Help Determining Ammendment ratios

[L3G10N]

Im wanting to try and make my own soil mix but i am puzzled at how much of each product i should use. I have found many soil recipies but all contain things i dont have. Im really in dire need of some advice from more experienced growers. Following is a list of the things i have...

50 lbs composted cow manure (black kow)
40 lbs mushroom compost (black velvet)
3.8 cf compressed canadian spaghum peat moss (premier horticulture)
3 lbs blood meal (miracle-gro)
3 lbs bone meal (miracle-gro)
5 lbs garden lime (espoma)
5 lbs epsom salt (pennington)
8 qt Perlite (Schultz)
8 qt Vermiculite (Sta-Green)

Im needing some help to make a good mix with this stuff i have, im tired of using pre-ferted potting soils and my plants ending up like shit. Thanks to anyone who can help me. Also if this is not the right section of the forum to post this, mod please move to correct section.

L3G10N Reviewed by L3G10N on 08-05-2006. Help Determining Ammendment ratios Im wanting to try and make my own soil mix but i am puzzled at how much of each product i should use. I have found many soil recipies but all contain things i dont have. Im really in dire need of some advice from more experienced growers. Following is a list of the things i have... 50 lbs composted cow manure (black kow) 40 lbs mushroom compost (black velvet) 3.8 cf compressed canadian spaghum peat moss (premier horticulture) 3 lbs blood meal (miracle-gro) 3 lbs bone meal (miracle-gro) Rating: 5

[SecretSquirrel]

I've been searching the same path as you, L3G10N. I've googled the crap out of "organic soil recipe", etc. and saved a bunch of different recipes, techniques, advice, etcetera to my Favorites folder. I use these resources to generate ideas for developing my own organic soil mix.

Here's a few of those links I found to be helpful:

http://www.onlinepot.org/grow/goodsoil.htm
http://icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=510571#post510571
http://www.jasons-indoor-guide-to-or...oil-mixes.html
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/G...c%20Topics.htm

Regarding the materials you have available, I would go with the following rough mix:
3 parts compost (cow/mush mix)
2 parts peat
3 parts drainage (50/50 perlite-vermiculite mix)

Then add bone meal, lime, blood meal...whatever else you want, using a per gallon ratio. Alot of the recipes call for amendments per cubic foot. 1 cubic foot = 6.4 gallons and 1 cup = 15 tbsp, so.... one of the better-looking recipes calls for:

1 cup/cu ft for bone and blood meal (about 2 tbsp/gal soil)
1.5 cup/cu ft for lime (about 3 tbsp/gal soil)

You might want to add some kelp meal (2 tbsp/gal) and/or a bit of wood ash for micronutes and trace elements.

I personally am adding kelp meal, wood ash, dry molasses and mycorrhizae fungus to my mix and plan to give supplemental feedings of manure/guano tea during veg and flower.

The more peat(acidic) the more lime you want to help stabilize pH. With the recipe above (25% peat) you may only want 1-1/2 to 2 tbsp/gal soil.

That's just one of a hundred examples off the top of my head. A basic soil mix like that plus regular feedings of manure/high N guano tea during veg and high P guano tea during first half of flower should do your babies righteously.

I'm anxious to try my all-organic SecretSquirrel SoilMix (see thread) on this next grow. I too used a prefert soil on my last grow and ended up with pH and nute levels all over the place. Got close to 2 ozs of nice sticky power plant bud off one plant but I feel I could have improved that immensely with a good organic soil mix to start with.

Hope this gives you some constructive ideas!

SecretSquirrel

[L3G10N]

man i really appriciate your response. I think i will try the mix you suggested, 3 parts compost 2 parts peat and 3 parts drainage. Will mix in a little blood and bone meal as well as lime. I have never seen kelp meal where i live, i can only buy what lowes, homedepot or walmart has. Also you mentioned woodash, can it be bought or does one just burn trees to get it?

[SecretSquirrel]

you can just burn some sticks. Won't take a lot for like 1 tbsp/gal soil. I believe hardwood like oak or mesquite is preferable to soft woods like pine and conifers. You definitely want to use untreated wood... no wolmanized 2x4's, etc.

Make sure the wood ash stays dry until mixing into your soil. In other words, don't build a little fire, put out the coals with h2o and then use the resulting ash. If it becomes wet, soluble minerals in the ash runoff, deposit and become unevenly distributed or lost.

If you use the blood and bone meal and then get some guano/manure tea action going (switching from high N guano to high P guano during flower) for your supplemental feeds you may not have to add any other stuff except maybe mag sulfate a couple times.

That's the way I'm growing my next tomato plant. :thumbsup: