making soil need help

[greasemonkeymann]

Pet stores or feed stores for alfalfa. Got a forty pound bag of alfalfa for 15 bucks at tractor supply. Make sure its not bound with fat if pellets. The make small bags of alfalfa pellets for rabbits.

also make sure it's not bound with molasses

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Here is RIU member Sidewing's soil recipe that I'm currently using. He has a "trimmed down" version with fewer ingredients, but the below recipe has worked very well for me.

I've used SubCool's Super Soil, with problems.

In the interest of always trying to improve, is there anything missing in the below recipe? Is there too much of anything?

Thanks in advance.

• 2 large bags - roots natural and organic soil large bag (1.5)
• 1.5 cu - EB Earth Worm Castings
• 16 red cups (about 1kg) – organic rice hulls
• 420g fish bone meal (down to earth 3-16-0)
• 420g bat guano (happy frog 0-5-0)
• 420g blood meal (down to earth 12-0-0)
• 100g neem seed meal (down to earth)
• 80g potassium sulfate (0-0-50)
• 200g ancient forest alaska humus (general organics)
• 200g xtreme mycorrhizal granules
• 200g azomite
• 100g sea kelp (algamin 1-0-2)
• 70g dolomite lime (30% cal 3% mg or 75/12)
• 50g alfalfa meal (down to earth 2.5-1-1)
• 20g humic acid powder (down to earth)
• 8g Epsom salt

I would HIGHLY recommend NOT using the potassium sulfate, you'll never ever need that much potassium and K is in a LOT of out organic nutrients.
Potassium is in a lot of stuff brother, neem meal, kelp meal, crab meal, alfalfa, and of course BSM.
I would add crab meal, and subtract the Epsom, bat guano, blood meal, and d-lime.
I have little experience with rice hulls as aeration but I imagine it's similar to vermiculite. I'd add biochar, pumice, and volcanic rock.
The mychorrizhae doesn't do much, if anything, if it's not applied on the actual roots.
And you should add some peat too man.

 

[TBoneJack]

I would HIGHLY recommend NOT using the potassium sulfate, you'll never ever need that much potassium and K is in a LOT of out organic nutrients.
Potassium is in a lot of stuff brother, neem meal, kelp meal, crab meal, alfalfa, and of course BSM.
I would add crab meal, and subtract the Epsom, bat guano, blood meal, and d-lime.
I have little experience with rice hulls as aeration but I imagine it's similar to vermiculite. I'd add biochar, pumice, and volcanic rock.
The mychorrizhae doesn't do much, if anything, if it's not applied on the actual roots.
And you should add some peat too man.

Do you have a link to your soil recipe? I'm always open to new things.

Thanks.

 

[Sparehead]

Here is RIU member Sidewing's soil recipe that I'm currently using. He has a "trimmed down" version with fewer ingredients, but the below recipe has worked very well for me.

I've used SubCool's Super Soil, with problems.

In the interest of always trying to improve, is there anything missing in the below recipe? Is there too much of anything?

Thanks in advance.

• 2 large bags - roots natural and organic soil large bag (1.5)
• 1.5 cu - EB Earth Worm Castings
• 16 red cups (about 1kg) – organic rice hulls
• 420g fish bone meal (down to earth 3-16-0)
• 420g bat guano (happy frog 0-5-0)
• 420g blood meal (down to earth 12-0-0)
• 100g neem seed meal (down to earth)
• 80g potassium sulfate (0-0-50)
• 200g ancient forest alaska humus (general organics)
• 200g xtreme mycorrhizal granules
• 200g azomite
• 100g sea kelp (algamin 1-0-2)
• 70g dolomite lime (30% cal 3% mg or 75/12)
• 50g alfalfa meal (down to earth 2.5-1-1)
• 20g humic acid powder (down to earth)
• 8g Epsom salt

I use this recipe minus the neem seed meal as I've had trouble getting it. I have excellent results with it. I started with subs recipe but have moved to this one at the moment. I am trying to make the shift into no till living soil. That is where its at

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Do you have a link to your soil recipe? I'm always open to new things.

Thanks.

her you go man.
----
first if you are making from scratch stick to the 33/33/33 mix.
33% compost/vermicompost (homemade if possible) I like a 50/50 mix of both leaf compost and EWC
33% aeration
33% peat
the per cubic foot (about 7.5 gallons)
add one cup of the following
neem meal, kelp meal, crab meal.
then per cubic foot add HALF cup
insect meal (mashed up dried insect chicken feed)
alfalfa meal
fish bone meal
that's all for the nutes
then the minerals
3-4 cups per cubic foot, I like a mix of different minerals, if you are re-using your soil maybe avoid azomite.
must have one cup of oyster flour per cubic foot to control peats acidity, in addition to the oyster flour, you want 2-4 TOTAL cups of minerals, rock phosphates, gypsum, basalt, granite, (although it can be radioactive.....) greensand or langbeinite if you are re-using your soil, but don't expect much from them at first
that's all the normal shit.
it's in my amendments where the difference is (maybe the insect meal too), biochar, pumice, volcanic rock, and rotten tree log chunks are what I use.
of the 33% aeration I go 50% of that as standard conventional aeration, volcanic rock or pumice, then 25% biochar and 25% rotten wood chunks.... in fact i'm pretty sure I have more than 33% aeration in my mix if you account for all the rotten wood chunk, but damn, I tell ya my plants LOVE this mix, and it retains the PERFECT amount of water.
if you have any doubt add more aeration, never hurts, especially if it's biochar or rotten wood.
on top of all that add a cup of oyster shells (again chicken feed area) per cubic foot
---- if you are growing outside, try very hard to find some rotten tree logs, they condition the soil perfectly and the soil will absorb more water when you water them, which is always a good thing

 

[TBoneJack]

I use this recipe minus the neem seed meal as I've had trouble getting it. I have excellent results with it. I started with subs recipe but have moved to this one at the moment. I am trying to make the shift into no till living soil. That is where its at

I've had excellent results with this mix as well.

I also started with Sub's recipe, and didn't like it.

 

[darkzero]

Just updating progress on my super soil cook all earth worms are now soil that were in there cant even tell i put anything in there as it has been devoured. Just added about a cup more of kelp meal, gypsum, crab shell meal, and marine cuisine mixed well added water, and turned all the soil to mix evenly only been maybe 8 days maybe 22 more to go or may let it set another 40 days, getting heat mat soon for it.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Just updating progress on my super soil cook all earth worms are now soil that were in there cant even tell i put anything in there as it has been devoured. Just added about a cup more of kelp meal, gypsum, crab shell meal, and marine cuisine mixed well added water, and turned all the soil to mix evenly only been maybe 8 days maybe 22 more to go or may let it set another 40 days, getting heat mat soon for it.

I don't think you'll need a heat mat, I never have had to.
Course I grow in CA...
Just make sure to not overwater it, you barely need any water at all, another idea is to plant some soil-starting seeds in the soil, and that way you can visually see when the soil is aged enough for your plants. the sprouts will take off when the soils' amendments become available

 

[darkzero]

Yeah I havent added anymore water but soil is going well no fluffy mold has shown up and cooking well.Can't wait to use it which might be in another month when the White rose seeds have been sprouted, veged, and rdy to flower

 

[darkzero]

What my soil is at now, just turned it and added distilled water to it, keeping temp at 70-77 degrees