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

So the time has come for me to get new container soil. My current soil from build-a- has been abused once too often. Still a couple of years of good runs.

I don't have room to mix my own. And I use a small amount. I only need 7 gallons max, about 1 cu. ft.

So the question becomes, where can I get ~1 cu ft of LOS besides BAS. ?
Anyone ever use 'the soil-makers' or any other pre mix LOS. ?


I want to take the laziest way out. But, I really should make my own.

It is a shame I can walk to a hydro store but the soil mixes aren't made to my liking. I have been thinking of trying a bag of something from there just for now. I dunno what though.

My current soil has done me well but this last grow I am having root crown rot. My fault totally. Soil is too moist in my earthbox. Live and learn.

Any pre mix soil recommendations are acceptable to me. PM if you want, I forgot, i don't want to break rules.

Cheers all.
 
I had great luck with Kind Soil. Its a water only soil.....and grows great. I grew in it on my first grow before making my own soil. Iamtoasted is growing in Kind Soil as well.

Kind Soil

If you decide to use it, read the directions for it and follow them closely. If you have any questions about it or its use, please feel free to ask, I will give you all honest answers.
 
kelticBlue said:
So the time has come for me to get new container soil. My current soil from build-a- has been abused once too often. Still a couple of years of good runs.

I don't have room to mix my own. And I use a small amount. I only need 7 gallons max, about 1 cu. ft.

So the question becomes, where can I get ~1 cu ft of LOS besides BAS. ?
Anyone ever use 'the soil-makers' or any other pre mix LOS. ?


I want to take the laziest way out. But, I really should make my own.

It is a shame I can walk to a hydro store but the soil mixes aren't made to my liking. I have been thinking of trying a bag of something from there just for now. I dunno what though.

My current soil has done me well but this last grow I am having root crown rot. My fault totally. Soil is too moist in my earthbox. Live and learn.

Any pre mix soil recommendations are acceptable to me. PM if you want, I forgot, i don't want to break rules.

Cheers all.
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I've been looking at KIS Oragnic's water-only soil. I've only heard good things about KIS and it looks like good stuff. It's $30 for 1.5 cu ft...

It's ingredients:

"Alaskan Spaghnum Peat Moss, Oly Mountain Fish Compost, Earthworm Castings, Volcanic Pumice, KIS Organics Microbe Catalyst, Gaia Green Canadian Glacial Rock Dust, Cascade Minerals Basalt, Calphos Soft Rock Phosphate, Pacific Pearl Oyster Shell Powder, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Fish Bone Meal, Organic Crustacean Meal, Acadian Kelp Meal (ascophyllum nodosum), Ahimsa Organics Neem Cake, Ahimsa Organics Karanja Cake, Organic Fish Meal, Organic Feather Meal, Organic Steamed Bone Meal, Natural Calcite, Ag Lime, Mycorrhiza*, and Beneficial Microbes."

I'm thinking about trying some of this versus my own mix too. I've spent far more money putting the custom mix together than this would have cost me to use in the first place. So you'd be doing me a favor showing me how it works too :P
 
Guy Cavallero said:
Nice GOP.. ...oh man that tote gives me an idea.....wicked!
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Thats how I do it.... I've got 3 of them with either soil mix, CSPM and/or vermicompost in them. Can leave them like that outside, in the garage or inside. They won't smell. I keep my soil bin in the kitchen (with a lid on).
 
Yeah right they won't smell!!! Lol

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Smell is rancid, though I assume this is only temporary until activity dies back and it gets mixed in
 
Building a Better Soil - Demonstrations & Discussions of Organic Soil Recipes

So far I have stored about 200 litres of CC’s mix (alfalfa meal substituted for Karanja meal) soil in the basement since October. Just the way it worked out, it’s in 3 containers,

One container is a full sized plastic garbage can with lid. It was 3/4 full maybe a bit more. I used some for my current run of green crack and Blue Dream. 4 geopots of 5 gallons each and 1 that was only 1 gallon. To which I added another small bin of soil that had our tomato plant remains and their soil from October. Chopped em up. It’s since broken down. A few months ago I added some biogold mycos. It has had some old leaves and roots. Recently I used this same bin of soil, which smells amazing, to plant my seedlings into 1 gallon pots. I have found them to be populated by worms and a few fungus gnats.

The third container I have is a 100 to 120 litre storage bin with lid. In the fall I have a pin cherry tree drop a bunch of leaves and these dark red, bitter, type of seeds or fruit. I added as much of this as I could to the bin. On the rare occasion I put some greens or fruit or something in there as well. I think most of that has broken down too. I think this has fungus gnats too. Not a ton because the neem meal, diatomaceous earth, crab shell meal is doing its part so no concerns.

Pretty sure I have fed the bins some of the compost teas over the last few months.

All around I think my soil mix is pretty happy sitting in the basement covered in bins.

Edit: I want to take all the various bins and mix them up, adding just a bit of black topsoil, sometime in the spring or early summer.
 
Wondering how many people around here make their own EWC?

Saw AmyG talking about it a page or so back but haven't seen much other talk around here about it, like what methods or recipes people are using etc.

Seems like an amazing way to get the best EWC available, but haven't seen much talk about it

I have leaf/cow/horse compost sitting around that I've been thinking of mixing up with lots of rice hulls and some CSPM, then lightly amending it with a mix of neem/kelp/crustacean/mbp/rock dusts/comfrey or some other things and tossing some red wigglers on top or something along those lines and seeing what I can get .
 
GodOfPot said:
Wondering how many people around here make their own EWC?

Saw AmyG talking about it a page or so back but haven’t seen much other talk around here about it, like what methods or recipes people are using etc.

Seems like an amazing way to get the best EWC available, but haven’t seen much talk about it

I have leaf/cow/horse compost sitting around that I’ve been thinking of mixing up with lots of rice hulls and some CSPM, then lightly amending it with a mix of neem/kelp/crustacean/mbp/rock dusts/comfrey or some other things and tossing some red wigglers on top or something along those lines and seeing what I can get .
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I am not doing my own earth worm farm yet. But its on the docket here pretty soon. I go through a lot of them between making my own soil and using them in ACT. Not sure how big of a farm I need to have to produce what I need.
 
Thinking of just taking some of my leftover compost/EWC throwing some rice hulls in there and tossing worms on it just to get started....already have it kicking around so why not? As I continue to read I'll adjust and add, but from what I've read so far compost/aeration will work as a great start
 
GodOfPot said:
Wondering how many people around here make their own EWC?

Saw AmyG talking about it a page or so back but haven’t seen much other talk around here about it, like what methods or recipes people are using etc.

Seems like an amazing way to get the best EWC available, but haven’t seen much talk about it

I have leaf/cow/horse compost sitting around that I’ve been thinking of mixing up with lots of rice hulls and some CSPM, then lightly amending it with a mix of neem/kelp/crustacean/mbp/rock dusts/comfrey or some other things and tossing some red wigglers on top or something along those lines and seeing what I can get .
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I'm doing my own flow through worm bin that I built out of a large garbage can. I cut out a hole at the bottom to put a collection tray in then above that I put a row of pvc pipes drilled through the garbage can from front to back. I put screws in the pvc pipes so they would grind up the soil a little. Once that was all constructed I put down a fairly thick layer of newspaper then all of my bedding and added worms and food. You just keep adding food to the top and they keep migrating upwards. After you wait for a while to let it build initially you can harvest castings from time to time based on how often you feed the bin.
 
What I'm looking for is a 'static' set up, no need to continuously feed them, just make sure it's moist enough and basically 'set it & forget it' come back in a few months and have premium castings .

Since I just finished mixing a batch of CCs mix I have plenty laying around....so I'm taking my composts(horse, cow, & leaf) mixing them together, adding a bit of the CSPM, 20% aeration, amend it like you would CCs mix(though this is where you can play and add in different amendments like DE) mix it all up, toss worms in, leave for a few months just keeping it moist and voila...have yourself some mighty fine EWC

You can even use the end product as your humus for your base mix, though you'd have to change the portions, so 33% aeration, 15-20% EWC(really dense so 33% would be too much) and the rest CSPM then amendments

Hopefully all works out, still have a ton to learn, but mixing up a batch today(have everything on hand), and will grab some worms this week and toss them in, see how it play out .
 
Here's what CC does for his set-it-and-forget-it ewc and humus

Take it to the next level with Home made Vermicompost and you'll have a soil better than 99% of the growers out there. Here is an excellent recipe from the guy who really got my brain thinking, Clackamas Coots:

"This is the compost that I started with:
1 c.y. organic barley straw
12 lbs. basalt rock dust
2 c.f. roughly chopped Comfrey as the Nitrogen source
5 c.f. pumice (1/4" size)

When the material ramped back down to 100F or so I added the following:
3 lbs. kelp meal 3 lbs. a neem / karanja meal mix that I had made because I was bored - obviously 1 lb. organic alfalfa meal 1 c.f. roughly chopped Comfrey leaves 1 c.f. roughly chopped mint mix - Peppermint, Spearmint, Thyme, Cilantro, Holy Basil (Tulsi) and chopped Rosemary 3 lbs. organic fish meal 3 lbs. crustacean meal
I loaded this into #150 SmartPot and dumped about 3 gallons of worms that I harvested from other set-ups also using SmartPots. Basically 3 gallons is somewhere around 10 - 11 lbs. of worms. I covered this with barley straw to reduce evaporation in the bedding material.
A year later I harvested over 28 lbs. of worms, thousands and thousands of cocoons (using a 1/8" screen which will capture the cocoons) and this specific batch of vermicompost is what I'm currently using.
It's all about patience - it takes time to create premium humus.
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You could scale that to whatever size you'd like your end product to be but I'm not sure how the math would work on that.

Edit: Adding in the scaling
 
Building a Better Soil - Demonstrations & Discussions of Organic Soil Recipes

Listening to a Coot podcast is where I learned about it, I e read through the whole thread at GCF seems Coot hops on there a bit and hands out advice

I love experimenting or having fun toying around, so figured I'd give it a shot with what I had in hand and see how it turns out, the only cost for now will be the price of the worms

I based everything around how much compost I had, wasn't a fan of the horse compost so kept that to a minimum, went with about 1 gal of horse compost, 2.5 gal of cow compost and 4 gal of leaf compost

So 7.5 gal of compost I added 2.5 gal of perlite, about 1.5 gal of CSPM and amended the crap out of it lol;
1.5 cups kelp
1.5 cups neem cake
1.5 cups crustacean meal
1.5 cups basalt
1.5 cups OSF
1 cup gypsum
1.5 cups glacial rock dust
1 cup calcium bentonite
1 cup gro-sil(its 99.9% silica derived from rice hulls)

Wet it all up and mixed it around
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Wanted to add mbp but was running short on time, I'll bring that up tomorrow or later and add it as a top dress, will transfer to a smart pot, throw worms in and cover with moist cardboard, just see how t plays out

Was hoping I'd have 15-20 gal mix but fell short cause of the compost, so I'm thinking in a few weeks I'll pick up more compost and start another 20gal pot and keep it staggered a few weeks apart .
 
GodOfPot said:
Wondering how many people around here make their own EWC?

Saw AmyG talking about it a page or so back but haven’t seen much other talk around here about it, like what methods or recipes people are using etc.

Seems like an amazing way to get the best EWC available, but haven’t seen much talk about it

I have leaf/cow/horse compost sitting around that I’ve been thinking of mixing up with lots of rice hulls and some CSPM, then lightly amending it with a mix of neem/kelp/crustacean/mbp/rock dusts/comfrey or some other things and tossing some red wigglers on top or something along those lines and seeing what I can get .
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I feed them cannabis leaves and melon rinds - they love melons.

I don't get many castings (2 gallons per year?) but it means no incriminating leaves have to be taken out my grow room, just quality bud. Some soil will go into my garden sometime in the summer when I mix up replacement soil, but it just looks like garden soil, not cannabis leaf piles
 
GodOfPot said:
Wondering how many people around here make their own EWC?

Saw AmyG talking about it a page or so back but haven't seen much other talk around here about it, like what methods or recipes people are using etc.

Seems like an amazing way to get the best EWC available, but haven't seen much talk about it

I have leaf/cow/horse compost sitting around that I've been thinking of mixing up with lots of rice hulls and some CSPM, then lightly amending it with a mix of neem/kelp/crustacean/mbp/rock dusts/comfrey or some other things and tossing some red wigglers on top or something along those lines and seeing what I can get .
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GOP - there's vermicompost and there's EWC. Very closely related products but they are somewhat different in the process.

What you are describing in this post is Vermicomposting and is what we do.

You can build or buy a "worm farm" which you can feed the worms and harvest just the castings they leave .... that's the EWC stuff. More work or I would say more concentrated work as your main concern with a "worm farm" is keeping the worms healthy and alive. So more like a pet..

With vermicomposting we are breaking down all the same stuff and more and doing it on a much larger scale. We don't worry about the worms as they regulate their population based on food supply and temps. They will go dormant when temps get cold, leave behind egg sacks aka cocoons. When conditions improve they start hatching and the process gets going again... no intervention required other than changing to a new bin in the winter time then harvesting the vermicompost in the spring from the old bin. This is a VERY good hummus portion of you soil mix - add in some EWC and not much you need to worry about.

When I need just EWC - we go hiking in the woods with a bucket and a scoop! It's everywhere and free.
 
Been reading around a lot, one thing I noticed since I started growing is that terms and definitions in canna growing are so broad and undefined so it gets confusing sometimes

Reading around I see what I'm referring to called 'vermiculture' in some places, basically it's specific vermicomposting, you're always putting the same thing in, no assortment of food scraps or newspapers or stuff kicking around, it's all planned out

Your bedding is a mix of already thermophilic composted material, add aeration and amend it(this isn't a "science" yet so don't know there's a "best" recipe)add in worms, every 1-2 weeks add some top dress mix(1-1-1 kelp/neem/crustacean) and cover with a little new bedding, every other time can also add in coffee grinds/filters and rotten banana peels and that's it

Sure I'd love to build one of those OSCR? bins, but just getting my feet wet wanna see if I can accomplish the same thing in a smart pot or something small scale for now

The mix I made will probably be my best option right now for my ACT, will be a few weeks before I need to make an ACT so should give the amendments some time to break down, and with the worms it should only get better, at least I hope haha .
 
Hi Guys and girls, I would like to ask you A question.. I have been growing for a few months now and after I found little bugs in one plant I took a closer look at the others... there were Some "Worms" in the water This morning. Could anyone tell If they are good or bad? I am kinda new in This. Its Chocolate mint in canna Coco with Biobizz nutes.. Also acti-Vera since Two days. Sorry to break in like This and have a great day.

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Hi NS - I don't have any experience with coco (or any soulless medium) but they could be beneficial microscopic worms. What colour are they? Fungus gnat larvae have black heads I think. If your plants are healthy and happy there's a good chance those worms are friendly, possibly even helpful.
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Amy Gardner said:
Hi NS - I don't have any experience with coco (or any soulless medium) but they could be beneficial microscopic worms. What colour are they? Fungus gnat larvae have black heads I think. If your plants are healthy and happy there's a good chance those worms are friendly, possibly even helpful.
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Thank you for the reply Amy :) I Will check again when the lights are on. I think they Did not had black heads tough I have had a gnat problem with her mom..(She is a clone..)

Ill check tomorrow and let you know :)
 
NaturalSpirit said:
Thank you for the reply Amy :) I Will check again when the lights are on. I think they Did not had black heads tough I have had a gnat problem with her mom..(She is a clone..)

Ill check tomorrow and let you know :)
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Ok - mostly this thread is for folks making their own organic soil mixes to discuss and learn from each other. You might be better served if you post your question in the section for solving issues - or the 'ask us anything' thread. I assume you're checking around on the net for some answers?

That said - one of these soil experts (not me) might pop up with an answer... you never know

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