Organics for beginners

[Bennyweed1]

Here are some tried and true recipes for getting started in organic growing. Pick one of the first two soiless mix recipes for your grow medium. Then, choose a nutrient recipe that will work best for what you have available.

Enjoy...

Here are two very good organic soiless mixes...

LC's Mix is great for any stage of growth. You can germ seeds in it, grow mothers in it, root clones in it as well as veg and flower in it.

LC's Soiless Mix #1:

5 parts Canadian Sphagnum Peat or Coir or Pro-Moss
3 parts perlite
2 parts worm castings or mushroom compost or home made compost
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
...Wal-Mart now sells worm castings.

Or, if you use Pro Mix, Sunshine Mix or Fox Farm mixes...

LC's Soiless Mix #2:

6 parts Pro Mix BX or HP / Sunshine Mix (any flavor from #1 up) / Fox Farm Ocean Forest or Light Warrior
2 parts perlite
2 parts earthworm castings
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.
If you use a 3 qt. saucepan as "parts" in the amounts given above, it equals about 1 cu. ft. of soiless mix and you can just dump in a cup of powdered dolomite lime. The dolomite lime is for Ca. and Mg. not just to adjust the PH of the soil.

But, a "part" can be anything from a tablespoon to a five gallon bucket. Just use the same item for all of the "parts".

Now for the plants organic food source

Choose one of these organic plant food recipes to add to LC's Soiless Mix.

RECIPE #1

If you want to use organic nutrients like Blood meal, Bone meal and Kelp meal...
Dry Fertilizers:

1 tablespoon Blood meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
2 tablespoons Bone meal per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
1-tablespoon kelp meal per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of soil mix
or Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract as directed
(OPTIONAL) 1 tablespoon per gallon or 1/2 cup per cubic foot of Jersey Greensand to supplement the K (potasium) in the Kelp Meal and seaweed extract.

Mix all the dry nutrients into the soiless mix well and wet it, but don't soak it. Use Liquid Karma and water @ 1 tbs./gal. Stir and mix it a few times a week for a week or two so the bacteria can get oxygen and break down the nutrients and make it available. And don't let the mix dry out, keep it moist and add water as needed. It'll also have time to get the humic acids in the Liquid Karma going and the dolomite lime will be better able to adjust the pH of a peat based mixture too.

With this recipe, all you need to do is add plain water until harvest.

When I'm working with seeds, I punch a hole in the bottom of 16 ounce cups and fill them with plain LC's Mix. Lightly wet the mix in the cups and germinate one seed in each cup. At the same time I mix enough LC's mix along with the blood/bone/kelp to fill all the 3 gallon flower pots I'm going to use for the grow. After about two weeks, the seedlings and the blood/bone/kelp mix are ready. I transplant the seedlings into the 3 gallon pots and just add water until harvest.
When you go to flower and pull up the males, save the mix in the pots. It is ready to be used again immediately. Just remove the root ball and transplant another seedling into it.

RECIPE #2

If you want to use guano in your soil mix...
Bongaloid's Guano Mix.
Use all these items combined with one gallon of soil mix.

1/3C hi N Guano Mexican Bat Guano or Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
1/2C hi P Guano (Jamaican or Indonesian Bat Guano)
1TBS Kelp Meal
(OPTIONAL) 1TBS Jersey Greensand

RECIPE #3 (My favorite)
If you want to use guano tea and kelp...

Guano Tea and Kelp:

Seedlings less than 1 month old nutrient tea mix-

Mix 1 cup earthworm castings into 5 gallons of water to make the tea. You can also just use a Handful in 1 gallon of water if your needs are less. Add 5 tsp. Black Strap Molasses. You can use a fish tank aerator with a diffuser and bubble it for 24 hours @ 70 degrees.
Use it to water your seedlings with every 2nd or 3rd watering.

Veg mix-

1/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano (PSG)
or
1/3 cup High N Bat Guano (Mexican)
1/3 cup Earth Worm Castings (EWC)
5 tsp. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract or Acadian Kelp extract.
(That makes the "dry mix". You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 1 cup of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma or a good Humic or Fulvic acid
5 tsp. Black Strap Molasses

Use it to water with every 3rd watering.

Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tsp. Acadian powdered kelp extract
(That makes the "dry mix". You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 2 cups of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.

To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma or a good Humic or Fulvic acid
5 tsp. Black Strap Molasses
Use it to water with EVERY watering.

You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half.


RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That's the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth


RECIPE #5
Fish and Seaweed (This is sooo easy)
1 capful is 1 TB or 15 ml.

For veg growth...
1 capful 5-1-1 Fish Emulsion
1 capful Neptune's Harvest 0-0-1 Seaweed or Maxicrop liquid
1 gallon H2O

For early flowering...
1 tbs. Neptune's Harvest 2-3-1 Fish/Seaweed
1 gallon H2O

For mid to late flowering...
1 tbs. Neptune's Harvest 2-4-1 Fish
1 gallon H2O


And now for some more good tips...

Organic pH issues

I hear a lot of people asking or talking about the pH of their organic soil mix or organic nute solution and how they might correct or adjust it. pH in organics is not an issue like it is in synthetic growing.
The best place to settle the pH issues in organics is within the grow medium. A medium rich in humates (humus) is the place to start. Humates work to "buffer" the pH of organic mediums and the nutes you pour (or mix) into it.
Humates come from compost, worm castings and bottled humus. If you use a peat based medum, use dolomite lime to raise the pH of the acidic peat. Dolomite should be used in any soil or soiless medium to provide magnesium and calcium. But since we are talking about pH here, I'll mention dolomite lime's pH correction benefits.
A medium of coir has a pH near neutral (or 7.0). But humates are still neded to allow uptake of organic nutrients that are outside a near neutral pH range.
With an active medium rich in humates you can pour in nutes like Pure Blend Pro, Earth Juice and guano teas way outside the optimum pH range without worry. The humus will allow the nutes to be taken up through the roots, even at such an extreme pH reading.
So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.

Chlorine tap water

Just a word of caution for you organic heads out there...
If you are tapped onto a municipal water supply that uses chlorine to kill bacteria in the water, it'll do the same thing to the bacteria (microherd) in your organic food source.
Always bubble your municipal water in an open container (5 gallon bucket) for 24 hours before adding ANYTHING organic to it.

Flushing

There is absolutely no reason to "flush" organic nute solutions from your soil mix. In an organic grow, the plants don't take up the organic nutes (guano, bone, blood or kelp). The bacteria eat the organic nutes and excrete food that the plant can feed off of. So the organic nutes don't need to be flushed because they never enter the plant. And besides, meals like kelp, bone and blood along with worm castings and dolomite can't be flushed from your soil mix anyway. If you use guano and seaweed, try using plain water or worm casting tea for your last watering or two so the plant can use up what's left in the soil. But drowning your soil with water isn't necessary.

 

[OG13]

Re: Organics for beginners.....

Hey Benny, nice compilation post. Would be nice if you could reference who/where each part was taken from Journal name etc.....who is LC?

 

[Tricks]

Question, I did a quick mix because I couldn't mix everything I wanted to this time around. I mixed FF Ocean Forest, Light Warrior, and I'm feeding with FF Big Grow, but plan on switching to Blue Planet or GO, the question is should I add bottled humus when I water or something? so far no signs of PH being a problem...thanks

 

[Bennyweed1]

Question, I did a quick mix because I couldn't mix everything I wanted to this time around. I mixed FF Ocean Forest, Light Warrior, and I'm feeding with FF Big Grow, but plan on switching to Blue Planet or GO, the question is should I add bottled humus when I water or something? so far no signs of PH being a problem...thanks

To be honest with you, Id tell you you're wasting your money buying bottle nutrients but I dont want to be the barren of bad news.

But if what your doing is working and is your only source of being somewhat organic then good on ya man! You can never be done wrong by adding humates but doing so in during flower wont give you any noticeable results in my experience but plenty of folks will disagree with me there.

During a veg light cycle, your plants will grow like bean stalks (or marijauan) with the addition of Humic Acids. I dont know what Blue Planet or OG are so I can not comment on them.

pH shouldn't ever be a problem if your soil is truly organic because the soil buffers the pH and this is achieved mainly through humates. With a true organic soil, you rarely have to do anything about pH (unless your water is garbage i.e. high TDS levels or alkalinity) , the soil does and in return the plant takes from the soil what it needs (It also gives back in retrospect). Think of nature, do you correct the pH before you water an outdoor plant? I doubt it, thats because the soil buffers it. As long has you have a soil rich in organic matter and humates, you will never have a problem with pH and I live by that.

Peace out...Im gonna smoke one down

 

[Tricks]

Bennyweed1, yeah bro your post has me a bit confused, I mean the plant has to have food of some sort, now I read about mixing up a soil like subcook does that feeds the plant, and you have to do little or nothing other than water it, now some swear by it and others say you still have to feed. I couldn't do the soil mix for health reasons so I went with organic nutes. So are you talking about using a living organic type soil? that I get, and would love to try, but not just starting off, and not with the plants at a friends, well there his, but I do a lot of the work. The other thing is your right about PH hasn't really been a problem, but I have to get some domicile lime, my soil has peat in it, there is oyster shells to help bal the PH after the peat breaks down, but the shell is only one part of whats in lime, I think its Cal+Mag but could easily be wrong there, I just know from what I'm told that lime has two parts, which makes sense. But anyway I had heard the same thing about PH and organic soil, the peat being the only thing you may need to account for...thanks for the info, and can you let me know if your talking about using a living soil, so I understand the no nutes thing..thanks bro

 

[Bennyweed1]

Bennyweed1, yeah bro your post has me a bit confused, I mean the plant has to have food of some sort, now I read about mixing up a soil like subcook does that feeds the plant, and you have to do little or nothing other than water it, now some swear by it and others say you still have to feed. I couldn't do the soil mix for health reasons so I went with organic nutes. So are you talking about using a living organic type soil? that I get, and would love to try, but not just starting off, and not with the plants at a friends, well there his, but I do a lot of the work. The other thing is your right about PH hasn't really been a problem, but I have to get some domicile lime, my soil has peat in it, there is oyster shells to help bal the PH after the peat breaks down, but the shell is only one part of whats in lime, I think its Cal+Mag but could easily be wrong there, I just know from what I'm told that lime has two parts, which makes sense. But anyway I had heard the same thing about PH and organic soil, the peat being the only thing you may need to account for...thanks for the info, and can you let me know if your talking about using a living soil, so I understand the no nutes thing..thanks bro

First, why do you avoid organic soil because of health reasons? I dont understand that, organics in any form is good for ones health....

Not my business though.

dolomitic limestone does contain calcium magnesium carbonate which is a benefit for MMJ but Limestone is an alkaline agent with the ability to neutralize, or partially neutralize strong acids. Meaning it will raise the soil pH to a natural level a 7.0.

Limestone does not have the ability to raise the pH above 7.0, which in our case is perfect. The pH neutralization process occurs as strong acids react with the calcium carbonate in the limestone through intimate contact with small limestone chips which is why we like to use dolomitic.

But Limestone is a small portion of a living organic soil. Its addition is essential IMO but other factors contribute also, like humates which are found in worm castings, compost, and other such organic matter.

What your trying to create is a environment of diversity. Like I said before, a real organic soil buffers the pH so you dont have too. Simply water and feed a AACT every now and again to give the living organisms a boost.

Thanks for reading! Take care my friend .

 

[Tricks]

First, why do you avoid organic soil because of health reasons? I dont understand that, organics in any form is good for ones health....

Not my business though.

dolomitic limestone does contain calcium magnesium carbonate which is a benefit for MMJ but Limestone is an alkaline agent with the ability to neutralize, or partially neutralize strong acids. Meaning it will raise the soil pH to a natural level a 7.0.

Limestone does not have the ability to raise the pH above 7.0, which in our case is perfect. The pH neutralization process occurs as strong acids react with the calcium carbonate in the limestone through intimate contact with small limestone chips which is why we like to use dolomitic.

But Limestone is a small portion of a living organic soil. Its addition is essential IMO but other factors contribute also, like humates which are found in worm castings, compost, and other such organic matter.

What your trying to create is a environment of diversity. Like I said before, a real organic soil buffers the pH so you dont have too. Simply water and feed a AACT every now and again to give the living organisms a boost.

Thanks for reading! Take care my friend .

Benny, you got me all wrong bro, all I do is organic, all my outdoor veggie and flower gardens are all organic, and as far as I know I'm organic inside, not living organic at this point. The reason I couldn't mix up the batch of soil I wanted to was because I have been to sick, that and my back was to bad to do the lifting and mixing, thats all.

 

[NewToTHC]

…..
Powdered (NOT PELLETED) dolomite lime @ 2 tablespoons per gallon or 1 cup per cubic foot of the soiless mix.

Why not pelleted, stuff I have dissolves very easily, is it because it would create a "hot zone" around the pellets as they breakdown.