Thanks @ReikoX. I will add the lime. The next question @Shadey already asked and a you answered as well. You guys rock!
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Soil is really good as a ph buffer. You should be just fine IMO
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So I made my first batch of living soil this week and started my new grow project.
Soil mix is:
33% peat
33% compost
33% lava rock
Amended with:
Neem meal
Fish meal (stinky stuff)
Bio char
Worm castings
Kelp meal
I pre-hydrated the peat, because it is so dry.
Problem (maybe) now is there is some mold growth in the soil. I have seen this before in compost piles but it goes away when spread and sun hits it.
@Sebring @ReikoX @Tinytuttle have y’all ran into this before and is it a problem?
I planted my clover today and wanted to know before I plant any more beans.
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Bacteria is good. That’s what you want.
I don’t see anything that is going to give you calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. You should put some basalt rock dust in there and gypsum if possible or dolomitic lime. These help with ph buffering. What size pots are you using.
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Thanks for the info, I was thinking that it was ok, but wanted to make sure as this is my first go at living soil. I found some info on some other posts that say this is ok as well.
The container is 90” long, 2’ deep by 2’ wide. Total of one square yard of growing medium. I will be posting a grow log here shortly with all of the photos.
I will have a second container that will be 6’ long 2’ deep by 2’ wide as well.
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Nice big beds, your going to rock that grow. I just asked as the bigger the pot of soil the better the buffering of water PH.
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White fuzzy mycelium is good. It is beneficial to the plant and they can form a symbiotic relationship.
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Thanks @ReikoX,
Now that I have added all of this media to my grow the RH is sitting @ 80%. 3 of the seedlings didn’t make it after day two & they like high RH. One of the test seedlings is still going, today is day 4 sense sprouting from the ground. Top of the soil was super dry this morning and the light is about 3’-4’ off the ground. I added some water today as it’s little leaf was drooping and the ground was dry.
Do you think I need to throw a dehumidifier in there to get the RH down? I have a humidifier in the other part of my grow trailer, because it is always low. I have it set to 50% and it’s automated (only turns on when needed).
@Sebring have you had any experience with indoor living soil?
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Your RH is high at 80% if you cant reduce it with an extraction fan, you will probably need a dehumidifier.
What is that little orange thing on the leaf, in the pic above, it looks like a bug?
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I agree 80% RH is too high. I freak out when I get 60% RH, but I live in the desert. 
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Yeah, it is a little guy. There are some fungus gnats in the grow bed, but from what I’ve read it’s something you have to deal with in living soil. I have dosed the soil with DE ( diatomaceous earth) & neem meal. I will also do a tea a little later that has neem oil in it. I’m not sure what else to do for the bugs except predator bugs, but any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thanks @Shadey
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Fungus gnats just need to be controlled. Yellow sticky traps work great for keeping the population under control. They are more of a pest than anything, but will nibble on young seedling roots.
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Also my plan is to have the extraction fan on during the day and another fan bringing in Co2 rich outside air during the early morning. Problem is it has been rainy high RH outside the last few weeks so that isn’t helping either. In the summer time here our RH is in the 20-30% most of the months.
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Thanks will do, the DE has already started to take them down a bit. From what I’ve been reading they come in the bagged peat and compost and you just have to deal with them. Part of natural growing. I was thinking of throwing in some lady bugs just for good measure as well, but the DE will hurt them as well.
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As ReikoX says they are more of an annoyance but if they do get out of control they can be a real pain in the butt. I have had a bad infestation and nothing seemed to work other than the yellow sticky pads, I got some stratios mites about 3 weeks ago and the fungus gnats have almost disappeared now, when I watered there would be a cloud of them coming off the pots. If you can afford them get some they will save you a lot of money in the long run on yellow stickers alone. They keep breeding so unless they run completely out of food they will stay in the soil. Grow a good cover crop and the gnats will attack that instead of the roots on your weed plants.
We get high humidity here as well being near the coast, if you get a controller for your extractor it will run when needed and not 24/7, save burning the motor out fast.
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Awesome, my clover cover just started sprouting yesterday. So it is good to know they will go after it. I also have some basil and mint that I was going to throw in there to help with the problems 
. I think I need to get this established before I put in any more seedlings . I can’t afford to keep loosing the auto seeds.
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My auto seeds should be ready in a couple weeks. You’re already on the list.
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As @Shadey has mentioned I may need to add some calcium and other minerals to this mix. How does everyone feel about using the egg shell method (with Or without vinegar) to add calcium? I have access to a large # of organic free range eggs and wanted to try them, but I feel like the vinegar would spike the ph.
Has anyone used this method?
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