Oh ya! got me some goodies

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Next, i think you need to slow down and breathe. I don't mean this in a you are stupid way at all, but you could have bought fox farm soil for all that stuff and you wouldn't have any worry. I see you're vacillating between water and dirt... Figure out what you want. Organics is not easy. You don't get to just add stuff without knowing what you're adding and what it does.
I like your enthusiasm, but i see a disappointing result for you if not a lot of stress trying to fix a sick plant. Think about what you want to end up with. What is your goal?

I would of bought fox farm soil, but its not available here in Canada without extreme shipping charges works out to $200 for 1 cubic foot off of amazon. The reason's for the vacillating between soil and hydro, are... I have clones sitting in my bubbler rooted, and ready.. My soil is going to take a month to cook.. If I could get my hands on some nutes I could have a dwc system up and running while I wait for the soil to cook. I have net pots, medium, everything I need just don't have hydro nutes.

Eventually I am going to have to disappear up north to work, and I need something that requires weekly maintenance, or a "water only" type grow that my wife could water for me. Bubbling earth juice is not going to work when i'm only available on weekends, but a DWC system with weekly water changes, or a water only organic grow is what I would like to accomplish.

 

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I've been doing lots of reading, and researching for over a year about organics and microbes. This is the first time I've tried to "cook" soil, other than adding a little kelp meal or trace minerals.

At some point you have to take the plunge, walk off the edge, take a leap of faith, and see if you sink or swim. I would like to think I know what I am doing, but I don't. I have some basic knowledge of how organics / microbes work, but without applying it, I won't gain the wisdom.

I made some compost in a 30gal container in my basement over the winter, now I have a large compost bin outside, and also have a worm bin over at my mom's house that we share. This is all within the last year, so once again my knowledge is limited.. its a work in progress type of operation.

I know gardening, and fertilizers, but very much still learning in the organic department. They work alot slower than synthetic nutes, and I keep double stepping, I seem to be either way over feeding, or way under. Seems to me with synthetics you notice a difference within the week, but with organics it seems to take 2 weeks to see a change, and by then I have doubled up, which then leads to too much, and its just a nasty cycle.

 

[Rosebud]

Well, that explains it all, thank you. I am wishing you the best of luck. You will get it. You are right about it all. The only thing that is quick in organics is a tea. Or worm water, that you can see the next day, but that is in veg. Mojo to you next, thanks for putting up with my questions. I just needed to know your goal. lol.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Since I am boycotting GH since Scott's purchased them, I ordered AN's Jungle Juice--this pack. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CQ92M6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00[/ame]

You will have to pH the solution. I do not chase pH all over the place. I start it lower, about 5.4 and let it creep up. You will have to watch your res temps in summer.

Organics is complicated. It is better to use a tried and true recipe until you learn what each thing does and how long it lasts. It should cook just fine in the basement, but is this something you want in your basement?

 

[Kraven]

Friends don't let friends DWC, but in your case I would say if you can do the weekly nute changes she can just do the water add backs....that would work. The AN JJ is the the same or better than GH IMHO. They are made with better ingredients, AN just made this to draw off some of the GH customer base by giving them the same mix with better ingredients and a cheaper price. Cooking in water you can make monsters, here is my last DWC for reference. Good luck and green mojo bro.

 

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Since I am boycotting GH since Scott's purchased them, I ordered AN's Jungle Juice--this pack. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CQ92M6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You will have to pH the solution. I do not chase pH all over the place. I start it lower, about 5.4 and let it creep up. You will have to watch your res temps in summer.

Organics is complicated. It is better to use a tried and true recipe until you learn what each thing does and how long it lasts. It should cook just fine in the basement, but is this something you want in your basement?

Most recipes seem to be very close to the same.. The ratio's work out to 2 parts bone meal, to 1 part blood and kelp meal. 1cup/ft3 of the bonemeal, and 1/2 cup/ft3 of the blood and kelp. Thats the basic mix anyways.. some people add onto that with other amendments. What I am unsure about is how much greensand / rock phosphate to use if any.. same goes for the micro nutes, (rock dust, azomite, gypsum) kinda unsure how much of those to add.

Advanced Nutrients are based out of Abbotsford, B.C, fairly close to me, but I'm struggling to find a canadian based website to order from.

**Should I stay away from the ph-perfect lineup?**

Is it something I don't want in my basement? Well, that depends.. I put compost down here, that was kinda stinky.. I'm guessing this will be less bothersome than the compost was.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I did not like the pH Perfect line at all. Ordered Jungle Juice.

It could smell as much as compost--they same processes are going on.

 

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Read alot about gypsum, they recommend using it along side the dolomite lime at a rate of 1/2cup per ft3

"I use gypsum in addition to dolomite, not in place of it. The dolo is added @1cup/cf, the gypsum @1/2 to 1cup/cf depending on what the mix is for.

I grow garlic in fresh mix to 'season' and inoculate it This gets 1 cup of gypsum/cf. The sulfur really bumps the garlic flavor up. Re-amended mix for mj gets 1/2 cup+.

I seem to have better results with used re-amended mix with my mj than fresh never used mix. Even after a good cooking period. Just my own observation

Wet "

 

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Do I need to put a lid on it?

This is the end result

1/2tbl/gal azomite
1/2tbl/gal glacial rock dust

1tbl/gal bloodmeal
1tbl/gal gypsum

2tbl/gal bone
1.5tbl/gal kelp
2tbl/gal dolomite

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I would never ever try and make my own recipe....so whether you have enough or not and the rates at which it will break down will be enough or not enough or too much is more than I can answer. It is going to take someone with a lot of knowledge about organics and cannabis. Keep in mind that what works for, say garlic, may not work for cannabis.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Do I need to put a lid on it?

This is the end result

1/2tbl/gal azomite
1/2tbl/gal glacial rock dust

1tbl/gal bloodmeal
1tbl/gal gypsum

2tbl/gal bone
1.5tbl/gal kelp
2tbl/gal dolomite

Looks good so far. You have ?? 10 gallons ??

How much *stuff* you got left? ProMix, perlite, etc?

Can you source or order (reasonably): Neem Cake, Alfalfa meal/pellets, Soy meal/cake, Pine Bark mulch/fines or Fir bark or similar? Neem will have to be shipped. Alfalfa (feed stores) and the bark fines (HD, Garden shops), can usually be sourced locally.

My first mix was LC's soiless, just as above. It's been tweaked some over the last 6 years, but still basically LC's mix.

BTW, Greensand works very well with kelp. I add it 1/1 with the kelp. It's good stuff.

I also run perlite @~35% (sorry THG). My rule of thumb is, "If it looks like there is too much, it's just right".

The recipe/mix I do now ends up just under 20 gallons and gets stored in 32 gallon trash cans. The longer it sits, the better it gets.

Wet

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

The water just runs through so fast when you get too much perlite. IMO, there is no reason for 1/3 perlite. It also takes up space that could contain substances that provide nutrition.

 

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Looks good so far. You have ?? 10 gallons ??

How much *stuff* you got left? ProMix, perlite, etc?

Can you source or order (reasonably): Neem Cake, Alfalfa meal/pellets, Soy meal/cake, Pine Bark mulch/fines or Fir bark or similar? Neem will have to be shipped. Alfalfa (feed stores) and the bark fines (HD, Garden shops), can usually be sourced locally.

My first mix was LC's soiless, just as above. It's been tweaked some over the last 6 years, but still basically LC's mix.

BTW, Greensand works very well with kelp. I add it 1/1 with the kelp. It's good stuff.

I also run perlite @~35% (sorry THG). My rule of thumb is, "If it looks like there is too much, it's just right".

The recipe/mix I do now ends up just under 20 gallons and gets stored in 32 gallon trash cans. The longer it sits, the better it gets.

Wet

Hey Wet, was hoping you would stop by..

I have 12 gallon's mixed up, but I ran outta perlite. I know where to get a HUGE bag of it, was just waiting for the smaller bag to run out. Other than that I have loads of everything else..

Should I add the green sand in at same ratio as the kelp?

I will get back to you on those other ingredients, might be hard to track down for a reasonable price.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Best snag that big bag of perlite.

BAS for the neem cake. They offer free shipping and they ship to Canada. But .... IDK if they ship free to Canada. Funny thing is, the smallest size (5lbs) is the cheapest. The larger sizes end up being more per lb. Go figure. 12lbs shipped=$50, 5lbs shipped=$13, so 10lbs=$26 :huh: The neem and karanja 50/50 blend is excellent and what I use. Same price as is straight karanja cake. We call it meal, the rest of the world says cake.

Everything else should be local. Alfalfa is used both for horse and rabbit food. Soy bean meal may also be in the feed & seed store, but no biggy if you can't locate it. Took me 3 years to find some and things were fine without it.

The neem/karanja and alfalfa are theee important items.

The pine bark mulch will be at Lowes, HD or similar stores up there. The same stuff you put around trees or in flower beds and is ~$2.50 for a 2cf bag. You want the smallest size. Usually have 4 or 5 different sizes from fist size down to end of pinky size. The type of bark doesn't matter, it's usually what's being logged the closest. Could be pine, fir, spruce, whatever.

Yes, add the greensand in the same amount as the kelp meal, 1/1.

BTW, 5lbs of the neem is good. It's added at the same rate kelp meal is, 1/2cup/cf to 1cup/cf as a maximum. Worms seem to love it also and it gets added to my bins pretty regular. A handful sprinkled on top about every 3 weeks or so. Lots of information on the BAS site. Good reading.

Wet

 

[Droopy Dog]

The water just runs through so fast when you get too much perlite. IMO, there is no reason for 1/3 perlite. It also takes up space that could contain substances that provide nutrition.

Normally, I'd agree. But, shifting to plant based amendments, very dense homemade VC, rock dust, greensand and the like prompted the need for more aeration.

It developed as the mix evolved.

Wet

 

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Found the neem meal, and alfalfa meal, can get it to my door for $45 for the both of them. No Soy meal at that site tho.

woww, missed your last post altogether!

That BAS website is awesome.. I added the karanja mix to the cart and it said $50 shipping! been there done that, but forgot all about it :vap_smiley:

How much of the pine / spruce park to add?

This may be a dumb question.. but say you start out with 6gal promix, then add 2gal EWC, then 2gal perlite, and 2gal mushroom compost - I'm now working with 12gal of soil for when I add my kelp/blood/bone meals? - This was my assumption but sometimes I get burned.

Did you catch that I went with 6-2-2-2, pro-mix - EWC - mushroom compost - perlite, is that going to be too much EWC and Mushroooms?

Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Droopy Dog]

No soy, no worries.

Did you get your mix evenly moist? Dry peat is hard to get moist the first time and it needs to be moist to cycle/cook properly. Yes, the lid should be on. I have a few holes drilled top and bottom for both some air and drainage.

LMK how the bark mulch search goes and when the neem, alfalfa, and perlite get there.

Wet

 

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I did the mix in two batches, after I mixed the first batch I wet it thoroughly, then mixed the 2nd dry batch on top of that.. then mixed the two together, rewet, and mixed again. It's been wet and mixed so much my chunky perlite isn't quite so chunky anymore

You are right about the peat not wanting to get wet, I learned my lesson and I will forever pre-wet and mix my soil before using it.

It is damp, but not soggy, i'd say its at about 50% saturation. It's still mixable, it hasn't gone clumpy yet.

I will have to find the lid :O

 

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Check this place out, its canadian based. They have nice goodies, like this one here.

http://www.reindeersnatural.ca/earth_grow.htm

I will order the neem and maybe the alfalfa off that website, see anything else I should grab while im there?

 

[Droopy Dog]

The neem and alfalfa should do it.

I would suggest a dry organic bag of ferts like Espoma. But whatever you can source locally and avoid shipping charges. They are all so similar it makes little difference.

IDK about the mushroom compost, I only used it once, years ago. Made my mix too heavy and never used it again.

Wet