My first organic live/super soil, advice and tips needed

M

Mojave

Well-Known Member
0

Hey all, new to growing and anything plant related! I currently have 3 seedlings doing well at a week old in "just organic" potting soil with some perlite . And have 4 cubic feet of soil mixed up and sitting in containers to cure. I got confused and wanted to do a live no till soil, and thought that was the same as a super soil....i now realize they are different and utilize different amendments. I was thinking of making up a live soil with the different amendments to use for veg while these guys are small, then transfer that onto the super soil in a month or so?

This is what i have in it so far i know i need a few more things. Questions, comments, tips are all welcome. I've been reading like crazy but am out of ny element on this stuff.

-Just Natural- organic potting soil 4 cubic ft
- coarse perlite, (eyeballed the amount)
- Down to Earth, Fish bone meal 1.5 lbs
- Guano Grow Crazy, Bat Gauno (high N) 1.5lbs
- Nature's Care Organic Blood meal 1.5lbs
- Wiggle Worm EWC 7.5lbs
- Buffaloam 1-1-1 potting soil 7.5lbs (thought i could grow seedlings from this and couldn't as it burned them...)
- Pro Moss, Sphagnum peat Moss (eyeballed it as well)
- some leaf mould (why not?)
- 1 cu ft Lava rock, that hasn't been added yet.

I have another 2 cu ft bag of just organic soil and more of everything I've listed.
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Anytime someone brings up the term super soil it prompts me to address a couple things outright...

1. Please don't layer your soil. This is something often associated with supersoil and there's no reason for it. Mix everything evenly.
2. In container gardening even the most fully amended soils will still need something added along the way. This doesn't mean you need to run out and by unnecessary bottles, fresh top dressings of worm castings, kelp, and guano will suffice.
3. There are many different methods, I just give advice on what has worked best for me. I even incorporate a few different methods based off the room I'm working in. I encourage you to check what as many people are doing as possible and find what works for you.

Alright, now that that's out of the way.

I wouldn't worry about having different types of soil for veg or flower, just have something simple with no amendments for your seedlings (I use even parts peat moss, perlite, compost).

For your main soil the biggest thing you want to focus on is getting a little bit of everything your plant needs. You want the amendments to be ones that won't just wash away after a few waterings. Guano for example is terrible for soil mixes. It's great for top dressings and a quick release organic nutrient...but it is way too water soluble for a potting mix.

Blood meal is also quick release nitrogen but it lasts in the soil for a little while longer. In the future I would get my nitrogen from another source though, blood meal just gives you N and nothing else.

You've got worm castings and fish bone meal which is great.

Amendments you need to add:

Kelp
Crab Shell Meal or Shrimp Shell meal

Amendments that would be great but if you're broke I get it...

Alfalfa Meal
Neem cake
Oyster Shell Flour

In your soil mix I would mix in (all 1/4 cup per cubic foot)
Kelp
Alfalfa
Fish bone meal
Blood meal (you could skip it maybe tho)
Crab Shell Meal
Oyster Shell Flour

Then I would top dress with the neem cake. I'm not sure how often to reapply to be honest I'm new to it myself. Probably not much.

But you should do a fresh top dressing of worm castings and kelp every few weeks.

What kind of guano do you have?
 
M

Mojave

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the help! The guano is Hydrofarms Guano Grow Crazy vegetative, High nitrogen 5%.
Will do on the other amendments, those are what i had planned on getting this week to mix and add in with everything else.
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Mojave said:
Thanks for the help! The guano is Hydrofarms Guano Grow Crazy vegetative, High nitrogen 5%.
Will do on the other amendments, those are what i had planned on getting this week to mix and add in with everything else.
Click to expand...
Right on, I would put the guano to the side and don't use it unless you see your plants looking a little yellow. Then you could apply it as a top dressing or mix in when you water.
 
M

Mojave

Well-Known Member
Wrll at this point everything is already mixed into the soil, and it's been about 4 or 5 days already. But i did go a little light on them all, as the recipe called for 3cu ft and i have 4 cu ft. Since i originally thought my bags were 1.5cu. So once I get the other amendments thrown in all should be good.
 
L

Lacedwitgame

Well-Known Member
Rasta Roy said:
Anytime someone brings up the term super soil it prompts me to address a couple things outright...

1. Please don't layer your soil. This is something often associated with supersoil and there's no reason for it. Mix everything evenly.
2. In container gardening even the most fully amended soils will still need something added along the way. This doesn't mean you need to run out and by unnecessary bottles, fresh top dressings of worm castings, kelp, and guano will suffice.
3. There are many different methods, I just give advice on what has worked best for me. I even incorporate a few different methods based off the room I'm working in. I encourage you to check what as many people are doing as possible and find what works for you.

Alright, now that that's out of the way.

I wouldn't worry about having different types of soil for veg or flower, just have something simple with no amendments for your seedlings (I use even parts peat moss, perlite, compost).

For your main soil the biggest thing you want to focus on is getting a little bit of everything your plant needs. You want the amendments to be ones that won't just wash away after a few waterings. Guano for example is terrible for soil mixes. It's great for top dressings and a quick release organic nutrient...but it is way too water soluble for a potting mix.

Blood meal is also quick release nitrogen but it lasts in the soil for a little while longer. In the future I would get my nitrogen from another source though, blood meal just gives you N and nothing else.

You've got worm castings and fish bone meal which is great.

Amendments you need to add:

Kelp
Crab Shell Meal or Shrimp Shell meal

Amendments that would be great but if you're broke I get it...

Alfalfa Meal
Neem cake
Oyster Shell Flour

In your soil mix I would mix in (all 1/4 cup per cubic foot)
Kelp
Alfalfa
Fish bone meal
Blood meal (you could skip it maybe tho)
Crab Shell Meal
Oyster Shell Flour

Then I would top dress with the neem cake. I'm not sure how often to reapply to be honest I'm new to it myself. Probably not much.

But you should do a fresh top dressing of worm castings and kelp every few weeks.

What kind of guano do you have?
Click to expand...
Do you allow this mixture to cook ahead of time? & if so how long?
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Lacedwitgame said:
Do you allow this mixture to cook ahead of time? & if so how long?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Eight weeks would be best. Now I have not let the mix cook, and used fish hydrolysate (Neptune's Harvest or similar brand) when I watered for the first few weeks until the nutes in the dirt would start to cook. If you don't have time to let it cook though I would leave the alfalfa out of the soil mix and maybe just do some alfalfa teas.
 
M

Mojave

Well-Known Member
Hmm i was hoping to have it done cooking by 4 weeks, maybe 5. So i could transplant into it and not have to worry about really anything other than watering them. Plus since i made this batch a little lighter than what it called for, i was thinking it'd be alright. If not i could layer it at the bottom, and do a top dress/tea while waiting for the roots to hit?

Ooor will these guys be fine for a month on just this potting soil that already has some EWC in it?
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Mojave said:
Hmm i was hoping to have it done cooking by 4 weeks, maybe 5. So i could transplant into it and not have to worry about really anything other than watering them. Plus since i made this batch a little lighter than what it called for, i was thinking it'd be alright. If not i could layer it at the bottom, and do a top dress/tea while waiting for the roots to hit?

Ooor will these guys be fine for a month on just this potting soil that already has some EWC in it?
Click to expand...
Do not layer anything ever...always evenly mix everything, your roots don't work like that. Just do a top dress if you're already mixed up.
 
L

Lacedwitgame

Well-Known Member
I dunno man....subcool himself claims his mixture is only for the bottom 1/4 of your medium, base soil you top 3/4....???
 
L

Lacedwitgame

Well-Known Member
The only difference i can imagine happening is the feeder roots getting to the boosted soil rihht before & during flower....
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Subcool doesn't know science or cannabis roots bro. It's a slight against all of us that he has a thread above us.

Your plant will send roots to the bottom of your pot within a week, and then spread outward from there. Your medium should always be the same. Not one layer of plain soil, one layer of amended soil, all you're doing is fucking up your soil biology.

http://buildasoil.com/blogs/news/12533881-whats-so-cool-about-super-soil-the-super-soil-recipe-breakdown

#fucksubcoolforever

I'm getting tired of explaining his flawed ass method.[/QUOTE]
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Lacedwitgame said:
I dunno man....subcool himself claims his mixture is only for the bottom 1/4 of your medium, base soil you top 3/4....???
Click to expand...
"Nature doesn't have all the nutrients on the bottom in fact it's the opposite, all the plants in nature have the nutrients on the top. That is why building a soil, using mulch and topdressing work so well. It's things like this that make the real organic gardners and farmers laugh at all of us sometimes."
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Rasta Roy said:
Subcool doesn't know science or cannabis roots bro. It's a slight against all of us that he has a thread above us.

Your plant will send roots to the bottom of your pot within a week, and then spread outward from there. Your medium should always be the same. Not one layer of plain soil, one layer of amended soil, all you're doing is fucking up your soil biology.

http://buildasoil.com/blogs/news/12533881-whats-so-cool-about-super-soil-the-super-soil-recipe-breakdown

#fucksubcoolforever

I'm getting tired of explaining his flawed ass method.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]
man.... me too.
and thanks to YOU.
my job of always trying to steer people away from subcools stupid techniques and nutrients, is way easier.
good job man.
I think it's time to remove all the stuff for the layering, supersoil" nonsense
 
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