Soil not cooking (First Timer)

[zoneman2]

Hello all, I've decided to try and make my own soil. I'm working with Autos and found a recipe on a site for autoflower soil (bestnutrientsforcannabis.com/using-super-soil-with-autoflowers). I followed the directions but my soil doesn't seem to be "cooking" its only warm on top but gets cold after the first inch or so. Makes things worse the site is now no longer active and google cache somehow lost their snapshot of it so I'm unable to give the measurements of what i put in. I'll try my best from memory.

Ingredients:

1× Fox Farm Ocean Forest Organic Soil - 1.5cf

1 × Vermiculite - 20qt They gave me perlite as they were out of Verm)

1 × Down to Earth Blood Meal 5 lb

1 × Wiggle Worm Soil Builder Earthworm Castings 30lb

1 × DE Fish Bone Meal 6lb

1 × DE Granular Humic Acid 5lb

1 × Cyco Coco Coir Loose - 50 L

1 × Coast of Maine Stonington Blend Soil 1.5cf


Dolomite Lime - Pure Dolomitic/Calcitic Garden Lime (1 Pound)


1 Pound of Azomite - Organic Trace Mineral Powder


Espoma BG1 Organic 10-3-1 Bat Guano Fertilizer, 1.25 lb


Miracle-Gro Nature's Care Organic Bone Meal, 3 lb.


This should be everything.

I added a full bag of Coast of main, Coco & perlite.
1/3 bag of Fox farm.
22 lbs of worm
5 1/2 Tablespoons of dolomite
1 lb Azomite, Blood meal, Fish Bone, Bat Guano, & Bone meal
2 tablespoons of humic i believe

I layered it then let it sit for a little over a week. Then I added water not to soak but to keep damp/moist. I added water from hose. city water has ~1.5mg of chlorine. I figured if its been fine for the garden plants all these years then it should be fine for this soil, though I'm no scientist. Not sure if its container I have it in or something else. Maybe I need more of something any valid help would be much appreciated as I'm very frustrated that it;s not cooking. It's been in that container (I've attached pictures) supposed to be "cooking" for about 2 weeks now. If you all need any more information just ask. Thank you.

 

[KingQuazy]

I mean.. Once it starts to break down, it definitely will get warm and whatnot. Especially if covered outdoors in the sunshine... But cooking means the microbial life inside of it is becoming active and blending/breaking everything down to a milder more usable form for the plant. A lot of those ingredients are too HOT(see? not actual heat..) for the plant as they are. Esentially cooking just means composting..

but yes, warmth helps and speeds up the process. Possibly a month it can be usable. But you should always plan for at least 2 months. 2 weeks is hardly enough to even scratch the surface of ingredients like limestone. Some say that doesn't barely get touched the first grow and is very present the second YEAR.

Hope this adds some insight. Also, I like your recipe. I'd prefer perlite to vermiculite all day. I too am heading the supersoil direction. I wouldn't rush it though.

 

[MidwestGorilla219]

You have to add a lot of organic ammendments to actually heat up the soil. I have started compost piles with alfalfa pellets but it takes a 40 pound bag to really get it going. I think you will be fine.

 

[zoneman2]

I mean.. Once it starts to break down, it definitely will get warm and whatnot. Especially if covered outdoors in the sunshine... But cooking means the microbial life inside of it is becoming active and blending/breaking everything down to a milder more usable form for the plant. A lot of those ingredients are too HOT(see? not actual heat..) for the plant as they are. Esentially cooking just means composting..

but yes, warmth helps and speeds up the process. Possibly a month it can be usable. But you should always plan for at least 2 months. 2 weeks is hardly enough to even scratch the surface of ingredients like limestone. Some say that doesn't barely get touched the first grow and is very present the second YEAR.

Hope this adds some insight. Also, I like your recipe. I'd prefer perlite to vermiculite all day. I too am heading the supersoil direction. I wouldn't rush it though.

Thank you for the input. I was aware 2 weeks was very soon but I figured it would start to break down by now. I was going to leave it for a month or so then use it. I was just worried that I messed something up as it wasn't warm and I didn't have soil webs or I didn't have the proper container. My main concern is waiting the month then using the soil and it killing the plants once the roots move through the coco and into the amended soil.

I wanted to add a 50/50 blend of perlite and verm but that didn't work out as planned. I'm trying organic this time as water with nutes & flushing is a pain to try and do. I also like to experiment and try different things. What works for one person may not work for the next.

The nights here have been a bit cool around 45-55F. Day temps are around 75F for now. I'd also like to add I live on the coast near water so we have high humidity at times. I've been checking the soil every 2-3 days to make sure its still moist.

I'll keep it in my container, roll it once a week and see how it goes. Thank you again for the information.

P.S

I forgot to ask if the soil never heats up after say 1-2 months will it still be usable or will i need to add organic supplements to help it along?

 

[KingQuazy]

Yeah from what I can tell, and what I plan on doing, is my organic base soil on the top 1/3, a 50/50 mix in the center 1/3, and the 100% blend down bottom 1/3. That's what Subcool always recommended. I'm gonna eventually work towards living soil with worms and all that. But this type of "supersoil" is where I'm going next.

I'll probably start my "cook" 1 month ahead, start the plants in 1G pots of the base soil & prep the 10G pots, and then transfer to pots that I prepped once they're full.. That will give a good 2 months for the soil to "cook" is what I'm supposing.

 

[zoneman2]

Yeah from what I can tell, and what I plan on doing, is my organic base soil on the top 1/3, a 50/50 mix in the center 1/3, and the 100% blend down bottom 1/3. That's what Subcool always recommended. I'm gonna eventually work towards living soil with worms and all that. But this type of "supersoil" is where I'm going next.

I'll probably start my "cook" 1 month ahead, start the plants in 1G pots of the base soil & prep the 10G pots, and then transfer to pots that I prepped once they're full.. That will give a good 2 months for the soil to "cook" is what I'm supposing.

Good luck with your soil making and cooking and thanks again for your input. My mind is more at ease now. If anyone else has anything they wish to add please do. It will help me and I'm hoping it will help others as well for the future.

 

[KingQuazy]

Good luck with your soil making and cooking and thanks again for your input. My mind is more at ease now. If anyone else has anything they wish to add please do. It will help me and I'm hoping it will help others as well for the future.

Alright bud so I did a tiny bit more reading on the actual warming. Cook is definitely referring to the compost, but if amended and mixed thoroughly, it should eventually get that steam you're looking for.

So a couple keys I noticed are:

• The microbial colonies are what create the heat you are seeking.
• Below freezing temps will bring the microbial life almost to a halt. Especially if it freezes.
• You must properly mix it and wet it the first time. After that, you DON'T want to stir it again. This destroys "microherds" and basically wastes the time previously spent cooking. You only want to ensure that it stays moist once it has begun.

There's obviously aeons worth of info that can be added to this discussion. But I think this helps you out for now.

 

[crimsonecho]

Throw in some oats and give aact.

 

[Wetdog]

Hello all, I've decided to try and make my own soil. I'm working with Autos and found a recipe on a site for autoflower soil (bestnutrientsforcannabis.com/using-super-soil-with-autoflowers). I followed the directions but my soil doesn't seem to be "cooking" its only warm on top but gets cold after the first inch or so. Makes things worse the site is now no longer active and google cache somehow lost their snapshot of it so I'm unable to give the measurements of what i put in. I'll try my best from memory.

Ingredients:

1× Fox Farm Ocean Forest Organic Soil - 1.5cf

1 × Vermiculite - 20qt They gave me perlite as they were out of Verm)

1 × Down to Earth Blood Meal 5 lb

1 × Wiggle Worm Soil Builder Earthworm Castings 30lb

1 × DE Fish Bone Meal 6lb

1 × DE Granular Humic Acid 5lb

1 × Cyco Coco Coir Loose - 50 L

1 × Coast of Maine Stonington Blend Soil 1.5cf


Dolomite Lime - Pure Dolomitic/Calcitic Garden Lime (1 Pound)


1 Pound of Azomite - Organic Trace Mineral Powder


Espoma BG1 Organic 10-3-1 Bat Guano Fertilizer, 1.25 lb


Miracle-Gro Nature's Care Organic Bone Meal, 3 lb.


This should be everything.

I added a full bag of Coast of main, Coco & perlite.
1/3 bag of Fox farm.
22 lbs of worm
5 1/2 Tablespoons of dolomite
1 lb Azomite, Blood meal, Fish Bone, Bat Guano, & Bone meal
2 tablespoons of humic i believe

I layered it then let it sit for a little over a week. Then I added water not to soak but to keep damp/moist. I added water from hose. city water has ~1.5mg of chlorine. I figured if its been fine for the garden plants all these years then it should be fine for this soil, though I'm no scientist. Not sure if its container I have it in or something else. Maybe I need more of something any valid help would be much appreciated as I'm very frustrated that it;s not cooking. It's been in that container (I've attached pictures) supposed to be "cooking" for about 2 weeks now. If you all need any more information just ask. Thank you.

Not enough water at the start. Water is the 'starting fluid' for the bacteria and 'crobes that begin the decomposition/cooking process. Dry amendments can sit for years not doing anything with the bacteria dormant until moisture is added to wake them up.

Use a container with adequate drainage (it WILL drain if you get it moist enough and mix while adding the water, you don't want dry spots. You'll feel it get hot in short order.

*I* seldon need to add more water once the mix is thoroughly moistened. The top inch or so may dry out some, but with nothing growing in it the mix retains moisture quite well.

Stick with the perlite, vermiculite is just not all that good in a mix as it retains moisture more than providing aeration/drainage. Other reasons as well, but too long to get into here.

HTH to get your mix going.

Wet

 

[hillbill]

I do like using NAPA Floor-Dry #8822 along with Perlite. It is heat expanded Diatomaceous Earth and holds some moisture along with providing drainage, picked up the use here at RIU.