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Tutorial Organics for Beginners
- Thread starter BurnOne
- Start date
KushKrusher
New member
I’ll keep you posted
They look solid. If you're asking me that's the awesome part about all of the recipes. You don't need anything else!
KushKrusher
New member
Still using this mix 2 and guano/kelp tea as my base after all these years. cheers
super soil day 33 of cook. rip subcool. just popped top off bout to flip this patty let her finish
I have been reusing the same soil for a few years. All leaves that I pull off the plants during veg/flower, I just throw in a garbage can full of old soil. I also have all the roots in the soil. I just add perlite, worm castings, and some Dr. Earth. During veg/flower I only use a little Cal/Mag a few times. In flower, I just add a little Bat Quano to the dirt. I use to use Fox Farm/ Advanced nutrients, but I stopped using liquid fertilizers. Now with the reused soil, I really only have to add water..
Not sure if its a good idea to keep adding leaves to the soil, but I have noticed that the soil has developed a rich funky smell, and most of the plants always seem to be quite green all the way through flowering.
Just curious if most people add the leaves/roots to soil mixes?
Not sure if its a good idea to keep adding leaves to the soil, but I have noticed that the soil has developed a rich funky smell, and most of the plants always seem to be quite green all the way through flowering.
Just curious if most people add the leaves/roots to soil mixes?
welldone
Active member
never done myself but im also curious to hear some outcomes on the mixes
V
voidpainter
never done myself but im also curious to hear some outcomes on the mixes
I compost leaves and roots like that too, I usually cut them up into smaller pieces, for me they compost faster that way. Other times i throw em on the "real" compost pile, either way they come back into the soil anyway.
Look at trees, they are basically feeding themselves when they shed leaves which get composted as food for next season.
Funny thing about this is the soil reeks of the strain the leaves are from when they're decomposing, at least from my experience.
You experience this too justabluez?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
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What I try to do is collect the old stalks, what's left of leaves and pile them up. Cutting grass or raking leaves, anything that would go into a worm bin or bokashi from the kitchen. All kept in a heap away from the house. Eventually most everything will go though a 1/2 inch screen, turning the pile and watering help things along. If you mix this compost with your native soil outside plants grow better. For container mixes some fine tuning might help, for example 10 or 20% compost instead of nutrients with the remainder coco coir or peat moss etc. How beneficial it is to wash or rinse, presoak coco coir, and whether it is helpful or necessary to saturate the coco with cal mag after rinsing and before adding it to the rest of the mix with compost. Maybe dry mix and forget about rinsing, they could come prewashed, or else you can just rinse the whole thing with lots of water once they are in bags or pots, before planting into them. Whether it is gypsum or lime or oyster shell or epsom salt, the mix takes some time to set up where the coco is saturated with magnesium and calcium ions and stuff. That's why it takes weeks or months from mixing to use.
I've grown in soil for a few years and this mix for the last 2. I grow with LC's and mix with guanos for a 'water-only' mix. It's a great mix, much cheaper than bagged soil mixes. The only thing i add is a little Bti to keep the fungus gnats from getting going.
are you using the amount in the recipe? and did you let it cook or sit for a bit before planting? I want to do more in the soil so I dont have to keep doing these teas, but was looking at living soils that involve way more things to mix in. Im very very happy with how things been coming for the last several years we have been brewing the guano teas, its hard to switch from it. I plan to do living soil, but am very stocked up and guano and have been thinking hard on doing this same mix that you are. Would love to hear more about your thoughts on it.
Boyd Crowder
Teem MiCr0B35
hey everyone - been a cpl years
but im back
i am cureently coco but i have a good 50-70 gallos of organic soil last living 2018 april
it had around 2 years on it when i shut down
now its time to get her back up for my moms and some experiments
so remind me how to get this back alive?
mix in 20% ewc 20% great compost and brew a good tea or two?
just wanna get it up and hydrated if not using it right away , i need it in a few weeks for some mom clones
btw this is a coots mix ca.2016 buildasoil mix base
but im back
i am cureently coco but i have a good 50-70 gallos of organic soil last living 2018 april
it had around 2 years on it when i shut down
now its time to get her back up for my moms and some experiments
so remind me how to get this back alive?
mix in 20% ewc 20% great compost and brew a good tea or two?
just wanna get it up and hydrated if not using it right away , i need it in a few weeks for some mom clones
btw this is a coots mix ca.2016 buildasoil mix base
I have been following the mix in the recipe. I didn't let it cook much, maybe a week until I popped the seedlings in. I've completed one grow with this recipe so far. Growth on that one was a bit slow, but I think this was due to low rh in my winter tent, not the soil.
I've started another grow in the same recipe and Im a few weeks into veg. No signs of nute problems so far. I expect I may have to top dress some guanos or pour on some compost tea to add some P in flower but we will see.
right on, I might have to try it before I do a full on living soil, I really stocked up on that stuff lol.
Yes. My soil smells like weed from all the leaves I put in it. I also cut the leaves up into smaller pieces. I just started keeping all the leaves in a fabric bag inside a garbage can on top of all the old used soil. I'll let it break down separately in the little fabric bag, and then mix with the soil. I think the smell of the soil also increases the smell of the plants a bit..but not sure.. I think my soil is living, because I saw a little leaf mould. The plants seem to love it, and I just add water..
TheGrandmaGrows
Member
BurnOne, this thread drastically changed the way I grow. I want to thank everyone whoo has contributed for sharing the knowledge!
I really want to thank BurnOne and the others who contributed to this thread. I have really changed the way that I grow too as a result of this thread. It has really helped me cut costs and grow in a way that is more relaxed.
I've grown for a few years, and I used to use roots organics soil. Its a fine product but pretty expensive to buy retail.
After reading this thread I tried the 'tea' method last year out doors in my raised garden beds, and that worked well. This year on an indoor run I changed to the 'bongoloid' guano mix. Both grows I had no complaints, no mystery deficiencies or toxicities.
Despite the fact that BurnOne keeps reminding people to 'follow the recipe' , I had to change it some to make the recipe my own.
I used the second LC's mix: Promix BX/EWC/Perlite in a 6:2:2 ratio. I swapped the dolomitic lime for a hi-cal lime. I think the hi-cal has a better ratio of Cal:MG than most dolomitic lime, closer to the 7:1 that I've heard is ideal.
Because I've heard good things about biochar, to this mix I added about 3-5% biochar (aka, hardwood charcoal that I smashed with a hammer).
To this I added the guano recipe of Hi N guano, Hi P guano, Kelp meal, and greensand. I doubt the greensand will do much during the course of a single grow, but if you re-use soil it could start releasing its goodies. The ratios are up there in the first post.
That's it. I used 3 gallon pots inside, manifolded the plants and I fed them with water only after transplant. I use the blumat carrots, 1 lg and 1 regular per 3 gal pot plus I top-watered maybe once a week. They are lit by an 8 L t5HO and I added some janky SIL LED in flower.
While a did run in to some P def about 3 weeks in to flower, I think this recipe is a keeper.
It's low cost, and low stress. Who needs more stress these days?
I've grown for a few years, and I used to use roots organics soil. Its a fine product but pretty expensive to buy retail.
After reading this thread I tried the 'tea' method last year out doors in my raised garden beds, and that worked well. This year on an indoor run I changed to the 'bongoloid' guano mix. Both grows I had no complaints, no mystery deficiencies or toxicities.
Despite the fact that BurnOne keeps reminding people to 'follow the recipe' , I had to change it some to make the recipe my own.
I used the second LC's mix: Promix BX/EWC/Perlite in a 6:2:2 ratio. I swapped the dolomitic lime for a hi-cal lime. I think the hi-cal has a better ratio of Cal:MG than most dolomitic lime, closer to the 7:1 that I've heard is ideal.
Because I've heard good things about biochar, to this mix I added about 3-5% biochar (aka, hardwood charcoal that I smashed with a hammer).
To this I added the guano recipe of Hi N guano, Hi P guano, Kelp meal, and greensand. I doubt the greensand will do much during the course of a single grow, but if you re-use soil it could start releasing its goodies. The ratios are up there in the first post.
That's it. I used 3 gallon pots inside, manifolded the plants and I fed them with water only after transplant. I use the blumat carrots, 1 lg and 1 regular per 3 gal pot plus I top-watered maybe once a week. They are lit by an 8 L t5HO and I added some janky SIL LED in flower.
While a did run in to some P def about 3 weeks in to flower, I think this recipe is a keeper.
It's low cost, and low stress. Who needs more stress these days?
