Build a soil with these

blazebug65

Well-Known Member
Of all the amendments listed below. What ones would you build a super soil with? With all? Some? Anything extra? I'm doing a plant based fertilizer growand curious as to what others might use or not use in setting up soil for reusing or as a base for a permanent no till style setup
 

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crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
i’d pick one between neem seed meal, cottonseed meal and soybean meal. skip humic acid if using good aged compost/ewc. skip the limes (dolomitic anc calcitic) and even gypsum at this point because i’ve never used it and i’m not growing in clay mostly. you posted azomite twice but i’d use it once. never used greensand too so i’ll skip that and use the rest in proportional amounts to create a 1-1-1 basic soil/soilless.
 

youraveragehorticulturist

Well-Known Member
Have you seen Down to Earth's "Vegan Mix"? IT's a pre-made blend with most of the stuff you mentioned.

What soil are you using as your base? Some pre-made stuff you're looking to beef up with extra amendments? Or are you starting from scratch with fresh peat moss?

If I was making my own mix from scratch and didn't give a shit about buying many boxes I'd use

Neem (1/2 cup per cubic foot)
Alfalfa (1/4)
Rock Phosphate (1/2)
Kelp (1/2)
Langbeinite (1/4)

Humic Acid (1/4)
Azomite (1/2)

Gypsum (1/2)
Lime (1/2)
D Lime (1/2)


With no ocean stuff like fish bone or crab meal I think you'll need the lime and d lime for calcium and magnesium. I like gypsum for sulfur. Greensand is probably not necessary but I doubt it would hurt anything. I've heard that cotton seed meal and soybean meal could theoretically contain some pesticides because those two crops are so heavily sprayed. I don't know if that's true or not, but I just use neem anyway.
 

loco41

Well-Known Member
I would personally be using the greensand if you plan on using this soil for a bit. I'm no expert but I remember reading that the only major drawback to using it is how long it takes to breakdown and become available in the soil. No sources, just drawing from old posts I remember reading, but essentially it's just another mineral/rock dust input with a unique nutrient profile. I like the idea of a more well rounded mineral profile than something like langbeinite. Never used langbeinite but 0-0-22 seems easier to overdue than greensand at 0-0-3. I've been using greensand in the worm bins and when re amending my soils for a little while now. Hopefully someone else can be a little more specific with sources or more experience, just my thoughts.

I used biolive and the vegan blends from down to earth on a bunch of soil for some comfrey plants I started last year. Used two different bagged compost, peat and rice hulls for the base. Added a little extra alfalfa/kelp/basalt to the 50/50 mix of biolive and vegan blends. Filled 15x 20 gallon pots with this mix and all plants are healthy and thriving with zero maintenance other than watering a little between rainy days. Reminds me I need to hack them down soon and get my compost piles up to speed again.

My main suggestion would be to try and source some quality compost/ewc first. In my opinion that will give you the easiest path to success, especially when starting a fresh batch. The microbes are essentially the heart of the soil, so starting with a healthy diversity will only make things kick into gear that much quicker.

Sorry for rambling, just my thoughts. Hope everything goes well with whatever route you go.
 

Lenin1917

Well-Known Member
I am lazy, my current mix is 1 part peat 1 part perlite 1 part 75/25 ewc/mushroom compost (per 10 gallons 1cup dr earth tomato vegetable, and herb fertilizer, 1/4 cup lime, 1/4 cup diatomaceous earth, 1tbsp bio char). Seems to work so far, big savings buying this stuff mostly at lowes instead of ordering premium potting mixes on Amazon. Like $100 to build as many gallons of soil.

I need to vacuum I know.04BD90FE-8D20-4F63-A462-83B2695BF756.jpeg023686BC-D7A8-49A6-8CE4-AAEE7F5B25E5.jpeg
 

GenericEnigma

Well-Known Member
I am lazy, my current mix is 1 part peat 1 part perlite 1 part 75/25 ewc/mushroom compost (per 10 gallons 1cup dr earth tomato vegetable, and herb fertilizer, 1/4 cup lime, 1/4 cup diatomaceous earth, 1tbsp bio char). Seems to work so far, big savings buying this stuff mostly at lowes instead of ordering premium potting mixes on Amazon. Like $100 to build as many gallons of soil.

I need to vacuum I know.View attachment 5138073View attachment 5138074
Your mix is really straightforward. I like it.

Do you just feed with more Dr. Earth?
 
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