myke
Well-Known Member
Take 10-15% of your mix with 40 peat 45 perlight drop one in should be fine.Solo cup or something.
Super Soil Error?
- Thread starter asylumhavoc
- Start date
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Well you don't have to cook it really since the only real hot ingredient is the blood meal. You could give it some EWC tea to kickstart the microbes too if you want. Make sure you add more aeration though for sure.
asylumhavoc
Member
I also got about 1.5 cu ft of perlite left over... Any recommendations on how much of each to add to about 6 cu ft of soil? Or am I looking for the same consistency of the FFOF base?
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PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I'd make it a little more aerated than the FFOF.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Ya adding extra peat is a good idea too. How much EWC did you add? That does look super soggy.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Yep. I've spent like a grand at BAS. If you go through this link you get $5 off. I just ordered some karanja meal a couple days ago. I didn't have any of that yet.
BuildASoil: Organic Living Soil, Fertilizers, and Soil Amendments
Everything you need to grow no-till with organic living soil. Our mission is to support organic gardeners and to provide the best products and information on how to use them. We carry pre mixed super soil, living soil, organic soil fertilizers, organic water soluble nutrients, soil minerals...
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asylumhavoc
Member
Heh... 20 gallons of each. I made about 60 gallons total.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
EWC shouldn't be 1/3 of you mix, unless you have some really awesome EWC. I'd lighten it with both peat moss and perlite. Well actually I use pumice and lava rock, but same principle.
asylumhavoc
Member
Yea I heard those were better but I couldn't find any of those two... From what I gather perlite eventually needs to be replenished. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I started with peat as a base instead of FFOF (and cheaper), but... Lesson learned.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I started with FFOF as a base for my no-till. The reason I use pumice and lava rock is it doesn't break down like perlite. You could use rice hulls to lighten the mix too. I use rice hulls them. The pumice and lava rock are a lot heavier though, especially the lava rock.
asylumhavoc
Member
Well, tomorrow I will start mixing. Wish my luck gents... I'll update with some pictures once it's cut and aeriated and dried a bit...
EDIT: https://homesteadandchill.com/how-to-feed-cannabis-organically/
Would any of these be useful? There are so many recipes and it's a bit daunting to know if any are going to burn my plants after I cut the soil.
Quick question, would it be alright to let the soil dry to let the gnats die off or will that stop the microbes from ever coming back?
EDIT: https://homesteadandchill.com/how-to-feed-cannabis-organically/
Would any of these be useful? There are so many recipes and it's a bit daunting to know if any are going to burn my plants after I cut the soil.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I'd keep it moist. Look close. Maybe you'll see some hypoaspis miles. I had some gnats at the beginning of making my soil, but the predators took care of them. I haven't seen a gnat in almost 2 years now. Mosquito bits, or Bti works too I guess, but I've never needed to add it.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
If you just add something inert to it as everyone is saying it should work. Perlite or pumice definitely but I would also add coco coir; especially for younger plants. Cooking helps normalize ph which usually drops when you add a bunch of organic materials together all at once. You can start seeds in a relatively stark mix; just mix your base soil with a lot of coco and perlite. In let’s say 3-4 weeks when they are ready to transplant your mix should be ok to use. I pop seeds and freshly rooted clones in spent soil from old root balls myself but if you don’t have any on hand you can just cut your mix down. You almost cannot put too much perlite in your mix; don’t worry just make it nice and light. You’ll be amazed how quickly it can disappear from grow to grow. I recommend diatomaceous earth to control/prevent gnats. You just sprinkle it on top layer of your containers. Also de is a good source of silica once it breaks down.
SpawnOfVader
Well-Known Member
I've started adding coco after killing my last two seedlings by burning the roots... ballpark my recipe is this:
45% FFOF
30% Coco Coir
10% EWC
7.5% pumice (fine grade)
7.5% biochar
Trace amounts: Mykos, mosquito bits
I'm using that for 1 gallon pots/my first transplant.
Might up the ratio of FFOF/nutes for their final pots. Looking into swapping pumice for rice hulls to keep the recipe more sustainable. The mosquito bits are just BTI innoculants....so it's good for mosquitos/gnats/root aphids
SpawnOfVader
Well-Known Member
Your soil should always get pretty dry between waterings. Once they're in the soil you need to actively work to get rid of the larvae (the real issue)...
Soil drenches with Neem or Hydrogen Peroxide tend to do well. Diatamaceous earth or sand on top of the soil both help kill off the larvae by keeping the top layer dry and it discourages egg laying for the same reason.
I use BTI but I like the idea of biologic warfare using semi-natural bacteria to kill off the larvae.... it takes about a week to knock out the majority of the infestation. Mosquito Bits and Mosquito Dunks are two brands for the same thing.
asylumhavoc
Member
Thank you all for your input. I'll update you all on how it goes! 