Im looking for a soil recipe, I need A LOT OF soil
- Thread starter capncash
- Start date
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Holy crap. You'd be best off to try to duplicate as much as possible Subcool's Super Soil but reduce/eliminate the perlite. If you don't want to buy Roots or whatever, buy pallets of peat bales, coco coir, compost, sand, and a few large bags of dolomite lime. Add all of the other additives as per the recipe and get to mixing.
CSI Stickyicky
Well-Known Member
I've used Ocean Forest cut with Sunshine #4 plus earthworm castings with some success. Its cheaper, but not much. I have heard of a dude who has great success using earthworm castings and coco-fiber 50/50 and that's probably a really cheap mix.
Serapis
Well-Known Member
I have seen that, but he is buying his base soil by the bag. I need to mix my own base.
Gastanker
Well-Known Member
You are using your own local soil? We are going to need the structure and texture of this to answer your question. I would go to your local worm farm and buy a bunch of soil from them - most have a predone 20% casting 80% other, 40%casting 60 other... that you can buy by the dump truck full. Then amend this even more.
Are worm farms common?
Gastanker
Well-Known Member
Fairly. Worms and organic waste are pretty cheap and soil sells for a bit so they are popping up all over. Look in the yellow pages
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
Did you actually read my post, or just skim?
CSI Stickyicky
Well-Known Member
You can use up to 60% local dirt from your site, or cheap garden soil, and mix it with perlite, vermiculite, coco fiber or peat moss, dolamite lime, and compost or earthworm castings.
yes but i was looking for more of a recipe with amounts
Metasynth
Well-Known Member
I'm in the same boat as you, and I'm buying bulk soil from a company around me that does custom screening to size preferance. Good quality gardening soil in bulk shouldn't cost more than $30 a cubic YARD. Landscapers do this all the time when they're working on large jobs...There is a company around you that will deliver bulk soil to you too, just grab a phone book and start digging 
Yeah thats the route im going to go, what are you amending with?I'm in the same boat as you, and I'm buying bulk soil from a company around me that does custom screening to size preferance. Good quality gardening soil in bulk shouldn't cost more than $30 a cubic YARD. Landscapers do this all the time when they're working on large jobs...There is a company around you that will deliver bulk soil to you too, just grab a phone book and start digging
Google LC's Soiless Mix#1.
You would still need a boatload of peat moss and perlite and you may want to substitute mushroom compost for the EWC.
A cement mixer would help, or a front-end loader, for mixing.
Wet
georgiagrower
Active Member
Thats a shit ton of soil you need... wow man you must be growing a literal forrest... the wind will blow and people will smell it for miles hahahahaha I wish I was within a few miles from you!
dannyboy602
Well-Known Member
About 1 cu yd...mb 1 and 1/2 ( of either leaf compost or top soil) sounds about right...also start buying large bags of perlite. Then you need bails of peat...mb 3 or 4 to get you started. (dehydrated bales are usually 2 or 3 cu.ft each)
You gotta work at getting the right mix but somehow you'll know it when you get there. It just feels right
You gotta work at getting the right mix but somehow you'll know it when you get there. It just feels right
Danielsgb
Well-Known Member
What I would do is 60% Local soil as they mention, 20% Compost, 20% Manure. (Peat Moss if price allows) Then use a front end loader to mix it. Then I would send a sample in for an analysis. Texas A&M does one for $15 it tells Macros, Micros, & pH. It will tell you lbs of fert. to add if there is a deficiency.
Daniels
Daniels