just thaught i would compile a list of different soil mixes all in one place for everyone to see.
A Good Seed Starting Mix
You want a seed starting mix to retain moisture, yet be well draining. There is little need to add very many nutrients at this point. You can purchase commercial potting soil for this, or you can make up your own soil mix.For starting my own seeds, I use equal parts vermiculite, perlite, and sphagnum peat. I than add 10 percent worm castings. You should add 1 teaspoon of lime for each gallon of soil and mix well. The nitrogen in the worm castings is gentle to the young sprouts, and it is in a form the new plants can use immediately.
To help things out, I wet this soil down with water, first making sure to add 10 ml/gallon Thrive Alive B1 and 10 ml/gallon Maxicrop liquid seaweed. Make sure not to make the mix too wet...the roots need air. The mix is just wet enough when you squeeze a handful and only a few drops come out.
Soil Mixes You Eventually Feed
If you are unsure of the exact needs of your plants, than this is a good soil mix to begin with. It is also good if you are transplanting shortly before flowering, but want to feed your plants through watering once flowering begins. It contains enough organic fertilizers to feed your plants for about two weeks, than you can begin adding a little fertilizer at a time as you water.
Start with equal parts vermiculite, perlite, and sphagnum peat. To this, add 20-25 percent worm castings. Never use more than 25 percent worm castings in any of your soil mixes.For every gallon of soil add 1 teaspoon of lime and mix everything together well. For each gallon of soil, add 1 tablespoon of bat guano and 1 1/2 tablespoons of kelp meal and mix well. Here I have shown a high phosphorus guano, but if you are still in the vegetative stage, use a high nitrogen guano (like Mexican bat guano). After about two weeks of growth, begin watering with a 50 percent strength nutrient solution.
Keep a close eye on your plants to see if they want more, or need less. As you gain experience and learn the different fertilizer and soil additives, you will be able to mix up your own favorite custom soil mix.
Soil Mixes You Don't
Have to Feed
If you hate mixing up fertilizer each time you water, than this strategy might be for you. Start your seeds in a regular seed starting mix. Than, each time your plant is ready for a bigger container, transplant it into this fertile organic soil mix. If you time it so your last transplant occurs the same time you begin flowering, you should only ever have to give your plants plain water (although I recommend you add Thrive Alive and Maxicrop to your water also).
Begin this soil mix by adding one bag each of Foxfarm Original, Foxfarm Ocean Forest, and Foxfarm Light Warrior. To this mix, add 1 level cup of Foxfarm Peace of Mind 5-8-4 and mix well. I usually begin my plants in the smallest dixie cups I can find, in my seed starting mix. After that, I transplant into a 6 inch container of this mix. Two or three weeks later, I transplant into a 12 inch container. Finally, right as I switch to flowering, I make my final transplant to the next size container (usually a three gallon one). Most of the nutrients are used up by the time I begin flushing them, so it works out well.
Soilless Mixes for Hydroponics
Sometimes people use soilless mixes in hydroponics. This is especially true for the hand watering method. The idea is to make a mixture that holds moisture as long as regular organic soil mixes would. This is accomplished by using vermiculite, sphagnum peat, or coconut coir, all of which retain water. A good place to start is to use equal parts of each.Another example is the reservoir method. This method is well suited for the use of lava chips as a medium, but a mix of 1 part vermiculite to 5 parts expanded clay pellets works as well. The same mix should work well in other systems, like a drip system, although I have never tried this myself.
A soilless mix heavy in materials that suck up water is perfect for the wick system. An equal mix of perlite and vermiculite works well. A mix of perlite and coconut coir should work equally as well.
LC's method:
LC’s Soiless Mix #1:
5 parts Canadian Spaghnam Peat or Coir or Pro-Moss
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
...Check the link in my sig line below for cheap earthworm castings. Free shipping to the eastern USA.
Or, if you use Pro Mix or Sunshine Mix...
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up)
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime.
Now for the plants organic food source
RECIPE #1
If you want to use organic nutes like blood, bone and kelp...
Dry Ferts:
1 tablespoon blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix or Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potasium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.
Mix all the dry ferts into the soiless mix well and wet it, but don't soak it with Liquid Karma and water @ 1 tbs./gal. Stir and mix it a few times a week for a week or two so the bacteria can get oxygen and break down the bone meal and make it available. And don't let the mix dry out, keep it moist and add water as needed. It'll also have time to get the humic acids in the Liquid Karma going and the dolomite lime will be better able to adjust the pH of a peat based mixture too.
RECIPE #2
If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloids guano mix
1/3C hi N guano per gallon
1/2C hi Phos guano per gallon
1TBS Jersey greensand per gallon
1TBS Kelp meal per gallon
RECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...
Guano Tea and Kelp:
Seedlings less than 1 month old nute tea mix-
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
1-cup earthworm castings/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering
Veg mix-
1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1-cup mix/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering.
Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tbs. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.
You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.
RECIPE #4
Fish and Seaweed
For veg growth…
1 capful 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion
1 capful 0-0-1 Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon H2O
For flowering…
1 tbs. Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed
1 gallon H2O
RECIPE #5
And finally Pure Blend Pro...
Pure Blend Pro veg formula for hydro/soil and Pure Blend Pro flower formula for Soil. Simply use as directed on the label. It's a stand-alone fertilizer. That means, everything you need is already in there so don't let the guy at the hydro store try to sell you something more.
Growdoc’s Method:
Soil bed, bottom fed, no drainage, top dressed around light switchover
Soil:
100L compost- Plagron Royalty Mix
5L perlite
3L worm castings
120g dried blood meal
80g guano Peru
60g bone meal
40g lime
20g trace element
1 pinch beneficial bacteria
Feed:
7L warm water plus 500ml guano Peru plus 2 pinch beneficial bacteria, mature @ 25C for 2 months
Top dressing:
100L compost
5L worm castings
120g guano Peru
100g seaweed meal
100g bone meal
80g lime
30g trace element
1 pinch beneficial bacteria
Sicco’s Method:
20 plants in 5L pots, trimmed all through life to 1 cola, fed DEGRO in veg (Aldi, cheap, 7,5,5), riverclay available as geranium compost in spring, recommends Jorgkind Grond #6 from Aalsmeer, NL
Soil:
50L compost, inc 10% river clay (acts as a buffer)
25L perlite
20L worm castings
700g Dolokal
40g potassium phosphate
Feed:
20 times, 250ml per plant per watering, start feeding mix just before bloom
over 1st 4 weeks give 2/3 of total feed mix
5th and 6th weeks fed twice per week
last 4 weeks 2 feeds total
fed 20 times in total so 100L feed used
5L water
5g potassium nitrate
5g potassium phosphate
10g guano
shabang’s Method:
Homemade worm castings, avoid feeding worms high N and any strong flavours-garlic, onion, chilli, citrus. Worms will take on what fed so high P and K feeds are possible.
“Classic” mix:
40% worm castings
30% perlite
30% vermiculite
“Soil-less” mix:
3 part coco peat
1 part expanded clay/perlite
1-2 parts worm castings
2% alfalfa meal pellets
1 tablespoon domolic lime per litre
Casting tea:
A large spoon of castings in a nylon stocking in water with a dab of mollases/pinch sugar/spoon of yoghurt for microbes, aerate for 48-72 hrs then feed.
He admits to being lazy himself and just chucking the stocking in his reservoir once a week for auto-feed.
Another in his own words..
Hey man, I've gotten the mix down to the height of simplicity. Put on a good dust mask.
1 bag of fine dry castings, 25 pounds.
1 bag, 8 dry quarts, Scott's perlite
1 bag, 8 dry quarts, Scott's vermiculite
add in a liter to a liter and a half of dolomitic or agri lime and two to three liters of hydrated polymer crystals
Water and plant.
i've gradually changed my media too; no castings in my cloning mix, for better nutrient control and lower N levels. i now use a packaged "seed starting" mix (gen'ly just milled verm and peat) + perlite, watering and misting with a very mild fish emulsion(s)/ molasses/ EJcatalyst/ superthrive solution. i still use plenty of castings in my grow/flower pots, but <50%. base of pro-mix+castings, add organics and minerals. seems like where you've gone for less ingredients, i've gone for more. my dry mix has pro-mix, castings, perl & verm, pelletized fish, bat guanos, PSG, chicken manure, trace minerals, kelp, etc, plus the watered-in component, which includes numerous additional ferts and supplements (not using the mycorhizae, though). i've simplified my procedures but gone toward "diversity" in my mix. the caveat is, ideally this mix needs time to activate, though it works well enough "fresh". castings have the advantage of being already activated, which is why i keep them in there... did you see my description of the new Alaska product below? no mention of chlorine anywhere on the label
plus humic acids from leonardite ore, woohoo. the kelp is the usual ascophylum nodosum.
Soma’s Method:
50/50 old/new soil, new soil only for little ones
Canna terra organic soil, adds coco peat, perlite and nutrients (unspecified)
Feed:
AN Iguana juice apparrently although sourced from soft secrets so handfull of salt with this one
Flowering boost with bat guano and wood ash, recommends adding trace elements with guano as high P uses them up
pH balances water to 7
Recommends Preventief for pest control, an enzyme preparation that kills small bugs but not ladybirds.
Bio Henkie’s Method:
Soil beds, 9 plants per sq m, 5% old soil re-used to carry over bacteria, soil matured for at least 3 months before planting- the longer the better, lets worms loose to aerate and fertilise
Soil:
10 ingredients, very vague
Phosphate-“living phosphate”, a granulate from Italy from fermented grape pulp, fast acting plus bone meal, slow acting
Potassium- vinasse, sugar beet remains plus others not specified
Worm castings
Bacterial strains
Compost
Comments from Bio Henkie:
Just-fertilised soil burns plants
Natural (rock?) phosphate does not dissolve readily in soils unless they are too acidic and contains a lot of cadmium which is poisonous and undesirable.
Recommends foliar feeding (carcinogens?) or root feeding with sea weed extract or guano over acidifying water for deficiencies and long flowering varieties
A&B fertilisers disturb biological life and do more harm than good
Kumquat's method:
deluxe potting soil
9 gallons peat moss
3 gallons vermiculite
6 gallons perlite
1 pound blood meal
1 pound bone meal
1 pound green sand
1 pound lime or dolomite lime
1 pound rock phosphate
Pinch of boron (borax is an inexpensive source)
Blend ingredients in a small cement mixer or large barrel with a tight fitting lid that will let you roll it around to mix the contents. If you have to stir the ingredients in an open container, moisten them SLIGHTLY with water to avoid breathing dust as you work. Do not use more than a pinch of boron. It encourages root growth, but its levels can quickly go from helpful to harmful in the soil. Once you get the soil all mixed you can add some manure tea (see recipe below). The lime in this mix helps to neutralize the acidity of the manure tea.
Manure Tea
10 to 15 gallons manure (combine horse, chicken, and cow manure to get a nice balance of nutrients. 5 gallon bucket of chickweed and/or stinging nettles. Water to fill 55 gallon drum. Dump manure(s) in the bottom of the drum. Add chickweed and/or nettles, both of which are rich in trace elements, then fill drum with water. Once a week stir the "tea" and add water to replace any that has evaporated. You'll need a brewing time of at least 3 weeks before using this tea in the potting soil mix.
MR_NATURAL420's method:
perfect potting medium
1 bushel sharp sand
1 bushel clay loam
1 bushel pro-mix or a balanced compost
3 cups epsom salt
3 cups coffee grounds
3 dozen egg shells
Make sure that the pro mix you use has sufficient organic content to ensure adequate drainage. Perlite and vermiculite are good for drainage, but contribute nothing to the organic content. Peat moss or coconut fibers are better. Worm castings and bat guano have good nutrients, but don't help drainage. Making your own compost is best. The sharp sand is heavy for containers, but I'm trying to reproduce an optimal soil, based on the average content of good soil. Unlike other super-soils all the amendments are long term and won't burn delicate babies. Hey, your payin an arm and a leg for that coffee, use it twice. Watch the pH.
Before you plant anything in it, bring it to life by watering with a solution you make by putting the following into twenty gallons of water:
1 can beer (enzymes)
1 cup soap (helps wet soil)
1 cup mouthwash (protects seedlings from damping-off)
1 t instant tea powder
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 T B1
A couple dashes of H2O2 will eliminate Cl in tap water
Aallon's method:
A quick and easy soil mix would require:
# 5 parts soil. Normal commercial potting soil should be fine.
# 5 parts perlite. This enhances aeration of the soil-mix, helps prevent over-watering by increasing drainage and reduces soil compaction. Perlite can be replaced with coarse vermiculite or crushed expanded clay balls (mica, leca, geolite).
Optional:
# 2 parts composted organic matter. This can be normal household compost. If you can find composted worm castings, seaweed or composted manures (chicken, horse) they can also be used for extra kick. Non-composted manures make the soil-mix too 'hot' for the plants and should be avoided.
This is a flowering mix - that is, it is intended for plants or clones that will be flowered. The mix has enough nitrogen to get through a couple of weeks of vegging and the stretch. The grower may need to supplement nitrogen, watch for yellow leaves before 5 weeks of flowering.
The basic mix is
40% castings
30% perlite
30% vermiculite
For each gallon of soil mix, add:
1/4 cup of high N guano
1/2 cup of high P guano
1/4 cup of dolomite lime
1/4 cup of kelp meal
The problem with high nitrogen guano is its variability. Different guanos break down differently and may burn your plants diffferently. The upside is that high N breaks down quickly and is used by the plant immediately, so that the grower can determine how much is too much pretty easily. Burned tips are just pushing the envelope, but a ram's horn leaf curl indicates way too much nitrogen.
Conversely, high phosphorous guano breaks down slowly. It needs to be supplemented early with an organic flowering fertilizer, like EarthJuice bloom.
When the plants are potted, water them in with a mix containing 1 tbsp each of EarthJuice Catalyst and Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed per gallon of water. If the grower uses B'cuzz, then by all means add it as well. Thereafter, use EarthJuice/Maxicrop, every third watering. Make sure that the plants are fed bloom fertilizer until the fourth week of flowering.
Vic's Method:
Super Soil recipes & notes
Super Soil Mix Original Recipe, as it was given to me:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix
2 L Bone Meal - phosphorus source
1 L Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
1/2 - 1 bag chicken manure (steer, mushroom, etc) - nitrogen & trace elements
Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Revised Recipe, after several failures due to bad manure sources, I now use the following recipe. Results have been excellent and the clones seem to take off right away instead of having a slow growing settling in period:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source 3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings
Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Substitutions - The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano Bugs On a couple of occasions, I've ended up with fungus gnats with this soil mix. They are more of an irritation than anything but may harm weak or young plants. Some have said that putting a layer of sand on top of the soil in the pots stops the gnats from reproducing. Others can get rid of them by doing a soil drench with gnatrol or vectobac (BTI). Personally, I prefer to simply introduce fungus gnat predators (Hypoaspis miles). Once established, they not only control fungus gnats, but also thrips and mites. When there is no insect food available, they survive on dead plant material, so remain even after pests are gone to prevent future infestations. Actually, since they have been introduced, I've had no pest problems in over a year and I don't filter my intake.
Recycling Soil Used soil - Reusing soil has a few downsides such as it makes it easier for diseases, viruses, and pathogens from entering your garden. Also peat based soils break down and become acidic. If you fertilize with chemicals you'll end up with salt buildups that will slow growth. Unless you like to take chances, have a good eye, and a good horticultural understanding, you may be better off with staying with fresh new soils.
That said; I grow strictly organic and I've always reused my soil. I don't sterilize the soil between plantings as my soil is full of microbes and predatory bugs that keep the bad bugs under control.
After each crop, I chop up the soil and root balls with the leaves, stalks, etc and let compost for about 3 months. I then mix it up and add about (for every 50 gallons composted soil)
2 - 3 cups of lime.
1/2 cup epsom salts,
2 liters bone meal,
1 liter blood meal,
1 liter kelp meal,
1 tsp trace elements,
and enough perlite to regain the porosity of the original soil.
I used to add a bag of manure, but I was getting fertilizer burn and so have stopped now. As I've been fine tuning this, the plants just keep getting healthier and I haven't had any real pest problems for quite a while. I know this is a controversial approach and maybe even risky, but it allows me to keep my garden pretty much self contained. I don't attract attention by buying bales of soil every 3 - 4 months year around, or in the disposal of leaves and soil after each crop. It's definitely not for those who want sterile crops and those that use pesticides and chemical ferts. I believe in working with nature, not against it. After several generations, a nutrient imbalance developed which was only solved by leaching the soil thoroughly. My hunch is that one of the micro-nutrients was building to toxic levels. I guess farmers don't get this problem because they have the winter rains to each excess nutrients from their fields.
Anon method:
My mix:
57 L - Mushroom Manure 1.5-1-1.5
28 L - Soil
57 L - Grit
28 L – Vermiculite
2 L – Bone Meal 4-14-0 (Green Valley)
1 L - Blood Meal 12-1.2-1
1 L - Kelp Meal 2-1-2 (Multicrop)
350 ML - Epsom Salts
400 ML - Greensand
500 ML - Rock Phosphate
1 L - Dolomite Lime
Casamere's method:
organic mix
40% composted soil
30% worm castings
20% perlite
10% dolomite, guanos, goodies, etc..
i've also heard good things about "uncle malcolm" brand soil from peaceful valley is good.... if you're mixing organics with chem ferts, the plant will use up what the chem ferts feed it first, then partaking afterwards in the organic nutes. the beauty of organics is it's almost impossible to burn your plants, and the taste is superior to chem. grown plants. i use pure blend 1 - 0.5 -1 for veg and fox farm big bloom 0.8 - 3.0 - 1 for flowering. they're expensive but the plants really like it. sometimes i'll make a tea out of worm castings & guano. peace
High Dog's method:
Organic Pro-mix Recipe
blood meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
steamed bone meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
rock phosphate--1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
fine dolomite lime at the rate of about 1 1/2 cups per cubic foot
kelp meal at about 2/3 cup per cubic foot.
I also like to add plenty of coarse vermiculite.
I use plain potting soil to germinate in and transplant into this mix after about two weeks.
Once transplanted and established, I only give my plants plain water for the duration of the cropping period without suffering any nutrient shortage.
anon method:
6 parts potting soil
2 parts perlite
1 part vermiculite
1 part chicken manure
1 small handfull lime
Plants are watered daily...
Every third watering use fish emulsion 5-1-1 at 1 tbsp. per gallon. Continue this until the second week of the flowering cycle when stretching stops.
Then mix fish emulsion 5-1-1 with alaska more bloom 0-10-10 at a ratio of 1 teaspoon 5-1-1 to two teaspoons 0-10-10. this will give you a 5-21-21 ratio. use this every third watering until the last week and a half of flowering.
For the last week and a half use plain water. right at the beginning of the flower period (sometimes) add a small amount of lime to your water for one watering to counter any acids that may have built up during the vegetative phase. also sometimes i used to substitute the 5-21-21 mix with chemical 10-60-10 (schultzes super bloom) at 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for two waterings at about week 4-5 of flowering. if there is any yellowing before say week 5 1/2 simply use more 5-1-1 and less 0-10-10. this method resulted in hightimes centerfold plants.... very vigorous. in three gallon grow bags NL#5 vege'd for 30 days yield 1 1/2 ozs. of smooth sweet potent smoke. some strains did closer to two ounces per plant. 2x250w MH. 1 plant per 1 1/2 feet sq. bottom line is you really don't need exotic ingredients to grow killer weed. i'm sure that wormcastings etc. will do the trick for you... but don't feel bad if they're not available in your area... or are beyond your budget. this simple mostly organic set-up will give you EXCELLENT results with common, easily obtained cheap ingredients. peace all.
Blaze's method:
Very simple mix that will blow You away if you strive for optimum flavor in your buds.
Most Brewery shops have powdered citric acid, then you need the raw, unprocessed cane sugar(the brown rock sugar that still contains molassis).
1 dry ounce powdered citric acid
1 dry ounce unprocessed cane sugar
500ml's of warm h2o and mix well
Add 5ml's per gallon of res. every res. change.
It drops PH considerably the 1st day or 2 then stabilizes.
Citric acid is a good ph down, but it doesnt last as long as phos. acid.
I feed it to them always and switch to a clearing solution the last 7-10 days of flower.
I have never had buds so tastey and "odoriforous"
Curious George's method
Home-Made Organic Liquid Recipe
I add a few ingredients to my soil in a solution that is comparable to EJ Catalyst. Two weeks before transplanting seedlings into larger pots I mix the soil and add (per gallon of water):
1 tsp Molasses
1 tsp Lipton Iced tea mix(main ingredients: sugar, citric acid)
1 tsp brewers yeast
1 tsp fulvic acid
1/4 tsp humic acid(Gumate)
1 tbsp liquid seaweed.
This concoction will give life to your zillions of thriving soil microbes which will help break down your other soil amendments and/or watered on guano teas. The nutrients in the teas may not break down evenly, but that is the beauty of using organics... the plant uses the nutes as they are broken down. I would never use Milorganite on anything other than ornamental plants, but that is me. I swear by PSG for veg, and Budswel for flowering. I use many different guanos but those are the best(IMO)! BTW, worm casts don't have that much Nitrogen, at least not enough to use them alone for a high metabolism plant like cannabis. For Potassium I use Kelp meal(1-0-2), liquid seaweed(0-0-1) and Greensand(0-0-.1) I don't know how much of the greensand gets broken down by the time the plants are flowering, probably not much, but I use it anyway. Also, the guano's have a bit of P in them also, but not enough to use them by themselves, IMO. It seems that different ingredients break down more rapidly at different PH's, that is why I like to use a bit of peat moss fortified with dolomite lime, so that the medium doesn't have an equal ph throughout... I think it is varied between 5.8- 7.0 throughout the mix, and becomes a little more acidic towards the end of the grow, Phosphorus is more readily available when the medium becomes a bit acidic... this is good considering the plant needs the most phosphorus when it packs on its flowers at the end of it's life. That's been my observation thus far.
The Basic Soilmix:
1 quart perlite (keeps the mix light and helps drainage, does not break down.)
1 quart vermerculite (same as above)
2 quarts wormcastings 1-0-0 (slow release nitrogen, a ton of micronutrients)
1 quart potting soil (regular $2.50 a bag is ok, should be almost black in color, smell like dirt, not rotten. a little sand and verm. or perlite is ok.)
1/4 cup bat guano 10-3-1 (quick release nitrogen and more micros)
1/2 cup horticulture lime or agriculture lime (for PH and also contains calcium)
During flowering, add 1 teaspoon epson salt(magnesium) per gallon of water.Combined with the pour in ferts posted earlier, this would make an excellent mix.
1/3 perlite,
1/3 verm
1/3 castings
Keeping it simple. It’s really up to you and what’s available. Don’t freak when you see the low NPK ratios. The organic ferts have plenty of power. 300 to 400 ppm per watering is max. Any more is overkill. In addition to the above mix, mine contains:
1/2 cup greensand 0-0-1 (soil conditioner, makes things happen that aid in nutrient uptake)
1/2 cup alphalfa meal
7-2-5 General purpose organic fert(rabbit food)
1/2 cup horticulture mulch (slightly acidic, breaks down and becomes food)
The breakdown process is criticle to organic growing. There is a whole other world under the surface. Microorganisms break down organic matter into the basic elements. Opinions differ about how long it takes to get the process started but IMO about a month of being watered and breakdown will be in high gear. Using third generation soil and its tweekin’. You can and should reuse the soil. Add more of the powder ferts and your back in ‘binness. If your soil is alive with micros PH will not be a problem. Watering: In my grow the plants need water about every third day. I don’t water so much that water comes out of the drain holes. I think its wasteful and unnessasary. They get plenty of water though...all they can use. Misting: Everyday,with 6.0 water. I add 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil to a pint of water and the plants love it. The buds get bigger and tighter. Definitely a worthwhile procedure. Plain 6.0 water is OK too. Kinda’ dry where I live.(humidity wise) It may be a misconception that soil is less hassle than hydro. I guess it’s what you get used to. I know hydro rocks, but organics are Powerful. Power to grow Gigantic with organics!!!
MrSoul's method:
organic soils & teas
Soul's Soilless Mix
50% Worm Castings
25% Promix
25% Perlite
Add a cup of PSG and dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil.
Lately I've been happier with a bit less wormcastings:
50% Pro-mix
25% perlite
25% wormcastings
mix in a cup of dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil & wet the mix with an organic tea made from dissolving a cup of PSG in a 5-gallon bucket of water.
Soul's Guano Tea Method
I feed with tea at EVERY watering of my plants & since they're flowered in 2-gallon containers - that's usually every day!
The teas are made by soaking a "tea bag" (got mine at Worm's Way) in a 5-gallon bucket of pH = 6.2 water. Agitate and manipulate the bag a LOT to release as much of the "goodies" as possible - the water looks like it came from a mud puddle when you've got it right. I do one thing I've never heard other growers mention doing - I measure the ppm of my tea. Here are the contents of the tea bag, depending on growth stage:
Vegetative:
1/2 cup each of PSG & worm castings.
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop liquid seaweed,
2 Tablespoons of Alaska fish emulsion to the water. (I shoot for a ppm = 1000)
Flowering (weeks 0-4)
1/2 cup each of PSG & High Phosphorus bat guano
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop to the water. (ppm 1250 - 1500 )
Flowering (weeks 4-7)
1/2 cup each High Phosphorus bat guano and worm castings. (shifting ppm from 1500 -> 1000)
Final week of flowering,
many folks choose to use plain, pH-adjusted water for "clearing" but I don't. I haven't noticed any difference between when I have & when I haven't "cleared". This seems reasonable when growing organically - why clear? Clear WHAT? They're living in the medium in which they've evolved for millions of years!
A few other hints:
SOAK the pots thoroughly when watering, then allow them to become "light" when lifted before watering again...the plants LOVE a short drying out period. The amount of time it takes for the plants to dry out is constantly getting SHORTER as they grow...be AWARE! Water BY HAND! At least get an accurate feel for how much the average plant needs by hand-watering before setting up a drip system or whatever.
Transplant you clones into the container you plan to flower them in & veg them until their roots systems are FULLY established before flowering them - this will MINIMIZE stretching...check this out for yourself, it works!
Results From a Facinating Experiment Just In !!!! Posted by Brother Herb I just preformed a little experiment to see what organic nutrients grow the tastiest,best looking ,smelling ect... The experiment involved a few popular strains like Shiva Skunk, Big Bud, White Widow and skunk#1*Hash plant. The organic components that I experimented with were all used the same during the flowering cycle. I tested high P bat&sea bird guano, bone meal, composted steer manure, rock phosphate and high P fish emulsion. Each plant was placed into a three gallon container from a one gallon pot upon forced flowering. Every pot is mixed with commercial " Super Soil " perlite, peat moss and oyster shell. Then the individual special ingrediants were blended in the mix and the plants were planted., I did three of each blend, of each varaiety. The results varaied widely. The guano's produced very nice sticky huge buds but there was a little lacking in the smell dept. The best of the guanos was the Shiva Skunk. All the guanos had a similar base taste thats kind of bland but not that bad. The bone meal did very well. The buds were smellier than the guano and had a slighter earthier taste. The best one was Widow. The resin content hasn't changed much between the same species with different mixes. Next was the rock phosphate, it produed the biggest buds, with the fewest amount leaves and the plants smelled the strongest yet. The Big Bud was the best performer with rock phosphate. The Fish Emulsion pellets preformed the worst out of all my mixes. All varaieties looked and smelled fine but they all had a fishy base taste. I once dropped a dead gold fish into a pot with a flowering plant, the buds tasted like striaght fish! The last of my mixes was Composted Steer Manure and it turned out to be the best. The plants were a little leafy but they had nice buds and smelled out of this world. Every strain smelled better under manure, the Shiva had that grape orange smell going on, the Widow had the sweetest skunkiest smell, Big Bud reeked of mangoes, and the SK#1*Hash plant reminded me of pelling on orange. The best part about manure, I had yet to find out until I cured my weed. WOW, even the best weed in Amsterdam couldnt compare with this tasty stuff. The flavor of the weed would explode in your mouth with every hit . The smell of second hand smoke if so overpowering, it makes you got to have some if your not smoking it already. Does anybody else out there swear by manure for taste like I do? Please feel free to respond with your opinions on what makes weed taste great!
Subcool's method:
6 Bags Roots soil or equivalent high quality supped up grow soil
Note**I am trying a new product made by a local company that contains less fir bark called Harvest Moon
25 pounds Pure Worm Castings
½ cup Azomite trace minerals
2/3 Cup Sweet Lime IE Dolomite
1 Kilo Bone meal / IE 5 Pounds
1 Kilo Blood meal ( I use a bit more bone than Blood in this recipe)
1 Kilo Bat Guano bloom formula preferably Fruit bats
3/4 cup Epson Salts
The Perlite and Coco I happen to have and it will make a better mix but it is not necessary.
So we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. 30 days is best for this concentrate and it can be used to condition soil as detailed in the soil 101 thread. Do Not Put Clones or Seeds in this mix!
I will use this for a full year just adding like 30-50% in the lower potion of the container and plain roots in top portion. As the concentrate gets older I can use more. To re use I just recondition.
Read This!!
***Disclaimer**
This soil is really hot and you cannot plant seedlings or clones directly into it. When I do my final transplant into #10 pots I fill each pot ¾ full with Super soil and the top ¼ I add plain potting soil and stir the top portion. This allows the roots to become used to the soil. After a few days the growth on a transplant is amazing Jill’s Comment was most peoples soil plants don’t grow that fast.
Using this soil it’s not necessary to add nutrients with the exception of bloom maybe once and Sugars to enhance flavor.
Hope that’s helps the final shot is all cleaned up it took me about 30 minutes and cost on products was about 175$
This should last me 3-4 grows.
This recipe originally came from Vic High and over the years I have tweaked it and perfected it to the strains I grow, If there nutrient sensitive I simply cut the mix more.
With plants that need more I simply top dress the plants at week 3 of 12/12 with the concentrate
Randomuk420's method:
40% worm castings
5% greensand
30% perlite and vermiculite mix
1% azomite aka bentonite clay
the rest is either pure sphagnum moss or a wood/peat/sphagnum mix.
I use a modified Cali Super soil.
I don't care for Peat Moss ( Sorry Canada!)
I use Earthgro 1881 composted cow manure,50 lbs. as the base.
I don't know where they bag this stuff, but it is CHOCK FULL of crumbly Mica Schist.(read trace element rich)
25 lbs. EGrow potting soil
30% Pearlite
5lbs Bone Meal
5 lbs. pure Kelp
2lbs.Sulfate Potash Magnesia
3lbs. Blood meal
3 lbs. Cotton Seed Meal
2lb. hand-ground pumice (Lava Rock)
Dolomite Lime to neutral
Rainwater
This is composted for a month, then Red Earthworms added so the whole thing ends up being Castings! Nothing else really needed - the NL took to it like a NFL star to steroids! They were rootbound in a 10" pot under Flouros in a month!
1 bale 3.8cu feet Promix BX
4 lbs Peruvian Seabird Guano 11-13-3
10 lbs worm casing
Mix well, pot your girls and water well with 4 gals of Alaskan Fish ferts (5-1-1) This mix will take your plants through their veg cycle with only ph adjusted water added, (6.5ph), when dry. During flowering I water 3-4 times with a tea made from Idonesian Bat guano, (0-13-0), 3tbsps/gal of water.
Mr.Muggles's method:
1 part vermiculite to 3 parts pro-mix is what I use for my medium.
To each 5 gal. container I add:
1/3 cup dolomitic lime (dust like)
1/3 cup bonemeal (4-12-0)
5 Tbls. kelp meal (1-0-2)
These are the ferts that I use:
Peruvian seabird guano (11-13-3)
Indonesian bat guano (0-13-0)
Maxicrop liquid seaweed (0.1-0-1)
Liquid Budswell - ( I use this for rooted clones and seedlings.)
During veg I use between 1-2 Tbls. of bird guano to 1 Tbls. liquid seaweed until I'm into my second week of flowering. Once the plants finish their final stretch I switch to the hi-phos bat guano. I use between 1-2 Tbls to 1 Tbls. liquid seaweed. All fertilizing stops 2 weeks before harvest, only straight water thats been PH'd to 6.5.
***?_OVER's method:
15 gal peat moss
10 gal perlite (hort grade)
5 gal vermiculite (contains trace K)
nutes
2 parts blood meal
3 parts bone meal
1 part green sand
1 part kelp meal
1 part cottonseed meal (due to pesticides used in the cotton industry , this might not be considered organic)
1 part alfalfa meal (watch this stuff, it wants to mold on ya)
de Luther Burbank's method:
3 parts PRO-MIX or SUNSHINE ALL PURPOSE MIX
2 parts PERLITE
1 part medium size VERMICULITE (the small size vermiculite used to germ seeds and root clones compacts in containers larger than 1 gallon so use the medium sized stuff)
fertilizer for seedlings and clones:
1 tablesoon (tbl) STEAMED B0NE MEAL per gallon of potting soil mix
light applications (1/4 reccommended dosage) of AGE OLD ORGANICS GROW liquid fertilizer
fertilizer for flowering plants (mix 1/4 cup per gallon potting mix):
2 tbl STEAMED BONE MEAL ~ 4-12-0 + trace minerals and 22 Calcium
1 tbl BLOOD MEAL ~ 12-0-0 + trace minerals
1 tbl ALFALFA MEAL ~ 4-1-1 + trace minerals and triaconatol
1 tbl KELP MEAL ~ 1-0-2 + trace minerals, vitamins, amino acids and plant growth hormones
1 tbl SULFATE OF POTASH MAGENESIA ~ 0-0-22 + 22 Sulfur and 11 Magnesium factoring for a double dose of STEAMED BONE MEAL
my NPK is nicely balanced 25-25-25 including plenty of Calcium (IMO, the most important nutrient), lots of trace minerals and growth hormones. also, all ingrediants are fast to medium release fertilizers and they consistently appear on lists of organically approved materials. To cure potting soil, mix in fertilzer 3-4 weeks prior to use for flowering plants, I've also had good results by using only ALASKA DRY BLOOM
kiingbee's method:
I like using foxfarms pre-mixed medium. its called 'ocean forest potting mix' its got tons of organic goodies in it- worm castings, bat guano, fish and shrimp meal, etc.. it both drains and holds water well. although expensive.. after harvest, it will seem well worth it. I like the fact that its pre-mixed and ready to use right out of the bag.. makes for less mess this way, much less labor, and no guess work. its a great mix- its made in humboldt county- near the ocean- so it contains some great organic ingredients from the ocean and the forest (hence the name..lol). half-way thru the first week of 12/12, I like to top-dress the nursery pots w/ high P bat guano. only plain tap water is added for the entire crop, the plants take in what they need when they need it. the ocean forest potting mix requires no additional ferts for 3-4 weeks. during vegetative growth only plain water is added when needed. w/ some light-feeding strains.. I'm guessing only plain water would need to be added for the entire crop cycle (no additional ferts). for my next med crop, Im going to use liquid karma (organic supplement) w/ each watering. I did use pure blend bloom a couple times w/ good results, I dont about using both because each one is kelp-based. I dont want to have too much kelp and risk having a potassium deficiency... so I'll try the liquid karma in place of the pure blend.
DutchMasterZ's method:
6 gallons promix BX
4 gallons wormcasts
1-cup bonemeal
1/2cup bloodmeal
and a bunch more perlite
This mix should get you threw 5+ weeks. you can start giving them sum organic "PureblendPro flow"around 3-4week twice a week till 6 weeks into flow then plain water till harvest.!
ncga's method:
Per 25 gallon container ( all gallon amounts measured in a 5 gallon bucket)
2 cft Supersoil
7.5 gallon Spy Rock Mix
2.5 gallons Rice hulls
Nutrient Mix
10 oz Marine Cuisine
5.5 oz Diamond Black
7.25 oz Bone Meal
15 oz Feather Meal
5.25 oz Sulphate of Potash
5 oz Sunflower Hull ash
11.25 oz Rock Phosphate
4 oz Kelp Meal
13.5 OZ Green Sand
10.25 oz Glacial rock dust
11 oz Soft Phosphate
4.75 oz Trace Minerals
The above is good for about the first 60 days the nutrient are used 800 ppm 20 20 20 ( until temp reaches 90's) 1,000 ppm 30 10 10 MetaNatural grow 16 0 0 Meta Natural Nutrient 3 3 3 Meta Natural Calcium Foliar with GH
Random method:
1 cubic foot of soil is equal to 7.48 Gallons. That’s the conversion I used to make the chart. Here’s my recipe if you want to take a peek.
Vegetative Per Gallon of Soil, mixed in before planting.
2 Tablespoons - Bat Guano (10-3-1)
2 Tablespoons - Bone Meal (3-15-0)
2 Tablespoons - Green Sand (0-0-3)
3 Tablespoons - Kelp Meal (1-0.1-2)
1 Tablespoons - Blood Meal (13-0-0)
2 Tablespoons - Gypsum
15% of soil mix Worm Castings
25% - 35% of soil mix Perlite
Flowering Per Gallon of Soil, mixed in before planting.
2 Tablespoons - Bat Guano (10-3-1)
1 Tablespoons - Bone Meal (3-15-0)
1 Tablespoons - Indonesian Bat Guano (0-13-0)
2 Tablespoons - Green Sand (0-0-3)
3 Tablespoons - Kelp Meal (1-0.1-2)
1/2 Tablespoons - Blood Meal (13-0-0)
2 Tablespoons - Gypsum
15% of soil mix - Worm Castings
25% - 35% of soil mix – Perlite
My vegetative mix allows me to just water during vegetative with no added fertilizer. I just use straight Reverse-Osmosis water with nothing added. The plants are real green during vegetative and make it quit clear to me they need nothing added.
Liquid Fertilizers: I use Earth Juice Bloom and Catalyst to supplement the flowering mix during flowering, and with the acidity of the Earth Juice I use a little potassium bicarbonate (Earth Juice Up). I also use Fox Farm Bloom for micronutrients and as a floral enhancer. Note: Each Tablespoon of Earth Juice Grow, Bloom, Catalyst, or Microblast requires a ½ teaspoon of Earth Juice Up to bring the pH to between 6 and 7. The vegetative and flowering mixes are very similar. You’ll notice that the high nitrogen Blood Meal is toned down in the flowering mix as well as the high phosphorus Indonesian Bat Guano is added. The Bone Meal is also toned down, which makes the flowering mix more diversified in phosphorus fertilizers but not necessarily higher. I leave the rising of phosphorus levels during flowering largely to the added liquid fertilizers. This is the soil I’m using. You can substitute another organic soil; just look into how much fertilizer is in it and what the pH is. You may or may not need a little Dolomite Lime to neutralize acidity. I’ve found I don’t need it for pH rising with this soil/fertilizer mix. When I used the Dolomite Lime my pH would get too high during flowering. I’ve put Gypsum in the mix to replace the Calcium I was getting from the Dolomite Lime. Uncle Malcolm's Special Blend (Whitney Farms) There's not normally a tremendous amount of fertilizer in these soil mixes, so adding more fertilizer in the amounts above is a good idea for vigorous growing marijuana plants
Random Hint
Yup comfrey is the best fertiliser there is (well almost) - loads of potash, a good amount of nitrogen and breaks down really well too, boosting the micro-organisms in the soil. If you get a big heavyweight sack and add a 10cm layer of coco peat or regular peat, a 10cm layer or chopped fresh comfrey then sprinkle 2 cups of dolomite lime and 2 cups of rock phosophate or bone meal over it and repeat this until the bag is full then leave it to rot down (make sure there are some holes in the bottom) you will be left with some very good flowering mix, heaving with funghi and bacteria.
You will need to dilute it with perlite and perhaps some more peat or coir as it will be rich stuff, but it is so very good.
t ThE c's method:
Basic Soilmix:
1 quart perlite (keeps the mix light and helps drainage, does not break down.)
1 quart vermerculite (same as above)
2 quarts wormcastings 1-0-0 (slow release nitrogen, a ton of micronutrients)
1 quart potting soil (regular $2.50 a bag is ok, should be almost black in color, smell like dirt, not rotten. a little sand and verm. or perlite is ok.)
1/4 cup bat guano 10-3-1 (quick release nitrogen and more micros)
1/2 cup horticulture lime or agriculture lime (for PH and also contains calcium)
During flowering, add 1 teaspoon epson salt(magnesium) per gallon of water. Combined with the pour in ferts posted earlier, this would make an excellent mix. ~s uses 1/3 perlite, verm, wormcastings. Keeping it simple. Itís really up to you and whatís available. Donít freak when you see the low NPK ratios. The organic ferts have plenty of power. 300 to 400 ppm per watering is max. Any more is overkill.
In addition to the above mix, mine contains:
1/2 cup greensand 0-0-1 (soil conditioner, makes things happen that aid innutrient uptake)
1/2 cup alphalfa meal 7-2-5 General purpose organic fert(rabbit food)
1/2 cup horticulture mulch (slightly acidic, breaks down and becomes food)
The breakdown process is criticle to organic growing. There is a whole other world under the surface. Microorganisms break down organic matter into the basic elements. Opinions differ about how long it takes to get the process started but IMO about a month of being watered and breakdown will be in high gear. Using third generation soil and its tweekiní. You can and should reuse the soil. Add more of the powder ferts and your back in ëbinness. If your soil is alive with micros PH will not be a problem.
Watering: In my grow the plants need water about every third day. I donít water so much that water comes out of the drain holes. I think its wasteful and unnessasary. They get plenty of water though...all they can use.
Misting: Everyday,with 6.0 water. I add 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil to a pint of water and the plants love it. The buds get bigger and tighter. Definitely a worthwhile procedure. Plain 6.0 water is OK too. Kindaí dry where I live.(humidity wise)
It may be a misconception that soil is less hassle than hydro. I guess itís what you get used to. I know hydro rocks, but organics are Powerful
Three Little Birds Method:
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth
the three little_birds are well know for our love of growing using organic fertilizers . . . And while we are always looking for ways to utilize inexpensive and effective materials like manure, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, and a variety of rock powders . . . we also know that some folks will only use organic growing methods if the option is fairly simple and mess free . . . while organic fertilizers from a bottle will never likely be as cost effective as using rock powders and teas made from alfalfa or guano . . . they do offer great convenience and the good news for growers who demand their organic fertilizers in a bottle . . . is that herbs grown exclusively with today’s liquid organic fertilizers will rival those grown with any method of organic growing we’ve ever used or experienced . . . there’s no need to sacrifice quality for convenience if your pocketbook can withstand the additional cost . . . our favorite among premixed liquid fertilizers is the complete line of Earth Juice products . . . we’ve sampled other fertilizers but always come back to Earth Juice . . . In our opinion they are the “premium standard” against which all other organic ferts must measure themselves . . .
The basic line of Earth Juice fertilizers is 5 different products that can all be used in any combination with each other . . . the ability to “mix and match” any of the 5 products gives us the versatility to deal with any nutrient need (or problem) that might arise . . . here’s a listing of Earth Juice array . . .
Earth Juice Grow
Earth Juice Bloom
Earth Juice Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada)
Earth Juice Meta-K
Earth Juice Microblast
The Grow and Bloom formulas can be used alone or in combination with each other . . . no big explanation necessary with those names . . . their intended uses are pretty obvious . . . Catalyst is basically a jazzed up Molasses / carbohydrate product to feed beneficial bacteria and act as a chelate . . . Meta-K is an awesome Potassium supplement . . . and Microblast is one of the most useful and effective micronutrient products we’ve had the pleasure of using . . . in our next post we’ll give a more formal introduction to the various components of the EJ line of ferts . . .
Meet the EJ lineup
here’s the “scoop” . . . the “tech intell” . . . the “lowdown” . . . the “skinny” . . . on what exactly is in those Earth Juice ferts that the 3LB’s talk about so much . . .
EARTH JUICE GROW 2-1-1
bat guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
feather meal
oat bran
blood meal
steamed bone meal
this is the “jack of all trades” among the Earth Juice products . . . useful throughout all of vegging and the first couple weeks of vegging . . . Depending on a plant’s growth stage and we use the EJ Grow at concentrations of anywhere from 1 TBSP to 2 TBSP per gallon (and we have pushed it to 3 to 4 TBSP without harm for very heavy feeders)
EARTH JUICE BLOOM 0-3-1
bat guano
seabird guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
steamed bone meal
oat bran
rock phosphate
we love our Earth Juice Bloom as a flowering fertilizer and. . . because this product has no Nitrogen it’s especially useful for late stage flowering when it’s desirable to let a plant use up the soil’s nitrogen reserves . . . and for an added boost of Phosphorous at those times when plant’s need an extra boost of P . . . we normally use EJ Bloom at rates between ½ and 2 TBSP per gallon . . .
EARTH JUICE CATALYST
oat bran
kelp
wheat malt
molasses
yeast
For some odd reason, the Canadian Government requires this product to be labeled as “Xatalyst” . . . but whatever it’s called where you live . . . if you’ve looked over the “Molasses Manual” by the 3LB you may already know the biggest “secret” to this product . . . the sweet sticky goodness of molasses . . . as we’ve said elsewhere molasses feeds microbes and acts as a chelating agent to make micronutrients more available to plants . . . those extra organic goodies in Catalyst like wheat malt and oat bran are just “icing on the cake” . . .
Earth Juice Meta-K 0-0-10
sulfate of potash
pretty simple product with apparently only a single active ingredient . . . it does have a good measure of Sulfur . . . and it’s very useful to give an extra boost of Potassium when necessary . . . Many organic fertilizers run a little “lean” on K - especially guano based products . . . and EJ Meta-K gives us a way to add that needed Potassium in controlled amounts as needed . . .
Earth Juice Microblast
kelp meal
magnesium sulfate
borax
cobalt sulfate
ferrous sulfate
manganese sulfate
sodium molybdate
zinc sulfate
the Microblast tests out to the following percentages . . . Magnesium (Mg) .05%, Boron (B) .02%, Cobalt (Co) .0005%, Iron (Fe) .10%, Manganese (Mn) .05%, Molybdenum (Mo) .0005%, Zinc (Zn) .05% . . . in our experience it’s a great all around micronutrient supplement that resolves almost every potential micronutrient issue likely to arise . . .
there's your "Earth Juice All Stars" lineup . . .
Earth Juice Recipes
Growth Recipes
we get many PM’s and email requests for our Earth Juice recipes . . . many folks - it seems - would love for us to just spell out the specific nutrient mixes and quantities we use with every feeding . . . . if only life were so simple!
What and how much we use vary's some from strain to strain . . . Perhaps even from plant to plant . . . so it’s just not possible to set a schedule and ignore the plants . . . The best gardeners become “at one” with their plants and feed them according to the plant’s needs . . . even anticipating their needs . . .
our standard mix for vegging plants is usually
1 to 2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada for some odd reason)
(all ingredients are added to a gallon of water . . . )
there are times where we might increase the Bloom portion up to as much as a tablespoon . . . Especially for plants in the early stages of flowering . . . and we can go as high as 3 or even 4 TBSP of Grow for really N hungry plants - but if we increase the Grow fert above 2 TBSP per gallon we usually leave out Bloom & Catalyst )
we also use what we call our "microblast mix" once or twice during the normal life-cycle of vegging plants . . . no big difference between this and the prior mix except this one has an extra boost of Meta K and Microblast . . .
1-2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp Meta-K
1 tsp Microblast
as folks may have observed in our “Growing LUI with the 3LB” thread . . . we also commonly use some kinds of fish fertilizers and kelp concentrates during a plant’s early growth stages . . . we like the combination of enzymes and proteins and hormones the fish and kelp provide together . . . but it’s common for some fish products to be high in heavy metal contaminants like Mercury . . . so the “seafood platter” is a treat we feed our babes and the Earth Juice is their regular diet . . .
Flowering Recipes
early stage flowering plants can often use a fair measure of nitrogen as they stretch . . . so a normal Earth Juice mix in early flowering will look pretty similar to a Grow mix . . . we like to use something along the lines of the following for the first couple weeks of flowering . . .
1 TBSP EJ Grow
1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (yeah we know - it’s Xatalyst north of a line from Seattle - Duluth - Niagra!)
as flowering progresses we forego the Nitrogen to let our plants use N reserves from the soil as they finish flowering . . . so mixing an Earth Juice Bloom formula can be as easy as . . .
1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp EJ Catalyst
for really hungry darlings we’ll go as high as 2 TBSP per gallon with the EJ Bloom . . . but pouring it on that heavy can burn light feeders . . . and even with heavy feeders it’s better to build up to stronger concentrations of EJ Bloom over time than to just start in at 2 TBSP per gallon right away as plants begin to flower. . .
and we also have a bloom "micro-mix" that includes Meta-K and Microblast . . . it's used once in a blooming plant's life (or maybe twice in plant’s with a long flowering) . . . Like the growth “microblast mix” it gives an extra boost of Potassium and assorted micronutrients to make sure the plants will want for nothing!
The flowering micro-mix usually goes like this . . .
1 TBSP Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp Meta-K
1 tsp Microblast
that's about all there is to making an awsome plant-enriching organic brew with Earth Juice . . . it's really that simple . . .
Miscellaneous Earth Juice Notes
In theory there’s no need to “flush” organic soil grown herbs before harvest . . . and because organic fertilizers are not salt based like chemical fertilizers . . . traditional techniques for “flushing” wouldn’t carry away nutrient salts in the traditional meaning of the word “flush” anyway . . .
That creates a danger with organic fertilizers that doesn’t exist with salt based chemical fertilizers . . . with salt fertilizers over-fertilizing can be pretty severe . .. But it will show up fairly quickly . . . and the solution (a good flushing) can be enacted pretty quickly too . . .
it’s probably harder for a grower to over-fertilize using organic fertilizers . . . but if they do there’s no quick solution . . . organic fertilizers usually can’t be flushed away like salt fertilizer’s can . . . so if a grower over-fertilizes they will likely have to live with the consequences for a longer term . . .
And when it comes to harvest time . . . we do go ahead and put our organic herbs on a “crash” diet . . . in the past it’s just been pure water for the last two weeks . . . But lately we’ve been experimenting with using Fulvic Acid with the watering during the second week before harvest . . . and then plain water the final week . . . this technique really seems to bring out the fullest potential of our babes . . . but the wonders of Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid are deserving of their own thread . . .
And finally . . . before we finish our initial discussion of Earth Juice Fertilizers . . . we need to touch on the practice of premixing and bubbling Earth Juice fertilizers . . . we get a lot of questions on this topic in private so may as well discuss it here and avoid having to type the same information time and time again . . .
This is the most common question we hear . . .
“Is it absolutely necessary to pre-mix and bubble / aerate Earth Juice fertilizers before use ? ? ?“
Our simple answer is no it’s not necessary at all . . . but Earth Juice will be more efficiently and effectively used if “brewed” for 24-48 hours before use . . . in organic farming the old adage is “feed the soil not the plant” . . . and making your Earth Juice fert mix into an aerated tea maximizes the benefits it can provide for your plants . . . but they will work fine if used without any premixing or bubbling . . .
we would also like to add that if you do not care to go to the bother of premixing and aerating your Earth Juice . . . that you use the fertilizers in smaller / lighter proportions . . .
We also hear this question a lot . . .
“What about the low pH of those Earth Juice fertilizers? - Will that low pH harm my plants?”
And our simple answer is that there’s likely little concern about that issue unless your growing medium is already abnormally acidic . . . but we can also say that the pre-mixing and bubbling/aerating we talked about in the prior question will moderate the pH to an extent . . . and that can allow heavier feedings overall . . .
Our experience with Earth Juice in everything from 3 gallon pots to 30 gallon beds indoors is that a good soil mix with a healthy microbe population will moderate it’s own pH to an extent . . . and the calcite and dolomite lime use commonly in soil mixes will do some of the work as well . . . so we’ve never had any actual problems with pH in our Earth Juice experience . . .
And finally we also get asked . . .
“Can I get by with just Bloom and Grow and not have to go to the expense of the other products?”
And the simple answer is yes of course you can. Catalyst is a molasses based product so the substitution of cheap and easily available Blackstrap molasses will be almost as good as the real thing. . . And although we prefer to use Microblast and Meta-K a few times during a plant’s life . . . we’ve certainly had great grows without them . . .
Not having those extra ingredients available will make your life much more difficult if something does go wrong . . . having a sufficient source of Potassium is a major factor in a plant’s ability to withstand the heat stresses inherent in many grow rooms . . . and micronutrient deficiencies can be hard to diagnose and treat without a “full range” micronutrient fertilizer like Microblast . . . Maxicrop kelp concentrate is the only other substitute we know of that’s as effective at treating a shortage of potassium and trace minerals . . . and many growers prefer to avoid using kelp products during the later stages of flowering . . .
Random method:
Recipes for Starting Seeds
Mixes for starting seeds must be very light and provide a lot of air space to prevent root diseases. Seedling soil mixes may or may not contain nutrients because seedlings are often transplanted very quickly after germination.
Seed mix #1:
5 parts compost (well rotted)
4 parts topsoil (loam)
1-2 parts sharp sand
1-2 parts leaf mold
1 part sphagnum peat moss
2 tablespoons lime
Seed mix #2:
2 parts sifted compost
4 parts sphagnum peat moss
1 part perlite
1 part vermiculite
4 oz. lime
Seed mix #3: Standard soilless seed starting mix
50 to 75 percent sphagnum peat moss
25 to 50 percent vermiculite
5 lbs. of ground limestone per cubic yard of mix
Organic seedling mix:
6 gallons sphagnum peat moss
1/4 cup lime
4.5 gallons vermiculite
4.5 gallons compost
1 1/2 cups fertility mix made of:
2 cups colloidal phosphate
2 cups greensand
1/2 cup bone meal
1/4 cup kelp meal
Organic seedling mix:
10 gallons of 2-year-old leaf mold, sifted
10 gallons sifted compost
5-10 gallons sphagnum peat moss
5 gallons perlite
5 gallons coarse river sand
2 cups blood meal
6 cups bone meal
Mixes for Plants Older than the Seedling Stage
Mixes for potted plants require the addition of nutrients either from natural forms such as bloodmeal, bonemeal or rock phosphate, or from synthetic fertilizers such as calcium nitrate or potassium superphosphate. Locally available sources of nitrogen might be animal manures, fish products, dried blood, and legumes such as alfalfa or clover. Phosphorus can be supplied by bonemeal or rock phosphate. Wood ashes contain 10% potassium. Vermiculite also contains some potassium.
Mix #1:
The classic formula for potting mix before soilless mixes became popular:
1/3 mature compost or leaf mold, screened
1/3 garden topsoil
1/3 sharp sand
This mix results in a potting soil that will be heavier than the modern peat mixes, but will still have good drainage. Compost has been shown to promote a healthy soil mix that can reduce root diseases. Vermiculite or perlite can be used instead of sand. To this base can be added fertilizers.
Classic Peat-Lite Mix from Cornell:
1/2 cu. yd. sphagnum peat
1/2 cu. yd. vermiculite
10 lbs. dolomitic limestone
2 lbs. superphosphate
1/2 lb. calcium nitrate
1/2 lb. potassium nitrate
Organic Substitute for Cornell Mix:
1/2 cu. yd. sphagnum peat moss
1/2 cu. yd. vermiculite
5 lbs. ground limestone
10 lbs. bone meal (or rock phosphate)
5 lbs. blood meal
Mix #2:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet vermiculite
1.5 lbs. calcium nitrate
2 oz. micronutrients
2.5 lbs. superphosphate (0-20-0)
10 lbs. ground limestone
3 oz. wetting agent
Mix #3:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet sharp sand
4 oz. potassium nitrate
4 oz. potassium sulfate
2 oz. micronutrients
2.5 lbs. superphosphate (0-20-0)
10 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #4:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet vermiculite or perlite
5 lbs. dried bloodmeal (12% nitrogen)
10 lbs. steamed bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #5:
40 quarts sphagnum peat moss
20 quarts sharp sand
10 quarts topsoil
10 quarts mature compost
4 oz. ground limestone
8 oz. bloodmeal (contains 10% nitrogen)
8 oz. rock phosphate (contains 3% phosphorus)
8 oz. wood ashes (contains 10% potassium)
Mix #6:
6 parts compost
3 parts soil
1-2 parts sand
1-2 parts soil
1-2 parts aged manure
1 part peat moss
1-2 parts leaf mold, if available
1 6" pot of bone meal
2 tablespoons lime
Mix #7:
2 parts compost
1 part peat moss
1 part vermiculite, pre-wet
Mix #8:
5 gallons screened, sterilized garden soil. Bake at 150° for 45 minutes in an oven.
5 gallons peat moss
5 gallons screened compost
5 gallons vermiculite
1 cup bonemeal
1 cup bloodmeal
1 cup greensand
1 cup pulverized limestone
Mix #9:
15 qts. screened black peat
15 qts. brown peat
17 qts. coarse sand
14 qts. screened leaf compost
3 oz. pulverized limestone
9 oz. greensand
3/4 cup dried blood
3 oz. alfalfa meal
3 oz. colloidal phosphate
9 oz. pulverized bonemeal
Mix #10:
20 qts. black peat
20 qts. sand or calcined clay
20 qts. regular peat
10 qts. soil
10 qts. compost
1/2 cup lime
1 cup greensand
1 cup colloidal phosphate
1 cup bloodmeal
Mix #11:
.5 cu. yd. shredded sphagnum peat moss
.5 cu. yd. horticultural vermiculite
5 lbs. dried blood
10 lbs. steamed bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #12:
10 lbs. composted cow pen manure
10 pounds sphagnum peat moss
80 pounds garden soil
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
2 pounds sawdust
Mix #13:
10 pounds compost
30 pounds sphagnum peat moss
60 pounds white sand
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
2 pounds sawdust
Mix #14:
70 pounds white sand
25 pounds sphagnum peat moss
5 pounds chicken manure
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
Mix #15:
2 parts vermiculite
2 parts perlite
3 parts topsoil
3 parts peat
2 parts cow manure
1/2 part bonemeal
Mix #16:
1 part peat
1 part perlite
1 part compost (or leaf mold)
1 part bonemeal
1 part worm castings (optional)
Mix #17:
9 quarts compost
3 quarts garden soil
3 quarts sharp sand
3 quarts vermiculite
1 cup greensand
1/2 cup blood meal
1/2 cup bonemeal
A lazy old fart's(Old SSSC Guy) organic recipe:
3 Parts FoxFarm Happy Frog potting soil
2 Parts FoxFarm soil conditioner
1 Part worm castings
is that a boring mix? sure seems to make plants smile largely. they hum tiny tunes sometimes too.
Stankie's mix:
For about 30 gallons of soil --
4 gal Earth Worm Castings
5 gal Leaf litter/manure compost
12 gal Sphagnum Peat Moss
9 gal Pumice
7.5 cups alfalfa meal
6 cups kelp meal
4 cups Minerals Plus Mix
2.5 cups Azomite
2.5 cups Jersey Greensand
2.5 cups Gaia Glacial Rock Dust
3.5 cups soft rock phosphate
3.5 cups Sul-Po-Mag
3.5 cups fish bone meal
4 cups neem seed meal
3 cups crustacean shell meal
1.5 cups oyster shell flour
8 cups biochar
Nader's Mix:
- Medium-large freshwater Diatomite rocks (roughly 60-70% by volume)
- Aged fish compost (~15% by volume)
- Two kinds of zeolite of different grain size (~15% by volume)
- "Gaia Green"Glacial Rock Dust mixed with green montmorillonite clay powder (~5% by volume)
- Handful of worm castings
- Organic 2-2-2 Insect Frass (top-dressed, or can be mixed in at 1/2 - 1 cup per gallon)
- Tablespoon of organic finely-milled vine ripened banana powder (for carbs, tons of minerals, and slow release K)
- 1/2 tablespoon of Gaia Green high-P bat guano to further stimulate microbes
- Inocculate with microbes and myco, whatever you have
This is what I use for my plants at the moment, designed particularly for fabric or otherwise 'breathable' pots. It allows for great aeration, with the mix being very mineralized and incredibly porous at the molecular level. I go the way of using the minimally effective amount of ammendments, since I usually feed with teas with a boost of good liquid nutes every week or two. I thought I'd have to water more often with this mix, but quite the opposite.
Seedling mix for seedlings
2 parts compost
2 part peat moss or coir
1 part perlite
The second recipe is a soilless recipe based on the Cornell Mix concept; the third is a classic soil-based formula.
Organic substitute for Cornell Mix (large quantity)
1/2 cu. yd. Sphagnum peat or coir
1/2 cu. yd perlite
10 lbs. bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
5 lbs. bloodmeal
Classic soil-based mix
1/3 mature compost or leaf mold, screened
1/3 garden topsoil
1/3 sharp sand
Note: This mix results in a potting soil that is heavier than modern peat mixes, but still has good drainage. Compost has been shown to promote a healthy soil mix that can reduce root diseases. Perlite can be used instead of sand. Organic fertilizer can be added to this base.
Prick-out mix for growing seedlings to transplant size
6 parts compost
3 parts soil
1-2 parts sand
1-2 parts aged manure
1 part peat moss, pre-wet and sifted
1-2 parts leaf mold, if available
1 6" pot bone meal
The following recipe is credited to Eliot Coleman.
Organic potting mix
1 part sphagnum peat or coir
1 part peat humus (short fiber)
1 part compost
1 part sharp sand (builder's)
to every 80 qts. of this add:
1 cup greensand
1 cup colloidal phosphate
1 1/2 to 2 cups crabmeal, or bloodmeal
1/2 cup lime
General gardening mix:
Basic Potting Soil Recipe #12 parts packaged potting soil1 part coarse sand1 part peat moss or leaf mold Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal
as per package directions
Basic Potting Soil Recipe #21-part packaged potting soil1-part peat moss1 part coarse sand Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal
as per package directions
Acid-Loving Plants Recipe (Azaleas, Camellias, etc.)2 parts packaged potting soil2 parts coarse sand2 parts peat moss1 part leaf mold1/3 part well composted manure
Bulbs Recipe (Tulips, Daffodils, etc.)2 parts packaged potting soil1 part coarse sand1 part leaf mold or peat moss Bone meal as per package directions
Cacti and Succulents Recipe2 parts packaged potting soil2 parts sand1/2 part leafmold or peatmoss Bone meal as per package directions Limestone as per package directions
Alpine Plants Recipe2 parts coarse sand1 part peat moss1 part pumice
Orchids and Bromeliads Recipe6 parts **Osmunda fiber1 part of 1/2 -inch charcoal Place some drainage material in the bottom of the container: styrofoam packing peanuts, broken up clay pot pieces or small gravel rocks work well.
TB Gardens mix
1 bale pro-mix
3/4 bale roots organic
1/4 bag fox farm ocean forest
20% perlite
20% earth worm castings
1 cup blood
1 cup bone
1/2 cup dolomite lime
1.5 cups kelp meal
activate for a couple weeks, water with molasses through veg. food runs out generally shortly after the stretch in flower - during the stretch start feeding guano with the water + molasses. i like to alternate (water/molasses - water/molasses/guano - water/molasses). i like to pH my water / feedings to around 6.8-7.0 to keep the soil between 6.3-6.8!
elmanito's mix
30% peat moss
30% good quality coco
10% worm casting
10% rock dust (> 200 mesh) Azomite
7% lava grit (0-3 mm)
5% gypsum
5% maerl
3% bentonite
Add compost tea once a week.
General hydroponics mix
Organic Bone Char contains more than 16% available phosphate (P2O5) and 32% total phosphate.
Rare Earth: is derived from ancient seabed deposits of prophylactic clay that is blended with fulvate ore.
Our ph in this mix is 7.01 which are perfect to keep the bacteria and fungi from destroying or decomposing. There is no need for adjustment of your pH of any nutrient you add to this mix.
We suggest no nutrients for a couple weeks. When you wet this mix with de chlorinated water the runoff will be around 1300ppm which is hot and will aid in Germination of any seeds or cuttings.
UsualSuspect's mix
1 Bale Pro-Mix BX
1 4.0 Cu Mother Earth Size 4 Extra Chunky Perlite
1 30lb Wiggle Worm EWC
dank.frank's mix
Makes a standard 1.5 cu ft amount so roughly 11g
4g local organic nursery / potting soil (unfertilized)
1.5g peat moss
1.5g coco coir
1.5g chunky perlite
1.5g Calcined Diatomaceous Earth (Floor-Dry Oil Absorbent...well rinsed)
1g EWC
And as always, use a proper respiratory protection when working around organics and fine dust particles...
This can be amended however you chose...with any of the many feeding recipes or liquid nutrients...whatever floats your boat! It is just a very solid / stable and flexible base medium.
Phillthy's mix
1 bale Pro Mix Bx
2 Bags FFOF
2c Bone meal
2c Blood meal
2c Dolomite Lime
added chunky perlite to liking
EWC - roughly 5g
+ 2c Kelp meal (my addition)
+ 1c Seabird Guano (my addition)
Just water...or you can use P/K "boosters" (usually 3/5wk) as needed
Colorado's mix
-7 bags of roots organics soil
-10 cups of dolomite lime
-8 cups of fishbone meal
-4 cups of kelp meal
-2 cups of green sand
-1.5 cups of soft rock phosphate
-30lb bag of worm castings
-4 cups of peruvian bird guano (10-10-2.5)
-2 cups of Azomite
mix together and wet with 5 gallons of water into 2 32 gallon garbage cans. let mix cook for 30 days and you have the finest organic soil know to man. i add nothing but a little molasses here adn there and it's a super producing mix that i can lliterally forget about and water when its dry. thats it
Drfting's Soil Mix
This is all brewed in a 5 gallon bucket with rainwater and an airstone/air pump for 48 hours. Dilute half strength for mature plants. Does not need to be diluted for foliar spray, which will need to be strained first before added to your sprayer
For Veg:
For seedlings I make a simple worm casting tea with 2 cups worm castings and 4 Tbl blackstrap molasses per 5 gallons of water
NV's organic soil mix
18cf organic soil or Pro mix or the like
2cf rice hulls
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, soybean meal
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, alfalfa meal
10lb's bone meal
18 cups Dolomite lime
4lb's epsom
6lb's rock phosphate
5lb's Azomite
1c humic acid
6lb's kelp meal
6lb's green sand
50lb's castings
8lb's Bio-tone/Plant-tone(depot)
Brother Bear's mix
3.8 bale of peat
4 CF mushroom mulch/compost/soil (all the same shit really)
4 CF of perlite
9 cups bone
9 cups D-lime
5 cups dried blood
5 cups kelp meal
5 cups Jersey green sand
I usually run them in 1gallons for the first month. Once they sex the girls go into the buckets for two more weeks till flower.
Yeah ima seed grower
Reg Dixon's mix
20% vermic (nutes inside)
50% coco chips/coco coir
10% perlite
20% local bagged potting soil
well hope all you need for mixing your own soil is here, HAPPY GROWING
A Good Seed Starting Mix
You want a seed starting mix to retain moisture, yet be well draining. There is little need to add very many nutrients at this point. You can purchase commercial potting soil for this, or you can make up your own soil mix.For starting my own seeds, I use equal parts vermiculite, perlite, and sphagnum peat. I than add 10 percent worm castings. You should add 1 teaspoon of lime for each gallon of soil and mix well. The nitrogen in the worm castings is gentle to the young sprouts, and it is in a form the new plants can use immediately.
To help things out, I wet this soil down with water, first making sure to add 10 ml/gallon Thrive Alive B1 and 10 ml/gallon Maxicrop liquid seaweed. Make sure not to make the mix too wet...the roots need air. The mix is just wet enough when you squeeze a handful and only a few drops come out.
Soil Mixes You Eventually Feed
If you are unsure of the exact needs of your plants, than this is a good soil mix to begin with. It is also good if you are transplanting shortly before flowering, but want to feed your plants through watering once flowering begins. It contains enough organic fertilizers to feed your plants for about two weeks, than you can begin adding a little fertilizer at a time as you water.
Keep a close eye on your plants to see if they want more, or need less. As you gain experience and learn the different fertilizer and soil additives, you will be able to mix up your own favorite custom soil mix.
Soil Mixes You Don't
Have to Feed
If you hate mixing up fertilizer each time you water, than this strategy might be for you. Start your seeds in a regular seed starting mix. Than, each time your plant is ready for a bigger container, transplant it into this fertile organic soil mix. If you time it so your last transplant occurs the same time you begin flowering, you should only ever have to give your plants plain water (although I recommend you add Thrive Alive and Maxicrop to your water also).
Begin this soil mix by adding one bag each of Foxfarm Original, Foxfarm Ocean Forest, and Foxfarm Light Warrior. To this mix, add 1 level cup of Foxfarm Peace of Mind 5-8-4 and mix well. I usually begin my plants in the smallest dixie cups I can find, in my seed starting mix. After that, I transplant into a 6 inch container of this mix. Two or three weeks later, I transplant into a 12 inch container. Finally, right as I switch to flowering, I make my final transplant to the next size container (usually a three gallon one). Most of the nutrients are used up by the time I begin flushing them, so it works out well.
Soilless Mixes for Hydroponics
Sometimes people use soilless mixes in hydroponics. This is especially true for the hand watering method. The idea is to make a mixture that holds moisture as long as regular organic soil mixes would. This is accomplished by using vermiculite, sphagnum peat, or coconut coir, all of which retain water. A good place to start is to use equal parts of each.Another example is the reservoir method. This method is well suited for the use of lava chips as a medium, but a mix of 1 part vermiculite to 5 parts expanded clay pellets works as well. The same mix should work well in other systems, like a drip system, although I have never tried this myself.
A soilless mix heavy in materials that suck up water is perfect for the wick system. An equal mix of perlite and vermiculite works well. A mix of perlite and coconut coir should work equally as well.
LC's method:
LC’s Soiless Mix #1:
5 parts Canadian Spaghnam Peat or Coir or Pro-Moss
3 parts perlite
2 parts wormcastings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
...Check the link in my sig line below for cheap earthworm castings. Free shipping to the eastern USA.
Or, if you use Pro Mix or Sunshine Mix...
LC's Soiless Mix #2:
6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up)
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as “parts” in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime.
Now for the plants organic food source
RECIPE #1
If you want to use organic nutes like blood, bone and kelp...
Dry Ferts:
1 tablespoon blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix or Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potasium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.
Mix all the dry ferts into the soiless mix well and wet it, but don't soak it with Liquid Karma and water @ 1 tbs./gal. Stir and mix it a few times a week for a week or two so the bacteria can get oxygen and break down the bone meal and make it available. And don't let the mix dry out, keep it moist and add water as needed. It'll also have time to get the humic acids in the Liquid Karma going and the dolomite lime will be better able to adjust the pH of a peat based mixture too.
RECIPE #2
If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloids guano mix
1/3C hi N guano per gallon
1/2C hi Phos guano per gallon
1TBS Jersey greensand per gallon
1TBS Kelp meal per gallon
RECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...
Guano Tea and Kelp:
Seedlings less than 1 month old nute tea mix-
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
1-cup earthworm castings/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering
Veg mix-
1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 1-cup mix/5 gallons of water every 3rd watering.
Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tbs. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.
You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.
RECIPE #4
Fish and Seaweed
For veg growth…
1 capful 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion
1 capful 0-0-1 Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon H2O
For flowering…
1 tbs. Neptune’s Harvest 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed
1 gallon H2O
RECIPE #5
And finally Pure Blend Pro...
Pure Blend Pro veg formula for hydro/soil and Pure Blend Pro flower formula for Soil. Simply use as directed on the label. It's a stand-alone fertilizer. That means, everything you need is already in there so don't let the guy at the hydro store try to sell you something more.
Growdoc’s Method:
Soil bed, bottom fed, no drainage, top dressed around light switchover
Soil:
100L compost- Plagron Royalty Mix
5L perlite
3L worm castings
120g dried blood meal
80g guano Peru
60g bone meal
40g lime
20g trace element
1 pinch beneficial bacteria
Feed:
7L warm water plus 500ml guano Peru plus 2 pinch beneficial bacteria, mature @ 25C for 2 months
Top dressing:
100L compost
5L worm castings
120g guano Peru
100g seaweed meal
100g bone meal
80g lime
30g trace element
1 pinch beneficial bacteria
Sicco’s Method:
20 plants in 5L pots, trimmed all through life to 1 cola, fed DEGRO in veg (Aldi, cheap, 7,5,5), riverclay available as geranium compost in spring, recommends Jorgkind Grond #6 from Aalsmeer, NL
Soil:
50L compost, inc 10% river clay (acts as a buffer)
25L perlite
20L worm castings
700g Dolokal
40g potassium phosphate
Feed:
20 times, 250ml per plant per watering, start feeding mix just before bloom
over 1st 4 weeks give 2/3 of total feed mix
5th and 6th weeks fed twice per week
last 4 weeks 2 feeds total
fed 20 times in total so 100L feed used
5L water
5g potassium nitrate
5g potassium phosphate
10g guano
shabang’s Method:
Homemade worm castings, avoid feeding worms high N and any strong flavours-garlic, onion, chilli, citrus. Worms will take on what fed so high P and K feeds are possible.
“Classic” mix:
40% worm castings
30% perlite
30% vermiculite
“Soil-less” mix:
3 part coco peat
1 part expanded clay/perlite
1-2 parts worm castings
2% alfalfa meal pellets
1 tablespoon domolic lime per litre
Casting tea:
A large spoon of castings in a nylon stocking in water with a dab of mollases/pinch sugar/spoon of yoghurt for microbes, aerate for 48-72 hrs then feed.
He admits to being lazy himself and just chucking the stocking in his reservoir once a week for auto-feed.
Another in his own words..
Hey man, I've gotten the mix down to the height of simplicity. Put on a good dust mask.
1 bag of fine dry castings, 25 pounds.
1 bag, 8 dry quarts, Scott's perlite
1 bag, 8 dry quarts, Scott's vermiculite
add in a liter to a liter and a half of dolomitic or agri lime and two to three liters of hydrated polymer crystals
Water and plant.
i've gradually changed my media too; no castings in my cloning mix, for better nutrient control and lower N levels. i now use a packaged "seed starting" mix (gen'ly just milled verm and peat) + perlite, watering and misting with a very mild fish emulsion(s)/ molasses/ EJcatalyst/ superthrive solution. i still use plenty of castings in my grow/flower pots, but <50%. base of pro-mix+castings, add organics and minerals. seems like where you've gone for less ingredients, i've gone for more. my dry mix has pro-mix, castings, perl & verm, pelletized fish, bat guanos, PSG, chicken manure, trace minerals, kelp, etc, plus the watered-in component, which includes numerous additional ferts and supplements (not using the mycorhizae, though). i've simplified my procedures but gone toward "diversity" in my mix. the caveat is, ideally this mix needs time to activate, though it works well enough "fresh". castings have the advantage of being already activated, which is why i keep them in there... did you see my description of the new Alaska product below? no mention of chlorine anywhere on the label
Soma’s Method:
50/50 old/new soil, new soil only for little ones
Canna terra organic soil, adds coco peat, perlite and nutrients (unspecified)
Feed:
AN Iguana juice apparrently although sourced from soft secrets so handfull of salt with this one
Flowering boost with bat guano and wood ash, recommends adding trace elements with guano as high P uses them up
pH balances water to 7
Recommends Preventief for pest control, an enzyme preparation that kills small bugs but not ladybirds.
Bio Henkie’s Method:
Soil beds, 9 plants per sq m, 5% old soil re-used to carry over bacteria, soil matured for at least 3 months before planting- the longer the better, lets worms loose to aerate and fertilise
Soil:
10 ingredients, very vague
Phosphate-“living phosphate”, a granulate from Italy from fermented grape pulp, fast acting plus bone meal, slow acting
Potassium- vinasse, sugar beet remains plus others not specified
Worm castings
Bacterial strains
Compost
Comments from Bio Henkie:
Just-fertilised soil burns plants
Natural (rock?) phosphate does not dissolve readily in soils unless they are too acidic and contains a lot of cadmium which is poisonous and undesirable.
Recommends foliar feeding (carcinogens?) or root feeding with sea weed extract or guano over acidifying water for deficiencies and long flowering varieties
A&B fertilisers disturb biological life and do more harm than good
Kumquat's method:
deluxe potting soil
9 gallons peat moss
3 gallons vermiculite
6 gallons perlite
1 pound blood meal
1 pound bone meal
1 pound green sand
1 pound lime or dolomite lime
1 pound rock phosphate
Pinch of boron (borax is an inexpensive source)
Blend ingredients in a small cement mixer or large barrel with a tight fitting lid that will let you roll it around to mix the contents. If you have to stir the ingredients in an open container, moisten them SLIGHTLY with water to avoid breathing dust as you work. Do not use more than a pinch of boron. It encourages root growth, but its levels can quickly go from helpful to harmful in the soil. Once you get the soil all mixed you can add some manure tea (see recipe below). The lime in this mix helps to neutralize the acidity of the manure tea.
Manure Tea
10 to 15 gallons manure (combine horse, chicken, and cow manure to get a nice balance of nutrients. 5 gallon bucket of chickweed and/or stinging nettles. Water to fill 55 gallon drum. Dump manure(s) in the bottom of the drum. Add chickweed and/or nettles, both of which are rich in trace elements, then fill drum with water. Once a week stir the "tea" and add water to replace any that has evaporated. You'll need a brewing time of at least 3 weeks before using this tea in the potting soil mix.
MR_NATURAL420's method:
perfect potting medium
1 bushel sharp sand
1 bushel clay loam
1 bushel pro-mix or a balanced compost
3 cups epsom salt
3 cups coffee grounds
3 dozen egg shells
Make sure that the pro mix you use has sufficient organic content to ensure adequate drainage. Perlite and vermiculite are good for drainage, but contribute nothing to the organic content. Peat moss or coconut fibers are better. Worm castings and bat guano have good nutrients, but don't help drainage. Making your own compost is best. The sharp sand is heavy for containers, but I'm trying to reproduce an optimal soil, based on the average content of good soil. Unlike other super-soils all the amendments are long term and won't burn delicate babies. Hey, your payin an arm and a leg for that coffee, use it twice. Watch the pH.
Before you plant anything in it, bring it to life by watering with a solution you make by putting the following into twenty gallons of water:
1 can beer (enzymes)
1 cup soap (helps wet soil)
1 cup mouthwash (protects seedlings from damping-off)
1 t instant tea powder
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 T B1
A couple dashes of H2O2 will eliminate Cl in tap water
Aallon's method:
A quick and easy soil mix would require:
# 5 parts soil. Normal commercial potting soil should be fine.
# 5 parts perlite. This enhances aeration of the soil-mix, helps prevent over-watering by increasing drainage and reduces soil compaction. Perlite can be replaced with coarse vermiculite or crushed expanded clay balls (mica, leca, geolite).
Optional:
# 2 parts composted organic matter. This can be normal household compost. If you can find composted worm castings, seaweed or composted manures (chicken, horse) they can also be used for extra kick. Non-composted manures make the soil-mix too 'hot' for the plants and should be avoided.
This is a flowering mix - that is, it is intended for plants or clones that will be flowered. The mix has enough nitrogen to get through a couple of weeks of vegging and the stretch. The grower may need to supplement nitrogen, watch for yellow leaves before 5 weeks of flowering.
The basic mix is
40% castings
30% perlite
30% vermiculite
For each gallon of soil mix, add:
1/4 cup of high N guano
1/2 cup of high P guano
1/4 cup of dolomite lime
1/4 cup of kelp meal
The problem with high nitrogen guano is its variability. Different guanos break down differently and may burn your plants diffferently. The upside is that high N breaks down quickly and is used by the plant immediately, so that the grower can determine how much is too much pretty easily. Burned tips are just pushing the envelope, but a ram's horn leaf curl indicates way too much nitrogen.
Conversely, high phosphorous guano breaks down slowly. It needs to be supplemented early with an organic flowering fertilizer, like EarthJuice bloom.
When the plants are potted, water them in with a mix containing 1 tbsp each of EarthJuice Catalyst and Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed per gallon of water. If the grower uses B'cuzz, then by all means add it as well. Thereafter, use EarthJuice/Maxicrop, every third watering. Make sure that the plants are fed bloom fertilizer until the fourth week of flowering.
Vic's Method:
Super Soil recipes & notes
Super Soil Mix Original Recipe, as it was given to me:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix
2 L Bone Meal - phosphorus source
1 L Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
1/2 - 1 bag chicken manure (steer, mushroom, etc) - nitrogen & trace elements
Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Revised Recipe, after several failures due to bad manure sources, I now use the following recipe. Results have been excellent and the clones seem to take off right away instead of having a slow growing settling in period:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source 3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings
Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.
Substitutions - The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano Bugs On a couple of occasions, I've ended up with fungus gnats with this soil mix. They are more of an irritation than anything but may harm weak or young plants. Some have said that putting a layer of sand on top of the soil in the pots stops the gnats from reproducing. Others can get rid of them by doing a soil drench with gnatrol or vectobac (BTI). Personally, I prefer to simply introduce fungus gnat predators (Hypoaspis miles). Once established, they not only control fungus gnats, but also thrips and mites. When there is no insect food available, they survive on dead plant material, so remain even after pests are gone to prevent future infestations. Actually, since they have been introduced, I've had no pest problems in over a year and I don't filter my intake.
Recycling Soil Used soil - Reusing soil has a few downsides such as it makes it easier for diseases, viruses, and pathogens from entering your garden. Also peat based soils break down and become acidic. If you fertilize with chemicals you'll end up with salt buildups that will slow growth. Unless you like to take chances, have a good eye, and a good horticultural understanding, you may be better off with staying with fresh new soils.
That said; I grow strictly organic and I've always reused my soil. I don't sterilize the soil between plantings as my soil is full of microbes and predatory bugs that keep the bad bugs under control.
After each crop, I chop up the soil and root balls with the leaves, stalks, etc and let compost for about 3 months. I then mix it up and add about (for every 50 gallons composted soil)
2 - 3 cups of lime.
1/2 cup epsom salts,
2 liters bone meal,
1 liter blood meal,
1 liter kelp meal,
1 tsp trace elements,
and enough perlite to regain the porosity of the original soil.
I used to add a bag of manure, but I was getting fertilizer burn and so have stopped now. As I've been fine tuning this, the plants just keep getting healthier and I haven't had any real pest problems for quite a while. I know this is a controversial approach and maybe even risky, but it allows me to keep my garden pretty much self contained. I don't attract attention by buying bales of soil every 3 - 4 months year around, or in the disposal of leaves and soil after each crop. It's definitely not for those who want sterile crops and those that use pesticides and chemical ferts. I believe in working with nature, not against it. After several generations, a nutrient imbalance developed which was only solved by leaching the soil thoroughly. My hunch is that one of the micro-nutrients was building to toxic levels. I guess farmers don't get this problem because they have the winter rains to each excess nutrients from their fields.
Anon method:
My mix:
57 L - Mushroom Manure 1.5-1-1.5
28 L - Soil
57 L - Grit
28 L – Vermiculite
2 L – Bone Meal 4-14-0 (Green Valley)
1 L - Blood Meal 12-1.2-1
1 L - Kelp Meal 2-1-2 (Multicrop)
350 ML - Epsom Salts
400 ML - Greensand
500 ML - Rock Phosphate
1 L - Dolomite Lime
Casamere's method:
organic mix
40% composted soil
30% worm castings
20% perlite
10% dolomite, guanos, goodies, etc..
i've also heard good things about "uncle malcolm" brand soil from peaceful valley is good.... if you're mixing organics with chem ferts, the plant will use up what the chem ferts feed it first, then partaking afterwards in the organic nutes. the beauty of organics is it's almost impossible to burn your plants, and the taste is superior to chem. grown plants. i use pure blend 1 - 0.5 -1 for veg and fox farm big bloom 0.8 - 3.0 - 1 for flowering. they're expensive but the plants really like it. sometimes i'll make a tea out of worm castings & guano. peace
High Dog's method:
Organic Pro-mix Recipe
blood meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
steamed bone meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
rock phosphate--1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
fine dolomite lime at the rate of about 1 1/2 cups per cubic foot
kelp meal at about 2/3 cup per cubic foot.
I also like to add plenty of coarse vermiculite.
I use plain potting soil to germinate in and transplant into this mix after about two weeks.
Once transplanted and established, I only give my plants plain water for the duration of the cropping period without suffering any nutrient shortage.
anon method:
6 parts potting soil
2 parts perlite
1 part vermiculite
1 part chicken manure
1 small handfull lime
Plants are watered daily...
Every third watering use fish emulsion 5-1-1 at 1 tbsp. per gallon. Continue this until the second week of the flowering cycle when stretching stops.
Then mix fish emulsion 5-1-1 with alaska more bloom 0-10-10 at a ratio of 1 teaspoon 5-1-1 to two teaspoons 0-10-10. this will give you a 5-21-21 ratio. use this every third watering until the last week and a half of flowering.
For the last week and a half use plain water. right at the beginning of the flower period (sometimes) add a small amount of lime to your water for one watering to counter any acids that may have built up during the vegetative phase. also sometimes i used to substitute the 5-21-21 mix with chemical 10-60-10 (schultzes super bloom) at 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for two waterings at about week 4-5 of flowering. if there is any yellowing before say week 5 1/2 simply use more 5-1-1 and less 0-10-10. this method resulted in hightimes centerfold plants.... very vigorous. in three gallon grow bags NL#5 vege'd for 30 days yield 1 1/2 ozs. of smooth sweet potent smoke. some strains did closer to two ounces per plant. 2x250w MH. 1 plant per 1 1/2 feet sq. bottom line is you really don't need exotic ingredients to grow killer weed. i'm sure that wormcastings etc. will do the trick for you... but don't feel bad if they're not available in your area... or are beyond your budget. this simple mostly organic set-up will give you EXCELLENT results with common, easily obtained cheap ingredients. peace all.
Blaze's method:
Very simple mix that will blow You away if you strive for optimum flavor in your buds.
Most Brewery shops have powdered citric acid, then you need the raw, unprocessed cane sugar(the brown rock sugar that still contains molassis).
1 dry ounce powdered citric acid
1 dry ounce unprocessed cane sugar
500ml's of warm h2o and mix well
Add 5ml's per gallon of res. every res. change.
It drops PH considerably the 1st day or 2 then stabilizes.
Citric acid is a good ph down, but it doesnt last as long as phos. acid.
I feed it to them always and switch to a clearing solution the last 7-10 days of flower.
I have never had buds so tastey and "odoriforous"
Curious George's method
Home-Made Organic Liquid Recipe
I add a few ingredients to my soil in a solution that is comparable to EJ Catalyst. Two weeks before transplanting seedlings into larger pots I mix the soil and add (per gallon of water):
1 tsp Molasses
1 tsp Lipton Iced tea mix(main ingredients: sugar, citric acid)
1 tsp brewers yeast
1 tsp fulvic acid
1/4 tsp humic acid(Gumate)
1 tbsp liquid seaweed.
This concoction will give life to your zillions of thriving soil microbes which will help break down your other soil amendments and/or watered on guano teas. The nutrients in the teas may not break down evenly, but that is the beauty of using organics... the plant uses the nutes as they are broken down. I would never use Milorganite on anything other than ornamental plants, but that is me. I swear by PSG for veg, and Budswel for flowering. I use many different guanos but those are the best(IMO)! BTW, worm casts don't have that much Nitrogen, at least not enough to use them alone for a high metabolism plant like cannabis. For Potassium I use Kelp meal(1-0-2), liquid seaweed(0-0-1) and Greensand(0-0-.1) I don't know how much of the greensand gets broken down by the time the plants are flowering, probably not much, but I use it anyway. Also, the guano's have a bit of P in them also, but not enough to use them by themselves, IMO. It seems that different ingredients break down more rapidly at different PH's, that is why I like to use a bit of peat moss fortified with dolomite lime, so that the medium doesn't have an equal ph throughout... I think it is varied between 5.8- 7.0 throughout the mix, and becomes a little more acidic towards the end of the grow, Phosphorus is more readily available when the medium becomes a bit acidic... this is good considering the plant needs the most phosphorus when it packs on its flowers at the end of it's life. That's been my observation thus far.
The Basic Soilmix:
1 quart perlite (keeps the mix light and helps drainage, does not break down.)
1 quart vermerculite (same as above)
2 quarts wormcastings 1-0-0 (slow release nitrogen, a ton of micronutrients)
1 quart potting soil (regular $2.50 a bag is ok, should be almost black in color, smell like dirt, not rotten. a little sand and verm. or perlite is ok.)
1/4 cup bat guano 10-3-1 (quick release nitrogen and more micros)
1/2 cup horticulture lime or agriculture lime (for PH and also contains calcium)
During flowering, add 1 teaspoon epson salt(magnesium) per gallon of water.Combined with the pour in ferts posted earlier, this would make an excellent mix.
1/3 perlite,
1/3 verm
1/3 castings
Keeping it simple. It’s really up to you and what’s available. Don’t freak when you see the low NPK ratios. The organic ferts have plenty of power. 300 to 400 ppm per watering is max. Any more is overkill. In addition to the above mix, mine contains:
1/2 cup greensand 0-0-1 (soil conditioner, makes things happen that aid in nutrient uptake)
1/2 cup alphalfa meal
7-2-5 General purpose organic fert(rabbit food)
1/2 cup horticulture mulch (slightly acidic, breaks down and becomes food)
The breakdown process is criticle to organic growing. There is a whole other world under the surface. Microorganisms break down organic matter into the basic elements. Opinions differ about how long it takes to get the process started but IMO about a month of being watered and breakdown will be in high gear. Using third generation soil and its tweekin’. You can and should reuse the soil. Add more of the powder ferts and your back in ‘binness. If your soil is alive with micros PH will not be a problem. Watering: In my grow the plants need water about every third day. I don’t water so much that water comes out of the drain holes. I think its wasteful and unnessasary. They get plenty of water though...all they can use. Misting: Everyday,with 6.0 water. I add 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil to a pint of water and the plants love it. The buds get bigger and tighter. Definitely a worthwhile procedure. Plain 6.0 water is OK too. Kinda’ dry where I live.(humidity wise) It may be a misconception that soil is less hassle than hydro. I guess it’s what you get used to. I know hydro rocks, but organics are Powerful. Power to grow Gigantic with organics!!!
MrSoul's method:
organic soils & teas
Soul's Soilless Mix
50% Worm Castings
25% Promix
25% Perlite
Add a cup of PSG and dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil.
Lately I've been happier with a bit less wormcastings:
50% Pro-mix
25% perlite
25% wormcastings
mix in a cup of dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil & wet the mix with an organic tea made from dissolving a cup of PSG in a 5-gallon bucket of water.
Soul's Guano Tea Method
I feed with tea at EVERY watering of my plants & since they're flowered in 2-gallon containers - that's usually every day!
The teas are made by soaking a "tea bag" (got mine at Worm's Way) in a 5-gallon bucket of pH = 6.2 water. Agitate and manipulate the bag a LOT to release as much of the "goodies" as possible - the water looks like it came from a mud puddle when you've got it right. I do one thing I've never heard other growers mention doing - I measure the ppm of my tea. Here are the contents of the tea bag, depending on growth stage:
Vegetative:
1/2 cup each of PSG & worm castings.
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop liquid seaweed,
2 Tablespoons of Alaska fish emulsion to the water. (I shoot for a ppm = 1000)
Flowering (weeks 0-4)
1/2 cup each of PSG & High Phosphorus bat guano
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop to the water. (ppm 1250 - 1500 )
Flowering (weeks 4-7)
1/2 cup each High Phosphorus bat guano and worm castings. (shifting ppm from 1500 -> 1000)
Final week of flowering,
many folks choose to use plain, pH-adjusted water for "clearing" but I don't. I haven't noticed any difference between when I have & when I haven't "cleared". This seems reasonable when growing organically - why clear? Clear WHAT? They're living in the medium in which they've evolved for millions of years!
A few other hints:
SOAK the pots thoroughly when watering, then allow them to become "light" when lifted before watering again...the plants LOVE a short drying out period. The amount of time it takes for the plants to dry out is constantly getting SHORTER as they grow...be AWARE! Water BY HAND! At least get an accurate feel for how much the average plant needs by hand-watering before setting up a drip system or whatever.
Transplant you clones into the container you plan to flower them in & veg them until their roots systems are FULLY established before flowering them - this will MINIMIZE stretching...check this out for yourself, it works!
Results From a Facinating Experiment Just In !!!! Posted by Brother Herb I just preformed a little experiment to see what organic nutrients grow the tastiest,best looking ,smelling ect... The experiment involved a few popular strains like Shiva Skunk, Big Bud, White Widow and skunk#1*Hash plant. The organic components that I experimented with were all used the same during the flowering cycle. I tested high P bat&sea bird guano, bone meal, composted steer manure, rock phosphate and high P fish emulsion. Each plant was placed into a three gallon container from a one gallon pot upon forced flowering. Every pot is mixed with commercial " Super Soil " perlite, peat moss and oyster shell. Then the individual special ingrediants were blended in the mix and the plants were planted., I did three of each blend, of each varaiety. The results varaied widely. The guano's produced very nice sticky huge buds but there was a little lacking in the smell dept. The best of the guanos was the Shiva Skunk. All the guanos had a similar base taste thats kind of bland but not that bad. The bone meal did very well. The buds were smellier than the guano and had a slighter earthier taste. The best one was Widow. The resin content hasn't changed much between the same species with different mixes. Next was the rock phosphate, it produed the biggest buds, with the fewest amount leaves and the plants smelled the strongest yet. The Big Bud was the best performer with rock phosphate. The Fish Emulsion pellets preformed the worst out of all my mixes. All varaieties looked and smelled fine but they all had a fishy base taste. I once dropped a dead gold fish into a pot with a flowering plant, the buds tasted like striaght fish! The last of my mixes was Composted Steer Manure and it turned out to be the best. The plants were a little leafy but they had nice buds and smelled out of this world. Every strain smelled better under manure, the Shiva had that grape orange smell going on, the Widow had the sweetest skunkiest smell, Big Bud reeked of mangoes, and the SK#1*Hash plant reminded me of pelling on orange. The best part about manure, I had yet to find out until I cured my weed. WOW, even the best weed in Amsterdam couldnt compare with this tasty stuff. The flavor of the weed would explode in your mouth with every hit . The smell of second hand smoke if so overpowering, it makes you got to have some if your not smoking it already. Does anybody else out there swear by manure for taste like I do? Please feel free to respond with your opinions on what makes weed taste great!
Subcool's method:
6 Bags Roots soil or equivalent high quality supped up grow soil
Note**I am trying a new product made by a local company that contains less fir bark called Harvest Moon
25 pounds Pure Worm Castings
½ cup Azomite trace minerals
2/3 Cup Sweet Lime IE Dolomite
1 Kilo Bone meal / IE 5 Pounds
1 Kilo Blood meal ( I use a bit more bone than Blood in this recipe)
1 Kilo Bat Guano bloom formula preferably Fruit bats
3/4 cup Epson Salts
The Perlite and Coco I happen to have and it will make a better mix but it is not necessary.
So we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. 30 days is best for this concentrate and it can be used to condition soil as detailed in the soil 101 thread. Do Not Put Clones or Seeds in this mix!
I will use this for a full year just adding like 30-50% in the lower potion of the container and plain roots in top portion. As the concentrate gets older I can use more. To re use I just recondition.
Read This!!
***Disclaimer**
This soil is really hot and you cannot plant seedlings or clones directly into it. When I do my final transplant into #10 pots I fill each pot ¾ full with Super soil and the top ¼ I add plain potting soil and stir the top portion. This allows the roots to become used to the soil. After a few days the growth on a transplant is amazing Jill’s Comment was most peoples soil plants don’t grow that fast.
Using this soil it’s not necessary to add nutrients with the exception of bloom maybe once and Sugars to enhance flavor.
Hope that’s helps the final shot is all cleaned up it took me about 30 minutes and cost on products was about 175$
This should last me 3-4 grows.
This recipe originally came from Vic High and over the years I have tweaked it and perfected it to the strains I grow, If there nutrient sensitive I simply cut the mix more.
With plants that need more I simply top dress the plants at week 3 of 12/12 with the concentrate
Randomuk420's method:
40% worm castings
5% greensand
30% perlite and vermiculite mix
1% azomite aka bentonite clay
the rest is either pure sphagnum moss or a wood/peat/sphagnum mix.
I use a modified Cali Super soil.
I don't care for Peat Moss ( Sorry Canada!)
I use Earthgro 1881 composted cow manure,50 lbs. as the base.
I don't know where they bag this stuff, but it is CHOCK FULL of crumbly Mica Schist.(read trace element rich)
25 lbs. EGrow potting soil
30% Pearlite
5lbs Bone Meal
5 lbs. pure Kelp
2lbs.Sulfate Potash Magnesia
3lbs. Blood meal
3 lbs. Cotton Seed Meal
2lb. hand-ground pumice (Lava Rock)
Dolomite Lime to neutral
Rainwater
This is composted for a month, then Red Earthworms added so the whole thing ends up being Castings! Nothing else really needed - the NL took to it like a NFL star to steroids! They were rootbound in a 10" pot under Flouros in a month!
1 bale 3.8cu feet Promix BX
4 lbs Peruvian Seabird Guano 11-13-3
10 lbs worm casing
Mix well, pot your girls and water well with 4 gals of Alaskan Fish ferts (5-1-1) This mix will take your plants through their veg cycle with only ph adjusted water added, (6.5ph), when dry. During flowering I water 3-4 times with a tea made from Idonesian Bat guano, (0-13-0), 3tbsps/gal of water.
Mr.Muggles's method:
1 part vermiculite to 3 parts pro-mix is what I use for my medium.
To each 5 gal. container I add:
1/3 cup dolomitic lime (dust like)
1/3 cup bonemeal (4-12-0)
5 Tbls. kelp meal (1-0-2)
These are the ferts that I use:
Peruvian seabird guano (11-13-3)
Indonesian bat guano (0-13-0)
Maxicrop liquid seaweed (0.1-0-1)
Liquid Budswell - ( I use this for rooted clones and seedlings.)
During veg I use between 1-2 Tbls. of bird guano to 1 Tbls. liquid seaweed until I'm into my second week of flowering. Once the plants finish their final stretch I switch to the hi-phos bat guano. I use between 1-2 Tbls to 1 Tbls. liquid seaweed. All fertilizing stops 2 weeks before harvest, only straight water thats been PH'd to 6.5.
***?_OVER's method:
15 gal peat moss
10 gal perlite (hort grade)
5 gal vermiculite (contains trace K)
nutes
2 parts blood meal
3 parts bone meal
1 part green sand
1 part kelp meal
1 part cottonseed meal (due to pesticides used in the cotton industry , this might not be considered organic)
1 part alfalfa meal (watch this stuff, it wants to mold on ya)
de Luther Burbank's method:
3 parts PRO-MIX or SUNSHINE ALL PURPOSE MIX
2 parts PERLITE
1 part medium size VERMICULITE (the small size vermiculite used to germ seeds and root clones compacts in containers larger than 1 gallon so use the medium sized stuff)
fertilizer for seedlings and clones:
1 tablesoon (tbl) STEAMED B0NE MEAL per gallon of potting soil mix
light applications (1/4 reccommended dosage) of AGE OLD ORGANICS GROW liquid fertilizer
fertilizer for flowering plants (mix 1/4 cup per gallon potting mix):
2 tbl STEAMED BONE MEAL ~ 4-12-0 + trace minerals and 22 Calcium
1 tbl BLOOD MEAL ~ 12-0-0 + trace minerals
1 tbl ALFALFA MEAL ~ 4-1-1 + trace minerals and triaconatol
1 tbl KELP MEAL ~ 1-0-2 + trace minerals, vitamins, amino acids and plant growth hormones
1 tbl SULFATE OF POTASH MAGENESIA ~ 0-0-22 + 22 Sulfur and 11 Magnesium factoring for a double dose of STEAMED BONE MEAL
my NPK is nicely balanced 25-25-25 including plenty of Calcium (IMO, the most important nutrient), lots of trace minerals and growth hormones. also, all ingrediants are fast to medium release fertilizers and they consistently appear on lists of organically approved materials. To cure potting soil, mix in fertilzer 3-4 weeks prior to use for flowering plants, I've also had good results by using only ALASKA DRY BLOOM
kiingbee's method:
I like using foxfarms pre-mixed medium. its called 'ocean forest potting mix' its got tons of organic goodies in it- worm castings, bat guano, fish and shrimp meal, etc.. it both drains and holds water well. although expensive.. after harvest, it will seem well worth it. I like the fact that its pre-mixed and ready to use right out of the bag.. makes for less mess this way, much less labor, and no guess work. its a great mix- its made in humboldt county- near the ocean- so it contains some great organic ingredients from the ocean and the forest (hence the name..lol). half-way thru the first week of 12/12, I like to top-dress the nursery pots w/ high P bat guano. only plain tap water is added for the entire crop, the plants take in what they need when they need it. the ocean forest potting mix requires no additional ferts for 3-4 weeks. during vegetative growth only plain water is added when needed. w/ some light-feeding strains.. I'm guessing only plain water would need to be added for the entire crop cycle (no additional ferts). for my next med crop, Im going to use liquid karma (organic supplement) w/ each watering. I did use pure blend bloom a couple times w/ good results, I dont about using both because each one is kelp-based. I dont want to have too much kelp and risk having a potassium deficiency... so I'll try the liquid karma in place of the pure blend.
DutchMasterZ's method:
6 gallons promix BX
4 gallons wormcasts
1-cup bonemeal
1/2cup bloodmeal
and a bunch more perlite
This mix should get you threw 5+ weeks. you can start giving them sum organic "PureblendPro flow"around 3-4week twice a week till 6 weeks into flow then plain water till harvest.!
ncga's method:
Per 25 gallon container ( all gallon amounts measured in a 5 gallon bucket)
2 cft Supersoil
7.5 gallon Spy Rock Mix
2.5 gallons Rice hulls
Nutrient Mix
10 oz Marine Cuisine
5.5 oz Diamond Black
7.25 oz Bone Meal
15 oz Feather Meal
5.25 oz Sulphate of Potash
5 oz Sunflower Hull ash
11.25 oz Rock Phosphate
4 oz Kelp Meal
13.5 OZ Green Sand
10.25 oz Glacial rock dust
11 oz Soft Phosphate
4.75 oz Trace Minerals
The above is good for about the first 60 days the nutrient are used 800 ppm 20 20 20 ( until temp reaches 90's) 1,000 ppm 30 10 10 MetaNatural grow 16 0 0 Meta Natural Nutrient 3 3 3 Meta Natural Calcium Foliar with GH
Random method:
1 cubic foot of soil is equal to 7.48 Gallons. That’s the conversion I used to make the chart. Here’s my recipe if you want to take a peek.
Vegetative Per Gallon of Soil, mixed in before planting.
2 Tablespoons - Bat Guano (10-3-1)
2 Tablespoons - Bone Meal (3-15-0)
2 Tablespoons - Green Sand (0-0-3)
3 Tablespoons - Kelp Meal (1-0.1-2)
1 Tablespoons - Blood Meal (13-0-0)
2 Tablespoons - Gypsum
15% of soil mix Worm Castings
25% - 35% of soil mix Perlite
Flowering Per Gallon of Soil, mixed in before planting.
2 Tablespoons - Bat Guano (10-3-1)
1 Tablespoons - Bone Meal (3-15-0)
1 Tablespoons - Indonesian Bat Guano (0-13-0)
2 Tablespoons - Green Sand (0-0-3)
3 Tablespoons - Kelp Meal (1-0.1-2)
1/2 Tablespoons - Blood Meal (13-0-0)
2 Tablespoons - Gypsum
15% of soil mix - Worm Castings
25% - 35% of soil mix – Perlite
My vegetative mix allows me to just water during vegetative with no added fertilizer. I just use straight Reverse-Osmosis water with nothing added. The plants are real green during vegetative and make it quit clear to me they need nothing added.
Liquid Fertilizers: I use Earth Juice Bloom and Catalyst to supplement the flowering mix during flowering, and with the acidity of the Earth Juice I use a little potassium bicarbonate (Earth Juice Up). I also use Fox Farm Bloom for micronutrients and as a floral enhancer. Note: Each Tablespoon of Earth Juice Grow, Bloom, Catalyst, or Microblast requires a ½ teaspoon of Earth Juice Up to bring the pH to between 6 and 7. The vegetative and flowering mixes are very similar. You’ll notice that the high nitrogen Blood Meal is toned down in the flowering mix as well as the high phosphorus Indonesian Bat Guano is added. The Bone Meal is also toned down, which makes the flowering mix more diversified in phosphorus fertilizers but not necessarily higher. I leave the rising of phosphorus levels during flowering largely to the added liquid fertilizers. This is the soil I’m using. You can substitute another organic soil; just look into how much fertilizer is in it and what the pH is. You may or may not need a little Dolomite Lime to neutralize acidity. I’ve found I don’t need it for pH rising with this soil/fertilizer mix. When I used the Dolomite Lime my pH would get too high during flowering. I’ve put Gypsum in the mix to replace the Calcium I was getting from the Dolomite Lime. Uncle Malcolm's Special Blend (Whitney Farms) There's not normally a tremendous amount of fertilizer in these soil mixes, so adding more fertilizer in the amounts above is a good idea for vigorous growing marijuana plants
Random Hint
Yup comfrey is the best fertiliser there is (well almost) - loads of potash, a good amount of nitrogen and breaks down really well too, boosting the micro-organisms in the soil. If you get a big heavyweight sack and add a 10cm layer of coco peat or regular peat, a 10cm layer or chopped fresh comfrey then sprinkle 2 cups of dolomite lime and 2 cups of rock phosophate or bone meal over it and repeat this until the bag is full then leave it to rot down (make sure there are some holes in the bottom) you will be left with some very good flowering mix, heaving with funghi and bacteria.
You will need to dilute it with perlite and perhaps some more peat or coir as it will be rich stuff, but it is so very good.
t ThE c's method:
Basic Soilmix:
1 quart perlite (keeps the mix light and helps drainage, does not break down.)
1 quart vermerculite (same as above)
2 quarts wormcastings 1-0-0 (slow release nitrogen, a ton of micronutrients)
1 quart potting soil (regular $2.50 a bag is ok, should be almost black in color, smell like dirt, not rotten. a little sand and verm. or perlite is ok.)
1/4 cup bat guano 10-3-1 (quick release nitrogen and more micros)
1/2 cup horticulture lime or agriculture lime (for PH and also contains calcium)
During flowering, add 1 teaspoon epson salt(magnesium) per gallon of water. Combined with the pour in ferts posted earlier, this would make an excellent mix. ~s uses 1/3 perlite, verm, wormcastings. Keeping it simple. Itís really up to you and whatís available. Donít freak when you see the low NPK ratios. The organic ferts have plenty of power. 300 to 400 ppm per watering is max. Any more is overkill.
In addition to the above mix, mine contains:
1/2 cup greensand 0-0-1 (soil conditioner, makes things happen that aid innutrient uptake)
1/2 cup alphalfa meal 7-2-5 General purpose organic fert(rabbit food)
1/2 cup horticulture mulch (slightly acidic, breaks down and becomes food)
The breakdown process is criticle to organic growing. There is a whole other world under the surface. Microorganisms break down organic matter into the basic elements. Opinions differ about how long it takes to get the process started but IMO about a month of being watered and breakdown will be in high gear. Using third generation soil and its tweekiní. You can and should reuse the soil. Add more of the powder ferts and your back in ëbinness. If your soil is alive with micros PH will not be a problem.
Watering: In my grow the plants need water about every third day. I donít water so much that water comes out of the drain holes. I think its wasteful and unnessasary. They get plenty of water though...all they can use.
Misting: Everyday,with 6.0 water. I add 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil to a pint of water and the plants love it. The buds get bigger and tighter. Definitely a worthwhile procedure. Plain 6.0 water is OK too. Kindaí dry where I live.(humidity wise)
It may be a misconception that soil is less hassle than hydro. I guess itís what you get used to. I know hydro rocks, but organics are Powerful
Three Little Birds Method:
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth
the three little_birds are well know for our love of growing using organic fertilizers . . . And while we are always looking for ways to utilize inexpensive and effective materials like manure, alfalfa meal, kelp meal, and a variety of rock powders . . . we also know that some folks will only use organic growing methods if the option is fairly simple and mess free . . . while organic fertilizers from a bottle will never likely be as cost effective as using rock powders and teas made from alfalfa or guano . . . they do offer great convenience and the good news for growers who demand their organic fertilizers in a bottle . . . is that herbs grown exclusively with today’s liquid organic fertilizers will rival those grown with any method of organic growing we’ve ever used or experienced . . . there’s no need to sacrifice quality for convenience if your pocketbook can withstand the additional cost . . . our favorite among premixed liquid fertilizers is the complete line of Earth Juice products . . . we’ve sampled other fertilizers but always come back to Earth Juice . . . In our opinion they are the “premium standard” against which all other organic ferts must measure themselves . . .
The basic line of Earth Juice fertilizers is 5 different products that can all be used in any combination with each other . . . the ability to “mix and match” any of the 5 products gives us the versatility to deal with any nutrient need (or problem) that might arise . . . here’s a listing of Earth Juice array . . .
Earth Juice Grow
Earth Juice Bloom
Earth Juice Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada)
Earth Juice Meta-K
Earth Juice Microblast
The Grow and Bloom formulas can be used alone or in combination with each other . . . no big explanation necessary with those names . . . their intended uses are pretty obvious . . . Catalyst is basically a jazzed up Molasses / carbohydrate product to feed beneficial bacteria and act as a chelate . . . Meta-K is an awesome Potassium supplement . . . and Microblast is one of the most useful and effective micronutrient products we’ve had the pleasure of using . . . in our next post we’ll give a more formal introduction to the various components of the EJ line of ferts . . .
Meet the EJ lineup
here’s the “scoop” . . . the “tech intell” . . . the “lowdown” . . . the “skinny” . . . on what exactly is in those Earth Juice ferts that the 3LB’s talk about so much . . .
EARTH JUICE GROW 2-1-1
bat guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
feather meal
oat bran
blood meal
steamed bone meal
this is the “jack of all trades” among the Earth Juice products . . . useful throughout all of vegging and the first couple weeks of vegging . . . Depending on a plant’s growth stage and we use the EJ Grow at concentrations of anywhere from 1 TBSP to 2 TBSP per gallon (and we have pushed it to 3 to 4 TBSP without harm for very heavy feeders)
EARTH JUICE BLOOM 0-3-1
bat guano
seabird guano
kelp
sulfate of potash
steamed bone meal
oat bran
rock phosphate
we love our Earth Juice Bloom as a flowering fertilizer and. . . because this product has no Nitrogen it’s especially useful for late stage flowering when it’s desirable to let a plant use up the soil’s nitrogen reserves . . . and for an added boost of Phosphorous at those times when plant’s need an extra boost of P . . . we normally use EJ Bloom at rates between ½ and 2 TBSP per gallon . . .
EARTH JUICE CATALYST
oat bran
kelp
wheat malt
molasses
yeast
For some odd reason, the Canadian Government requires this product to be labeled as “Xatalyst” . . . but whatever it’s called where you live . . . if you’ve looked over the “Molasses Manual” by the 3LB you may already know the biggest “secret” to this product . . . the sweet sticky goodness of molasses . . . as we’ve said elsewhere molasses feeds microbes and acts as a chelating agent to make micronutrients more available to plants . . . those extra organic goodies in Catalyst like wheat malt and oat bran are just “icing on the cake” . . .
Earth Juice Meta-K 0-0-10
sulfate of potash
pretty simple product with apparently only a single active ingredient . . . it does have a good measure of Sulfur . . . and it’s very useful to give an extra boost of Potassium when necessary . . . Many organic fertilizers run a little “lean” on K - especially guano based products . . . and EJ Meta-K gives us a way to add that needed Potassium in controlled amounts as needed . . .
Earth Juice Microblast
kelp meal
magnesium sulfate
borax
cobalt sulfate
ferrous sulfate
manganese sulfate
sodium molybdate
zinc sulfate
the Microblast tests out to the following percentages . . . Magnesium (Mg) .05%, Boron (B) .02%, Cobalt (Co) .0005%, Iron (Fe) .10%, Manganese (Mn) .05%, Molybdenum (Mo) .0005%, Zinc (Zn) .05% . . . in our experience it’s a great all around micronutrient supplement that resolves almost every potential micronutrient issue likely to arise . . .
there's your "Earth Juice All Stars" lineup . . .
Earth Juice Recipes
Growth Recipes
we get many PM’s and email requests for our Earth Juice recipes . . . many folks - it seems - would love for us to just spell out the specific nutrient mixes and quantities we use with every feeding . . . . if only life were so simple!
What and how much we use vary's some from strain to strain . . . Perhaps even from plant to plant . . . so it’s just not possible to set a schedule and ignore the plants . . . The best gardeners become “at one” with their plants and feed them according to the plant’s needs . . . even anticipating their needs . . .
our standard mix for vegging plants is usually
1 to 2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (called Xatalyst in Canada for some odd reason)
(all ingredients are added to a gallon of water . . . )
there are times where we might increase the Bloom portion up to as much as a tablespoon . . . Especially for plants in the early stages of flowering . . . and we can go as high as 3 or even 4 TBSP of Grow for really N hungry plants - but if we increase the Grow fert above 2 TBSP per gallon we usually leave out Bloom & Catalyst )
we also use what we call our "microblast mix" once or twice during the normal life-cycle of vegging plants . . . no big difference between this and the prior mix except this one has an extra boost of Meta K and Microblast . . .
1-2 TBSP Grow
1 tsp Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp Meta-K
1 tsp Microblast
as folks may have observed in our “Growing LUI with the 3LB” thread . . . we also commonly use some kinds of fish fertilizers and kelp concentrates during a plant’s early growth stages . . . we like the combination of enzymes and proteins and hormones the fish and kelp provide together . . . but it’s common for some fish products to be high in heavy metal contaminants like Mercury . . . so the “seafood platter” is a treat we feed our babes and the Earth Juice is their regular diet . . .
Flowering Recipes
early stage flowering plants can often use a fair measure of nitrogen as they stretch . . . so a normal Earth Juice mix in early flowering will look pretty similar to a Grow mix . . . we like to use something along the lines of the following for the first couple weeks of flowering . . .
1 TBSP EJ Grow
1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst (yeah we know - it’s Xatalyst north of a line from Seattle - Duluth - Niagra!)
as flowering progresses we forego the Nitrogen to let our plants use N reserves from the soil as they finish flowering . . . so mixing an Earth Juice Bloom formula can be as easy as . . .
1 TBSP EJ Bloom
1 tsp EJ Catalyst
for really hungry darlings we’ll go as high as 2 TBSP per gallon with the EJ Bloom . . . but pouring it on that heavy can burn light feeders . . . and even with heavy feeders it’s better to build up to stronger concentrations of EJ Bloom over time than to just start in at 2 TBSP per gallon right away as plants begin to flower. . .
and we also have a bloom "micro-mix" that includes Meta-K and Microblast . . . it's used once in a blooming plant's life (or maybe twice in plant’s with a long flowering) . . . Like the growth “microblast mix” it gives an extra boost of Potassium and assorted micronutrients to make sure the plants will want for nothing!
The flowering micro-mix usually goes like this . . .
1 TBSP Bloom
1 tsp Catalyst
1 tsp Meta-K
1 tsp Microblast
that's about all there is to making an awsome plant-enriching organic brew with Earth Juice . . . it's really that simple . . .
Miscellaneous Earth Juice Notes
In theory there’s no need to “flush” organic soil grown herbs before harvest . . . and because organic fertilizers are not salt based like chemical fertilizers . . . traditional techniques for “flushing” wouldn’t carry away nutrient salts in the traditional meaning of the word “flush” anyway . . .
That creates a danger with organic fertilizers that doesn’t exist with salt based chemical fertilizers . . . with salt fertilizers over-fertilizing can be pretty severe . .. But it will show up fairly quickly . . . and the solution (a good flushing) can be enacted pretty quickly too . . .
it’s probably harder for a grower to over-fertilize using organic fertilizers . . . but if they do there’s no quick solution . . . organic fertilizers usually can’t be flushed away like salt fertilizer’s can . . . so if a grower over-fertilizes they will likely have to live with the consequences for a longer term . . .
And when it comes to harvest time . . . we do go ahead and put our organic herbs on a “crash” diet . . . in the past it’s just been pure water for the last two weeks . . . But lately we’ve been experimenting with using Fulvic Acid with the watering during the second week before harvest . . . and then plain water the final week . . . this technique really seems to bring out the fullest potential of our babes . . . but the wonders of Humic Acid and Fulvic Acid are deserving of their own thread . . .
And finally . . . before we finish our initial discussion of Earth Juice Fertilizers . . . we need to touch on the practice of premixing and bubbling Earth Juice fertilizers . . . we get a lot of questions on this topic in private so may as well discuss it here and avoid having to type the same information time and time again . . .
This is the most common question we hear . . .
“Is it absolutely necessary to pre-mix and bubble / aerate Earth Juice fertilizers before use ? ? ?“
Our simple answer is no it’s not necessary at all . . . but Earth Juice will be more efficiently and effectively used if “brewed” for 24-48 hours before use . . . in organic farming the old adage is “feed the soil not the plant” . . . and making your Earth Juice fert mix into an aerated tea maximizes the benefits it can provide for your plants . . . but they will work fine if used without any premixing or bubbling . . .
we would also like to add that if you do not care to go to the bother of premixing and aerating your Earth Juice . . . that you use the fertilizers in smaller / lighter proportions . . .
We also hear this question a lot . . .
“What about the low pH of those Earth Juice fertilizers? - Will that low pH harm my plants?”
And our simple answer is that there’s likely little concern about that issue unless your growing medium is already abnormally acidic . . . but we can also say that the pre-mixing and bubbling/aerating we talked about in the prior question will moderate the pH to an extent . . . and that can allow heavier feedings overall . . .
Our experience with Earth Juice in everything from 3 gallon pots to 30 gallon beds indoors is that a good soil mix with a healthy microbe population will moderate it’s own pH to an extent . . . and the calcite and dolomite lime use commonly in soil mixes will do some of the work as well . . . so we’ve never had any actual problems with pH in our Earth Juice experience . . .
And finally we also get asked . . .
“Can I get by with just Bloom and Grow and not have to go to the expense of the other products?”
And the simple answer is yes of course you can. Catalyst is a molasses based product so the substitution of cheap and easily available Blackstrap molasses will be almost as good as the real thing. . . And although we prefer to use Microblast and Meta-K a few times during a plant’s life . . . we’ve certainly had great grows without them . . .
Not having those extra ingredients available will make your life much more difficult if something does go wrong . . . having a sufficient source of Potassium is a major factor in a plant’s ability to withstand the heat stresses inherent in many grow rooms . . . and micronutrient deficiencies can be hard to diagnose and treat without a “full range” micronutrient fertilizer like Microblast . . . Maxicrop kelp concentrate is the only other substitute we know of that’s as effective at treating a shortage of potassium and trace minerals . . . and many growers prefer to avoid using kelp products during the later stages of flowering . . .
Random method:
Recipes for Starting Seeds
Mixes for starting seeds must be very light and provide a lot of air space to prevent root diseases. Seedling soil mixes may or may not contain nutrients because seedlings are often transplanted very quickly after germination.
Seed mix #1:
5 parts compost (well rotted)
4 parts topsoil (loam)
1-2 parts sharp sand
1-2 parts leaf mold
1 part sphagnum peat moss
2 tablespoons lime
Seed mix #2:
2 parts sifted compost
4 parts sphagnum peat moss
1 part perlite
1 part vermiculite
4 oz. lime
Seed mix #3: Standard soilless seed starting mix
50 to 75 percent sphagnum peat moss
25 to 50 percent vermiculite
5 lbs. of ground limestone per cubic yard of mix
Organic seedling mix:
6 gallons sphagnum peat moss
1/4 cup lime
4.5 gallons vermiculite
4.5 gallons compost
1 1/2 cups fertility mix made of:
2 cups colloidal phosphate
2 cups greensand
1/2 cup bone meal
1/4 cup kelp meal
Organic seedling mix:
10 gallons of 2-year-old leaf mold, sifted
10 gallons sifted compost
5-10 gallons sphagnum peat moss
5 gallons perlite
5 gallons coarse river sand
2 cups blood meal
6 cups bone meal
Mixes for Plants Older than the Seedling Stage
Mixes for potted plants require the addition of nutrients either from natural forms such as bloodmeal, bonemeal or rock phosphate, or from synthetic fertilizers such as calcium nitrate or potassium superphosphate. Locally available sources of nitrogen might be animal manures, fish products, dried blood, and legumes such as alfalfa or clover. Phosphorus can be supplied by bonemeal or rock phosphate. Wood ashes contain 10% potassium. Vermiculite also contains some potassium.
Mix #1:
The classic formula for potting mix before soilless mixes became popular:
1/3 mature compost or leaf mold, screened
1/3 garden topsoil
1/3 sharp sand
This mix results in a potting soil that will be heavier than the modern peat mixes, but will still have good drainage. Compost has been shown to promote a healthy soil mix that can reduce root diseases. Vermiculite or perlite can be used instead of sand. To this base can be added fertilizers.
Classic Peat-Lite Mix from Cornell:
1/2 cu. yd. sphagnum peat
1/2 cu. yd. vermiculite
10 lbs. dolomitic limestone
2 lbs. superphosphate
1/2 lb. calcium nitrate
1/2 lb. potassium nitrate
Organic Substitute for Cornell Mix:
1/2 cu. yd. sphagnum peat moss
1/2 cu. yd. vermiculite
5 lbs. ground limestone
10 lbs. bone meal (or rock phosphate)
5 lbs. blood meal
Mix #2:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet vermiculite
1.5 lbs. calcium nitrate
2 oz. micronutrients
2.5 lbs. superphosphate (0-20-0)
10 lbs. ground limestone
3 oz. wetting agent
Mix #3:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet sharp sand
4 oz. potassium nitrate
4 oz. potassium sulfate
2 oz. micronutrients
2.5 lbs. superphosphate (0-20-0)
10 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #4:
13.5 cubic feet sphagnum peat moss
13.5 cubic feet vermiculite or perlite
5 lbs. dried bloodmeal (12% nitrogen)
10 lbs. steamed bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #5:
40 quarts sphagnum peat moss
20 quarts sharp sand
10 quarts topsoil
10 quarts mature compost
4 oz. ground limestone
8 oz. bloodmeal (contains 10% nitrogen)
8 oz. rock phosphate (contains 3% phosphorus)
8 oz. wood ashes (contains 10% potassium)
Mix #6:
6 parts compost
3 parts soil
1-2 parts sand
1-2 parts soil
1-2 parts aged manure
1 part peat moss
1-2 parts leaf mold, if available
1 6" pot of bone meal
2 tablespoons lime
Mix #7:
2 parts compost
1 part peat moss
1 part vermiculite, pre-wet
Mix #8:
5 gallons screened, sterilized garden soil. Bake at 150° for 45 minutes in an oven.
5 gallons peat moss
5 gallons screened compost
5 gallons vermiculite
1 cup bonemeal
1 cup bloodmeal
1 cup greensand
1 cup pulverized limestone
Mix #9:
15 qts. screened black peat
15 qts. brown peat
17 qts. coarse sand
14 qts. screened leaf compost
3 oz. pulverized limestone
9 oz. greensand
3/4 cup dried blood
3 oz. alfalfa meal
3 oz. colloidal phosphate
9 oz. pulverized bonemeal
Mix #10:
20 qts. black peat
20 qts. sand or calcined clay
20 qts. regular peat
10 qts. soil
10 qts. compost
1/2 cup lime
1 cup greensand
1 cup colloidal phosphate
1 cup bloodmeal
Mix #11:
.5 cu. yd. shredded sphagnum peat moss
.5 cu. yd. horticultural vermiculite
5 lbs. dried blood
10 lbs. steamed bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
Mix #12:
10 lbs. composted cow pen manure
10 pounds sphagnum peat moss
80 pounds garden soil
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
2 pounds sawdust
Mix #13:
10 pounds compost
30 pounds sphagnum peat moss
60 pounds white sand
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
2 pounds sawdust
Mix #14:
70 pounds white sand
25 pounds sphagnum peat moss
5 pounds chicken manure
8 pounds calcium carbonate
4 pounds soft rock phosphate
Mix #15:
2 parts vermiculite
2 parts perlite
3 parts topsoil
3 parts peat
2 parts cow manure
1/2 part bonemeal
Mix #16:
1 part peat
1 part perlite
1 part compost (or leaf mold)
1 part bonemeal
1 part worm castings (optional)
Mix #17:
9 quarts compost
3 quarts garden soil
3 quarts sharp sand
3 quarts vermiculite
1 cup greensand
1/2 cup blood meal
1/2 cup bonemeal
A lazy old fart's(Old SSSC Guy) organic recipe:
3 Parts FoxFarm Happy Frog potting soil
2 Parts FoxFarm soil conditioner
1 Part worm castings
is that a boring mix? sure seems to make plants smile largely. they hum tiny tunes sometimes too.
Stankie's mix:
For about 30 gallons of soil --
4 gal Earth Worm Castings
5 gal Leaf litter/manure compost
12 gal Sphagnum Peat Moss
9 gal Pumice
7.5 cups alfalfa meal
6 cups kelp meal
4 cups Minerals Plus Mix
2.5 cups Azomite
2.5 cups Jersey Greensand
2.5 cups Gaia Glacial Rock Dust
3.5 cups soft rock phosphate
3.5 cups Sul-Po-Mag
3.5 cups fish bone meal
4 cups neem seed meal
3 cups crustacean shell meal
1.5 cups oyster shell flour
8 cups biochar
Nader's Mix:
- Medium-large freshwater Diatomite rocks (roughly 60-70% by volume)
- Aged fish compost (~15% by volume)
- Two kinds of zeolite of different grain size (~15% by volume)
- "Gaia Green"Glacial Rock Dust mixed with green montmorillonite clay powder (~5% by volume)
- Handful of worm castings
- Organic 2-2-2 Insect Frass (top-dressed, or can be mixed in at 1/2 - 1 cup per gallon)
- Tablespoon of organic finely-milled vine ripened banana powder (for carbs, tons of minerals, and slow release K)
- 1/2 tablespoon of Gaia Green high-P bat guano to further stimulate microbes
- Inocculate with microbes and myco, whatever you have
This is what I use for my plants at the moment, designed particularly for fabric or otherwise 'breathable' pots. It allows for great aeration, with the mix being very mineralized and incredibly porous at the molecular level. I go the way of using the minimally effective amount of ammendments, since I usually feed with teas with a boost of good liquid nutes every week or two. I thought I'd have to water more often with this mix, but quite the opposite.
Seedling mix for seedlings
2 parts compost
2 part peat moss or coir
1 part perlite
The second recipe is a soilless recipe based on the Cornell Mix concept; the third is a classic soil-based formula.
Organic substitute for Cornell Mix (large quantity)
1/2 cu. yd. Sphagnum peat or coir
1/2 cu. yd perlite
10 lbs. bonemeal
5 lbs. ground limestone
5 lbs. bloodmeal
Classic soil-based mix
1/3 mature compost or leaf mold, screened
1/3 garden topsoil
1/3 sharp sand
Note: This mix results in a potting soil that is heavier than modern peat mixes, but still has good drainage. Compost has been shown to promote a healthy soil mix that can reduce root diseases. Perlite can be used instead of sand. Organic fertilizer can be added to this base.
Prick-out mix for growing seedlings to transplant size
6 parts compost
3 parts soil
1-2 parts sand
1-2 parts aged manure
1 part peat moss, pre-wet and sifted
1-2 parts leaf mold, if available
1 6" pot bone meal
The following recipe is credited to Eliot Coleman.
Organic potting mix
1 part sphagnum peat or coir
1 part peat humus (short fiber)
1 part compost
1 part sharp sand (builder's)
to every 80 qts. of this add:
1 cup greensand
1 cup colloidal phosphate
1 1/2 to 2 cups crabmeal, or bloodmeal
1/2 cup lime
General gardening mix:
Basic Potting Soil Recipe #12 parts packaged potting soil1 part coarse sand1 part peat moss or leaf mold Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal
as per package directions
Basic Potting Soil Recipe #21-part packaged potting soil1-part peat moss1 part coarse sand Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal
as per package directions
Acid-Loving Plants Recipe (Azaleas, Camellias, etc.)2 parts packaged potting soil2 parts coarse sand2 parts peat moss1 part leaf mold1/3 part well composted manure
Bulbs Recipe (Tulips, Daffodils, etc.)2 parts packaged potting soil1 part coarse sand1 part leaf mold or peat moss Bone meal as per package directions
Cacti and Succulents Recipe2 parts packaged potting soil2 parts sand1/2 part leafmold or peatmoss Bone meal as per package directions Limestone as per package directions
Alpine Plants Recipe2 parts coarse sand1 part peat moss1 part pumice
Orchids and Bromeliads Recipe6 parts **Osmunda fiber1 part of 1/2 -inch charcoal Place some drainage material in the bottom of the container: styrofoam packing peanuts, broken up clay pot pieces or small gravel rocks work well.
- **If Osmunda fiber is not available, use combinations of other media such as chopped tree fern fiber, bark materials, porous stone (volcanic stone), peat moss or charcoal. As an example, a general guideline to follow would be: equal parts peat moss, sand and granulated charcoal.
Recipe Substitutions:
NOTE: Perlite can be substituted for coarse sand. (Perlite is a sterile, very lightweight, white aggregate made from volcanic minerals.) Perlite permits superior aeration of the potting soil mixture. However, use sand if you need your container to weight more - thusly not as susceptible to blow over in the strong wind.TB Gardens mix
1 bale pro-mix
3/4 bale roots organic
1/4 bag fox farm ocean forest
20% perlite
20% earth worm castings
1 cup blood
1 cup bone
1/2 cup dolomite lime
1.5 cups kelp meal
activate for a couple weeks, water with molasses through veg. food runs out generally shortly after the stretch in flower - during the stretch start feeding guano with the water + molasses. i like to alternate (water/molasses - water/molasses/guano - water/molasses). i like to pH my water / feedings to around 6.8-7.0 to keep the soil between 6.3-6.8!
elmanito's mix
30% peat moss
30% good quality coco
10% worm casting
10% rock dust (> 200 mesh) Azomite
7% lava grit (0-3 mm)
5% gypsum
5% maerl
3% bentonite
Add compost tea once a week.
General hydroponics mix
- 1st -we use a
Cocotek coconut coir, high quality, low sodium, media. This coir is the backbone to our more diverse and less compacted mix, allowing textural uniformity. Allowing Just Right to taylor make finer or coarser, fibre consistencies. This composite mix consists of millions of capillary micro-sponges per unit volume, that absorbs up to eight times the mixes oven dried weight in water. Our mix has a natural affinity to hold a 3 : 7 air to water stoichiometric ratio. Which assures you that Just Right will hold plant nutrition naturally until the microporosity releases oxygenated nutrient solution over extended periods allowing reduced watering frequency.
- 2nd we add
Ancient Biology from Ancient Forest Alaskan Humus which is an ultra-pure, ultra-organic "compilation" resulting from a very gradual collaboration between Mother Nature and Father Time. The unique and highly prized, Alaska Humus is the byproduct of patients and good fortune, resulting from nearly 10,000 years of post ice-age, real-time, decomposition performed by the life processes of vast numbers and species of microbes throughout Alaska's annual cycles of long, dark winters and extremely daylight-intensive summers. Because of its incredible microbiological diversity (an estimated 35,000 species of bacteria and 5000 species of fungi) -- unlike manufactured commercial compost -there is a guaranteed absence of any human pathogens, synthetic chemical impurities from foreign residues.
- 3rd Our Earth worm castings from Worm power here in Avon, NY. These are the best quality castings we have ever seen.
- 4th Diatomite (Diatomaceous Earth or "DE") is a sedimentary rock primarily composed of the fossilized remains of unicellular fresh water microbes known as Diatoms. Sedimentary stratification over the millennia has compressed the reminants of these diatoms. This aggregation creates one of the most effective growing media components, available. Diatomite consists of approximately 86% silica, 3% magnesium and 2% iron., with the remainder of its contents being mineral compounds; which are complementary to plant growth. All of these unique factors make Diatomite the definitive horticultural grade growing medium. High Silica Content - In nature, Silica is conducive to healthy plant and root development. Because Diatomite is 86% silica, your plants will receive a continual slow release of silica, assisting wtth the growth of healthier, more robust plants. Absorbency & Porosity - Diatomite is naturally very porous, and can hold 150% of its weight in water. The Silica Content, natural Absorbency, and Porous qualities result in a slow release of water and nutrients to your plants, contributing to higher yields and less watering frequency. Capillary Action & Lateral movement - The porosity of the Diatomite contributes to its ability to wick water. Diatomite causes water and its dissolved nutrients to move laterally throughout the medium, making Diatomite ideal for hydroponics. The media achieves an excellent air to water ratio in the pot. Proper aeration is a particularly important quality which helps gardeners avoid root rot. Silica stone can be used as a beneficial supplement to expanded clay, Rockwool, coco peat, and other mediums depending on the application.
- Next
Subculture M: a mycorhizae root inoculant that contains a wide diversity of endo and ecto mycorrhizal fungi that colonize plant roots. Subculture M allows for known beneficial fungi to find a place to reside around the root zones of plants.
- Now
Subculture B: is a probiotic inoculum of beneficial microorganisms that will help increase the vitality and yield in all plants. Microbes in Subculture B will attach themselves to root zones dramatically affecting plant performance in positive ways.
Organic Bone Char contains more than 16% available phosphate (P2O5) and 32% total phosphate.
Our ph in this mix is 7.01 which are perfect to keep the bacteria and fungi from destroying or decomposing. There is no need for adjustment of your pH of any nutrient you add to this mix.
We suggest no nutrients for a couple weeks. When you wet this mix with de chlorinated water the runoff will be around 1300ppm which is hot and will aid in Germination of any seeds or cuttings.
UsualSuspect's mix
1 Bale Pro-Mix BX
1 4.0 Cu Mother Earth Size 4 Extra Chunky Perlite
1 30lb Wiggle Worm EWC
dank.frank's mix
Makes a standard 1.5 cu ft amount so roughly 11g
4g local organic nursery / potting soil (unfertilized)
1.5g peat moss
1.5g coco coir
1.5g chunky perlite
1.5g Calcined Diatomaceous Earth (Floor-Dry Oil Absorbent...well rinsed)
1g EWC
And as always, use a proper respiratory protection when working around organics and fine dust particles...
This can be amended however you chose...with any of the many feeding recipes or liquid nutrients...whatever floats your boat! It is just a very solid / stable and flexible base medium.
Phillthy's mix
1 bale Pro Mix Bx
2 Bags FFOF
2c Bone meal
2c Blood meal
2c Dolomite Lime
added chunky perlite to liking
EWC - roughly 5g
+ 2c Kelp meal (my addition)
+ 1c Seabird Guano (my addition)
Just water...or you can use P/K "boosters" (usually 3/5wk) as needed
Colorado's mix
-7 bags of roots organics soil
-10 cups of dolomite lime
-8 cups of fishbone meal
-4 cups of kelp meal
-2 cups of green sand
-1.5 cups of soft rock phosphate
-30lb bag of worm castings
-4 cups of peruvian bird guano (10-10-2.5)
-2 cups of Azomite
mix together and wet with 5 gallons of water into 2 32 gallon garbage cans. let mix cook for 30 days and you have the finest organic soil know to man. i add nothing but a little molasses here adn there and it's a super producing mix that i can lliterally forget about and water when its dry. thats it
Drfting's Soil Mix
- (76 Quart) One Large Bag of Dr. Earth Premium Potting Soil with equal parts of Mushroom Compost
- (20 Cups) Worm Castings
- (1 Gallon) Perlite
- (1 Gallon) Vermiculite
- (1 1/2 cups) Dolomite lime
- Dr. Earth Organic 2: Starter Fertilizer (2-4-2)
Enriched with: valley grown alfalfa meal, Alaskan fish bone meal, high country feather meal, mined potassium sulfate, colloidal soft rock phosphate, seaweed extract, PRO-BIOTIC seven champion strains of beneficial soil microbes plus Ecto and Endo Mycorrhizae
This is all brewed in a 5 gallon bucket with rainwater and an airstone/air pump for 48 hours. Dilute half strength for mature plants. Does not need to be diluted for foliar spray, which will need to be strained first before added to your sprayer
For Veg:
- 4 cups Dr. Earth Organic 5: Tomato, Vegetable and Herb Fertilizer
(5-7-3)
Enriched with: Alaskan fish bone meal, high country feather meal, Norwegian cold water kelp meal, valley grown alfalfa meal, colloidal soft rock phosphate, fish meal, mined potassium sulfate, humic acid, seaweed extract, PRO-BIOTIC; seven strains of beneficial soil microbes plus Ecto and Endo Mycorrhizae.
- 4 cups well aged compost or mushroom compost
- 1 cup Worm Castings
- 4 Tbl blackstrap molasses
- 4 cups Dr. Earth Organic 8: Bud and Bloom Booster
(4-10-7)
Enriched with: Alaskan fish bone meal, high country feather meal, mined potassium sulfate, valley grown alfalfa meal, Norwegian cold water kelp meal, seaweed extract, and PRO-BIOTIC; seven strains of beneficial soil microbes plus Ecto and Endo Mycorrhizae - 4 cups well aged compost or mushroom compost
- 10 Tbl Bat Guano high in P
- 4 Tbl blackstrap Molasses
For seedlings I make a simple worm casting tea with 2 cups worm castings and 4 Tbl blackstrap molasses per 5 gallons of water
NV's organic soil mix
18cf organic soil or Pro mix or the like
2cf rice hulls
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, soybean meal
1tb per gal of medium or 12c, alfalfa meal
10lb's bone meal
18 cups Dolomite lime
4lb's epsom
6lb's rock phosphate
5lb's Azomite
1c humic acid
6lb's kelp meal
6lb's green sand
50lb's castings
8lb's Bio-tone/Plant-tone(depot)
Brother Bear's mix
3.8 bale of peat
4 CF mushroom mulch/compost/soil (all the same shit really)
4 CF of perlite
9 cups bone
9 cups D-lime
5 cups dried blood
5 cups kelp meal
5 cups Jersey green sand
I usually run them in 1gallons for the first month. Once they sex the girls go into the buckets for two more weeks till flower.
Yeah ima seed grower
Reg Dixon's mix
20% vermic (nutes inside)
50% coco chips/coco coir
10% perlite
20% local bagged potting soil
well hope all you need for mixing your own soil is here, HAPPY GROWING
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