Soil

[420Paul]

Can someone give me a good soil mix, IE exact name brands? I am talking about mixing your own, like what all ingredients do you use, I know aboute the video on google, however it doesnt give you name brands.

420Paul Reviewed by 420Paul on 08-26-2006. Soil Can someone give me a good soil mix, IE exact name brands? I am talking about mixing your own, like what all ingredients do you use, I know aboute the video on google, however it doesnt give you name brands. Rating: 5

[Zandor]

The best advice I can give is don't use Miracle Grow potting soil.

My personal preference is sterile soil mix with 50% Perlite for quick drainage.

Some good soil with some nutrients is ok is these.
Ocean Forest Potting Soil from fox farm. This is 100% organic
Sunshine #1
This is a good soil mix with Canadian sphagnum pear moss and dolomite lime for Ph control.
No mater what you use add Perlite to improve drainage about 50/50 mix. The idea is when the soil is moist you should be able to take a handful of dirt and crush it in your hands. Hold your hands about 12" above the pot and release. When the soil falls back to the pot about 50% of the soil should fall apart. The remaining chunk from your hand should break up easily. That is how I test my soil and know if the mixture is right or not. You want the soil to hold water but not for a very long time. You want to water every 3-day's on average so the soil must drain quickly. If the soil is not dry by day-3 then don't water. The chopstick method or a soil meter will tell you when it's safe to water again.
Make sure you have plenty of drainage to remove the water and avoid nutrient build up that can turn toxic. Most people forget about the outer edges of the pots and only have a center hole for drainage. That's not enough to me. When I grow in soil I drill extra holes in whatever pot I use. I drill around the edges lower sides and the whole bottom. I do use the double bucket method where the top bucket fits into the bottom bucket and the bottom bucket catches the run off. The roots can stick through because there is an air gap and that's a good thing. You do need to empty the bottom bucket every week but that's about it.
Grow bags are a good cheep way to grow, punch a few extra drainage holds in the very bottom but that's about it. I like the 3-gallon size but you need to have a way to catch the runoff and keep lights from reaching the roots that will stick out the bottom of the bag. Normally when the roots stick out the plant is big enough to have leaf coverage to block the light. A simple trash bag will cover the soil and block the roots from being hit by the light.
Most important thing about dirt farming is don't over water. Fungal gnats suck and are hard to get rid of and most of the time the cause is over watering. They live in the dirt and feed on roots. I don't know of anybody who lost a crop to fungal gnats but I guess it could be done. They are more of a pain in the ass then anything else. In a young plant I believe they would do damage because they live off the roots but in an older plant like mother or a flowering plant the root zone should be established.
Does that help?

Next week we start to cover soil types and how to mix your own on my pot cast show The Grow Report.

[quantumgod]

great info zandor. thanks.