What's Your Soil Mix These Days?

MtRainDog

MtRainDog

Well-Known Member
ProMix HP by itself is perfectly aerated. Someone else said you can just bottle feed without adding anything else. Very true.

It also works great as part of your base mix. Adding additional peat or coco would be a waste. Only other base part you could/should add is EWC. I like to balance any EWC I add with equal part perlite.

My mix is

50% ProMix HP
25% EWC
25% Perlite

I measure my amendments for 1 cubic foot of soil (about 7.5 gallons).

You only need about 2 cups total amendments for 1 cubic foot of soil and maybe some garden lime (0.5 - 1 cup)

My amendments are usually along these lines (per cubic foot)

1 cup espoma tomato tone
1/2 cup alfalfa meal
1/2 cup kelp meal

This isnt meant to be a no till mix. I still feed on top of this. But it is a good all purpose base that most plants seem to do well in.
 
Wastei

Wastei

Well-Known Member
Stormcookie said:
Coco coir tends to have fungus gnat eggs embedded, just waiting for someone to wake them up unless you get a super high quality, I wouldn’t risk it.
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Well it's kinda impossible to have fungus gnats eggs living in a bone dry Coco Coir brick Lol!

Coco Coir is coco coir and quality is about the same if you buy bricks intended for growing plants. The problem is not the Coco Coir, it's how prepared coir hasn't been stored properly.

You have the exact same problem with any prepared "soil mix" and it's not in any way worse with prepared coco coir.
 
conor c

conor c

Well-Known Member
Wastei said:
Well it's kinda impossible to have fungus gnats eggs living in a bone dry Coco Coir brick Lol!

Coco Coir is coco coir and quality is about the same if you buy bricks intended for growing plants. The problem is not the Coco Coir, it's how prepared coir hasn't been stored properly.

You have the exact same problem with any prepared "soil mix" and it's not in any way worse with prepared coco coir.
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Idk there tough little buggers they can go dormant id say it's more common in compost however don't think Coco coir is fully immune it's just less likely.
 
Wastei

Wastei

Well-Known Member
conor c said:
Idk there tough little buggers they can go dormant id say it's more common in compost however don't think Coco coir is fully immune it's just less likely.
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Best way to be completely sure is to freeze everything. I often rehydrate my bricks with 150F water for being extra cautious. I never had gnats in any coco coir bricks or mixes. Peat mixes are a whole other deal however and seems to be what they prefer to hatch and live in.
 
conor c

conor c

Well-Known Member
Wastei said:
Best way to be completely sure is to freeze everything. I often rehydrate my bricks with 150F water for being extra cautious. I never had gnats in any coco coir bricks or mixes. Peat mixes are a whole other deal however and seems to be what they prefer to hatch and live in.
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True but I wouldn't grow without peat on my mix personally
 
conor c

conor c

Well-Known Member
Week4@inCharge said:
Peat seems to be predominant ingredient for organic soil. Really hard to get away from that. Holds moisture better than coco.
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Yeah it's the best plus where I'm from there's loads of it I have tried some lower peat compost blends but honestly they suck ime Vs peat based each to there own I just wouldn't grow without it personally
 
S

Stormcookie

New Member
Wastei said:
Well it's kinda impossible to have fungus gnats eggs living in a bone dry Coco Coir brick Lol!

Coco Coir is coco coir and quality is about the same if you buy bricks intended for growing plants. The problem is not the Coco Coir, it's how prepared coir hasn't been stored properly.

You have the exact same problem with any prepared "soil mix" and it's not in any way worse with prepared coco coir.
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It can harbor dormant eggs and there are companies that don’t sterilize properly. Perhaps the industry is doing a better job, haven’t used in over five years.
 
Wastei

Wastei

Well-Known Member
Stormcookie said:
It can harbor dormant eggs and there are companies that don’t sterilize properly. Perhaps the industry is doing a better job, haven’t used in over five years.
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If the coir bricks been bone dry and stored for 6+ months there's no way for any eggs to still be alive. They are hardy but not in any way indestructable.

The problem is not often the medium but the lack of prevention. Coco Coir should stay wet constantly and that's a good breeding ground for gnats.

You can't expect to stay safe from gnats with any growing method without proper prevention and monitoring.
 
GreenGenez421

GreenGenez421

Well-Known Member
I've been running coco dominant No Till for many years now. Zero peat in there and I'm getting superior results compared to a peat dominant substrate. The key to success is the conditioners, compost, leaf mold and ewc are an absolute must. With out them, the water and nutrients would just run out, it wouldn't hold jack shit. I never have pH issues and I never have lockouts. I don't have to pH anything I add, if I even add anything liquid nutrient at all. And the "nutrient" I have is all fermented, so highly acidic.

Natural pH of coco is slightly acidic and that coupled with the soil conditioners keeps me constantly in the sweet spot. No need for lime of any kind, actually, it would only cause problems. Truthfully the only thing I've ever concerned myself with is Cation Exchange Capacity and drainage. Peat has a high CEC and tends to hold onto elements and slow release them. Coco has a lower CEC and doesn't, but again, another reason why the conditioners are so important. They do have a higher CEC and water holding capacity.

Coco does need to stay damp, doesn't matter if it's in hydro DTW or a No Till. But for any organic approach that focuses heavily on microbial biomes, it's bad form to allow a dry back and I've found that a mulch layer keeps the top 2-3" of soil adequately hydrated, identical to the rest of depth. Plus, there been alot of research that has shown a sizable microbial herd resides in the top most 2-3". If that dries back, it would certainly have an impact on the biome.

Coco in my opinion is by far the more superior material, it just comes down to how it's used and what it's paired with, dictates how it will perform. I suspect coco vs. Peat is the same as led vs. HID. There's some people that will never change their minds or their ways. If it ain't broke, why fix it.
 
Jjgrow420

Jjgrow420

Well-Known Member
Stormcookie said:
Your oatmeal, rice, corn and dry pasta don’t list weevils either but they’re in there.
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Although of coarse it is possible, I've never in my life come across these bugs. We've had flour and pasta etc sit around for a year sometimes and not once ever have we had an encounter with bugs in our food.
I buy my Coco in dried compacted cubes. There are 0 bugs in it.
 
420AD

420AD

Well-Known Member
I'm happy with plagron's promix.
Never added anything to it except nutes + water.
I tried mycorrhiza one time but it didn't convince me.
 
Jjgrow420

Jjgrow420

Well-Known Member
420AD said:
I'm happy with plagron's promix.
Never added anything to it except nutes + water.
I tried mycorrhiza one time but it didn't convince me.
Click to expand...
In order for a plant to 'accept' the mycos it has to have a low amount of p-k in the media. It takes a minimum of 10 days for the mycos to attach to the root system. The plant first needs to send the signal out that that fungi are 'allowed' to attach, and that's because it needs more p-k which is one of the things the mycos do for the plant. Otherwise it may not ever send that signal and the mycos will not attach themselves, stay dormant, or will but in low %
Nothing is magic, everything works in specific ways and it's best to research what your using and how it works efficiently and effectively. Just sprinkling something on and expecting results usually doesn't pan out.
It also matters what type of mycos (species) and the VIABLE spore count. The bacterial world of cannabis products is the wild West right now with little to no regulation or testing and alot of these companies are hyping up the packages with spore count numbers that don't match independent testing. (Some had 0 viable spores at all). A spore that's counted can be anything that was or is a part of that spore so even non viable spores are counted in spore counts. Large companies are tricksters, be wary and do your own detective work before just willy nilly buy something and toss it in to your pot and expect results
When used properly mycorrhizal fungi can expand root networks, aid in absorbing nutrients, out compete harmful pathogens, increase overall plant health, among other benefits. Don't count it out!
 
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420AD

420AD

Well-Known Member
Jjgrow420 said:
In order for a plant to 'accept' the mycos it has to have a low amount of p-k in the media. It takes a minimum of 10 days for the mycos to attach to the root system. The plant first needs to send the signal out that that fungi are 'allowed' to attach, and that's because it needs more p-k which is one of the things the mycos do for the plant. Otherwise it may not ever send that signal and the mycos will not attach themselves, stay dormant, or will but in low %
Nothing is magic, everything works in specific ways and it's best to research what your using and how it works efficiently and effectively. Just sprinkling something on and expecting results usually doesn't pan out.
It also matters what type of mycos (species) and the VIABLE spore count. The bacterial world of cannabis products is the wild West right now with little to no regulation or testing and alot of these companies are hyping up the packages with spore count numbers that don't match independent testing. (Some had 0 viable spores at all). A spore that's counted can be anything that was or is a part of that spore so even non viable spores are counted in spore counts. Large companies are tricksters, be wary and do your own detective work before just willy nilly buy something and toss it in to your pot and expect results
When used properly mycorrhizal fungi can expand root networks, aid in absorbing nutrients, out compete harmful pathogens, increase overall plant health, among other benefits. Don't count it out!
Click to expand...
I have no issues with my roots, so my plants absorb nutrients very well and my grow area is super clean.
No need mycorrhiza to take good care when I already do.
But hey if you think you benefit from it, I'm not against using it.
 
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