Soil / Transplant Question

I'm just over 3 weeks into veg from seed.

I've had them in 5" clay pots and am ready to transplant them to begin my LST.

Here a pic of my soil.



It's a miracle grow water retention soil. It's what I had on hand and I will use it for their new pots as well.

My question is... What should I mix in with it for their final home? They will be vegging for a few weeks then flowering in this mix.
I've noticed some compaction with this soil, so I plan on adding in a small amount of perlite to lightening it up and help with drainage.

I haven't had any visible deficiencies and I haven't using any nutes or other additives. I don't want to over-do it, because I see that happening all the time. Better to be a little under and adjust, I think.

Anything else I should be aware of? Aside from taking extra special care around the roots? Should I break them up a bit, or just stay away from them and plant them snugly in their new pots?

Thanks for the support!

They shouldn't need transplanting for another couple weeks, but if you're seeing compacting of the soil, and you say it's 'water retention', I would mix about 40% perlite with your new stuff.
When I transplant, I have always taken a sharp knife, and cut an "X" across the bottom, to about 1/3 the way up, creating 4 flaps.
Break it up a bit, but not rough, be gentle.
Then I take those flaps and open them up over a mound of fresh soil in the new pot, then fill in over the flaps.

try to disturb the roots as little as possible. you may get some wilting either way. use more than a little perlite. about 25% by volume is a safe bet. add some lime. about a tsp per pot. theres other things you can add too: charcoal, humic acid, azomite. those you can get from amazon. a little bark is good too.

looks like mircale gro gave him enough bark

i would cut with 25% perlite, some lime stone and some charcoal. real charcoal. thats what the amazon soil is made of, and they grow great plants.

bmeat said:

realy charcoal. thats what the amazon soil is made of, and they grow great plants.

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You mean Amazon the online retailer, or Amazon as in the river. Either way you are full of it. No soil is derived from charcoal you loon.

I'd make sure your final soil is somewhere between 15-25% perlite. That will help with water retention
as well as making the soil less compact. Until you get the perlite it's a good idea to aerate your soil. I do
that with a skinny 12-inch bamboo skewer. Push the skewer into the root ball a dozen or so times all around the plant.
That will help a lot too.

BigSteve.

AimAim said:

You mean Amazon the online retailer, or Amazon as in the river. Either way you are full of it. No soil is derived from charcoal you loon.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta

"Terra preta (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈtɛʁɐ ˈpɾetɐ], locally [ˈtɛhɐ ˈpɾetɐ], literally "black soil" in Portuguese) is a type of very dark, fertile anthropogenic soil found in the Amazon Basin. Terra preta owes its name to its very high charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to the otherwise relatively infertile Amazonian soil. It is very stable and remains in the soil for thousands of years.[SUP][1][/SUP] It is also known as "Amazonian dark earth" or "Indian black earth"."

dannyboy602 said:

...things you can add too: charcoal...

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bmeat said:

...and some charcoal. realy charcoal. thats what the amazon soil is made of...

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So what purpose does charcoal serve in soil? Doesn't it neutralize acid? Thus cut down the PH level I assume... I should probably get a PH tester and see if this is really necessary.
Am I correct in this assumption? I really have no idea --- running off high school chem knowledge lol

bmeat said:

. Terra preta owes its name to its very high charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to the otherwise relatively infertile Amazonian soil.

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OK, this is an amended soil that is man-made, not a naturally occurring soil. I can see how this would confuse you.

bigsteve said:

I'd make sure your final soil is somewhere between 15-25% perlite. That will help with water retention
as well as making the soil less compact. Until you get the perlite it's a good idea to aerate your soil. I do
that with a skinny 12-inch bamboo skewer. Push the skewer into the root ball a dozen or so times all around the plant.
That will help a lot too.

Click to expand...

Fantastic. Simple solution. Thank You.

bigsteve said:

...
...
Until you get the perlite it's a good idea to aerate your soil. I do
that with a skinny 12-inch bamboo skewer. Push the skewer into the root ball a dozen or so times all around the plant.
That will help a lot too.

BigSteve.

Click to expand...

I also do this, I do not worry about knicking a root... the roots love it

AimAim said:

OK, this is an amended soil that is man-made, not a naturally occurring soil. I can see how this would confuse you.

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didnt confuse me..i said what the soil is made of, implying that it was amended. it confused you.

and i wouldnt stick skewers into my soil..that just harms the roots..

bmeat said:

didnt confuse me..i said what the soil is made of, implying that it was amended. it confused you.

and i wouldnt stick skewers into my soil..that just harms the roots..

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and then he said:

Der dee doo

bmeat said:

didnt confuse me..i said what the soil is made of, implying that it was amended. it confused you.

and i wouldnt stick skewers into my soil..that just harms the roots..

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With the experience Big Steve has, I would tend to listen to what he says in his sleep before I listened to anything from you, especially after seeing your FIRST plant you just finished for a gram.View attachment 2524997

3 grams of mid-high grade. thank you

bmeat said:

3 grams of mid-high grade. thank youView attachment 2525002

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Sorry.
My mistake.
That works out to almost a gram per month of work?

bmeat said:

3 grams of mid-high grade. thank youView attachment 2525002

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Hurting...

Bakatare666 said:

With the experience Big Steve has, I would tend to listen to what he says in his sleep before I listened to anything from you, especially after seeing your FIRST plant you just finished for a gram.View attachment 2524997View attachment 2524998

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Haha, i didnt have to PM him, he posted it on his own.... And he had the nerve to call my plant sick. lol.

I used to try to defend bmeat not saying he was right, but to help him bc every one hates him....

You sir, just lost your lawyer! lol

How did those tomatoes taste?

Bmeat's Thalidomide baby. So sad.

bigbull52 said:

Haha, i didnt have to PM him, he posted it on his own.... And he had the nerve to call my plant sick. lol.

I used to try to defend bmeat not saying he was right, but to help him bc every one hates him....

You sir, just lost your lawyer! lol

How did those tomatoes taste?

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We don't 'hate' him, it just gets so fucking annoying how he parrots what people say, argues, copy/ pastes everything trying to back up his cross eyed ideas, eventually jacking the thread, and god forbid he should be the first one to hit a newb's thread........