First shot at super soil.

[Joe383]

So I bought 5 bags of roots organic soil with intention of using 4 bags for a half batch of soil and using 1 for my base soil. Well in short I made a 1/4 batch with 2 bags which I did not want to do but did, here is my mix. 2 bags of Roots, about 6 LBS of worm castings, 1.25 LBs each of blood meal, bone meal, high P bat guano, 12 oz rock phosphate, 2 table spoons lime, 2 table spoons azomite, 2 table spoons crushed oyster shell, 2 table spoons of diatomaceous earth and 2 teaspoons of humic acid.

I though the diatomaceous might add some silica but am un sure. I know it wont do any thing bad cuz I have used it for pest control but I don't know if it will do any good or not. I am going to try to get some silica additive next time. I have used potassium silicate before and like what it dose to my plants as far as strengthening the tissue. I don't know if adding the oyster shell was a bad idea but I plan on using bottled water that has a ppm of about 4 and did not want to add any thing to my water and though I should add some extra calcium due to that.

I mixed this up about 3 days ago and have it in my shed so it can cook tell about October. My base soil concerns me though as I have used roots once before and never used it again due to the PH of the soil being about 5 out of the bag. This time I tried mixing some base soil using 1 bag mixed with 1 table spoon of lime, 1 table spoon of the oyster shell and 1/2 teaspoon full of humic acid. I will be using it in about 1 month to start my plant in.

I plan on starting in a 1 gallon pot and transplanting in to a 7 gallon pot filled about 1/3 with super soil. I think the strain I will be starting will be blue cheese from barnys farm under a 600W hps with a vented hood in about a 2' X 3' space. The closed is wider but is blocked off making the usable space about 3' wide. I will be getting a 4' X 4' tent later but this is my grow space for now. This is my first time at full organics so any tips would be appreciated. I have grown for about 5 years now so this is not my first grow. I use to use happy frog soil with the roots Buddha grow, bloom and cal mag. Time for something new. I usually grow autos. Will be learning how to use this mixture for my autos too. Plant on diluting it and trying it in a 5 gal pot with my purple kush auto.

I usually only grow one plant at a time when growing photos so I will not be going through a lot of soil. I still have 2 un touched bags if any one thinks I messed something up here. What do you all think? I know a lot of people live by teas but I don't want to have to feed my plants. I am trying to get my wife in to growing her own meds and think this might simplify things enough that she might start growing with me. I am sick of nutes I am always growing different plants and some times I have a good grow but some times I over feed, the PH gets off or I get nute lock out. I will post how this grow goes for you all when I start it. If things go astray on me I will try again with out the extras I added but I see enough people on here using similar mixes I am pretty confident it should be fine. Have to get my AC installed in my grow room before I can grow cuz the last grow went south due to high temps

Any one using super soil for there autos? I was thinking of cutting it 50/50 and putting it in the bottom 1/4 of a 5 gallon pot. Was thinking of trying this under a spare 250W HPS I have or try something different? I think this mix might be a little nitrogen rich for my autos.

 

[Joe383]

Should I add any worm castings to my base soil?

 

[Eyes on Fire]

well imho you have a few issues with that mix.its very light on EWC waay to much guano not enough lime(especially if your thinking PH issues too) and i use living organics within ALL of my plants from regular ole flowers to cannabis and beyond. if you get me a materials list ill take a look later on today or tonight and re apply how it should look roughly..also do you have an inoculate as well?steer manure?i dont suppose your using fresh vermicompost?its not absolutely needed but from a ground up recipe you'll often need to inoculate it for the fuller feeding characteristics of said living mix.which if left to essentially cold compost that'll be fine too actually just takes a few times longer and its not as nicely antiseptic and/or aggressive in the relm of quality growth for living organic mixes which we all seek.

on a side note all my plants ive posted in all of my thread these past cpl months have been with a very dwinling soil thats a lil high in N but thats cuz Ive done all autos in the mix..so unable to pull it all out but well enough and with a frsh mix there shouldnt be a single blemish on em especially with the antiseptic qualities.so ya bro do me a favor and gimme a materials list and the exact doses per and ill re hash it for ya if ya'd like cuz as it stands nowyour mix is extremely hot..like smoking hot prolly with little life atm so it''llbe warm but its far from where it should or even needs to be imho, so youll have to cut it by not less than 30-40% or so and possibly even have to plug it but at that strenght ya might be able to plant right into it..but id really advise against it at this time.

and if you wanna add casting your mix is roughly 20-25 gallons? sooo Id add a full 25-30 LBs if you only added a cpl pounds.

 

[Eekman]

Hey Joe,

Nice to see you going organic. Some things to keep in mind. Later in flower you MAY have to add some something to keep your soil buffered. Once the calcium/lime gets used up, it may show a deficiency. Add about a half cup to your two bag mix. Just a bit more than you are already. I would also make the Azomite a half cup as well. And be prepared to add a table spoon to the pot (lime) and work it into the soil about the time it goes into flower.

Diatomacious Earth Is good in your soil. It will keep larvae inactive of most soft bodied insects, or kill them. Keeping them from surfacing, and reproducing. It has no silica, or not enough to help. I haven't used silica before, but I am not sure how it works. I don't think my plants (The Cabin in my signature) are needing it.

Other than that, I think you are off to a great start.

I see EOF has stopped in, he is a master organic gardener.

If you have more questions, please ask.

 

[Joe383]

EOF I took the original sub cool recipe and cut it down to 1/4 and added DE and oyster shell to it. I thought the worm castings were for the micro. I put the lid on it and stored it in my shed which is about 85* average and have seen the web form on the top of soil but took lid off as I could faintly smell ammonia. I am an ammonia tech so I am a little sensitive to the smell hahaha. How about you give me a list for a 2 large bag mix and I will work on getting the stuff I don't already have and I will make your recipe too. I have roots organic soil what would you add to 2 bags of that? I also have about 9 LBS of worm castings still in an un opened bag. Better yet what are you doing to your autos? Give me an auto mix and what size pot you using. I will follow your style to a T and will tweak it if it don't quiet work for me. Just have to give me a few weeks to get the things I might not have.

Eakman I love the silica additive. You don't see any thing from it but if you try to cut a branch with your nails it almost becomes imposable, love the stuff. It also helps raise PH which is what I usually use it for. Helps make things stronger. I might have to use it on my out door crop next year cuz the wind is crazy were I live and broke a plant this year So I will add more lime to this than and azomite and see how things go. The lime seamed a little light to me. I must have got my measurements a little off when I shrunk things down. Thanks guys.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

ok gimme a few mins Imma go get all kinds of tuned up.major headache atm..brb.

 

[eggmansky]

Yup,
Si does indeed raise the pH as it is very alkal. I'm experimenting with it to chill out pH drop in hydro/coco/drip.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

ya man. sweet enzyme teas if mellow,gypsum,hardwood wood ash which i use both.there are all kinds of components to swimg your PH where ya need it really.unless you go too far then it scars your gals typically in some manner,but this is the newest mix Im using among others including a seedling mix as well.

Base Mix

7 Heaping gallons of coco coir,Sunshine #4

5-6 gallons medium/small nugget Horto grade perlite

6-7 gallons EWC..(fresh vermicompost is best)

and the harder materials combined mostly all together and mixed really really well. then added to the base mix that was blended 3 or 4 times already blending the inoculate and EWC and other smaller components throughout prior to food being dispersed.

3/4 cup grow granules

3/4 heaping cup of bloom granules

1/2 cup green sand rounded

2 cups oyster flour

1 cup dolomite Lime powder

1 1/2 cups granule fast lime(pellet/Prilled)Garden Lime

1/4 rounded cup blood meal

5 TBspns 10-3-1 bat guano

1/2 rounded cup cottonseed meal

1 1/3 cup bone meal

1/2 cup organic granule bulb food

1/3 heaping cup soft rock phosphate

1/2 cup heaping of garden gypsum

2/3 cup heaping, kelp meal

6 packed cups of steer manure(all inoculation mixed and blended separately)

2 TBspn great White

4-6 Tbspn Bio VAM AG

1/4 cup Endo mix Spectrum 4

1/2 cup rounded,Earth Recharge

1 - 1 1/2 cups Buffaloam compost

1 1/2 cups bokashi

1/4 cup Earth Syrup

1/4 cup Elemite

1/4 cup Azomite

1 heaping cup of baseline granules

1 cup rounded of Alfalfa meal

1-2 heaping cups of organic rice

1-2 cups mushroom compost

1/4 - 1/2 cup insect frass

2 cups crabshell

1 cups eggshell dried and crushed only not ground.


here is my thread if tyou wanna see a few of the four recipes Im using.ill be posting more in time.theyve only been blending for a few weeks now.and im several weeks out from my full grow being complete but Im fairly confident in saying its goanna be frigin stellar for no less than two auto grows (with teas)

https://www.autoflower.org/index.ph...fully-organic-soil-aact-building.46175/page-7

 

[Eyes on Fire]

and you have two bags of 1.5CF? of roots eh?of 2CF? well its atleast a solid 20 gallons of soil at any rate. one thing you have to understand is that with any mix from scratch it needs to be inoculated with a composted material thats strong,resilientand disease free..and if its a fast grower all the better/if its not fresh vermicompost your missing out. so at this point its about amounts.with 20 gallons of soil and a bag n a have roughly of casting or so isnt enough to gain what many want.but works if a simple mix is what your going for here.Id personally back off the humic acid with soo much guano in it.and off the cuff what does a pound and a wuarter rate too?3 cups or better? WAY too much for autos unless your gonna cut it or use a large tier or plug method.

but if a simple mix is what your after Id do something like:

2 bags roots

3 cups bone meal( or 50/50 bulb and bone meal or 50/50 bone meal and a bloom granule)

1.5 cups kelp meal

3/4 cup blood meal

3/4 cup DE

1 rounded cup sweet lime powder

1 rounded cup prilled lime

1.5 cups soft rock phoshate

1 cup azomite and add all those castings.

now Id check the bags for their PH prior to any unforeseen issues man.

and add 2 cups oyster shell and a cup of crab and or combo of egg and crab or just eggshells crushed really well.almost ground up. and either an inoculate and some alfalfa is always good.

but honestly id buy a bag of steer compost and about 15-20 LB of castings and 5-7 gallons of coco and you already got the soil.so your well over half way for a full mix man.. ya got perlite?

 

[eggmansky]

ya man. sweet enzyme teas if mellow,gypsum,hardwood wood ash which i use both.there are all kinds of components to swimg your PH where ya need it really.unless you go too far then it scars your gals typically in some manner,but this is the newest mix Im using among others including a seedling mix as well.

Base Mix

7 Heaping gallons of coco coir,Sunshine #4

5-6 gallons medium/small nugget Horto grade perlite

6-7 gallons EWC..(fresh vermicompost is best)

and the harder materials combined mostly all together and mixed really really well. then added to the base mix that was blended 3 or 4 times already blending the inoculate and EWC and other smaller components throughout prior to food being dispersed.

3/4 cup grow granules

3/4 heaping cup of bloom granules

1/2 cup green sand rounded

2 cups oyster flour

1 cup dolomite Lime powder

1 1/2 cups granule fast lime(pellet/Prilled)Garden Lime

1/4 rounded cup blood meal

5 TBspns 10-3-1 bat guano

1/2 rounded cup cottonseed meal

1 1/3 cup bone meal

1/2 cup organic granule bulb food

1/3 heaping cup soft rock phosphate

1/2 cup heaping of garden gypsum

2/3 cup heaping, kelp meal

6 packed cups of steer manure(all inoculation mixed and blended separately)

2 TBspn great White

4-6 Tbspn Bio VAM AG

1/4 cup Endo mix Spectrum 4

1/2 cup rounded,Earth Recharge

1 - 1 1/2 cups Buffaloam compost

1 1/2 cups bokashi

1/4 cup Earth Syrup

1/4 cup Elemite

1/4 cup Azomite

1 heaping cup of baseline granules

1 cup rounded of Alfalfa meal

1-2 heaping cups of organic rice

1-2 cups mushroom compost

1/4 - 1/2 cup insect frass

2 cups crabshell

1 cups eggshell dried and crushed only not ground.


here is my thread if tyou wanna see a few of the four recipes Im using.ill be posting more in time.theyve only been blending for a few weeks now.and im several weeks out from my full grow being complete but Im fairly confident in saying its goanna be frigin stellar for no less than two auto grows (with teas)

https://www.autoflower.org/index.ph...fully-organic-soil-aact-building.46175/page-7

...sounds like my recipe for Chorizo!