Newbie needs advice on soil mix

[Dr.Pecker]

I found lots of new organics after a very long search I fond a provider for different meals mentioned in different guide and threads:
Bone mean, blood mean, fish meal, kelp mean.
Also found liquid and powder sea weed.
Unfortunately the dosage and nutrient value of thise things are very variable here and they don't have any consistency. When you buy medicine made here the dosage changes from one pill to another ( same pill same sheet) so I can't expect them to be very accurate when providing poop like material for plants or animal feeding. I should make a new post with all the new materials. Thx everyone for all the great info

Are you going organic? If you can get some old cow manure thats been sitting for a while I would mix 2 parts cow manure 1 part potting soil 1 part light mix. If its composted you shouldn't even need the lime. at that point all you will need to do is make some teas.

 

[Dr.Pecker]

Too much meal in my mix caused problems for me so i learned to stay away from them.
All my N came from the castings and the composted cow manure I used. Never had claw
after that. Heres a quick run down:

peat lite base...promix has peat and perlite mixed at the right proportions.
Peat has no nutritional value, nor does perlite so here is your Nitrogen:
Worm Castings
Composted cow manure (never buy dehydrated, its caustic)
I use Rock phosphate for P
I use Greensand for K
and I used Azomite for 70 different types of basic elements needed in small quantities
I added a handful of dolomite lime for Magnesium and Calcium

I did all this by eye and feel. If u want exact rates Ima have to go back to my notes.

What exactly are the plants getting from the azomite? Is that the same thing as azos? I keep hearing about it and never used it plants always seem fine without it.

 

[dannyboy602]

@Dr.Pecker Ive seen where vegetables and other test crops were markedly larger (about 15% ) with the azomite as compared without it. The micro nutes are needed in small quantities and are used in photosynthesis just like the big 3.
Any crop that you're growing which can yield 15% more from the addition of something as simple and cost efficient as rock dust makes for a better bottom line for the commercial farmer. For your average gardener maybe it matters little. I use it because I'm really into soil biology.

 

[limolax]

Are you going organic? If you can get some old cow manure thats been sitting for a while I would mix 2 parts cow manure 1 part potting soil 1 part light mix. If its composted you shouldn't even need the lime. at that point all you will need to do is make some teas.

Yes organic all the way. I thought since I am very limited on brand known fertelizer and additives. And no coco specific nutition and such. I've decided to go with real soil and organic fertelizer. So the real soil has all the micro stuff and microbes and beneficial bacteria.also I don't have to test soil ph. I thought in my current situation growing in soil is easier. Easier to supply the plant with all their needs. Comparing to soilless mixes like coco coir and rock wooll and etc.

 

[dannyboy602]

@limolax i totally agree. Soil is way easier. You can't walk away for a few days when you're growing in hydro. And generally speaking your Ph isn't an issue. It hovers near neutral and the soil acts as a buffer against hard water.
I also think germinating in soil is much easier than any other method. Growing in soil should be any new growers first choice. The more you learn about soil and the food web that is part of soil the more you like it.

 

[Dr.Pecker]

You cant walk away from any grow for a few days. If you do, one day you will learn a lesson.

Yes organic all the way. I thought since I am very limited on brand known fertelizer and additives. And no coco specific nutition and such. I've decided to go with real soil and organic fertelizer. So the real soil has all the micro stuff and microbes and beneficial bacteria.also I don't have to test soil ph. I thought in my current situation growing in soil is easier. Easier to supply the plant with all their needs. Comparing to soilless mixes like coco coir and rock wooll and etc.

You can add all that coco and soils to the cow manure and end up with a good mix. I'll show you what I did last summer. https://www.rollitup.org/t/water-only.851064/

 

[limolax]

You can add all that coco and soils to the cow manure and end up with a good mix. I'll show you what I did last summer. https://www.rollitup.org/t/water-only.851064/

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER
checked it out. Was great. Lots of good info for me to learn about organic mixes on that thread. Thanks for the link.

 

[limolax]

After a few pages of advice from you guys and reading shit tons of other post, thread, guide, etc online I finally decided what to do. I have cousin in the north of the country. He is a farmer like most northern ppl of my country. He is in his 50s and been farming since childhood. I can defenately learn from his experience. But the most important thing is he has lots of the stuff I MIGHT need for my mix. Some might not be required but I thought its better to have em so maybe in the future I change something with the recepie. So here is the list of stuff he had available that I might need:
1- Blood meal
2- bone meal
3- fish meal
4- alfalfa meal
5- Pottasium phosphate
6- vermicompost ( worm casting )
7- Epsom salt
8- agricultural lime
9- chicken manure
10- cow manure
11- sheep manure
12- Bag of potting soil from his garden
13- sugar molasses
I also have been able to find thise online within the country. They are exported from abrad
14- Kelp meal
15- organic product called BIOFISH (3-1-2) the seller said its liquid kelp and fish extract (good for veg I think)
16- PROSImal L (0-2-2) it's liquid seaweed (good for bloom I think)
And thise are what I currently have:
17- Peatmoss
18- Perlite
19- sand
20- lava rocks
21- coco peat. The quality is so messed up. No matter how many time I wash and let sit in watter it still has sand and salt visible by naked eye !!!! So just forget about it plz
That it. I am pretty sure I can make a very good and balanced organic soil with what I have available. I should makenthebtrip to north this weekend or next. I ll post my final recepie when I decide on one so maybe you guys could correct or tweak it for me a bit since its my first time.
I am planing to start my grow in couple of weeks. I'll defenately make a journal or diary and keep you guys posted. Thanks again for all the generous advice and great sources for info. I guess I am ready to put all the theories gathered within the month into action. Wish me luck.
Ona totally different subject, I have 6 seedling 2 weeks old in coco and in peat or in a mix of both. 4 pots actually 6 plants. Just bag seed to experience with. Back then I wanted to grow in a soilless mix but now I think real soil is better. So I wana save my seedling by planting them in real soil but I am afraid it might be too late. They show some kind of deficiency already and the growth is either very slow or stunned now. Leaves were light green. So I added some complete micro/macro chemical fertilizer called KRISTALON (18-18-1 at 1/4 strength to them yesterday. I really don't know their fate. I am also in the process of moving to a new place lol well life has been very busy lately.
Sory it was a very long post I am stoned on some traditional made Iranian hashish

 

[limolax]

KRISTALONE ( 18-18-18 ) *

 

[Dr.Pecker]

KRISTALONE ( 18-18-18 ) *

Should be fine as long as it's balanced. To me a seed is just a seed you cant really expect a lot from it. When they get bigger and you can clone it then you have something you can keep around and flower just by keeping cuttings. I've spent a lot of money on seeds and most were junk once in a while you get one to make it and produce something nice. Ive spent ten solid years cracking seeds and looking for keepers I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Honestly try some composted cow manure. Try two parts manure, one part perlite large chunk if you can get it. one part coco and peat or another light mix . I did something similar to that might have been three parts manure. My rule of thumb is if it really stinks add some lime. I threw a handful of soft rock phosphate in each plant (30 gal of soil). Blood meal is good to have on hand it greens things up fast. The last batch of super soil I made cost me over $400 and I don't think it worked as good as the cow manure. I still haven't flowered anything yet and haven't been giving them my full attention.

 

[limolax]

Should be fine as long as it's balanced. To me a seed is just a seed you cant really expect a lot from it. When they get bigger and you can clone it then you have something you can keep around and flower just by keeping cuttings. I've spent a lot of money on seeds and most were junk once in a while you get one to make it and produce something nice. Ive spent ten solid years cracking seeds and looking for keepers I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Honestly try some composted cow manure. Try two parts manure, one part perlite large chunk if you can get it. one part coco and peat or another light mix . I did something similar to that might have been three parts manure. My rule of thumb is if it really stinks add some lime. I threw a handful of soft rock phosphate in each plant (30 gal of soil). Blood meal is good to have on hand it greens things up fast. The last batch of super soil I made cost me over $400 and I don't think it worked as good as the cow manure. I still haven't flowered anything yet and haven't been giving them my full attention.

Yeah I ve checked your thread with the cow manure and water only stuff. It was great. Lots of good info on that. So you are saying the first soil you made with the cow manure was better than the second super soil that you are currently growing in?

 

[limolax]

About the 6 seedling. I think I am gonna transplant them tomarrow in real soil. For now I ll go with a mix of those to equal amount untill I get my hand on the new supply :
Potting soil
Vermicompost (2-1-1)
Peatmoss that is premixed with 30% perlite
I don't have any molasses or Epsom salt for now but I thought it is still better than the coco and peat
I fear if I leave them in crappy coco or just Peatmoss and perlite untill I make a trip and get the supplies (10-12 days) they wilt and die.
After I gave them the KRISTALONE they started to grow again and the leaves look greener. So I guess tomarrow is the day to transplant if I get the chance. Cheers all

 

[Dr.Pecker]

you don't need epsom salt. the cow manure should be fine. I used it in my supersoil because the recipe called for it. I didn't need any in the cow manure. If you want to keep something like that on hand get some calmag plus. It has the proper ratios plus trace elements.

 

[limolax]

I have not had time to transplant the 6 seedling in real soil yet. But they look ok so far. The growth rate has resumed to normal ( I think ). They all have 3 sets of leaves ( the first set not included ) and some are working on the 4th set. Thay are all 3 weeks old. Give or take couple of days. They are bag seeds so I don't care THAT much about them. I am just trying to learn from this experience. If I can get them to bloom and get some smokable bud from them, then I'll try with good seeds.