SchmoeJoe
Well-Known Member
The easiest way to do organics in soil is to start with a base soil that doesn't have a lot of nutrient additives and mix in a complete, dry organic fertilizer blend with beneficials. I know they're not available where you are but for reference I use Roots Organic B2 soil and add Down To Earth Bio-Live.
To answer you're questions;
1) Yes, soil can produce more of the essential oils and terpenes that give aroma and flavor. A lot of this comes down to the soil flora and fauna. You can mimic this in hydro but it won't be the same.
2)Yes, you can use natural ph buffers in your soil to stabilize the ph. To do this you have to adjust for soil additives that affect ph. You should also account for the ph of your starting water. Unless you're using distilled or RO water you should also be aware of seasonal ph changes, even on municipal water systems, if you aren't already.
3)I can't say for a fact what labeling laws are like where you are but here a product can only be certified organic if every input meats the standard. There are plenty of products that will try to trick people by stating something like,
"made with ORGANIC KELP" or similar meant to convince you that it's organic when it's just the one ingredient. In short, having the word organic on the label doesn't mean completely organic. Not even a claim of completely organic should be taken literally. Research your own local labeling and organic certification laws to know what to look for. Also, it's important to remember that most organic fertilizers are produced with a very low, acidic ph to keep them stable for an extended shelf life. When using these it's important to remember to adjust your feeds ph up. A convenient way to do this is to also feed with silica. It raises the ph so you'll need less ph up. Bottled liquid silica supplements may not be organic but there are soil bacteria that feed on it so it's actually beneficial for soil biology too. Not to mention that it doesn't really work as well without the soil bacteria unless you get the insanely expensive silicic acid form.
As far as organic goes I think everyone who's interested in it should read the article "Soil Sorcery, The Secret To Rich Dark Carbon Capturing Soil? Treat Your Microbes Well". The short version is that using some synthetics is ok as long as you still understand the basics of a healthy living soil rhizosphere. Most farm soils are depleted of soil biology because they only get the bare minimum of nutrients for profitable crops without any concern for soil tilth. The article even lists the ideal NPK ratio for peak microbial activity.
4)As for what soil to recommend it's hard to say without knowing what's available. I will say don't use the bailed sunshine promix. All of the perlite gets crushed into dust.
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