Damn…remind me to never BUY mushroom compost…my neighbor is 100% organic and uses no pesticides etc…he uses it once and replaced it…it is cow/horse manure, straw, pumpkins, squash etc…all the rejects from their organic farm etc…
Good info, thanks bro…I had no idea that commercially is was a “bag of shit”.
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Yeah, good humus/compost sources are really hard to find imo. That’s awesome you have someone close to you that you know what inputs were being used. 
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Your answers will be found here:
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SIPs are great but they’re heavy and hard to move. Here’s a PDF I made about how to DIY some that will keep your plants watered for 2-3wks even when they’re big.
SIPs Build Log 2Po.pdf (701.7 KB)
I’d suggest using 10gal cloth pots. 5 or 7gal don’t have enough soil for the rapid growth of the system. It’s honestly like the fastest hydro when you get it dialed in.
About amendments, Down To Earth is great and works perfect. That’s what I was using exclusively before BuildASoil came on the scene. I would suggest getting your recipe together, make a list of everything you need, and then visit a local nursery. They should carry DTE brand and it’s likely to be cheaper than Amazon. You can probably also get quality earthworm castings and compost locally, but the compost can be iffy. Usually you can get Oly Mountain at good organic nursery supply stores. Peat just get at a big box store, same with perlite (but better to use pumice or rice hulls).
BuildASoil is great if you can get their free shipping stuff. I wait for sales and get big containers of whatever stuff they’re shipping for free. Their 25lb bucket of kelp is a lot, but it’s worth it for the best kelp you can buy. Same for everything else they carry - literally the highest quality you can buy, but it doesn’t make sense if the price per pound is much more than Down To Earth brand when you include shipping.
As for water pH, anything in the range of 6.5 - 7.5 out of the tap is fine and won’t need adjusting. Outside of that, you may run into problems over time as you recycle your soil. Instead of trying to adjust the pH of the water, just create a soil that adjusts your rootzone pH for you. If your water is 8.0pH, make your soil a little more acidic. If your water is 6.0pH, make your soil a little more alkaline.
This all sounds easy in theory, but it’s hard to get the ratios of the amendments in a soil mix right. I and a few others have recipes around here for both high and low water pH.
I suggest not using lime to alkalize your soil. Instead, use oyster shell flour. It takes longer to break down but adds lots of calcium. However, keep in mind that you can use too many oceanic inputs - kelp, oyster, crab, shrimp, fish bone meal all can add sodium to your soil, so that can be problematic over time. Just cut back on the crab/shrimp if you experience issues and substitute with a similar amendment.
About calcium, gypsum has a ton of calcium and you’re unlikely to be able to use too much of it. Plants can use a lot of calcium and it’s hard to overdo it unless you’re supplying it from a very alkaline source ingredient, so don’t skimp on that stuff. Anyway, hope that helps. 
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Ok, now I understand these better. I was over complicating it in my head. So wow- this really wouldn’t be dissimilar to my current setup if I chose to use the Blumats as a “wick” of sorts.
So, why the cutout in the root bag? If you left it, water would still wick wouldn’t it, and the roots will not enter the reservoir?
I actually had this idea and didn’t even know it. I wondered months ago if I couldn’t just use a wick (my only thought at the time was felt) and set it near a reservoir. It sounded fiddley and awful so I just bought the Blumats. You came up with a much cleaner solution!
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My reason for going with SIPs instead of Blumats is that I don’t like to have to rely on pipe and hose fittings not leaking when I rent. It’s much easier to prevent water damage if there’s no place it can leak.
But, since you splurged on the Blumats, by all means, use them! You’re going to want much bigger pots than 3gal for organics, though, like I’ve mentioned before. 7gal should be your final size at minimum if you veg for 2mo, with the final 2wks being in the 7gal before flip. And 2mo is kinda the baseline for adequate sized plants before you find keepers and start running clones.
In general, 2mo of veg (counted from seed popping above ground, or from rooted clone being planted in dirt) should equate to 2-7zips per 7gal pot depending on cross & pheno, but you greatly reduce that amount with less veg and smaller pot sizes since the plants need some level of sexual maturity to reach optimal production.
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If you go with gypsum would you still go with the oyster shell? I was thinking of going dolomite for the magnesium in combo with the gypsum.
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Down to Earth Organic All Purpose Fertilizer Mix 4-6-2, 5 lb Amazon.com : Down To Earth All Natural Fertilizers Organic Multi Purpose Mix 4-6-2, 5 lb : Patio, Lawn & Garden
I give up; this stuff should work for now? I have been to the nurseries in town, the few that are open. And for whatever reason there’s only one AG store that sells much beyond feed. I don’t quite understand why but I can’t find most of the ingredients locally, so I guess we’ll go online. I don’t care to shell a whole lot on that. I figure come spring I can ask around better.
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Yes to both gypsum and oyster shell. They’re a “both” situation, not an either or.
Look up recipes here. You don’t want to wing it with organic soil mixes. You’ll get shit results if you use unknown quantities or unknown quality of ingredients, because the ratios of the various ingredients are the second most important part, after the quality of them.
In general @ChemicalDependant I would recommend doing individual amendments in ratios dictated by recipes. Those one-size-fits-all general all purpose ferts are not going to give you the results you want compared to mixing 6-10 amendments together yourself. They often use a lot of unnecessary ingredients and stuff that isn’t sustainably sourced.
Look up my recipes or Greenhighlander’s and mix your own. It’s not as hard as it seems at first. There’s no reason to say fuck it and try to wing it. Buy from Amazon if you can’t get the stuff locally.
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The fuck it in this case was more of an oversight on my behalf. I am, as usual, over budget already. I am trying to move to exactly as you say, and from various local sources. I hate having to order from a faceless vendor and then wait to receive my items.
Plus I’m happier handing over smaller amounts of money at a time. One box every month is easier to coordinate. You may have still talked me out if it though, we’ll see if I can squeak out enough to cover the individual boxes, I can buy the 1lb boxes if I have to, but the economics of that compared to 5lbs, ugh. But that’s my hill to climb. I do believe it’ll be a worthwhile venture.
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Thoughts? Everything would be applied 1/2 cup per cubic foot except the glacial rock dust which would be 1 cup per cubic foot. Using EWC it’ll need to sit for a few weeks, right?
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Man, you’re gonna make me buy more stuff 
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My first thought is I can’t stand BAS, but if that’s the easiest, I get it. I’d be curious what your water source was, and if it is basic or not? I would also suggest some fish bone meal or another source of P.
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I don’t know what I think about BAS, ordering the other night the website was appallingly slow. Pictures I’ve seen around OG here have shown very good (almost food grade) looking material. What’s your complaint with them? I tried locally but no dice, when given the choice between Amazon or BAS I did just go BAS as Amazon had stocking issues. Reorders might be done through Amazon in the future.
Funny enough you ask, my tap water was reading over 9, so I recently got an RO filter. So very neutral.
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I have no complaints using BAS haven’t got a lot from them you just have to watch prices on certain items IMO it’s all quality material they source
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Also wondering what issue(s) you might have with BAS?
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Ok, good deal on the RO. In that case, I would say you are right on track with the oyster shell and crustacean meal. If you had really alkaline water, you might want to think about other calcium options.
My issues with BAS are personal/integrity issues from a while ago. I also think their prices are crazy high. They do have decent products most of the time, not all of the time. Just because I am the way I am, I would rather give my money to Tad at KIS Organics if that is the way I needed to purchase amendments (small amounts mail order). However, I’m lucky enough to be able to biuy 50# sacks which are ridiculously cheap. For instance, when we buy a semi load of amendments for work, I can get a 50# of neem meal, delivered, for less than $50. I just work for a grower. I’m sure BAS gets better margins than we do. so your 2.5lb bag of neem and karanja mixed - $2.50, plus shipping and fancy packaging/marketing. You were charged $20.
Sorry, that’s my ‘I’m super high rant’. 
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I can sympathize, I would have loved to go down to the nursery and get a years supply for my pots and some for the garden. But apparently we don’t use any of these things locally or the employees are incompetent. Waiting for spring to roll out here and maybe better luck.
Repackaging is a business rife with predators, I do usually avoid them too.
If anyone in the Northern Illinois area that could point me where to get a deal speak up! Or at least if you could explain why no one has this stuff. 3 nurseries and all I found was a bag of oyster meal. Everything else was mixes and bottles. Seems like I’m missing something here. I mean, amendments from BAS are already on the way so I got some time to figure out a restock.
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I would check KISorganics.com rockdustlocal.com your local feed store, greenhouse and nusery and every once in a while I can get lucky at a landscaping company. Ranching/farming supply stores, ace hardwares. I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Still high lol… yell if any of that doesnt’ make sense or you have questions. 
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Man, what? Some of those KIS prices are unreal. Coots mix amendments for 210gallons - $100. I wonder if that’s premixed, if not I wish I saw that before I bought from BAS.
I don’t know how much the amendments I ordered will cover, maybe it’s more than 210 gal but I feel like no.
Fucking nice tip, bud!
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