I need a soil recipe...I'm trying to spread out my Fox Farm Ocean Forest

V

VancouverGrind

Member
I have looked at a LOT of different recipes.
I have Fox Farm Ocean Forest. Most of my pots are 15 - 20 gallon and it's just too expensive to fill the pots. I want to fill the bottom with something else.

I went to Home Depot and bought the following:
Cheap Potting soil ($5 for 2.0 cubic feet)
Perlite $17 for a big bag
Dolmite (to lower ph) for like $6
Peat Moss for $4

They do not carry vermiculite, bat guano, or worm castings.
I know the bat guano I can buy at the hydro store, but where do I buy cheap worm castings?

I want to buy worm castings.
What else would you guys recommend and why? Again, this is going on the bottom of my 15 gallon pots. I use ocean forest on the top. I don't want to mess it up.

What ratio?
I have a 14l car wash bucket (clean) I bought at Wal-Mart so I was thinking something like:
14l potting soil
7l perlite
7l warm castings
3.5l ish of peat moss
handful of dolmite

Would this work?
 
T

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
VancouverGrind said:
----
What ratio?
I have a 14l car wash bucket (clean) I bought at Wal-Mart so I was thinking something like:
14l potting soil
7l perlite
7l warm castings
3.5l ish of peat moss
handful of dolmite

Would this work?
Click to expand...
Your recipe for "Straight Potting Mix" sounds about right. There are so many different recipes out there, I wont even comment on that!

What I will say is this - "If you like FoxFarm's Ocean Forest, you will LOVE thier Marine Cuisine!". It is a dry fertilizer (10-7-7) that is made out of the same nutrients used in Ocean Forest. Just add about 1 Tbls. to each gallon of whatever potting mix you decide on and voila (it's like opening a can of whoop-ass!). A 4 lb. bag costs about $13. here (So. California), as opposed to $18. for a bag of Ocean Forest. I don't know how many tablespoons there are in a 4 lb. bag of this stuff - but you can make a shit load of good soil mix for CHEAP! Just Google FoxFarm and check it out!
 
Spanishfly

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
VancouverGrind said:
I have looked at a LOT of different recipes.
I have Fox Farm Ocean Forest. Most of my pots are 15 - 20 gallon and it's just too expensive to fill the pots. I want to fill the bottom with something else.

I went to Home Depot and bought the following:
Cheap Potting soil ($5 for 2.0 cubic feet)
Perlite $17 for a big bag
Dolmite (to lower ph) for like $6
Peat Moss for $4

They do not carry vermiculite, bat guano, or worm castings.
I know the bat guano I can buy at the hydro store, but where do I buy cheap worm castings?

I want to buy worm castings.
What else would you guys recommend and why? Again, this is going on the bottom of my 15 gallon pots. I use ocean forest on the top. I don't want to mess it up.

What ratio?
I have a 14l car wash bucket (clean) I bought at Wal-Mart so I was thinking something like:
14l potting soil
7l perlite
7l warm castings
3.5l ish of peat moss
handful of dolmite

Would this work?
Click to expand...
That is close to what I use. It will be fine. My garden centre sells wormcasts, and a local supermarket frequently has a special on them.
 
D

Dankster12

Member
coco coir is cheap and holds and amazing amount of water, i add a few inches of Styrofoam peanuts to the bottom for better drainage. Whatever you do don't use peatmoss, it shrinks when it dries and can lead to additional root stress. Coir can get bone dry and doesn't pull away from the sides of your container as much. If your gonna use cheap soil amendments, id spray some neem oil or some preventative bug spray.
 
G

grokilla

Member
This is what I'm using. It doesn't cost cost me anything; just planning and a little time.

I compost my kitchen table scraps (its really easy). I then mix the finished compost (40%) with bag or recycled dirt (60%).

I mix up the dry ingredients and place the dirt in a large ice chest (120 qt. or so). Super-saturate with de-chlorinated water, add a large tablespoon of molasses, and a fresh squeezed lemon. I then "bubble" my concoction outdoors for 3 days and 3 nights using an aquarium pump.

I then drain the soil and spread it out in the sun. Dry it to about a 20% moisture content.

Your finished soil will be bio-active. Your dirt will be full of the "good bugs" that your plants use to convert nutrients into plant food.

FF and other soil manufacturers only dream of making soil as good as you can make at home. Why? Because of the compost. It would simply be too expensive to make soil (using food-quality ingredients) the way you can make it yourself at home for free.
 
V

VancouverGrind

Member
Still looking for worm castings.
Yes, the compost pile is something I'd like to try, if nothing but for my regular outside garden.
I am not sure about the negative attributes of the peat moss that was mentioned....I have found it in a lot of recipes and I use a little bit of it.
I want to say I pay around $13 for FF Ocean Forest, but I barely have any root mass...that is why I want to dilute....and $13 a bag is expensive when it takes over 1.5 bags of it.

I will look into the concentrate that was mentioned.
Thanks for the responses.
 
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