still confused about soil

[icarus]

alright friends... i've been doing a LOT of reading on here, but i'm still confused.

i will be the first to admit that i really don't know anything about organic cultivation. so, i've been trying to figure out how to build a good and appropriate soil mix for some organic ladies. i will be using compost teas (REv's recipes) for feeding and bacteria/fungi, but i understand that one of the main points of organics is to feed the soil from the start so that you don't have to feed your plants all the time. what i think i'm looking to create is an 'all purpose' type nutrient blend in the soil (similar NPK ratios), but i don't know where to start. i've found lots of recipes for soil mixes on here but am unsure where to start for myself. different peeps talk about layering and about putting a mix in the bottom for the roots to find...

so, i feel that i've put in a good effort to find an answer to my questions before posting and to try and understand this/make sense of this for myself, but i need some help. can anyone point me in the right direction or possibly give me a recipe for a beginner's organic soil mix that would provide what my girls need and still allow me to apply compost tea?

any input is greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

[majestyk5]

i wish i could help you bro, but i cant. i am sure some one will though.

[icarus]

thanks majestyk5. 500 posts ;) nice work :p

[icarus]

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/potmix.html

found this in my readings as well. good read on organic soil/less mixes.

[CB]

hey icarus,

I don't now enough yet to toss soil recipe's up like, been amazed that havent had a bad batch yet:eek:

keep google'n REv- he is active on the net alltho on a short vacation at the moment, cant find him and or his recipe's pm me.

tea's can cover alot of what is needed from what i have tried but to get the most out of the plant organically speak'n then the soil needs built up some.

I think foxfarms is a great soil to start with and then just tweek on it some..(feed the beastie's)...

If you still cant find anything I will post up a couple easy basic soil mix's also read THIS (http://www.homegrownbud.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2916) for a soil mix... pretty sure E-man has posted up a couple others as well...


peace

[icarus]

thanks CB! found this online as well and it's got some good basic recipes! starting to get a better understanding already!:D i learned early on in my pursuits that reading is one of my best friends.

http://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-organic-and-hydroponics-gardening.com/soil-mixes.html#seedstarting

also, unfortunately where i live fox farms is special order stuff... so i either need to find a local alternative or learn to create my own. i like the learning idea better ;)

[CB]

thanks CB!

your welcome, just get'n my head around this organic stuff here... last 2 years like so dont want to give out bad info like... most time's just follow REv- and E-man's post and wing it a bit....

myself i think i made it harder on myself then was necessary but IMO a good way to learn

I did a couple side by sides with bottled organics and adjusted as i researched.... sorry cant be of more help but not a great organics person here yet

grow on and thanks for those links

[gorilla]

I read like a crazy person before I started, too, but soon realized it wasn't much different then growing a plant normally. The most confusing and, really cool, part of it all is the teas. With the teas though, i find, if you fed too weak you can add more next time, or feed again sooner, without much worry. My plants usually get mad for not feeding enough.

As far as the soil goes, I wing it anymore. Since I transplant a few times I dont kill myself as far as making a giant base mix I take everything from, i've tried this and find it expensive and a pain in the ass. I have all of the nutrients I need now, and add them as I see fit. Little of this, little of that, maybe different things for different parts of the season.. but it'll grow anyway.

My answer is not as informative as it is supposed to be reassuring and maybe calming. :D Basically you want your soil to be a good place for roots to grow and microorganisms (or whatever they're called) to thrive. Teas are like beastie/food injections and help a lot to keep your soil happy too.

[CB]

Basically you want your soil to be a good place for roots to grow and microorganisms (or whatever they're called) to thrive. Teas are like beastie/food injections and help a lot to keep your soil happy too.

sounds vag like but it isn't really..... tiss just a weed so grow it like one ;) but in poop..... pretty sure there's some npk charts here for all organic compounds.... study them and try for a 3-2-1 ratio in veg then some 1-1-1 going into flower (10 days or so) then to a 1-2-3 ratio until 5 week of flower then a shot of 1-1-1/0-50-30 then back to 1-2-3 until chop.... kinda how I do it here with just tea's pretty much;)

[Even Crazier Van Guy]

like CB said... this is a weed... and I fully agree. It'll grow in a crack in the sidewalk, fer fuck sakes! LOL

I'll tell ya 'bout a soil mix I made a few years ago at my old place... I didn't exactly use it to grow pot (was with family at the time), instead, used it around the yard - to build up the new flowerbed I put in the front yard...

all I did was.... put every fucking scrap of shit that was organic - grass clippings, sticks and branches, leaves, ALL organic kitchen matter (that wasn't contaminated) including used coffee grounds and filters, any sweeping of the floors (this adds sand and gravel) - I just used to keep an ice-cream gallon bucket with lid under the sink for compost crap, cut flowers, pulled weeds out of the flowerbeds, ANYTHING that would rot went into this pile.

didn't turn it or anything... it just got rained on for a few years and added to... well, when I put that new flowerbed in, I just dug up this HUGE pile of the blackest, richest dirt I've ever seen in my life and filled the big flowerbed...

well... the annuals I put in there that year went ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!! and overgrew the big perrenials they were suppose to only fill in spaces inbetween... and I never had to add any ferts to the beds the rest of the time I lived there... and my yard was nice. All my neighbors were envious, and told me so :D

anyways... that's how I made my organic soil before...

[Shadows]

like CB said... this is a weed... and I fully agree. It'll grow in a crack in the sidewalk, fer fuck sakes! LOL

I'll tell ya 'bout a soil mix I made a few years ago at my old place... I didn't exactly use it to grow pot (was with family at the time), instead, used it around the yard - to build up the new flowerbed I put in the front yard...

all I did was.... put every fucking scrap of shit that was organic - grass clippings, sticks and branches, leaves, ALL organic kitchen matter (that wasn't contaminated) including used coffee grounds and filters, any sweeping of the floors (this adds sand and gravel) - I just used to keep an ice-cream gallon bucket with lid under the sink for compost crap, cut flowers, pulled weeds out of the flowerbeds, ANYTHING that would rot went into this pile.

didn't turn it or anything... it just got rained on for a few years and added to... well, when I put that new flowerbed in, I just dug up this HUGE pile of the blackest, richest dirt I've ever seen in my life and filled the big flowerbed...

well... the annuals I put in there that year went ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!! and overgrew the big perrenials they were suppose to only fill in spaces inbetween... and I never had to add any ferts to the beds the rest of the time I lived there... and my yard was nice. All my neighbors were envious, and told me so :D

anyways... that's how I made my organic soil before...


Yup, its how mines been prepping. I believe its called a "cold compost pile". I do turn it, but only every 2 months... It'll be ready when I am:D

[CB]

I believe its called a "cold compost pile".

yep.... wont kill off other seed like a hot compost but works fine;)

[icarus]

thanks for all the posts everyone. i've made a soil mix for starting some seeds...

1 part premium quality soil; made from forest humus, red wiggler worm castings, peat moss, perlite, sand, lime, and pumice (sterilized through composting)

1 part perlite

and about 5% extra organic worm castings.

looking forward to feeding with compost teas and bought a container the other day for brewing the tea!

[majestyk5]

good luch with it bro