Robertdeuce
Member
Just wondering which route is best. should I make my own super soil or just use regular soil and add bottle nutrients?
Super soil vs soil plus nutes?
- Thread starter Robertdeuce
- Start date
Lordhooha
Well-Known Member
Good super soil is pretty bad ass.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
That's actually kind of a tough decision but organic soil is badass. Nutes work well but then you have to buy all these bottles of stuff from the hydro store and use those products properly. Organic soil will give you a clean and flavorful end product with minimal efforts and it's totally sustainable; soil can be used over and over with some preparation & it actually gets better with age. Keep in mind though that organic growing requires a non chlorinated water source which isn't much of a hassle just something you don't have to worry about using nutes where sterile tap water is fine.
The difference is microbial activity. Organic soil relys on microbes to keep your plant fed while all you need to do is keep the container moist. In contrast using nutes requires ph adjustments and optimal ppms to force feed your plants dissolved salts derived from who knows what. Nutrients work best in sterile mediums like coco or in hydroton; regular soil is best for organics. Using nutes in fertilized soil is kind of a waste as synthetic nutes kill off the microbial life over time rendering your soil sterile eventually.
"Super soil" is almost a brand label like Heinz or Tropicana. The only difference between super and regular soil is the level of microbial activity. You can use almost any decent bagged organic garden soil and then add worm castings and maybe some perlite to it. It will become "super" after being recycled with amendments and allowed to cook down; it will get even better every time you recycle it. Not saying that building a mix isn't a good option but you could easily spend a fortune at build-a-soil.
I started out in organics on the cheap with some bags of FFOF & worm castings. 3 months later I ditched all my nutes; organic bud is the shit...Check out my thread in the organic section if you want to see how I do it:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/dick-does-dank.909077/
The difference is microbial activity. Organic soil relys on microbes to keep your plant fed while all you need to do is keep the container moist. In contrast using nutes requires ph adjustments and optimal ppms to force feed your plants dissolved salts derived from who knows what. Nutrients work best in sterile mediums like coco or in hydroton; regular soil is best for organics. Using nutes in fertilized soil is kind of a waste as synthetic nutes kill off the microbial life over time rendering your soil sterile eventually.
"Super soil" is almost a brand label like Heinz or Tropicana. The only difference between super and regular soil is the level of microbial activity. You can use almost any decent bagged organic garden soil and then add worm castings and maybe some perlite to it. It will become "super" after being recycled with amendments and allowed to cook down; it will get even better every time you recycle it. Not saying that building a mix isn't a good option but you could easily spend a fortune at build-a-soil.
I started out in organics on the cheap with some bags of FFOF & worm castings. 3 months later I ditched all my nutes; organic bud is the shit...Check out my thread in the organic section if you want to see how I do it:
https://www.rollitup.org/t/dick-does-dank.909077/
Dr. Who
Well-Known Member
That's a choice you have to make for yourself.
Each has plus's and negatives.....In organics,,,,it may be the time taken to build and cook soils (personally, I find no other argument against it!)
I simply find organic's more rewarding and natural....I'm not costing nature near as much damage as chemical nutrients do.....That's a far bigger issue then many think.....The availability of minable phosphates for the manufactured nutrient market are shrinking fast!
Some say less then 30 - 35 years left....Us organic folks will be simply growing along still.......
There are some nice nutrient lines out there......If it's what you choose....think powdered nutrients like Jack's or Peter's.
The bottled guys have a few nice things too...
Canna
Hesi
The Botanicare KIND line is doing well around here....Great looking results...
But still, in the end, it's your choice!
Each has plus's and negatives.....In organics,,,,it may be the time taken to build and cook soils (personally, I find no other argument against it!)
I simply find organic's more rewarding and natural....I'm not costing nature near as much damage as chemical nutrients do.....That's a far bigger issue then many think.....The availability of minable phosphates for the manufactured nutrient market are shrinking fast!
Some say less then 30 - 35 years left....Us organic folks will be simply growing along still.......
There are some nice nutrient lines out there......If it's what you choose....think powdered nutrients like Jack's or Peter's.
The bottled guys have a few nice things too...
Canna
Hesi
The Botanicare KIND line is doing well around here....Great looking results...
But still, in the end, it's your choice!
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
I think using a well built organic soil, with some alfalfa and kelp teas is best. I've done an organic soil with bottled organic nutes before. If you look at my grow journal through my profile that hasn't been updated since you can see it definitely didn't go bad. But my new more refined method is cheaper, gets better results, and has a little more of a understanding of agriculture and container gardening behind it (I read some books lol).
You can check out my video blog series to see my results in action.
Then check out my guide to know what to do and a little insight into why you're doing it.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/organic-growing-an-introductory-guide.921380/