meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
Hello! I use SIPs with the below mix. I grow as organic as possible. Always looking to improve and I know there are more amendments to add to soil mixes. What do you think I should add and why?
Soil Mix, What else should I add to make it even better?
- Thread starter meangreengrowinmachine
- Start date
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
wow.... didnt even add the mix!
Ingredient Amount per 22.5 gallons
Pete Moss 7.5 gal (1 cubic foot)
EWC 3.75 gal
Compost 3.75 gal
Perlite 7.5 gal
Lime 3 cups
Glacial Rock Dust 12 cups
Ammendments 7.5 cups total of the below mix
Kelp Meal 6 cups
Epsoma tomato tone 3 cups
Alfalfa Meal 3 cups
Neem Meal 3 cups
Crab Meal 3 cups
Ingredient Amount per 22.5 gallons
Pete Moss 7.5 gal (1 cubic foot)
EWC 3.75 gal
Compost 3.75 gal
Perlite 7.5 gal
Lime 3 cups
Glacial Rock Dust 12 cups
Ammendments 7.5 cups total of the below mix
Kelp Meal 6 cups
Epsoma tomato tone 3 cups
Alfalfa Meal 3 cups
Neem Meal 3 cups
Crab Meal 3 cups
Southerner
Well-Known Member
I might go with Oyster Shell Flour instead of the lime if you can get your hands on it.
OzCocoLoco
Well-Known Member
Soft rock Phosphate,Guano or some ther source of Phosphorus and I like to use Gypsum as my major Calcium source rather than lime
OzCocoLoco
Well-Known Member
Gypsum contains around 19% Sulfur and that has been found to drive terpene production
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
oooh I have gypsum laying around from some previous shroom experiments lol how much should I add per gallon? same question with the guanos and for the oyster shell, I can get that at the local feed store but its not flour it is small pebbles...l would i need to grind that down further you think? Love the input keep it thanks all!!
Those "small pebbles" are pretty much useless in a soil mix. They are simply way too big to become available in less than several years.
With lime, no matter the form it comes from, it's all about "mesh size", how finely it is ground up. The *flour* bit is an apt descriptor as the best mesh size is about the consistancy of all purpose flour.
I use dolomite lime because it is easily available locally and stupid cheap.
Oyster shell flour does not work any better than dolomite, or it's equivalent, Ag lime (calcitic lime). It's just stupid expensive due to shipping costs. It's local only to the extreme west coast and ~$9/40lb bag. In my area that same 40lb bag would cost ~$46 due to shipping. Dolomite is ~$4.50/40lb bag locally and Ag lime is ~$14/40lb bag, locally.
CaCO3 is CaCO3 is CaCO3 from all 3 sources.
I use the lime strictly for pH buffering and gypsum for any further Ca needs, along with the sulfur.
HTH
Wet
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
Thanks man! For sure adding some gypsum to this mix from now on! Looks like 2.5 to 3 cups should work for my volumes i posted above per what i was reading on the other thread in this section.
Southerner
Well-Known Member
Yes I should have mentioned I’m in one of those areas of the west coast. I think a good rule of thumb for soil making is to try to source local inputs as much as possible. It tends to be way cheaper and better for the environment.
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
yeah very much agree! thanks!
Totally agree with sourcing local inputs.
A real DOH!!!! moment with a casual comment to the owner of the local Feed & Seed. He always had 4 or 5 big bags of vermiculite, but never any perlite. When I mentioned this, he floored me, saying it would take a week, but he could easily get it but didn't have the room to keep it in stock and was a very slow mover. If his distributor had it he could add it to his weekly delivery and to just ask about whatever I was interested in. Not only did this save me a 20 mile (one way), drive it was also $10 cheaper for the 4cf bag.
All this from simply asking.
The one problem I had using Ag lime one season was a running Mg deficiency the whole season. Another grower came up with a good solution. He simply uses dolomite when making fresh mixes and OSF for reamends later on. OSF is local to him also. The Mg in the dolo is slower to release and lasts longer than the Ca component and he suffers no Mg def when using the OSF in later reamends.
Wet
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
I have seen a lot of people using epsom salts as well.. would you recommend those at all and if so in what concentrations?
Not a whole bunch is needed and I'll use ~1tsp/gallon of water if I go that route.
The Mg in dolomite seems to lag about a month+ behind the Ca release. In fresh mixes I'll add perhaps a handful to 2cf of mix, pretty light. But mainly I'll top dress a tsp to Tbl when something is actually planted in the mix and depending on the size of the container.
This will usually last until the Mg in the dolo starts to release and is very seldom repeated. Once the Mg in the dolo starts to release, Mg deficiencys are no longer a concern to me.
Wet
The Mg in dolomite seems to lag about a month+ behind the Ca release. In fresh mixes I'll add perhaps a handful to 2cf of mix, pretty light. But mainly I'll top dress a tsp to Tbl when something is actually planted in the mix and depending on the size of the container.
This will usually last until the Mg in the dolo starts to release and is very seldom repeated. Once the Mg in the dolo starts to release, Mg deficiencys are no longer a concern to me.
Wet
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
Gypsum added to the mix! I also found my old magic bullet i used to take gypsom pellets and make it into gypsum flour and just did the same with the gypsum this time and my oyster shell that I already had for my chickens and voila! Oyster Shell Flour! So added some of that as well and a cup of DE for good measure. Excited to see how this changes my grows. Hopefully I can get away from using cal mag in waterings at all as i do not think that is considered organic.
too larry
Well-Known Member
Lots of good info on this thread. I have a hard and fast rule when buying lime at the big box hardware stores. I always get the one in the broken bag. Lots of times it's half price. lol I have two kinds right now, crushed and pellets, so I add both. I use roughly 1/3 mushroom compost in my mix, so I have to add lime. {but I will run by the Co-Op tomorrow and ask if they will sell me a 50 pound bag of Gypsum, or do I have to buy a ton}
Something I add that most don't is coffee ground compost. I get my coworkers to save at the office, and I save at home. I can go though a year's worth in 4-5 {kiddie pool sized} soil mixes though. Would love to hook up with a breakfast place, but no one wants to take the time. Starbucks have a program you can sign up for to get used grounds, but the nearest Starbucks is an hour away.
Something I add that most don't is coffee ground compost. I get my coworkers to save at the office, and I save at home. I can go though a year's worth in 4-5 {kiddie pool sized} soil mixes though. Would love to hook up with a breakfast place, but no one wants to take the time. Starbucks have a program you can sign up for to get used grounds, but the nearest Starbucks is an hour away.
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
I give all my coffee grounds to my worm farm they loooove that. I have a lot of stuff in the pipe atm. just built a three section pallet composter, and I have pigs, rabbits, goats and a lot of chickens. I am just getting started so I have a lot of breaking down time to do before I can use a lot of the great skat I have access too, but in time I will have a LOT of black gold to use. I also do leaf mold composting but that takes FOREVER to break down. Trying to make use of as much of my own waste as possible in everything I do!
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
I have thought about reaching out to local places to get even more material for composting but I dont want to get a bunch of yes's and then be in a situation where I am not ready to take it all in.
too larry
Well-Known Member
I'm in a small town, so I do ask when I'm eating out if they will give me the coffee grounds. Most of the wait staff will do it. What with their tip and all.
I've had worse luck when asking the county or city for woodchips. You have a better chance if you catch the guys doing the work near your place. I've got a load that way.
My Mamma used to get horse manure from the neighbor of her friend. She died last year and I haven't ask her buddy about it. But I bet I could get a load of free manure for the shoveling of it.
Not compost, but I get free pots from a local nursery. 1-3 gallons mostly, but I luck up and get some big ones once in a while. I take them veggies out of the garden. I even buy something once in a great while.