Soil in canada..
- Thread starter RunDEE
- Start date
mellokitty
Moderatrix of Journals
sunshine mix #2 is easy to use, if you're doing liqiud ferts.
but they have all kinds of mixes for you're not, as well.
and a new organic line.
http://sungro.com
but they have all kinds of mixes for you're not, as well.
and a new organic line.
http://sungro.com
peacenikchick
Active Member
I buy Promix, 3.8 cubic foot bale for around 25-30 bucks here, they carry it at Crappy Tire, and Rona I think. Have very good results with promix, although I add some other ingredients to it, it's a great base
peacenikchick
Active Member
You can add all kinds of goodies to your soil to improve it, bat poop, alfalfa meal, coco, perlite vermiculite(drainage, aeration), worm castings, kelp meal, compost (not fresh), manure (not fresh) although too much of anything is bad, home depot in canada has soil test kits for like 3 bucks, 4 separate tests in each, one for pH, one for N, P, and K.
mellokitty
Moderatrix of Journals
depends what you want to do nutrient-wise. (sorry, i just went with the basic mix we use because your OP says 'soil to *buy in Canada') (promix is generally a few bucks cheaper by the bale and just as good)....
if this is going to be your first 'soil' grow i'd stick with the soilless mix + liquid ferts(sunshine, promix, etc: if it comes wrapped in plastic and sold as 'potting mix' it's generally 'soilless'); it's much easier to keep a handle on what the girls need and you're less likely to deal with over-fertilising/burn and under-leaching/flushing issues in the end. growing a couple of rounds this way will help you get a feel for what they need over the course of their life-cycle and can be very helpful in deciding what sorts of additives you want to use in your own mix. ('they seem to need [this] much N early, so i'm going to use [this] much castings...')
like ^^ says, soilless is a great base to add stuff to to beef it up, it's already got peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and sand (inert matter + air), now you're ready to concoct your NPKCalMagMnFeCuVita cocktail with all the other stuff she(<-?) mentioned. you could also use bone meal and blood meal, a lot of people like to make a compost or manure 'tea' and add it to their water or topdress. keep in mind that a LOT of these additives (esp. 'meals') have a natural 'time release' leaching period (you want to be careful because if you add too much they won't flush out for you in time to harvest), and some stuff doesn't (you want to be careful because if you add too much the too-much-available-nute is going to burn your plants or cause lockout). a little bit goes a long way for most stuff.
manures and dirts are probably cheapest retail by the yard at your local nursery. (right now we're running a half soilless/half various manures experiment, supplementing with grotek organic ferts) (and yes, you want to buy the aged or tempered or whatever it's called manure, and not the fresh stuff) (i'm starting to be really fond of 3 yr mushroom manure...). also: i don't know how the rest of canada rolls, but i live in bc, and most of the municipalities here have a compost program for their yard trimmings etc. where we live, for instance, in the springtime you can buy compost and topsoil dirtcheap by the yard, from the City. if you live somewhere with a fairly organised waste removal system you might have something like that in place as well. keep in mind that soilless mix and soil are different - one's mostly inert, the other's going to have a pre-existing nutrient cocktail, esp. topsoil.
*KUDOS*
for taking a serious look at soil, and having embarked on a journey of nutrient wisdom (i know i know it feels like chem class at first but then it gets FUN, no joke). considering the sheer number of additive options out there, it could be YEARS before you come up with a cocktail you're satisfied with (i know world-famous guys that have been growing since before i was born (i'm over 30), and they're *still experimenting with dirt additives) but when you do, the world better watch the fuck out!
hope this helps.... my wake and bake ramble....
if this is going to be your first 'soil' grow i'd stick with the soilless mix + liquid ferts(sunshine, promix, etc: if it comes wrapped in plastic and sold as 'potting mix' it's generally 'soilless'); it's much easier to keep a handle on what the girls need and you're less likely to deal with over-fertilising/burn and under-leaching/flushing issues in the end. growing a couple of rounds this way will help you get a feel for what they need over the course of their life-cycle and can be very helpful in deciding what sorts of additives you want to use in your own mix. ('they seem to need [this] much N early, so i'm going to use [this] much castings...')
like ^^ says, soilless is a great base to add stuff to to beef it up, it's already got peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and sand (inert matter + air), now you're ready to concoct your NPKCalMagMnFeCuVita cocktail with all the other stuff she(<-?) mentioned. you could also use bone meal and blood meal, a lot of people like to make a compost or manure 'tea' and add it to their water or topdress. keep in mind that a LOT of these additives (esp. 'meals') have a natural 'time release' leaching period (you want to be careful because if you add too much they won't flush out for you in time to harvest), and some stuff doesn't (you want to be careful because if you add too much the too-much-available-nute is going to burn your plants or cause lockout). a little bit goes a long way for most stuff.
manures and dirts are probably cheapest retail by the yard at your local nursery. (right now we're running a half soilless/half various manures experiment, supplementing with grotek organic ferts) (and yes, you want to buy the aged or tempered or whatever it's called manure, and not the fresh stuff) (i'm starting to be really fond of 3 yr mushroom manure...). also: i don't know how the rest of canada rolls, but i live in bc, and most of the municipalities here have a compost program for their yard trimmings etc. where we live, for instance, in the springtime you can buy compost and topsoil dirtcheap by the yard, from the City. if you live somewhere with a fairly organised waste removal system you might have something like that in place as well. keep in mind that soilless mix and soil are different - one's mostly inert, the other's going to have a pre-existing nutrient cocktail, esp. topsoil.
*KUDOS*
for taking a serious look at soil, and having embarked on a journey of nutrient wisdom (i know i know it feels like chem class at first but then it gets FUN, no joke). considering the sheer number of additive options out there, it could be YEARS before you come up with a cocktail you're satisfied with (i know world-famous guys that have been growing since before i was born (i'm over 30), and they're *still experimenting with dirt additives) but when you do, the world better watch the fuck out! hope this helps.... my wake and bake ramble....
GrapePhilly&Chronic
Active Member
I live in Canada and im having the same problem.. is promix the best soil i cant get here?