Supersoil moistness question

I brewed my super soil just over 2 weeks ago - left the lid on. Went to stir it today and it was pretty easy - because it wasn't that moist. I would not say it is dry at all, but the moisture level is pretty low, enough that it was not clumping or difficult to stir at all. Should I water it some more or just leave it as is? Afraid it's going to dry out before it is done cooking.

How much water did you add?

I mixed up about a 1/8 batch of the 2010 recipe and I probably dumped 3/4 of a gallon of water into it. It feels heavy when mixing, especially the lower-middle but it's not wet. I was considering adding some bacterial tea two weeks before I need the soil to moisten it back up again.

*disclaimer-I have no real logic or practical knowledge to back up this "strategy".

whats the temps you got going?

maybe it aint hot enough where you storing it

it is outside on the porch. temps ranging from 40s at night during the cold spells to mid to upper 70s most days... 50s-60s on cool days. I don't think I put enough water in the first time. It was heavy but maybe not wet enough. I just made a small batch of super soil light for late veg and watered it THOROUGHLY and it took a lot more water than what i put into the super soil on an equivalent basis. It also was wet up top and dry down below so guessing the watering got a lot of the upper portion of the trash can but may not have gotten to the bottom -- it definitely was not the case that the bottom had all the moisture as some have described -- the moisture level was pretty equal throughout. You could sift the soil. I already started more watering after making that other batch and comparing. Not much moisture in the soil now so I doubt there's enough to cook. Luckily I am still at least a month from flower so it won't matter if it hasn't cooked much the last couple of weeks.

SS recipe uses a rubber trash can right? I would recommend using a compost bin that can be turned/rotated. Thats what i use for mixing all those soil additives and water but i only make two bags worth insead of his suggested 6 - 8 bags.

I spent $100 on mine from homedepot and the soil thats in it has plenty of moisture and its been baking for about month now. A lot better texture compared to the base soil (roots organic). the problem with the can is you can't stir whats on the bottom...get a compost bin...the kind you can turn.

Just finished watering the shit out of it using unadjusted pH 6.3 spring water. It easily ways 75-125 lbs now. If I remember right it felt more like 50-60 lbs or so before after watering. It's definitely wet through now.

So... do you think I am going to have to wait another month, or is it going to have broken down some during the last 2 weeks? no idea how long it has been that low of moisture as I have left the lid closed.

dante76 said:

SS recipe uses a rubber trash can right? I would recommend using a compost bin that can be turned/rotated. Thats what i use for mixing all those soil additives and water but i only make two bags worth insead of his suggested 6 - 8 bags.

I spent $100 on mine from homedepot and the soil thats in it has plenty of moisture and its been baking for about month now. A lot better texture compared to the base soil (roots organic). the problem with the can is you can't stir whats on the bottom...get a compost bin...the kind you can turn.

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I dumped half out into one bin and the other half into another bin and was able to stir them thoroughly... just can't stir them in trash can Good tip on the compost bin I'll probably have to wait til I move but something for down the road.

I think you should be good as long as you work the soil every couple of days and don't keep the lid on too tight.

just mist as needed. too wet is bad too. anaerobes. a piece of burlap on top, misted as needed....works wonders. prolly get free coffee sacks somewhere

So how can you tell your super soil is moist enough? I had to use 3 diff trash cans to fit all of my SS in, and I'm unsure how much water is needed. Also what temp should the center of the soil be? Mine is ranging from 80F-86F at its current easy to stir moisture level.

hey fellas, you guys worry like my grandma.......just make it moist, come on, you know what a moist medium feels like, you grow plants for crying out load..... dump it out of the can after two weeks, and remix.....store anywhere around room temps.....it will be fine.....now stop fucking worrying about it.

nugbuckets.. I was reading through your QT grow thread (fucking nice) and saw that you had inoculated with some tea while it was cooking. Were you aiming for fungal or bacterial dominance.. or does it not matter much?

jane's phasm said:

nugbuckets.. I was reading through your QT grow thread (fucking nice) and saw that you had inoculated with some tea while it was cooking. Were you aiming for fungal or bacterial dominance.. or does it not matter much?

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i guess i was just thinking about getting things jump-started, i have read that michorizae need roots to really flourish, but who knows really.....i know this, i dumped out my cans after six days, and that stuff was steaming!....so i re-mixed it, and now a week later, it is cool....so i know she cooked right up, and should be good to go.....the smell also changed from a poopy funk, to a sweet yummy goodness......i compost a lot around the farm, so i think i have a grasp on the process.....i really like the idea of a tumble bin....pretty sure i am going to pick one up for SS only.....thanks for checking out my grow, good luck....nugs

Sorry I had such a n00b question (Found the answer in subcools guide... go figure). Also roots need to be present when using a myco tea. They need to attach to the roots to create their symbiotic relationship, otherwise they die off.

Bargar said:

Sorry I had such a n00b question (Found the answer in subcools guide... go figure). Also roots need to be present when using a myco tea. They need to attach to the roots to create their symbiotic relationship, otherwise they die off.

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Perhaps, but we're not interested in mycos at this time. It's the beneficial bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes that we want to proliferate so they can start breaking down the organic nutrients in the soil to a more readily available form for the plants.

jane's phasm said:

Perhaps, but we're not interested in mycos at this time. It's the beneficial bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes that we want to proliferate so they can start breaking down the organic nutrients in the soil to a more readily available form for the plants.

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is Mike not a fungi?

'Tis a fungi.

I didn't intend to infer that mycos aren't a fungus; rather I was trying to express that in this context of soil prep we are really focusing on saprophytic fungi that are prominent in compost, which would be used to inoculate the tea. I'm still unsure though if cannabis would benefit more from a fungal dominant vs. bacterial dominant brew. I'm hesitant to say that it depends on the pH of the base soil. One of the main takeaways from Teaming with Microbes is that fungal dominance usually occurs near woody growth while bacterial dominance is prevalent in lawns and gardens.

i believe i read that myco isn't a fungus but a description of the symbiotic relationship between certain species of fungus and the roots, therefore myco can't exist without roots. The fungi we call myco can. At least that's how I read it.

From wikipedia:
A mycorrhiza (Gk. μυκός, mykós, "fungus" and ριζα, riza, "roots",[SUP][1][/SUP] pl mycorrhizae, mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic (generally mutualistic, but occasionally weakly pathogenic) association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant.[SUP][2][/SUP]
In a mycorrhizal association, the fungus colonizes the host plant's roots, either intracellularly as in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), or extracellularly as in ectomycorrhizal fungi. They are an important component of soil life and soil chemistry.

That's how I read it as well. I'm not sure of the exact species that form the relationships(endos and ectos), but I am almost 100% that there's a clear distinction between them and the saprophytic types.

Most of the myco mixtures I've seen contain mixes of several species of both types to make sure you're covered no matter what kind of plant you have At least the one I use does.