What dry amendments to use for autoflower soil

[Emilya Green]

Super soil does not have to be expensive. That $100 investment price included the air pump and the good organic soil base, and you can do it even cheaper by going down to the 1/8 recipe. Keep in mind that to properly use supersoil, you are only using it in approximately 1/3 of your containers... the rest is other amendments and base soil. Here are two popular cut down versions of SubCool's recipe... and keep in mind that there are other recognized super soil recipes out there too; I just happen to endorse SubCool's despite the controversy he ended up causing.
1/4 Recipe
2 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings
1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal
1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano
1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal
3/4 lbs rock phosphate
3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite)
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid

1/8 Recipe
1 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
3.125 to 6.25 lbs of organic worm castings
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces steamed bone meal
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces bloom bat guano
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces blood meal
3/8 lbs or 6 ounces rock phosphate
3/32 cup or 1.5 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon sweet lime (dolomite)
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon azomite (trace elements)
3/4 teaspoon powdered humic acid

 

[Swagymcfly88]

@Emilya thank you so much this is really such a big help

 

[Emilya Green]

@Emilya thank you so much this is really such a big help

You are very welcome... glad to do my part to help loosen the stranglehold the nutrient companies have on this industry.

 

[Swagymcfly88]

Ok so I have everything on the list besides powdered humid acid will it be necessary ? And sorry if this is dumb lol how much is one bag of soil in kg ? I have 3 bags rn kinda forget how big they are can look when I get home

 

[Swagymcfly88]

Oh ya and the pH of my soild says its 5-5.5 so would I wanna use a bit more dolomite lime then 1 tbs or is that still enough?

 

[Emilya Green]

humic acid is very necessary. It is basically the acid group that does the breaking down (cooking) of the soil mix. Here is a description of its purpose:
PH is not going to be a worry for you in the organic world... and the dolomite should take care of that low pH in the amounts we are talking about... dolomite is pretty powerful stuff.
Description
Humic acids are a principal component of humic substances, which are the major organic constituents of soil, peat and coal. It is also a major organic constituent of many upland streams, dystrophic lakes, and ocean water. It is produced by biodegradation of dead organic matter. It is not a single acid; rather, it is a complex mixture of many different acids containing carboxyl and phenolate groups so that the mixture behaves functionally as a dibasic acid or, occasionally, as a tribasic acid.

 

[Swagymcfly88]

OK I'll take a look around my local garden stores but do u know of anywhere I can order online if I'm not able to find it and also does it have to be powder or can it be liquid?

 

[Emilya Green]

powder... it is very cheap. $15... I see it on ebay and amazon in several powered forms.

 

[Swagymcfly88]

OK thank you I'll see if I can find any at my local garden store also for the bat guano u said bloom but is there an npk ratio I could go off of? I have seen this at my local garden store is it the stuff I need ?

 

[Swagymcfly88]

So this is what I have so far btw does everything check out ?

 

[Emilya Green]

looks like you have this well under control

 

[Swagymcfly88]

Haha I sure hope so really hope I do everything right with this

 

[Emilya Green]

OK thank you I'll see if I can find any at my local garden store also for the bat guano u said bloom but is there an npk ratio I could go off of? I have seen this at my local garden store is it the stuff I need ?

Thats the stuff , but you can get it much cheaper. Just look for high P bat guano as opposed to high N... you will need both to make compost teas, but to build the soil you need the added phosphorus and mine is labeled 0-5-0

 

[Swagymcfly88]

OK sounds good I'll see if I can fine any other brands that are cheaper when I go to the store today and thanks a lot for answering all these questions lol be a really big help

 

[Swagymcfly88]

Found what I needed had to ask someone at the store there really disorganized at the pretty much only garden store in my small town lol

 

[Emilya Green]

you did good! go build that soil!

 

[Scottsquatch]

Emilya, I too would like your mentorship for a TLO soil. I am going with the ready to use organic soil recipe from Cali green (if you are not aware of his recipe, it is easy to find on you tube). It's totally ready to go, but yes, It was kinda spendy and I dont know if need to amend it or how often. I'm in if you'll have me.

 

[Emilya Green]

Emilya, I too would like your mentorship for a TLO soil. I am going with the ready to use organic soil recipe from Cali green (if you are not aware of his recipe, it is easy to find on you tube). It's totally ready to go, but yes, It was kinda spendy and I dont know if need to amend it or how often. I'm in if you'll have me.

You will have to ask Swagy, who started the thread.
I am curious though, what exactly is in the cali green recipe, and why is it ready to go without cooking? I looked all around for the recipe, and all I found was youtube videos... can you make it more clear how this differs from SubCool's mix?

 

[fanleaf]

Super soil does not have to be expensive. That $100 investment price included the air pump and the good organic soil base, and you can do it even cheaper by going down to the 1/8 recipe. Keep in mind that to properly use supersoil, you are only using it in approximately 1/3 of your containers... the rest is other amendments and base soil. Here are two popular cut down versions of SubCool's recipe... and keep in mind that there are other recognized super soil recipes out there too; I just happen to endorse SubCool's despite the controversy he ended up causing.
1/4 Recipe
2 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings
1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal
1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano
1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal
3/4 lbs rock phosphate
3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite)
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid

1/8 Recipe
1 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
3.125 to 6.25 lbs of organic worm castings
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces steamed bone meal
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces bloom bat guano
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces blood meal
3/8 lbs or 6 ounces rock phosphate
3/32 cup or 1.5 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon sweet lime (dolomite)
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon azomite (trace elements)
3/4 teaspoon powdered humic acid

It looks like my book will be here tomorrow. Are these all ingredients that I will need? I want to go with the complete organic living soil like we were talking about. If these ingredients are what I'm going to need I can go ahead and start shopping. That way I can get soil cooking well before I'm ready to start the grow. Also, do you have a line on a good pump? I would like to find something that's really good Quality and plenty big for what I would need. I just have no idea what to look for as far as what type of pump for this type of growing. I've got a few things laying around here. I've got a whole bunch of coffee grounds that have been composted for a year now as well as a 50lb bag of dolomite that should last my family for generations to come LOL.

 

[Scottsquatch]

Emilya, it has an organic fertilizer added that gives the plants what they need until the soil and microbes are able to provide. It's just what I need for now, but I eventually want to learn a lot more about TLO soil.