Need help with soil questions.

Ive grown plants indoors before, the most half assed way immaginable, and very likley the wong way a couple years ago.

My setup was 5gal buckets with the run of the mill miracle grow plant starter mix, some mid seeds and four rows of 4' flourecent "vegitation/aquarium' lights and watering with distilled water and bloombooster, the green crystal flowering booster.

I first bought one of those seedling starter greenhouses for $3 at hardware store, it comes with a black base, clear housing, and 6 pucks that expand with water to start the seedlings. After a few weeks i transplanted the seedlings into the miracle grow soil 5gal setups under the lights.

all where female luckily, but low yeilds, only about an ounce wet weight between 2 plants at first bud, cliped them then they died. I know im a total newbie at this stuff, and only learned from hearsay.

what would be the best soil mixture from start to finish for growin any mj seeds? i am looking for that earthy deep musky smoke from the buds. the kind of taste you get from those panama weeds or mexican dar buds. real stoney and earthy, really beefy plants.

 

a good soil is a mixed soil. get peat moss, planting soil, worm castings, bone/blood meals, then mix it all together to form a nice rich mixture.

PS: dont use this mixture on seedlings. the nutrients in the soil will burn them easily. when using a nutrient-ed soil in adults, you need to reduce the ferts used at watering

 

A good loam based number 2 soil with added john innous for me. Mix 4 soil to 1 perlite and a half vermiculite. Never buy soil marked as for seeds or cutting as it contains ferts your plant wont use, potting on soil or multi purpose ok but make sure it dont contain any twigs or branches.

 

Plagron royalty mix or bio bizz all mix both available on net. Organic soil ready mixed.

 

^holy shit!!! It's buffoonman!!!! You ARE around still.......hit me up via PM mang........haven't heard from ya in ages.

 

i make my own, but what i started with was miracle grow and chemical ferts. they are easy to use,just read the bag.iv found out useing a bag of perlight per 10 gallones of soil works great,plants love oxygen.i allwas put some rocks in the bottom of the buck,to keep from getting rootrot,allso put some small holes in bottem of bucket so water can get out. patience is a major player when 1st starting,you know what u want but it takes time not to much water or ferts.if you watch your plats they will tell you when to whater,fert uselly 14 days some times longer.

 

Here some ideas for you:


Vic's Method:

Super Soil recipes & notes

Super Soil Mix Original Recipe, as it was given to me:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix
2 L Bone Meal - phosphorus source
1 L Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source
3-4 cups dolmite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
1/2 - 1 bag chicken manure (steer, mushroom, etc) - nitrogen & trace elements

Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.

Revised Recipe, after several failures due to bad manure sources, I now use the following recipe. Results have been excellent and the clones seem to take off right away instead of having a slow growing settling in period:
1 Bale sunshine mix #2 or promix (3.8 cu ft)
8 cups Bone Meal - phosphorus source
4 cups Blood Meal - nitrogen source
1 1/3 cups Epsom salts - magnesium source 3-4 cups dolomite lime -calcium source & pH buffering
1 tsp fritted trace elements
4 cups kelp meal.
9kg (25 lbs) bag pure worm castings

Mix thoroughly, moisten, and let sit 1-2 weeks before use.

Substitutions - The original recipe was a success, but I simply needed to experiment. In addition, sometimes not all ingredients were always available. Therefore, here are some possible additions and/or substitutions:
Blood & Bone Meal - when trying to cut costs Kelp Meal - contains over 62 trace minerals. Good supplement for reducing the manure content to speed availability of soil.
Worm castings - excellent source of micro nutrients.
Bat guano - excellent for top dressing a week into flowering.
Seabird guano Bugs On a couple of occasions, I've ended up with fungus gnats with this soil mix. They are more of an irritation than anything but may harm weak or young plants. Some have said that putting a layer of sand on top of the soil in the pots stops the gnats from reproducing. Others can get rid of them by doing a soil drench with gnatrol or vectobac (BTI). Personally, I prefer to simply introduce fungus gnat predators (Hypoaspis miles). Once established, they not only control fungus gnats, but also thrips and mites. When there is no insect food available, they survive on dead plant material, so remain even after pests are gone to prevent future infestations. Actually, since they have been introduced, I've had no pest problems in over a year and I don't filter my intake.
Recycling Soil Used soil - Reusing soil has a few downsides such as it makes it easier for diseases, viruses, and pathogens from entering your garden. Also peat based soils break down and become acidic. If you fertilize with chemicals you'll end up with salt buildups that will slow growth. Unless you like to take chances, have a good eye, and a good horticultural understanding, you may be better off with staying with fresh new soils.
That said; I grow strictly organic and I've always reused my soil. I don't sterilize the soil between plantings as my soil is full of microbes and predatory bugs that keep the bad bugs under control.
After each crop, I chop up the soil and root balls with the leaves, stalks, etc and let compost for about 3 months. I then mix it up and add about (for every 50 gallons composted soil)

2 - 3 cups of lime.
1/2 cup epsom salts,
2 liters bone meal,
1 liter blood meal,
1 liter kelp meal,
1 tsp trace elements,
and enough perlite to regain the porosity of the original soil.

I used to add a bag of manure, but I was getting fertilizer burn and so have stopped now. As I've been fine tuning this, the plants just keep getting healthier and I haven't had any real pest problems for quite a while. I know this is a controversial approach and maybe even risky, but it allows me to keep my garden pretty much self contained. I don't attract attention by buying bales of soil every 3 - 4 months year around, or in the disposal of leaves and soil after each crop. It's definitely not for those who want sterile crops and those that use pesticides and chemical ferts. I believe in working with nature, not against it. After several generations, a nutrient imbalance developed which was only solved by leaching the soil thoroughly. My hunch is that one of the micro-nutrients was building to toxic levels. I guess farmers don't get this problem because they have the winter rains to each excess nutrients from their fields.

Anon method:

My mix:
57 L - Mushroom Manure 1.5-1-1.5
28 L - Soil
57 L - Grit
28 L – Vermiculite
2 L – Bone Meal 4-14-0 (Green Valley)
1 L - Blood Meal 12-1.2-1
1 L - Kelp Meal 2-1-2 (Multicrop)
350 ML - Epsom Salts
400 ML - Greensand
500 ML - Rock Phosphate
1 L - Dolomite Lime

Casamere's method:

organic mix

40% composted soil
30% worm castings
20% perlite
10% dolomite, guanos, goodies, etc..

i've also heard good things about "uncle malcolm" brand soil from peaceful valley is good.... if you're mixing organics with chem ferts, the plant will use up what the chem ferts feed it first, then partaking afterwards in the organic nutes. the beauty of organics is it's almost impossible to burn your plants, and the taste is superior to chem. grown plants. i use pure blend 1 - 0.5 -1 for veg and fox farm big bloom 0.8 - 3.0 - 1 for flowering. they're expensive but the plants really like it. sometimes i'll make a tea out of worm castings & guano. peace

High Dog's method:

Organic Pro-mix Recipe

blood meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
steamed bone meal-1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
rock phosphate--1 cup per cubic foot of potting soil.
fine dolomite lime at the rate of about 1 1/2 cups per cubic foot
kelp meal at about 2/3 cup per cubic foot.
I also like to add plenty of coarse vermiculite.
I use plain potting soil to germinate in and transplant into this mix after about two weeks.
Once transplanted and established, I only give my plants plain water for the duration of the cropping period without suffering any nutrient shortage.

anon method:

6 parts potting soil
2 parts perlite
1 part vermiculite
1 part chicken manure
1 small handfull lime

Plants are watered daily...
Every third watering use fish emulsion 5-1-1 at 1 tbsp. per gallon. Continue this until the second week of the flowering cycle when stretching stops.
Then mix fish emulsion 5-1-1 with alaska more bloom 0-10-10 at a ratio of 1 teaspoon 5-1-1 to two teaspoons 0-10-10. this will give you a 5-21-21 ratio. use this every third watering until the last week and a half of flowering.
For the last week and a half use plain water. right at the beginning of the flower period (sometimes) add a small amount of lime to your water for one watering to counter any acids that may have built up during the vegetative phase. also sometimes i used to substitute the 5-21-21 mix with chemical 10-60-10 (schultzes super bloom) at 1/2 teaspoon per gallon for two waterings at about week 4-5 of flowering. if there is any yellowing before say week 5 1/2 simply use more 5-1-1 and less 0-10-10. this method resulted in hightimes centerfold plants.... very vigorous. in three gallon grow bags NL#5 vege'd for 30 days yield 1 1/2 ozs. of smooth sweet potent smoke. some strains did closer to two ounces per plant. 2x250w MH. 1 plant per 1 1/2 feet sq. bottom line is you really don't need exotic ingredients to grow killer weed. i'm sure that wormcastings etc. will do the trick for you... but don't feel bad if they're not available in your area... or are beyond your budget. this simple mostly organic set-up will give you EXCELLENT results with common, easily obtained cheap ingredients. peace all.

Blaze's method:

Very simple mix that will blow You away if you strive for optimum flavor in your buds.
Most Brewery shops have powdered citric acid, then you need the raw, unprocessed cane sugar(the brown rock sugar that still contains molassis).

1 dry ounce powdered citric acid
1 dry ounce unprocessed cane sugar
500ml's of warm h2o and mix well

Add 5ml's per gallon of res. every res. change.
It drops PH considerably the 1st day or 2 then stabilizes.
Citric acid is a good ph down, but it doesnt last as long as phos. acid.
I feed it to them always and switch to a clearing solution the last 7-10 days of flower.
I have never had buds so tastey and "odoriforous"


Curious George's method

Home-Made Organic Liquid Recipe

I add a few ingredients to my soil in a solution that is comparable to EJ Catalyst. Two weeks before transplanting seedlings into larger pots I mix the soil and add (per gallon of water):
1 tsp Molasses
1 tsp Lipton Iced tea mix(main ingredients: sugar, citric acid)
1 tsp brewers yeast
1 tsp fulvic acid
1/4 tsp humic acid(Gumate)
1 tbsp liquid seaweed.

This concoction will give life to your zillions of thriving soil microbes which will help break down your other soil amendments and/or watered on guano teas. The nutrients in the teas may not break down evenly, but that is the beauty of using organics... the plant uses the nutes as they are broken down. I would never use Milorganite on anything other than ornamental plants, but that is me. I swear by PSG for veg, and Budswel for flowering. I use many different guanos but those are the best(IMO)! BTW, worm casts don't have that much Nitrogen, at least not enough to use them alone for a high metabolism plant like cannabis. For Potassium I use Kelp meal(1-0-2), liquid seaweed(0-0-1) and Greensand(0-0-.1) I don't know how much of the greensand gets broken down by the time the plants are flowering, probably not much, but I use it anyway. Also, the guano's have a bit of P in them also, but not enough to use them by themselves, IMO. It seems that different ingredients break down more rapidly at different PH's, that is why I like to use a bit of peat moss fortified with dolomite lime, so that the medium doesn't have an equal ph throughout... I think it is varied between 5.8- 7.0 throughout the mix, and becomes a little more acidic towards the end of the grow, Phosphorus is more readily available when the medium becomes a bit acidic... this is good considering the plant needs the most phosphorus when it packs on its flowers at the end of it's life. That's been my observation thus far.

The Basic Soilmix:

1 quart perlite (keeps the mix light and helps drainage, does not break down.)
1 quart vermerculite (same as above)
2 quarts wormcastings 1-0-0 (slow release nitrogen, a ton of micronutrients)
1 quart potting soil (regular $2.50 a bag is ok, should be almost black in color, smell like dirt, not rotten. a little sand and verm. or perlite is ok.)
1/4 cup bat guano 10-3-1 (quick release nitrogen and more micros)
1/2 cup horticulture lime or agriculture lime (for PH and also contains calcium)

During flowering, add 1 teaspoon epson salt(magnesium) per gallon of water.Combined with the pour in ferts posted earlier, this would make an excellent mix.

1/3 perlite,
1/3 verm
1/3 castings

Keeping it simple. It’s really up to you and what’s available. Don’t freak when you see the low NPK ratios. The organic ferts have plenty of power. 300 to 400 ppm per watering is max. Any more is overkill. In addition to the above mix, mine contains:
1/2 cup greensand 0-0-1 (soil conditioner, makes things happen that aid in nutrient uptake)
1/2 cup alphalfa meal
7-2-5 General purpose organic fert(rabbit food)
1/2 cup horticulture mulch (slightly acidic, breaks down and becomes food)

The breakdown process is criticle to organic growing. There is a whole other world under the surface. Microorganisms break down organic matter into the basic elements. Opinions differ about how long it takes to get the process started but IMO about a month of being watered and breakdown will be in high gear. Using third generation soil and its tweekin’. You can and should reuse the soil. Add more of the powder ferts and your back in ‘binness. If your soil is alive with micros PH will not be a problem. Watering: In my grow the plants need water about every third day. I don’t water so much that water comes out of the drain holes. I think its wasteful and unnessasary. They get plenty of water though...all they can use. Misting: Everyday,with 6.0 water. I add 1/4 teaspoon of orange oil to a pint of water and the plants love it. The buds get bigger and tighter. Definitely a worthwhile procedure. Plain 6.0 water is OK too. Kinda’ dry where I live.(humidity wise) It may be a misconception that soil is less hassle than hydro. I guess it’s what you get used to. I know hydro rocks, but organics are Powerful. Power to grow Gigantic with organics!!!


MrSoul's method:

organic soils & teas

Soul's Soilless Mix
50% Worm Castings
25% Promix
25% Perlite
Add a cup of PSG and dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil.

Lately I've been happier with a bit less wormcastings:
50% Pro-mix
25% perlite
25% wormcastings
mix in a cup of dolomite lime per cubic foot of soil & wet the mix with an organic tea made from dissolving a cup of PSG in a 5-gallon bucket of water.

Soul's Guano Tea Method

I feed with tea at EVERY watering of my plants & since they're flowered in 2-gallon containers - that's usually every day!

The teas are made by soaking a "tea bag" (got mine at Worm's Way) in a 5-gallon bucket of pH = 6.2 water. Agitate and manipulate the bag a LOT to release as much of the "goodies" as possible - the water looks like it came from a mud puddle when you've got it right. I do one thing I've never heard other growers mention doing - I measure the ppm of my tea. Here are the contents of the tea bag, depending on growth stage:

Vegetative:
1/2 cup each of PSG & worm castings.
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop liquid seaweed,
2 Tablespoons of Alaska fish emulsion to the water. (I shoot for a ppm = 1000)

Flowering (weeks 0-4)
1/2 cup each of PSG & High Phosphorus bat guano
1/2 cup of Maxi-Crop to the water. (ppm 1250 - 1500 )
Flowering (weeks 4-7)
1/2 cup each High Phosphorus bat guano and worm castings. (shifting ppm from 1500 -> 1000)
Final week of flowering,
many folks choose to use plain, pH-adjusted water for "clearing" but I don't. I haven't noticed any difference between when I have & when I haven't "cleared". This seems reasonable when growing organically - why clear? Clear WHAT? They're living in the medium in which they've evolved for millions of years!

A few other hints:

SOAK the pots thoroughly when watering, then allow them to become "light" when lifted before watering again...the plants LOVE a short drying out period. The amount of time it takes for the plants to dry out is constantly getting SHORTER as they grow...be AWARE! Water BY HAND! At least get an accurate feel for how much the average plant needs by hand-watering before setting up a drip system or whatever.

Transplant you clones into the container you plan to flower them in & veg them until their roots systems are FULLY established before flowering them - this will MINIMIZE stretching...check this out for yourself, it works!

Results From a Facinating Experiment Just In !!!! Posted by Brother Herb I just preformed a little experiment to see what organic nutrients grow the tastiest,best looking ,smelling ect... The experiment involved a few popular strains like Shiva Skunk, Big Bud, White Widow and skunk#1*Hash plant. The organic components that I experimented with were all used the same during the flowering cycle. I tested high P bat&sea bird guano, bone meal, composted steer manure, rock phosphate and high P fish emulsion. Each plant was placed into a three gallon container from a one gallon pot upon forced flowering. Every pot is mixed with commercial " Super Soil " perlite, peat moss and oyster shell. Then the individual special ingrediants were blended in the mix and the plants were planted., I did three of each blend, of each varaiety. The results varaied widely. The guano's produced very nice sticky huge buds but there was a little lacking in the smell dept. The best of the guanos was the Shiva Skunk. All the guanos had a similar base taste thats kind of bland but not that bad. The bone meal did very well. The buds were smellier than the guano and had a slighter earthier taste. The best one was Widow. The resin content hasn't changed much between the same species with different mixes. Next was the rock phosphate, it produed the biggest buds, with the fewest amount leaves and the plants smelled the strongest yet. The Big Bud was the best performer with rock phosphate. The Fish Emulsion pellets preformed the worst out of all my mixes. All varaieties looked and smelled fine but they all had a fishy base taste. I once dropped a dead gold fish into a pot with a flowering plant, the buds tasted like striaght fish! The last of my mixes was Composted Steer Manure and it turned out to be the best. The plants were a little leafy but they had nice buds and smelled out of this world. Every strain smelled better under manure, the Shiva had that grape orange smell going on, the Widow had the sweetest skunkiest smell, Big Bud reeked of mangoes, and the SK#1*Hash plant reminded me of pelling on orange. The best part about manure, I had yet to find out until I cured my weed. WOW, even the best weed in Amsterdam couldnt compare with this tasty stuff. The flavor of the weed would explode in your mouth with every hit . The smell of second hand smoke if so overpowering, it makes you got to have some if your not smoking it already. Does anybody else out there swear by manure for taste like I do? Please feel free to respond with your opinions on what makes weed taste great!


Subcool's method:

6 Bags Roots soil or equivalent high quality supped up grow soil
Note**I am trying a new product made by a local company that contains less fir bark called Harvest Moon
25 pounds Pure Worm Castings/ Note: Substituted 40lbs Cow Manure
½ cup Azomite trace minerals/ Substituted 4 cups of Espoma Kelp Meal
2/3 Cup Sweet Lime IE Dolomite
1 Kilo Bone meal / IE 5 Pounds
1 Kilo Blood meal ( I use a bit more bone than Blood in this recipe)
1 Kilo Bat Guano bloom formula preferably Fruit bats
3/4 cup Epson Salts
The Perlite and Coco I happen to have and it will make a better mix but it is not necessary.

So we add water and let it cook in the sunshine. 30 days is best for this concentrate and it can be used to condition soil as detailed in the soil 101 thread. Do Not Put Clones or Seeds in this mix!

I will use this for a full year just adding like 30-50% in the lower potion of the container and plain roots in top portion. As the concentrate gets older I can use more. To re use I just recondition.

Read This!!
***Disclaimer**
This soil is really hot and you cannot plant seedlings or clones directly into it. When I do my final transplant into #10 pots I fill each pot ¾ full with Super soil and the top ¼ I add plain potting soil and stir the top portion. This allows the roots to become used to the soil. After a few days the growth on a transplant is amazing Jill’s Comment was most peoples soil plants don’t grow that fast.

Using this soil it’s not necessary to add nutrients with the exception of bloom maybe once and Sugars to enhance flavor.

Hope that’s helps the final shot is all cleaned up it took me about 30 minutes and cost on products was about 175$
This should last me 3-4 grows.

This recipe originally came from Vic High and over the years I have tweaked it and perfected it to the strains I grow, If there nutrient sensitive I simply cut the mix more.
With plants that need more I simply top dress the plants at week 3 of 12/12 with the concentrate.