Soil Mix Question

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Mr.McNooby

Member
I am growing in dirt. I was told to use equal parts of Peat Moss, Perlite, and Vermiculite. But I can't find Vermiculite at any stores for some reason.
Will I be fine using just peat moss and perlite?.. If not, are there any alternatives to Vermiculite i might be able to use instead? OR is Vermiculite essential?.. I suppose I could hunt for some out of town if that's the case.. I will be using super thrive and unsulphured black strap molasses along with basic veg and flower nute mixes I picked up at the local hydroponics shop for the nute regimen. Unless I should alter that as well.. Any advice is appreciated :)
 
NoahEbin

NoahEbin

Active Member
Mr.McNooby said:
I am growing in dirt. I was told to use equal parts of Peat Moss, Perlite, and Vermiculite. But I can't find Vermiculite at any stores for some reason.
Will I be fine using just peat moss and perlite?.. If not, are there any alternatives to Vermiculite i might be able to use instead? OR is Vermiculite essential?.. I suppose I could hunt for some out of town if that's the case.. I will be using super thrive and unsulphured black strap molasses along with basic veg and flower nute mixes I picked up at the local hydroponics shop for the nute regimen. Unless I should alter that as well.. Any advice is appreciated :)
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Do not use Vermiculite. Some places have stopped selling it b/c it has Asbestos in it. Buy a good organic soil if you are going to grow with soil. Fox Farms, Roots Organic, Pro-mix, Sunshine Mix4. All of these have everything your plant needs, but you can amend with Subcool's Super Soil as you like for organic nutrients.

There are a million different recipes, but keep it simple and just add EWC to your soilless mix and maybe some guano and bone/blood meal.
 
M

Mr.McNooby

Member
Thanks for the warning about asbestos. To be honest I don't care if it's organic or not tho, I just want it to grow and be potent.

What is EWC??... I'll see what I can get tomorrow at the grow shop.
 
M

Mr.McNooby

Member
Ok I got a friend who owns a Worm Farm so i can get truck loads of Worm Shit for next to nothing. But as for the soil, The shops around here seem to be out of stock on almost everything as it's the middle of winter. But I did find one little farmers market that carries that Pro-Mix potting soil. They have 2 kinds. "Ultimate" potting mix for outdoor with slow release fertilizers.. ( i think that's bad?).. and the other kind is called Pro-Mix "seeding mix" or something. doesn't seeem to mention whether it's indoor or outdoor, or if it has slow release ferts.. But looking at the back of the bag, all it is is perlite, peat moss, Spagnum (which is vermuculite) and sand. So it's almost exactly what I already got, only it's pre-mixed. So what's the difference? or am I missing something here?... I have decided to return the peat and perlite since i can't find vermiculite, and buy a few bags of that Pro-Mix soil. Since I asked, I'll take your advice :P But really.. Couldn't i have just mixed the same soil myself if i had the vermiculite???
 
B

baseball8008

Member
Mr.McNooby said:
Ok I got a friend who owns a Worm Farm so i can get truck loads of Worm Shit for next to nothing. But as for the soil, The shops around here seem to be out of stock on almost everything as it's the middle of winter. But I did find one little farmers market that carries that Pro-Mix potting soil. They have 2 kinds. "Ultimate" potting mix for outdoor with slow release fertilizers.. ( i think that's bad?).. and the other kind is called Pro-Mix "seeding mix" or something. doesn't seeem to mention whether it's indoor or outdoor, or if it has slow release ferts.. But looking at the back of the bag, all it is is perlite, peat moss, Spagnum (which is vermuculite) and sand. So it's almost exactly what I already got, only it's pre-mixed. So what's the difference? or am I missing something here?... I have decided to return the peat and perlite since i can't find vermiculite, and buy a few bags of that Pro-Mix soil. Since I asked, I'll take your advice :P But really.. Couldn't i have just mixed the same soil myself if i had the vermiculite???
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I am on my first grow and have had all kinds of problems but one thing I decided to do when I begun, as I had no other options, was to make my own soil mix, so yes, you could have done your own and you can still do it.

I used EWC plus a mixture that has seabird guano and compost but then I had to re pot as the mixt was too dense so I did the same mix again but added 50% rice hulls to add aereation to my mix, this was all trial and error and a bunch of help from RIU expert growers.

Good Luck!
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
Forget the vermiculite. Asbestos aside, the peat moss retains more than enough water and the vermiculite is not needed.

It works well for seed starting mixes and that's about it. I quit using it well over 30 years ago because it was keeping the mix too wet.

This is from experience, not something I read. I've made my own mix from the beginning ~1972, and have never bought a bagged mix.

Wet
 
M

Mr.McNooby

Member
I decided to buy the Pro-Mix "For Potting and Seeding".. On the back of the bag it says it contains Perlite, Peat Moss, and Limestone. Is good for plants that like ph between 5 - 7. Has no Vermiculite in it far as i can tell.

I have some Super Thrive but not entirely sure how to use it.. came without instructions :/

Other than that i just transplanted a few clones, used a transplanting solution to reduce shock. Watered with distilled water. Haven't given nutes yet.. Figure i should wait a few days till next watering, because i used the transplant solution. Don't wanna burn them or anything with too much chemicals...

Not sure if i should use Molasses.. That seemed to cause my soil to grow some fuzzy mold on the surface of the dirt in my last batch. Maybe i was using too much.. is 1 tablespoon per liter of water too much.. ??
 
B

baseball8008

Member
Mr.McNooby said:
I decided to buy the Pro-Mix "For Potting and Seeding".. On the back of the bag it says it contains Perlite, Peat Moss, and Limestone. Is good for plants that like ph between 5 - 7. Has no Vermiculite in it far as i can tell.

I have some Super Thrive but not entirely sure how to use it.. came without instructions :/

Other than that i just transplanted a few clones, used a transplanting solution to reduce shock. Watered with distilled water. Haven't given nutes yet.. Figure i should wait a few days till next watering, because i used the transplant solution. Don't wanna burn them or anything with too much chemicals...

Not sure if i should use Molasses.. That seemed to cause my soil to grow some fuzzy mold on the surface of the dirt in my last batch. Maybe i was using too much.. is 1 tablespoon per liter of water too much.. ??
Click to expand...

I started using molasses during flowering although it´s been said that you should only use it in organics but I have also read that molasses is a chelating agent which helps plants to absorb nutrients in a more efficient manner, your call.

This link might help you http://www.weekendgardener.net/organic-fertilizer/molasses-050805.htm.

Cheers!
 
M

Mr.McNooby

Member
Ahh.. thanks for that link!.. Apparently I WAS using too much. They say 1 - 3 TBSP per GALLON!.. I was using 1Tbsp per Litre! Huge difference! :P
 
B

baseball8008

Member
Mr.McNooby said:
Ahh.. thanks for that link!.. Apparently I WAS using too much. They say 1 - 3 TBSP per GALLON!.. I was using 1Tbsp per Litre! Huge difference! :P
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I use 1/3 of TBSP per litre and I usually mix about a gallon and a half. I have also read that you must let the mix sit for a few hours before using it whcih is what I do but cannot remember where it was.

Cheers!
 
B

baseball8008

Member
baseball8008 said:
I use 1/3 of TBSP per litre and I usually mix about a gallon and a half. I have also read that you must let the mix sit for a few hours before using it whcih is what I do but cannot remember where it was.

Cheers!
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I just found the page http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-marijuana-growing/202743-molasses-our-plants.html

it is a long read but this is an excerpt where it talks about letting it brew for 24 hours.

A good example of a guano tea recipe at the Bird’s Nest is really as simple as the following:
1 Gallon of water
1 TBSP of guano (for a flowering mix we’d use Jamaican or Indonesian Bat Guano - for a more general use fertilizer we would choose Peruvian Seabird Guano.)
1 tsp blackstrap or sugar beet molasses

We mix the ingredients directly into the water and allow the tea mix to brew for 24 hours. It’s best to use an aquarium pump to aerate the tea, but an occasional shaking can suffice if necessary and still produce a quality tea. We will give you one hint from hard personal experience, make sure if you use the shake method that you hold the lid on securely, nobody appreciate having a crap milkshake spread over the room.

Cheers!
 
AlmightyPapaC

AlmightyPapaC

Member
If your trying to stretch a few bucks, buy pro mix HP(40$) and a bag of peat moss(12$). Mix 2/3s pro mix to 1/3 peat moss. It works great and I don't have to kill myself wth watering every other day.
 
AlmightyPapaC

AlmightyPapaC

Member
Also, vermiculite isn't need if your using water based nutrients. Vermiculite is used for its coarse rough edge to hold on to nutrients. If your are water base, then the peat moss will do just great. Also, you can grow in jus about anything, literally. Jus need light and water!
 
M

Mr.McNooby

Member
I used 2 Bags of Pro-Mix for Seeding and Potting (to fill 6 pots, with a little left over)

Transplanted my Clones. Used shock reducer. Waited 2 or 3 days until they needed to be watered again.

Then I used:

1 Gallon of water.
1 Drop of Super-Thrive.
1 Tsp of Unsulphured Black Strap Molasses.
1 Tsp. "Baby" Nutes (5-50-17)

I gave the plants about 1 1/2 - 2 cups each. Poured slowly around the plant without touching the stem.

Upon checking them the next morning I noticed that the very tips of the leaves were burned slightly. They are no where near that close to the lights to get burned from heat.

So what might that mean?.. I looked in a growing book but it doesn't say :/
 
B

baseball8008

Member
Hi Mc.


I am not the best person to answer your question but according to my little experience you might have over fed them. Your soil mix should have enough nutes to last for at least 3-4 weeks, I am not sure how old are your plants though.


5-50-17 seems a lot of nutes for a seedling but then again I am assuming you just started and what you have are seedlings. I am not sure either what does super thrive has in its mix. If you in fact over fed them you will have to flush.

I made the same mistake on my first grow and for the second grow I will only add molasses until week 4 or so.


In any case, the best help you can get is to go to the infirmary and post your problem there and there will be a lot of people willing to help, do not forget to include pics. Without pics you will not get any help.


Cheers!







BB.
 
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