First time building soil. Coast of Maine Stonington and amendment help

[cfarris87]

Hey guys! Just harvested my first grow with some "water only" soil that I definitely don't want to use again. Growing autos. Anybody gown with Stonington Blend and have any recommendations or changes?

My build:
25% worm castings
4-4-4 All Purpose
2-8-4 Power Bloom
50/50 mix of the two ^^
3 tbsp/gallon
Top feeding later in cycle.

 

[Ramblinrose1965]

That sucks , I just got a bag of the Stonington blend lol for my next grow. I'm gonna tag along on this thread.

 

[cfarris87]

It was fine, just not ideal. Still got close to 300g, but lost about 15-20g to a bit of mold. I see now how people that grow for themselves are like here, have some weed lmao

 

[Ramblinrose1965]

It was fine, just not ideal. Still got close to 300g, but lost about 15-20g to a bit of mold. I see now how people that grow for themselves are like here, have some weed lmao

How many plants gave you 300g?

 

[Janluna]

Using the soil for years. No issues here.

 

[Lovie]

I am in the middle of my first grow and using Coast of Maine Stonington Blend. At first, my plants were doing good with the Stonington Blend mix but as they get bigger I keep experiencing nitrogen deficiency problems. When they were 3 weeks I transferred them from Jiffy Pods with Fox Farm Ocean Blend into 1-gallon containers with Coast of Maine Stonington Blend. After being in the 1-gallon containers for 2 weeks I fed them the Stonington Blend plant food and at 3 weeks transferred them into 5-gallon containers. After being in the 5-gallon containers for 3.5 weeks they started showing signs of nitrogen deficiency. I fed them the Stonington Blend plant food and started foliage feeding with synthetic nutes until they were looking better. I figured since they were showing signs of 3.5 weeks I should feed them again at 2 weeks out from their last feeding. The morning I went to feed them my 2 biggest plants were showing signs of nitrogen deficiency again. I added blood meal to boost the nitrogen along with feed more Stonington plant food. Yesterday I transplanted them into 20-gallon containers so hopefully I won't have any more issues. My plants are outside so I don't have to control how big they get.....if you plan on growing big plants, use a big planter or feed often......don't rely on the feeding schedule from Coast of Maine's Stonington Blend. I also just realized their fish bone meal's NPK they recommend to use during flower is 5-13-0. You want P and K during flower, not just P.

 

[Vegan4life]

Look up "Coot's mix" , it is 1/3 sphagnum peat moss, 1/3 aeration, 1/3 compost with a few added amendments. Very easy to make and easy to re-amend by top dressing. I re-amend my soil after each grow with "Craft blend" that I get at "Build a Soil", they also have a mineral mix. I add teas through my grows and add about 1 cup of craft blend to each pot prior to flowering. I grow indoors in 20 gallon pots and I keep worms in the pots. I also try to keep a mulch layer and I also do a cover crop beginning of each grow and chop and drop to add to the mulch layer (worm food and keeps top layer of soil moist). Happy Growing!

Base:​

• 1/3 Compost
• 1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss
• 1/3 Aeration

This will make up your base. For example, if you are trying to make 15 gallons of soil (2 cubic feet) you would add 5 gallons of each and then mix thoroughly.

Additional Inputs:​

With the additional inputs, you will want to use a 1/2 cup of each per cubic foot of soil you are making.

• Neem/Karanja Cake
• Kelp Meal
• Crustacean Meal

Minerals:​

For the minerals, you will want to use a total of four cups per cubic foot. Therefore, you will use one cup of each of the below ingredients in your soil mix per cubic foot.

• Basalt
• Glacial Rock Dust
• Gypsum
• Oyster Shell Flour

 

[Lovie]

Also, Coast of Maine's Stonington Blend can become hydrophobic if allowed to get too dry. I experienced it and from what I have read online other users have experienced this too.

 

[g-one-three]

Hey guys! Just harvested my first grow with some "water only" soil that I definitely don't want to use again. Growing autos. Anybody gown with Stonington Blend and have any recommendations or changes?

My build:
25% worm castings
4-4-4 All Purpose
2-8-4 Power Bloom
50/50 mix of the two ^^
3 tbsp/gallon
Top feeding later in cycle.

So I'm guessing that your nutes are Gaia Green? If that's the case then our soils are pretty similar. Only difference is that I did 75/25 All purpose/Power Bloom in the beginning and then transitioned to straight power bloom in flower. I will say that I needed a steady dose of CalMag to right the ship on my current grow in flower.

You should check out @Gee64 thread Gee Spot as he also uses Gaia Green as well. It's also full of people who grow organic and are knowledgeable on it.

 

[cfarris87]

How many plants gave you 300g?

Sorry, just getting back to this. 3. Mephisto grow with Ghost Toof, Mephisto's Wedding, and Aunt Ginny's Elixer (1:1). The 1:1 was the top grower by far at 135g. Ghost Toof did well, big main cola dominant which is where I got the mold. Unfortunately had to toss the upper half of the main cola. Only about 65g on the Wedding which ended up with pretty fluffy buds that were a bit leafy in nature. Not sure why though.

Using the soil for years. No issues here.

How have you been mixing yours? Got more into their site and found their feeding chart for autos. They recommend straight soil and feeding starting at week 3 and then week 5 or six with their flower feed. Would amending it from the start make it too hot? I've got some FFOF on hand I think I'm going to germinate in.

Look up "Coot's mix" , it is 1/3 sphagnum peat moss, 1/3 aeration, 1/3 compost with a few added amendments. Very easy to make and easy to re-amend by top dressing. I re-amend my soil after each grow with "Craft blend" that I get at "Build a Soil", they also have a mineral mix. I add teas through my grows and add about 1 cup of craft blend to each pot prior to flowering. I grow indoors in 20 gallon pots and I keep worms in the pots. I also try to keep a mulch layer and I also do a cover crop beginning of each grow and chop and drop to add to the mulch layer (worm food and keeps top layer of soil moist). Happy Growing!

Base:​

• 1/3 Compost
• 1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss
• 1/3 Aeration

This will make up your base. For example, if you are trying to make 15 gallons of soil (2 cubic feet) you would add 5 gallons of each and then mix thoroughly.

Additional Inputs:​

With the additional inputs, you will want to use a 1/2 cup of each per cubic foot of soil you are making.

• Neem/Karanja Cake
• Kelp Meal
• Crustacean Meal

Minerals:​

For the minerals, you will want to use a total of four cups per cubic foot. Therefore, you will use one cup of each of the below ingredients in your soil mix per cubic foot.

• Basalt
• Glacial Rock Dust
• Gypsum
• Oyster Shell Flour

I appreciate the input! I'm trying to stay a little bit more on the simple side still. And I don't have a decent sized storage place for quite a list of stock there.

So I'm guessing that your nutes are Gaia Green? If that's the case then our soils are pretty similar. Only difference is that I did 75/25 All purpose/Power Bloom in the beginning and then transitioned to straight power bloom in flower. I will say that I needed a steady dose of CalMag to right the ship on my current grow in flower.

You should check out @Gee64 thread Gee Spot as he also uses Gaia Green as well. It's also full of people who grow organic and are knowledgeable on it.

Yeah, still leaning towards Gaia Green amendments over the CoM. Their NPK seems a bit different than most. 5-13-0 for their flower blend

 

[Lovie]

I started mine in FFOF. At 3 weeks I transferred to COM SB in 1-gallon containers. 2 weeks after being in the 1-gallon containers I fed their plant food and a week after that transferred to 5-gallon containers. They did great with the COM when younger. But as they grew in size I started running into nitrogen deficiencies. I am growing Green Crack and Sour Diesel.....both are heavy eaters. I would use COM again.....I wouldn't amend it from the start but as your plants get bigger either transfer to bigger pots or fed more frequently. I discovered blood meal is an organic way to fix nitrogen issues fast.....you just don't want to become dependent on using it because it is very acidic and can cause PH issues.

 

[Vegan4life]

I appreciate the input! I'm trying to stay a little bit more on the simple side still. And I don't have a decent sized storage place for quite a list of stock there.

It is very simple

 

[cfarris87]

I started mine in FFOF. At 3 weeks I transferred to COM SB in 1-gallon containers. 2 weeks after being in the 1-gallon containers I fed their plant food and a week after that transferred to 5-gallon containers. They did great with the COM when younger. But as they grew in size I started running into nitrogen deficiencies. I am growing Green Crack and Sour Diesel.....both are heavy eaters. I would use COM again.....I wouldn't amend it from the start but as your plants get bigger either transfer to bigger pots or fed more frequently. I discovered blood meal is an organic way to fix nitrogen issues fast.....you just don't want to become dependent on using it because it is very acidic and can cause PH issues.

Nice, I'll put a cup sized bit of the FFOF in the center of the pot then. I transplanted from 1 gal to 5 gal in this grow, and after getting rid of the dirt and seeing the roots, it looks like it may have stunted them a bit. So I'm just going straight in a 5 gal this time.

 

[Lovie]

I forgot to mention.....when I fed the plants after being in the COM in 1-gallon containers for 2 weeks a couple of my plants did show signs of the soil being too hot. A couple of the leaves became slightly twisted, nothing too severe. That is why I suggested not amending from the start. Every plant is different, with different needs. I am in the middle of my first grow and still figuring everything out. I wouldn't rely on COM's recommended feeding schedule. Monitor your plants closely. The minute you notice a slowing of growth or your leaves losing their healthy green appearance, feed them.

 

[seaofgreen18]

Heres a good resource for making your own soil and reusing old soil tgey have a whole bunch of useful info on their site
KIS Organics: Organic Gardening Supplies and Soils

 

[tallboy2023]

I use COM. You definitely need to top dress it. Don't do it when the plant looks like it needs it. You need to top dress like 2 weeks before so the nutes have time to make there way down into the soil. I use their regular fert during veg and the bud and bloom during flower. Also, don't water to run-off. That just leeches out all the good stuff.

 

[Lovie]

I use COM. You definitely need to top dress it. Don't do it when the plant looks like it needs it. You need to top dress like 2 weeks before so the nutes have time to make there way down into the soil. I use their regular fert during veg and the bud and bloom during flower. Also, don't water to run-off. That just leeches out all the good stuff.

This is my first grow using COM...actually, this is my first grow period! Do you use anything in addition to their bud and bloom during flower? The NPK for their bud and bloom is 5-13-0. I thought in flower you wanted less N and more P and K.

Good tip on not watering until run-off. I have been using fabric pots and I slowly add water until the bottom of the fabric is damp. That has been working good for me.

 

[tallboy2023]

Your watering technique is perfect. I use 5 gallon fabric pots as well. I supplement the bud and bloom with these to bump up the P and K.

 

[tallboy2023]

Every 10-14 days I'll put these in my feed water with some molasses. I also supplement with CO2.

 

[tallboy2023]

These are 30 days into flower