Am I Considered Soilless or Soil and What Should My PH Be?
- Thread starter The3rdMan
- Start date
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
that ph should be fine.
it's definitely not soilless once u add compost and ewc. as to whether it's soil is a technical question.
more importantly did u add some perlite or pumice for aeration? usually a good mix is 1/3 each peat, compost/ewc, and perlite for good drainage
myke
Well-Known Member
6 gallons of peat should have approx 6 gallons perlite.
I get good drainage with 1 Quart per Gallon of soil. Why do you use so much perlite?
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
Your still considered soiless.
maranibbana
Well-Known Member
This is considered soil. 1000%
myke
Well-Known Member
Creates all the little air pockets from what I understand,Ive done side by sides with clones with different amounts of compost and lighter ones did better.So im assuming more perlite would produce the same results.
Your using only a 1/4 of the recommended amount.I hope it works for yeah.
FastFreddi
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
FF
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
I would have agreed as well but recently discovered otherwise. I will work at finding the link to the podcast Tommorow. Soil is more like earth. Minerals are broken down drought the ages and soiless we add elements, typically in containers with the traditional peat, compost airation type recipe.
maranibbana
Well-Known Member
OPs described base was the base mix to my living soil. If OP gets worms and cover crop/chop drop, OP will eventually have what you described.
Technically in soil science, soil is composed of minerals usually with some organic content that's been derived by biology and physical processes from a parent material (the underlying rock). But I don't think we need to get so caught up in semantics here.
What we call "soil" around here doesn't follow the strict definition. However the reason why its referred to as soil is to differentiate it from mediums that employ coco or peat in other systems. For example it's not the same as those using a coco or peat moss drain to waste. Our grow mediums are meant to have physical properties closer to soil and thus treated as such.
Don't be so hung up on names. Otherwise I'd have heart attacks when people refer to Cannabis cultivars as "strains". LMAO!
maranibbana
Well-Known Member
Couldn’t have said it better myself
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
You know I just spent many years thinking soil vs soiless was a biology thing. Soiless being innert of life snd force fed plants, while soil used the biology snd had heavy amounts of compost. I’m not hung up on it, just realized what I’m doing is still soiless and had to let go of my assumption.
There is a spot fairly early in this interview where he explains it very straightforward.
open.spotify.com
There is a spot fairly early in this interview where he explains it very straightforward.
Episode 72: Heavy Metals, Cover Crops, and Water pH with The Soil Doctor, Bryant Mason
Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
semantics aside, if the "soil" can feed the plants without added ferts, then it is soil..
if you have to feed it every time, that's soiless, and if you have to supplement it from time to time, i'd call that a hybred (although most people growing in soil still end up having to amend at least once in early flower)
i'm not sure about clinical definitions, to me , if there's no way the plant can feed itself, then that ain't dirt...
if you have to feed it every time, that's soiless, and if you have to supplement it from time to time, i'd call that a hybred (although most people growing in soil still end up having to amend at least once in early flower)
i'm not sure about clinical definitions, to me , if there's no way the plant can feed itself, then that ain't dirt...
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
funny enough I was agreeing with you up until your last sentence, not for point made, but choice of words. maybe off topic a bit but what better way to spend a weekend than debating what is and what isn't soil (or dirt).
I think of soil as something that is clean, smells fresh and wonderful, and is full of life.
dirt is the pile of dust and grime that I am about to sweep up off my floor. dry, dusty, gross, and lifeless.
much love to everyone in the thread, hope you have a great weekend!
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
dirt does connote "dirtyness"...but when i was a kid, i didn't go outside and play in the soil, i went out to play in the dirt (which was actually red clay).
dirt is just soil that we've fucked up somehow, can't blame the dirt for us making it dirty...
maranibbana
Well-Known Member
Were you dirty or were you soiled?
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
can't it be both?