i went with biolive barley gypsum basalt azomite oyster flour and kelp this time so we will see also castings and rabbit poop compostnew to all of this been using chelated bottled somi’m still learning
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my base is promix organic garden mix pretty much sphagnum coir perlite can you all see anything missing I add mycos when planting and still using recharge should i still be feeding with the chelates also I reuse my soil how about reamending basically teach me how to grow please lol
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I use pretty much the same buy also add glacial rock dust and bio char. I think that azomite should cover that. I stopped using azomite because of the possibility of high aluminum levels.
I also use 1/3 aeration, and I’m not sure how aerated the promix is.
@minitger what is it that you use to amend your used soil? I don’t have time to find that message you sent me
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pretty sure its only 10% I was thinking it needed more thanks for the input
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I use the pro-mix at times, if it’s the Bx which I find more common, i find it def needs more aeration. The Hp is quite light as is and I don’t find that I need to add for more aeration.
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its the garden mix the 2 cubic foot bales or whatever idk just always used it it’s readily available cheap and never had quality issues so I’ve always just stuck with it it’s 60 to 70% sphagnum 20 to30% coir and 10% perlite is the perlite ideal for aeration or should I try something elsē
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Have you been using it, how’s it functioning? Are you finding it’s not drying out? I just pick up some perlite to add to it if I feel like my mix is too heavy. Sometimes that happens when I add more compost. My plants currently seem to really like the wood chip that I’ve been adding recently
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Im using this same mix now. Straight out the bag with a lil extra perlite seems to be good for babies so far. I made an amended mix similar to what you mentioned above and will uppot into that and see how it goes. So far it seems to dry pretty quick for me i was expecting with it saying premium moisture on the block it would hold water so i cut it w perlite. But its drying quick n working. Like you said was fairly cheap too n right at the walmart.
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I finfd its hard to get it moist initially but it holds moisture pretty well it could be better I wonder how to improve this I figured it needed more perlite but was thinking of trying rice hulls I wonder if they will work in my soil I’m not doing no till I reamend and reuse my sol isvthere a better amendment anybody got an opinion thanks folks
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Im not 100% sure cause ive never used rice hulls but i think rice holds water. I personally would just cut w perlite. Its more common n usually easy to get and it will definately shed water and cause quicker drying.
My last batch was 50/50 rice hulls and pumice. The plants are loving it.
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wait I just reread your pst it seems you are saying you want less water retention I’m looking for more personally doesn’t perlite and amendments that help with aeration help hold mosture so you water less I could be wrong I’ve slowly went fom hydro to soil with bottled chelates now Im quitting the bottle meaning I’m new to all this but I thought aeration helped hold wter not the opposite interesting
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No perlite will shed water vermiculite holds water. I was saying the promix alone with perlite added is drying quick for me. I havent put it any any big pots yet though but the 4" drying twice a day under lotta t5
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Any non decayed organic matter
In the soil will use some of the nitrogen in the soils as it breaks down… the faster it breaks down the more active the microbes are and the more available nitrogen they will use. Fast decaying nom composted organic matter like trim etc in general is better used as a surface mulch than integrated into the soil… the mulch will break down and the resulting humus gets transported down the soil profile by worms etc.
Re perlite/vermiculite… I have had really good results using charcoal and pumice instead of perlite or vermiculite… pumice holds water, provides minerals and improves aeration, as does charcoal with the added bonus of nutrient holding capacity via cation exchange.
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right perlite sheds water excess water but it also holds moisrure and yoū arē correct the promix by itself especially in small amounts like 4" pots or my solo cup in a cup lol dry’s out fast I’ve been using #1 nursery pots they have working pretty well I also veg under t5 or t8 thanks folks learning a ton lately edit I will have to look into charcoal for aration been reading alot about biochar
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does anybody have any experience or info on sterilizing compost maybe that’s not the right word I’m concerned with bugs I used to compost inside and thought I was fine then I got mites
for the first time change my world lol I would like to avoid getting them againwill have to look for some info here thanks
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Im not sure how to clean it for bugs without killing the good microbe life. I always wondered. Bugs dont like neem oil. A lot of mixes call for neem and karanja cake in them. I wonder if the neem meal or cake has an anti bug property to it.
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Yeah, curious to the same. So far, I been adding compost from outside to my mix about once a year or so. The bugs come w the nutrition; I fight back w ipm and a heavy dosing of beneficial microbes, bacteria, and fungi. I mix diatomaceous earth into my soil mix and I cover the surface of any standing soil I have around. I spray my plants w a rotating mix of things, neem, capt jacks dead bugs, etc. Girls only get to the flower room once they’ve been thoroughly cleared of any problems.
Sometimes this means I spend an extra week or two in veg to get things cleared up, but I try not to rush things so im ok w that. So far this has worked well for me; but I am a fairly hyper-attentive Virgo type person.
It’s typically not recommended that we add outside inputs to our indoor grows…sterilization / killing off the bugs first does seem like a better way. Laying out the compost in the sun covered by a black tarp is one meathod I’ve read about. Not sure if it kills the bugs, does it also kill the microbes? And at that point have we damaged our compost or improved it?
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I would think that if you mix it into your soil, and let it cook for a month, as is common practice, that anything that will eat your plant should be dead.
Normally mites come from outside vegetation, house plants, or cuts taken in.
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I was going to grab a bunch of leaf mold from the corner of my yard until I noticed a few slugs in the pile, made me reconsider my decision to bring it in the house.
Would these kinds of things just starve off while amended soil is composting?
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