re: Brightlight's Strain Fest - Organics & LED
In the future I'd avoid dolomite for indoors, promix is basically just pete moss, dolomite, perlite...would be cheaper and better to just buy pete moss and mix in your own aeration, already using Mycos + Azos so don't need to worry about promix's mycos
What's everyone's thoughts on paramagnetic rock? If you have easy access to it, is it worth using as an amendment?
Locally andesite is available, is it worth adding it in?
^^^^^ That FTW! Great advice.. save the dolo for the yard and outdoor gardens even the trees love it.
Andesite is a black basaltic rock. One of the granite dusts I use in my soil mix is Basalt.... it's 60% SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide).
I use a lot of granite dust in my soil mix, something on the order of 4 cups per cu ft. Usually a mix of 2 different dusts. Best to use local... specially if its in the form of a dust or powder. It won't break down into some sort of "big bud candy' but it has LOTS of micro nutrients and a nice home for bacteria.
here's my mix added to:
1/3 CSPM
1/3 humus
1/3 aeration
Acadian Kelp Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Neem Cake and Karanja Cake 50/50 Mix @ 1/2 cup per cubic foot
Crustacean Meal @ 1/2 Cup per cubic foot
Gypsum Dust @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Brix Blend Basalt @ 2 Cups Per Cubic Foot (this is the black basalt)
Glacial Rock Dust @ 2 Cups Per Cubic Foot
Oyster Flour @ 1 Cup Per Cubic Foot
Malted Barley @ 1 cup Per Cubic Foot
Cubic foot = 7 gallons
Notice there's no Dolomite, plenty of Ca in all of those ingredients.
IF you use 1/3 aeration, even with all that rock dust the soil mix will feel very light...
For ProMix.. this product is primarily made and "marketed" for professional landscape contractors not for container gardening. Add to that the price.... meh. I've seen in person the CPSM being harvested for Premier, the company that makes ProMix.
We add in all the extras in our soil mixes at pennies on the dollar compared to what they sell it for out of the bag/bale. The ProMix peat moss is the same as their $10 bale (Premier Brand) CSPM sold at lowes minus the stuff we add in.
Looks like this :