I thought I planned my soil out pretty well, and I certainly spent enough money on mixing it. Maybe I didn't add enough amendments. I figured that the compost would carry it as far as NPK goes at least for the first few months.
Here is what I used:
Raised beds
6cf Sphagnum Peat Moss
2cf Coconut Coir
10cf Mixed Compost (Manure, Mushroom, Humus, Chicken)
6cf Vermiculite
2cf Perlite 2cf All Purpose Sand
8 cups Dolomitic Lime
8 cups Kelp based slow release fertilizer
4 cups Bonemeal
Wally Bags
4 parts Olde Castle soil conditioner (composed pine fines), 1 part sphagnum peat moss, 1 part perlite. I also added 1 tbsp of kelp based slow release fertilizer, 1 tbsp dolomitic lime, and 1/2 tbsp bone meal per gallon of soil.
30g Pot
I bought a premixed soil from a landscaping store made with top soil, pine fines, and mixed compost.
Here are my test results using this kit. It was a pain in the ass btw, and I am very use to test kits for aquariums. Even more complicated tests such as calcium and magnesium.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W6JC2U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Raised beds
pH 7.5+
N Med Low
P Med High+
K Med High
Wally Bags
pH 7.5+
N Med
P Low
K 0
30g Pot
pH 7.5+
N 0
P Med High
K 0
Maybe I am just reading them wrong, but they seem pretty out of whack, especially pH and N. For the most part, all my plants seem happy though. Do I struggle to try to water in mass amount of amendments, or do I just let it ride?
The pH has a + because 7.5 is suppose to be a pretty dark green. The scale doesn't go above 7.5 either. The results were all very very dark green.
I am super bummed out fyi...
Here is what I used:
Raised beds
6cf Sphagnum Peat Moss
2cf Coconut Coir
10cf Mixed Compost (Manure, Mushroom, Humus, Chicken)
6cf Vermiculite
2cf Perlite 2cf All Purpose Sand
8 cups Dolomitic Lime
8 cups Kelp based slow release fertilizer
4 cups Bonemeal
Wally Bags
4 parts Olde Castle soil conditioner (composed pine fines), 1 part sphagnum peat moss, 1 part perlite. I also added 1 tbsp of kelp based slow release fertilizer, 1 tbsp dolomitic lime, and 1/2 tbsp bone meal per gallon of soil.
30g Pot
I bought a premixed soil from a landscaping store made with top soil, pine fines, and mixed compost.
Here are my test results using this kit. It was a pain in the ass btw, and I am very use to test kits for aquariums. Even more complicated tests such as calcium and magnesium.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W6JC2U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Raised beds
pH 7.5+
N Med Low
P Med High+
K Med High
Wally Bags
pH 7.5+
N Med
P Low
K 0
30g Pot
pH 7.5+
N 0
P Med High
K 0
Maybe I am just reading them wrong, but they seem pretty out of whack, especially pH and N. For the most part, all my plants seem happy though. Do I struggle to try to water in mass amount of amendments, or do I just let it ride?
The pH has a + because 7.5 is suppose to be a pretty dark green. The scale doesn't go above 7.5 either. The results were all very very dark green.
I am super bummed out fyi...