Mixing a basic all purpose organic soil; feedback wanted/welcome

[TimeTraveler]

Hey all! I'm mixing up a batch of soil for my gardening this year; not just MJ but also for various fruits, veggies, and herbs I'll be growing as well. As a result I'm trying to keep it fairly all purpose, with plans to modify it for given plants after planting with teas and additives. Not all the measurements are precise, as I had a few small bags of various things I used up to get rid of them in the mix.

Here's the basic recipe, which I mixed up in a 50 gallon tub (filled it most of the way, I'd say I've got about 45 gallons or so):

50# Composted Cow Manue
50# Mushroom Compost
15# Earthworm Castings
50# Top soil
12 quarts Vermiculite
3 gallons Perlite
6 cups Greensand
8# FoxFarm basic potting soil mix
2 cups Down to Earth All Purpose Fertilizer (4-6-2)
300 ml Liquid Kelp
5# Sand
3 cups Dolomite
3 cups used coffee grounds
2 oz biological inoculant
2 gallons rainwater
2 cups Epsom salts
1 cup humic acid
1 cup azomite

Basically, I mixed up the composts, EWC, top soil, and leftover potting mix to give myself a base soil without a lot of amendments. Then I added perlite, vermiculite, and sand to give it good water retention and drainage (I'm trying to minimize my peat usage, as it's really hard for me to come by sustainably harvested peat around here). The plan was to create a nice, loose, loamy garden soil that was rich in organic material and microbial life with good planting properties.

Next, the nutrients and additives were mixed in to help create a TLO-style environment: coffee grounds and all-purpose fertilizer, epsom salts, azomite, and kelp provided a variety of sources for major and trace nutrients and minerals. I added the lime to counter the acidity of the grounds, and provide its own nutrients, and the humic acid was added because I figured I'd need a good source of it since I wasn't adding peat. Rainwater and biological inoculant were used to provide a rich, ph-friendly source of microbial life to boost the organisms present in the composts and EWC.

It looks nice, dark (but not that rich, chocolatey dark I see in some soil pics), and has a good earthy smell to it. My plan is to let it cook for about a month or so before starting my containers. Any thoughts or advice on additives?

 

[Eyes on Fire]

it looks pretty good short of some bone,alfalfa,kelp meal and a lil cotton seed of feather meal,which some should be added on top of what you have imho. sum crab shell and/or crushed oysters if you can get them or oyster shell powder maybe..not necessary but just improvements..stick to the crab,alfalfa,kelp and bone meal.blood,cotton,or feather if ya can swing it though. also man lol prolly stoned er something buuut whats 50#<---whats that mean??how much?50 Litres,quarts,gallons ?lol keep it warm n that'll help too.:smoke::Sharing One: hope that helps ya little bro :Sharing One:

 

[AKNorthernlights]

You can mix in some coco and get a nice loose airy soil that way too.

Good luck Man.

 

[Joedirt]

After its cooked for a few weeks I like to toss some oat meal or rice on top and after a few day see the mycelium consuming it.
Im sure it does miner good, but I like to know if my dirt is inhabited.

 

[TimeTraveler]

You can mix in some coco and get a nice loose airy soil that way too.

Good luck Man.

it looks pretty good short of some bone,alfalfa,kelp meal and a lil cotton seed of feather meal,which some should be added on top of what you have imho. sum crab shell and/or crushed oysters if you can get them or oyster shell powder maybe..not necessary but just improvements..stick to the crab,alfalfa,kelp and bone meal.blood,cotton,or feather if ya can swing it though. also man lol prolly stoned er something buuut whats 50#<---whats that mean??how much?50 Litres,quarts,gallons ?lol keep it warm n that'll help too.:smoke::Sharing One: hope that helps ya little bro :Sharing One:

The "#" is the pound sign; 50# is 50 pounds, and so on.

I'll take your guys' advice, and as soon as I have the cash to spare (hopefully this coming week, but it may have to wait) I'll pick up some of the supplies on the list for sure.

I know there's a pet store nearby that stocks crushed oyster shells, and the grow shop near me should have coco, blood meal, kelp meal, cottonseed meal, and bone meal. I may have to special order the alfalfa and feather meals, though. It's fine by me either way; Down to Earth has pretty much everything I can't get from the store online.

They have both fish bone meal and bone meal; any important difference or reason I should pick one over the other? They also have crab meal; is that the same as crab shell, better, or worse?

I'm also debating picking up another back of the Fox Farm basic soil or more EWC, just to fill out the last five gallons. First, though, I'll add the rinsed coco coir and see how much that bulks it up. I've heard it breaks down pretty quickly in organic soils, though. Is that true? I know it won't be a problem for this grow, just have to know so I can incorporate more between plantings if it does decompose rapidly during growth. Thanks for the advice, guys! Will post a pic of the soil after I mix in these last ferts, and again after it's cooked to see if it looks right.

 

[AKNorthernlights]

I have read the opposite on coco coir that its slow to break down like 10 years or more so recycles well.

My first time using it myself so we will see.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

yeah broill PM you in a few hours.Im heading to a brunch atm,but ill get with you when I come back.not much on the list you'll need really.but more involved slightly then most on the list you canor should get.but be good dude n ill yap attcha soon.

 

[TimeTraveler]

So, a couple basic shots of the soil now that it's had a few days to cook.

It's smelling nice and earthy, so I must have done something right. More amendments coming after a nice discussion with EoF, and then it should be ready for some kick-ass gardening this year!

I only hope I mixed enough...I'll easily have 50 gallons, but it just seems to be so....little, honestly. I'll probably buy a big bag of EWC to top-dress my planters afterwards, and that should help. Then, during the summer, I'll get an earthworm farm and home compost system going as well. Should be good times by fall!

Anyway, here's the dirty pics:

First shot is further back

Next shot is a close up:

 

[TimeTraveler]

Well, just finished mixing and amending my soil per some private discussion with EoF.

The final recipe is:

50 lbs Composted Cow Manure
50 lbs Mushroom Compost
30 lbs Earthworm Castings
50 lbs Top soil
12 quarts Vermiculite
8 gallons Perlite
2 gallons Coco Coir
6 cups Greensand
8 lbs FoxFarm basic potting soil mix
2 cups Down to Earth All Purpose Fertilizer (4-6-2)
300 ml Liquid Kelp
1 cup Kelp Meal
5 lbs Sand
4 cups Dolomite
3 cups used coffee grounds
4 oz biological inoculant
3 gallons rainwater
2 gallons R.O. water
2 cups Epsom salts
1 cup humic acid
1 2/3 cup azomite
1.5 cups alfalfa meal
1/2 cup Blood meal
1/2 cup cottonseed meal
1.5 cups bone meal
1.5 cups crab meal

I'll post some pics in the coming months of my crops, to show how they do. Here's hoping for a nice, lush harvest!

PROTIP: If there's a Ball Mart in your area, they might sell water by the gallon in the drink area (not pre-bottled I mean, but a water dispenser for jugs). This water should be R.O., at least the one in my neighborhood is filtered, R.O., and UV treated.

 

[Eyes on Fire]

Looks pretty good if ya ask me.just do a germ test with some reg beans to watch how they do prior to planting your good stuff in it but looks right nice if ya ask me..lol but Im still not sold on the vermiculite though lol. it might be a lil hot for direct planting,but other than that with a small thinning per pot or plugged or however your gonna do it ,I bet it'll do ya juuust fine.:Sharing One: