Need input on nutrients

[bookechu]

This is what I already have:

alfalfa meal 2-1-2
kelp meal .6-.5-2.5
ecw 1-0-0
blood meal 12-0-0
sea bird guano 12-11-2
bone meal 0-10-0

I will be mixing the blood, bone, and alfalfa meal into the coco, when I transplant into a bigger pot before switching to flower I will add the kelp meal. I also plan on making a tea using the guano, alfalfa meal, myco maddness, sea kelp extract, and mollasses. Does this sound like a good enough plan to get me a nice harvest?

 

[trichome fiend]

....ebson salts would be a good additive also.

 

[bookechu]

I already have the epsom salt on hand in case I get any problems. I just read that its better to add the kelp in the beginning since it takes a while to break down, so I answered that one. What is the least amount of time I can let the soil sit or cook before using it?

 

[Wetdog]

Sea bird guano also needs to be added ahead of time, it's slow to break down. Save the blood for later if needed.

Myco needs to get on the roots at time of transplant. Either sprinkle some in the transplant hole, or do a root drench.

Get some dolomite or garden lime and yer set.

Wet

 

[bookechu]

I was using the seabird guano only for tea making since it is in pellet form. Is this ok? I already mixed in the blood meal at 4 tbsp ( planting in #5 smartpot), 6tbsp ecw, 4tbsp bone meal, 3tbsp kelp meal, and 3tbsp alfalfa meal. I am going to midly water the soil tonight with 2 tbsp mollasses to a gallon of water and let that sit for about 2 weeks while the plants initially veg in styrofoam cups (I will be using the tea recipe above with straight coco). After 2 or maybe 3 weeks I'll transplant from the cups to the smartpots with the amended soil and add some dolomite lime. Am I on the right track?

 

[slonez47]

I already have the epsom salt on hand in case I get any problems. I just read that its better to add the kelp in the beginning since it takes a while to break down, so I answered that one. What is the least amount of time I can let the soil sit or cook before using it?

Good idea to let your soil cook for a while and get it established. I also added a RO product to mine, OregonismXL for soil bennies and microbes and used Trinty for catalyst to feed them to further establish my soil before planting.

 

[slonez47]

Sea bird guano also needs to be added ahead of time, it's slow to break down. Save the blood for later if needed.

Myco needs to get on the roots at time of transplant. Either sprinkle some in the transplant hole, or do a root drench.

Get some dolomite or garden lime and yer set.

Wet

I started my bennies in advance because I'd read that initially they'd be competing for N with the plants and that'd lead to an N def. Once established they break down the organic material and the soil cares for the plant.

 

[randomseed]

I was using the seabird guano only for tea making since it is in pellet form. Is this ok? I already mixed in the blood meal at 4 tbsp ( planting in #5 smartpot), 6tbsp ecw, 4tbsp bone meal, 3tbsp kelp meal, and 3tbsp alfalfa meal. I am going to midly water the soil tonight with 2 tbsp mollasses to a gallon of water and let that sit for about 2 weeks while the plants initially veg in styrofoam cups (I will be using the tea recipe above with straight coco). After 2 or maybe 3 weeks I'll transplant from the cups to the smartpots with the amended soil and add some dolomite lime. Am I on the right track?

Getting the seabird guano into the dirt upfront is important IMO.
Ive got some theories on why....spent to much time thinking about it really

1) as the pellets breakdown over the cource of a month or so in the soil it leaves behind airpockets that help root formation and soil structure.
2) I think P is more important in veg then we realize.
3) top dressing with it sucks pretty much and the clay it leaves behind can screw up the soil surface quality (breathability)
4) using it in teas is ok but it leaves behind that nasty clay layer again.

Also get that lime in the dirt up front.

 

[Wetdog]

Bennies and mycorrhizae fungi are 2 different things. Mycos only grow on the roots.

The roots will eventually find them in the soil, but it works much better to inoculate the roots directly. You also need to use much less to achieve the same result.

Research is your friend.

Wet

 

[Snafu1236]

id add worm castings.

mix it together and let it sit for atleast 30 days, if not longer.

add some azomite in for good measure, the shit rocks.(pun)

alaskan humus makes a great soil conditioner and knocks up the bacterial count nicely, fyi.

 

[bookechu]

How important is the lime? I thought since it is fast acting I would just add it when I transplant. I will go ahead and add the guano to the soil instead of using it in the tea. Tea will just be alfalfa meal, kelp extract, and molasses. I have some left over ej grow, will this benefit me if I add it to the tea? And I will inoculate the roots directly with the myco. Is three weeks to soon to use this soil?

 

[Jack Harer]

NPK values are cumulative. Add them up and you'll get the final NPK ratio. What you propose is pretty good for veg, but to me it's light in K. You'll need to up the K a bit. The nitrogen is good to go, don't add any more.

 

[bookechu]

I read somewhere the the plants can receive k from the coco. I don't have enough k with the alfalfa and kelp meal?

 

[Jack Harer]

Yeah, after you add the kelp you will. I've never grown in straight coco before, I thought it was pretty much inert, at least for the period of time required by a grow. But like I said, it's outside my experience.

 

[NightbirdX]

I personally think that the Dolomite lime is one of the best amendments I added to my soil.

1.) It will pull your pH up and keep it balanced for awhile. At least until your colony is thriving and can help manage your pH. This is huge. Most organic nutrients I run drop my pH really low, and prior to adding lime, I was having some lock out issues. I added the lime, stopped pHing and everything worked itself out.

2.) It adds Cal Mag to your run. I run an organic nutrient regimen and I know it doesn't really apply to organic soil, but I added the lime and was able to take CalMag out of my nutrient mix. Actually I tried adding Cal Mag to it to see if it wanted more, and I burned the piss out of my plants. This lets me know that its working, albeit not in the manner that I wanted, but it is good to see that your theory is working in practice every now and again. At least long enough for me to say, I won't do that again, lol. I try to add as much as I can to my Pro-Mix so that I can take it out of my nutrient regimen.

 

[NightbirdX]

It may be hard for me to admit, but I don't know everything. I know a bit about hydro, a lot about organics, and very little about coco. But why are you using Coco as your base? I would probably go with a base soil like Roots Organic rather than Coco. I ran a soil run with mixings similar to yours and used Roots as the base, never seen anyone use Coco as the base. If i'm wrong point it out and I'll go away, this just seemed weird to me. As far as I know, Coco is a very hydroesque medium, not an organics one.

 

[bookechu]

I got the coco for free, lol. I thought coco seems that way because of the available oxygen to the roots. I figured since the bennies and myco have somewhere to work, unlike in an actual hydro setup, then it should work out. I actually wanted to do a hydro organic grow, but it doesn't seem possible. Can someone clear this up?

 

[Jack Harer]

It's technically a hydro set up. Soilless and all.

 

[NightbirdX]

I got the coco for free, lol. I thought coco seems that way because of the available oxygen to the roots. I figured since the bennies and myco have somewhere to work, unlike in an actual hydro setup, then it should work out. I actually wanted to do a hydro organic grow, but it doesn't seem possible. Can someone clear this up?

Just because you got something for free, doesn't mean you should compromise the integrity of your grow to use it, lol. Stash it and save it, more than likely you'll use it later. Organics and Coco weren't really compatible as far as I have researched. I tried using the BioCanna nutrient line in Coco and had so many problems that I had to retransplant into organic soil. The Nutrients weren't made to interact and feed in Coco. Something about Cation Capacity (CEC.) I had a few convo's with Canna about this problem.

If you are looking to do a hydro organic setup, there are many nutrient lines that would work well for you. First I would use a soilless medium. I use Pro-Mix. And they are making an OMRI listed Pro-Mix now which is very nice. There are others, such as Sunshine Advanced, But in my experience Pro-Mix has the best water retention without the compaction problems that I had in Organic Soils and Sunshine. A few nutrient lines I would suggest are Botanicare Pureblend, BioCanna, and the General Organics line. I have piecemealed a program together using certain products from all of these and a High Phosphorous Guano blend. I took what I liked and mix what I need based on what the plant is showing me it needs. I top feed mine a couple times a week.

If you are trying to do hydro in the sense of mixing a barrrel of nutrients and having automated feedings, hydro organics would be much more difficult. Organic nutrients tend to be made of more unrefined nutrients which are heavier. Whereas hydro nutrients are highly refined chemicals and actually leave behind little residue and there are other chemicals which help clean out the system as it feeds which you can just mix into your nutrient regimen. Hydro is much cleaner. Organics and Soil is very messy. It requires much more clean up, but pays itself in the quality.

Organic nutrients leave residues behind which can build up, clog drip lines, and create an unclean environment which could promote mold and other unhealthy things. BUT!!!!! It would not be impossible. I would think you would want to have a second system clean and ready to switch out completely to tear down and clean on a res change. SO it isn't impossible, but it is a little impractical due to having to buy a second system, the amount of work it created in the cleaning of the system not in use every week, and then if you chose to do it on one system, you would have to tear down and reassemble each week.

I hope this shed some light on what you were thinking. If not, give a few more details on how you are wanting to grow.