Building A Better Soil: Demonstrations & Discussions Of Organic Soil Recipes

[Robert Celt]

Good morning Sue

I am glad you liked the article. After a successful first grow with a soil I threw together with things I could find locally and on a budget, and seeing other non-organic growers following my journal show an interest in organics, I decided to put that together so growers wanting to attempt organic grows could see what can be added for amendments without breaking the bank LOL Many amendments can be found in feed stores/mills, quarries or produced at home much cheaper than grow shops For example, the alfalfa pellets I used cost me $20 for 55lbs at a local feed mill.

I avoided a recipe because , as shown by so many members here, there is more than one path to a successful grow and my personal recipe continues to evolve as I learn more

 

[SweetSue]

You've added a wonderful resource TheCelt. Thank you for allowing me to drop it here.

 

[kelticBlue]

. . . I use the recipe developed by a gentleman named Clackamas Coots, . . .

I am in. I too use the basic CC recipe. I have about 5 gallons mixed up in a smart pot. To it I added about 1/4 cup used coffee grounds and 1/8 cup crushed egg shells. I didn't really measure the coffee or eggs but that was about it. It 'cooked' for 4 weeks like that before I transplanted into it. It works well. I was concerned having that much soil in my room that it might create issues or smells. But nothing of the sort for the last couple of months.
I am pretty happy with the results.

This is one of the first threads I followed here. And it steered me in this direction. I think my garden is pretty much on cruise control. I feel like most of the things I do in it aren't really necessary. I love getting in there and having fun. Keeps me out of trouble.

 

[kelticBlue]

You've added a wonderful resource TheCelt. Thank you for allowing me to drop it here.

I am reading through it. great stuff.
Thanks. TheCelt.

 

[SweetSue]

I am in. I too use the basic CC recipe. I have about 5 gallons mixed up in a smart pot. To it I added about 1/4 cup used coffee grounds and 1/8 cup crushed egg shells. I didn't really measure the coffee or eggs but that was about it. It 'cooked' for 4 weeks like that before I transplanted into it. It works well. I was concerned having that much soil in my room that it might create issues or smells. But nothing of the sort for the last couple of months.
I am pretty happy with the results.

This is one of the first threads I followed here. And it steered me in this direction. I think my garden is pretty much on cruise control. I feel like most of the things I do in it aren't really necessary. I love getting in there and having fun. Keeps me out of trouble.

Haha! I hear ya. It keeps me off the streets. All the study it brings with it makes sure I'm preoccupied should trouble come calling for companionship. Do you run yours as a no-till? Cannabelle has me growing mine with scallions to keep the smell down, but mostly because the onions help the microbes in the breaking down of mineral nutrients. It's a cheap and easy tweak to the grow that should increase terpene development IMO. Can't back that up yet, but with what we're beginning to learn about the importance of terpenes and how they may be more responsible for the high than THC, I'll try something this painless with hope for improvement.

Who knows, those expectations I have may be having some bearing on the results. I'm a strong believer in the power of intention.

 

[kelticBlue]

Haha! I hear ya. It keeps me off the streets. All the study it brings with it makes sure I'm preoccupied should trouble come calling for companionship. Do you run yours as a no-till? Cannabelle has me growing mine with scallions to keep the smell down, but mostly because the onions help the microbes in the breaking down of mineral nutrients. It's a cheap and easy tweak to the grow that should increase terpene development IMO. Can't back that up yet, but with what we're beginning to learn about the importance of terpenes and how they may be more responsible for the high than THC, I'll try something this painless with hope for improvement.
. . .

I did plant from seed some scallions in a previous bunch of 'hardware store soil' Nothing special In that pot It was just a bag seed plant. The bag seed plant hardly smells at all just an acetone and earthy odor even since harvesting. My trial run if you will. And the scallions grew well along side their companion.

Now with the CC mix I slacked off and didn't plant any scallions. Woulda coulda shoulda. I do have a tarragon cutting and a lemon balm cutting growing in there. They were handy at the time. They have been keeping out of the way of the main attraction. It is My weak effort at living mulch. It may or may not be the best. Certainly not like your clover, ah well.

I do plan to no till. But plans sometimes plans and I don't have the same mindset.
Cheers.

 

[SweetSue]

I do plan to no till. But plans sometimes plans and I don't have the same mindset.
Cheers.

When you're ready you'll give it a try. The longer you watch the working no-tills improve over time and realize just how easy it is..... Someday we'll entice you.

 

[kelticBlue]

Cheers all
So at the end of this grow I plan on shutting down for a month or two. I have too much traveling ahead of me.
I plan on mixing in my left over seaweed into the BAS. I dont think the soil needs a thing but gonna give it a go.

Meanwhile, I wanna grow some Borage and maybe Amaranth from seed I have. Not sure if I am gonna do it in the BAS or not. I do not care much if they live or not while I am away just gonna wildcraft them back into the soil. Also plan on setting up my blumat to keep things moist while I am gone.

So other than Keeping the soil slightly moist and warm. What if anything should I do while the pot of soil sits for about 2 months?
Will growing some other herb in the soil deplete the soil also considering a scallion I have growing in another pot.

And If i do a compost tea would it be better to do it sooner or later toward my next run.
I am gonna sprout in a cup before transplanting so I will have lead time to do what I need with the soil.

I like sugar sparkelz. So Happy and I know I gets better next time. So pretty

 

[CajunCelt]

Too many Celts around here.
Where's a potato famine when ya need it?

 

[TheRoach]

I like sugar sparkelz. So Happy and I know I gets better next time. So pretty

This picture should be in the plant of the month contest.

 

[SweetSue]

too many celts around here.
Where's a potato famine when ya need it?

omg cajun!!!

 

[SweetSue]

Cheers all
So at the end of this grow I plan on shutting down for a month or two. I have too much traveling ahead of me.
I plan on mixing in my left over seaweed into the BAS. I dont think the soil needs a thing but gonna give it a go.

Meanwhile, I wanna grow some Borage and maybe Amaranth from seed I have. Not sure if I am gonna do it in the BAS or not. I do not care much if they live or not while I am away just gonna wildcraft them back into the soil. Also plan on setting up my blumat to keep things moist while I am gone.

So other than Keeping the soil slightly moist and warm. What if anything should I do while the pot of soil sits for about 2 months?
Will growing some other herb in the soil deplete the soil also considering a scallion I have growing in another pot.

And If i do a compost tea would it be better to do it sooner or later toward my next run.
I am gonna sprout in a cup before transplanting so I will have lead time to do what I need with the soil.

I like sugar sparkelz. So Happy and I know I gets better next time. So pretty

Do you have any living mulch on your pots? If not, maybe consider some white clover seeds. There are so many options to choose here. There's absolutely nothing you need to do with the pot. When I had one sitting in reserve I made sure to amend it on the same schedule as the active pots. The soil just gets better and better. I'm assuming you have worms? If not get some. They'll work your pots the entire time.

That picture should be posted on this thread. I expect to see it there within the next day.

Come on folks let's see some eye candy! Here's some for ya

 

[IliKedirt]

Thank you for taking the time to share this.
After you harvest the plant, how are you managing the depleted soil? i read that you cut the stalk at the soil line and plop in another seed. what about the giant root structure of the just harvested plant?

lol at the rain water. I totally agree with using it. Pretty easy to get on the PNW coast. Cali they might jail you for collecting it.

 

[kelticBlue]

Do you have any living mulch on your pots? If not, maybe consider some white clover seeds. There are so many options to choose here. There's absolutely nothing you need to do with the pot. When I had one sitting in reserve I made sure to amend it on the same schedule as the active pots. The soil just gets better and better. I'm assuming you have worms? If not get some. They'll work your pots the entire time.

That picture should be posted on this thread. I expect to see it there within the next day.

Come on folks let's see some eye candy! Here's some for ya

Good idea. I will post over there when I get home after this weekend.
Yeah worms. I can do that. Should did already.
I want to grow something in the pot that I can with evilness kill without regret.
Many thanks all.

 

[kelticBlue]

Too many Celts around here.
Where's a potato famine when ya need it?

No famine when ya grow your own. : - ))))

 

[Llama]

Sue, You living soil is definitely a superior product. That said, I think it would become pretty expensive in larger grows. I am starting a new soil mix to see how good it will be. I will be using a base of 3.8 cf bale of ProMix HP with bio fungicide and mycorrhizea. I will add 2 gallons of perlite, 3 cf of Eco Scraps compost, 1lb of chelated lime. The ProMix is what the Nursery I shop at use for their base soil. They gave me this recipe and swear they have the best luck with it.(They use a different brand of compost, but this is the basic recipe) We shall see how it grows.

 

[bobrown14]

Thank you for taking the time to share this.
After you harvest the plant, how are you managing the depleted soil? i read that you cut the stalk at the soil line and plop in another seed. what about the giant root structure of the just harvested plant?

lol at the rain water. I totally agree with using it. Pretty easy to get on the PNW coast. Cali they might jail you for collecting it.

I usually do seedlings in cups then transplant/up-pot to final container that is an empty no-til from the last round. Same with clones just get them going in my ghetto cloner and when they have roots into the next no-til thats available.

The root ball from the last plant has already started to compost in the pot and generally if I wait a few days the main root ball is pretty much dissolved. It doesn't take long. There's an added benefit as well. The root ball has all the beneficial bacteria and they are looking for a new host. Why a lot of us use cover crops. They keep the beneficial fungi and bacteria happy while we get our shit together for the next round of plants.

Everyone focuses on the plants. I'm more of a soil guy and focus on our compost/worm bins and collect castings etc. Then when it's time to start another soil mix I'm ready to go. I let my worms do all the work and I focus on keeping them happy and well stocked with food and water.

Everyone likes Promix and so do I BUT it's expensive compared to a bail of CSPM - it's all the same with exception Promix adds in mycos which most of us already have in our tool box and they also add in a surfactant (which is not organic BTW). Reason for the surfactant is to aid the peat moss in absorbing water. Peat moss has a natural water repellent (hydrophobicity) nature. So adding the surfactant helps with the even water absorption. Without the surfactant we would have a heck of a time mixing the soil and getting is wet.

Good news there's many many organic surfactants, one of them is Aloe Vera and another is soap nuts. Both or either can be mixed with water to water into regular Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. This cane save you $32 on a $40 bag of Promix. That's a huge savings. We can purchase Canadian Spagnum Peat Moss at the local home center. Just look for Peat Moss manufactured in.... wait for it ..... Canada! Tada - Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. There are not that many companies in Canada that harvest peat moss, so its hard for me to spend $32 more coin on Promix and all I'm getting extra in the bag, I already have in spades at home, why not use them and save a little money along the way.

I've bought 2 bales of Promix this year and 2 bails of the regular CSPM ($8 at lowes same size bale). I still have one bale of Promix sitting. I got GREAT results from the regular stuff outdoors this summer and I think it is EXACTLY the same thing maybe be even better quality (longer strands of peat). So not always true "you get what you pay for" - is mostly true but I think we can do better than $40 bail of Promix. Don't get me wrong about Promix I love the stuff, I just think it's overpriced. There's a lot of poo pooing about it too with the Landscaping crowd, at least around here there is.

Reason I figured all this out was when the last time I went to our local garden center they had 2 SKIDS of Promix and wouldn't sell me a bail... it was "on hold" for a landscaper. I figured out a workaround ^^^^ So folks on a budget can get the same thing, get some soap nuts and save a shit load of money on NOT purchasing detergent for washing clothes too... AND have good peat moss!

Savings on soap nuts = $10 soap nuts instead of 6 month supply of "detergent". Savings $500 every 6 months ... do the math. You can pour the grey water from washing with soap nuts into the gardens and it's like feeding your soil/plants so you have 2x the benefit.

Off "soap" box hahaha.

Point is: I'm passing along some old school hippie shit to help others out. TIFWIW!

Sooner or later we all will have to face the facts on sustainability.

 

[PeeJay]

Bob, you neglected a couple of things about Pro-Mix that need to be mentioned. Pro-Mix has perlite in it already _around 20% by volume I think but I'm too lazy to look it up. Also it has been buffered. Peat is quite acidic so if you use straight peat then it needs to be buffered accordingly. Both of these things add to the cost of using straight peat. The big cost consideration is the buffering, oddly enough. It's not that the things needed to buffer correctly are expensive, it's that getting it right is problematic and they have it down. What you get when you use Pro-Mix, Sunshine 4 or Klassiman is a very neutral base with built in buffering capacity and that makes them a very attractive proposition for people who want to grow high value crops.

 

[Llama]

The promix I bought does not have perlite in it. It uses something else to loosen the soil but I cannot remember what it was off the top of my head. I add perlite, even to soils that already contains it because I like a higher ratio to keep the soil from compacting.

 

[PeeJay]

Pretty sure that Pro-Mix HP has perlite in it, Llama. I tend to add more aeration on top of what my base has as well, especially in the seedling mix.

My point is that, in my opinion, a well buffered base for a soil mix is a really good thing because we are largely growing in containers. They lack the near infinite leech field of that field grown plants have the benefit of. I take a lot of comfort from knowing that the companies who produce nutrient-neutral pH balanced soilless mediums do just that. I get to start with a clean canvass when I begin adding rapidly metabolized whole foods for plants to the mix.