new soil to be acidic (5.8pH like you have). Over time the pH will raise as more soil organic matter starts becoming part of the soil mix. If you want you can add some Gypsum to the mix to get some more calcium in there.

 

[vrai]

Soil pH will be fine. Don't worry about it that much as the plants and the micro-organsisms will adjust it to their liking. I like my new soil to be acidic (5.8pH like you have). Over time the pH will raise as more soil organic matter starts becoming part of the soil mix. If you want you can add some Gypsum to the mix to get some more calcium in there.

Hi,
If the micro organism can take care of the soil pH then that would be great. Also does the repugnant smell ever go whilst cooking the super soil ?

 

[vrai]

For my mix I veg in 1 gallon pots of fox farm ocean forest soil. Never feeding, water only. Then up pot into final container of super soil. I've grown all the way to day 75 in flower with no signs of deficiency in a #3 gallon. So 2 gallons of fresh SS chugged along the whole way through. Checkout my journal for more info

Okay, thanks for the advice, also how long do you cook your super soil ?

 

[Dankman_420]

Okay, thanks for the advice, also how long do you cook your super soil ?

Mine cooked in large trash cans with lids in 70 - 80° weather in shade for 2 months. Look for subcools super soil recipe on YouTube. Shit loads of vids. I went by the ones from subcool himself as he's used the recipe for couple of decade's

 

[bobrown14]

Hi,
If the micro organism can take care of the soil pH then that would be great. Also does the repugnant smell ever go whilst cooking the super soil ?

The smell should smell like soil. If you're getting rotten egg smell then its too damp. That would be anaerobic bacteria which is not what we want. Easy enough just let the soil dry out and turn it a few times with a shovel. Does your soil have aeration?? (rice hulls/pumice/per-lite) if not add about 1/3 by volume.

So if you have 2 gal of soil add 1 gal of per-lite. Sounds like a lot but it will be ok.

 

[vrai]

The smell should smell like soil. If you're getting rotten egg smell then its too damp. That would be anaerobic bacteria which is not what we want. Easy enough just let the soil dry out and turn it a few times with a shovel. Does your soil have aeration?? (rice hulls/pumice/per-lite) if not add about 1/3 by volume.

So if you have 2 gal of soil add 1 gal of per-lite. Sounds like a lot but it will be ok.

Yea still smells like rotten egg, I think I wetted it a bit too much before I put it in the container bucket to cook. Also I didn't put any aeration materials thinking I would only use them before I use it for my plants . Guess I just have to wait for it to dry out.

 

[vrai]

The smell should smell like soil. If you're getting rotten egg smell then its too damp. That would be anaerobic bacteria which is not what we want. Easy enough just let the soil dry out and turn it a few times with a shovel. Does your soil have aeration?? (rice hulls/pumice/per-lite) if not add about 1/3 by volume.

So if you have 2 gal of soil add 1 gal of per-lite. Sounds like a lot but it will be ok.

Hi,
i dont have aeration in my mix, is that the reason why i think my soil is not cooking ??

 

[SmokingWings]

Hi,
i dont have aeration in my mix, is that the reason why i think my soil is not cooking ??

Your soil is cooking, just not cooking with active aerobic bacteria colonies. The anaerobic bacteria is doing the work right now which is why @bobrown14 mentions to let it dry out. As it dries the aerobic colonies will increase.

You do have some aeration in the soil. I see 2 kg of perlite listed as the third ingredient. I don't know if that is enough in relation to the first two ingredients.

If I had the soil mix in front of me right now I might be able to pinpoint the smell. As it is, just reading the list of ingredients I am putting my money on the Chicken Manure. Great stuff but it does have an odor until the bacteria colonies break it down. The smell will go away but I do believe that it is a stronger smell right now because the soil is still to damp. My experience is that once it breaks down more it will not smell even when the soil mix is wet.

I looked back through the messages and do not see how you are storing the soil mix while it "cooks" or "ages". If you can stir it up bringing some of the lower soil to the top that will help speed up the drying. Sometimes this is not easy to do if the soil is being stored in small pots or containers. If for some reason you cannot stir up the soil a suggestion would be to dump it all into a pile and stir it with a shovel or gardeners hand trowel. Or, dump it into a large container like a bushel basket or wheelbarrow and use the hand trowel.

None the less, it looks like a nice soil recipe. Good luck with your upcoming grows.

 

[vrai]

Your soil is cooking, just not cooking with active aerobic bacteria colonies. The anaerobic bacteria is doing the work right now which is why @bobrown14 mentions to let it dry out. As it dries the aerobic colonies will increase.

You do have some aeration in the soil. I see 2 kg of perlite listed as the third ingredient. I don't know if that is enough in relation to the first two ingredients.

If I had the soil mix in front of me right now I might be able to pinpoint the smell. As it is, just reading the list of ingredients I am putting my money on the Chicken Manure. Great stuff but it does have an odor until the bacteria colonies break it down. The smell will go away but I do believe that it is a stronger smell right now because the soil is still to damp. My experience is that once it breaks down more it will not smell even when the soil mix is wet.

I looked back through the messages and do not see how you are storing the soil mix while it "cooks" or "ages". If you can stir it up bringing some of the lower soil to the top that will help speed up the drying. Sometimes this is not easy to do if the soil is being stored in small pots or containers. If for some reason you cannot stir up the soil a suggestion would be to dump it all into a pile and stir it with a shovel or gardeners hand trowel. Or, dump it into a large container like a bushel basket or wheelbarrow and use the hand trowel.

None the less, it looks like a nice soil recipe. Good luck with your upcoming grows.

Hi,
I am storing the SS in a 40 litre bucket and it is diffult to stir as it is filled to the brim. I guess I will have to dump it all on the ground and stir it again to accelerate the drying process.

I do have some aeration but i guess its not enough. Will add some more.
And thanks for explaning the reason for the smell. It makes sense to me now.

 

[tslonige]

A guy on another forum uses this after making super soil mixes for years and now he swears by this mix. I have seen he has the biggest buds and harvest I have ever seen. I am into simple lol.

 

[vrai]

A guy on another forum uses this after making super soil mixes for years and now he swears by this mix. I have seen he has the biggest buds and harvest I have ever seen. I am into simple lol.

Can you tell me how much kilos is 1 bag of cubic feet. That would be helpful. Where I live we only deal in kilos.

 

[tslonige]

Can you tell me how much kilos is 1 bag of cubic feet. That would be helpful. Where I live we only deal in kilos.

68.15 kg = 1 cu ft

 

[vrai]

68.15 kg = 1 cu ft

wow that is a lot of weight

 

[SmokingWings]

Can you tell me how much kilos is 1 bag of cubic feet. That would be helpful. Where I live we only deal in kilos.

How much a cubic foot of something weighs is going to be determined by what is being weighed. A cubic foot of lead would weigh more than a cubic foot of most soil mixes. A cubic foot of a soil mix would change weight as it dries out. Mixing in some water into a cubic foot of soil would change the weight without necessarily changing the volume.

 

[vrai]

Oka

How much a cubic foot of something weighs is going to be determined by what is being weighed. A cubic foot of lead would weigh more than a cubic foot of most soil mixes. A cubic foot of a soil mix would change weight as it dries out. Mixing in some water into a cubic foot of soil would change the weight without necessarily changing the volume.

Okay, so would you be able to tell me how many kilos would a 1.5 cubic feet of potting mix soil which is dry be ?

 

[bobrown14]

Hi,
I am storing the SS in a 40 litre bucket and it is diffult to stir as it is filled to the brim. I guess I will have to dump it all on the ground and stir it again to accelerate the drying process.

I do have some aeration but i guess its not enough. Will add some more.
And thanks for explaning the reason for the smell. It makes sense to me now.

Here's a pro tip for aeration in a large container like yours.

4" pvc pipe with a cover on one end.
Drill lots of holes in the 4" pipe.
Push down into soil without cover to make a hole
Take pipe out with the soil in it
remove soil from pipe and put the cover on
re-insert pipe in the hole you just made.

Aeration and done.

We do this with composting bins that need aeration. It works

 

[SmokingWings]

Oka

Okay, so would you be able to tell me how many kilos would a 1.5 cubic feet of potting mix soil which is dry be ?

Sorry for the delay, I did not notice the question until just now.

A cubic foot of soil can weigh between 20 kg up to 75 kg depending on how dry it is and just what is in it. A cubic foot of a soil with a lot of stones and clay will usually weigh more than a soil that is a mix containing top soil or compost and some peat moss with perlite added.

You could come up with a good approximation by weighing a container of your super soil. As long as you can figure out the volume of the container you should be able to come up with the weight of 1.5 cubic feet of your soil. Over the years I have had to pick up buckets of soil and I know that a quality made super soil is easier to pick up than the same bucket filled with the soil from my garden. Most quality super soils have peat moss or coco coir in them and that adds some bulk while not adding as much weight as common soil. Then some soils have perlite added and that adds bulk and little weight.

If you need the know the weight for shipping you might be able to get the info by contacting the manufacturer directly before placing the order.