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soil Soil mixing

b3rnd

b3rnd

Hey there friends,
 
I know there's a sticky on this subject, but the comment section is kind of a mess... I'd like to start a little convo about soil mixing. In Paul's topic on the PdN x Bonda community grow he mentioned I could check out the ingredients on Fox Farms soil mixes and try to mix it myself over here in Europe. I was checking it out and doing some reading, and I thought I'd love to discuss it a bit with you guys. I tried my hand at it one time back when I was in Portugal, but that was a very basic mix.
 
From what I could find it seems these are the main components of most popular soil mixes:
 
Earthworm castings
Bat guano
Fish meal
Peat moss
Compost
 
What would you add or remove, and why? 
 
Earthworm castings and compost are equal.  They serve the same function.  And you should limit the amount of compost to 5% or less, for optimal results.  Mind you, some climates or areas are more tolerant of more compost.  But I like to give advice for the worst case scenario.  Worst case is hot, humid, lots of rain.  So less of that.  More won't work better, anyway.  It's all about retaining nutrients, not pretending that compost is fertilizer. (it's not)
.
Guano and fish meal are amendments, and that's subject to what's available to you.  Being in the Netherlands, I'd suspect that you have adequate access to fish products, but I couldn't say about guanos.  Both are good, but it's just one way to do it. (more to follow)
.
Peat moss...  well, what do you have better access to? Peat or coco?  I have both, and prefer coco, because peat breaks down much quicker in my warm all year climate, with uber microbial decimation.  However, coco needs more calcium, and some attention paid before using.  You either need to rinse the shit out of it, or mega dose calcium to displace the excess sodium  However...  I think it's worth it.
.
Also, are you going to try to do an organic grow, or are you going to dump a bunch of salt based ferts into your containers?  Because if it's the latter, as opposed to the former, there's no point overthinking or overspending it.  For simple inorganic grows, You just need the most basics.  Peat/Coco, perlite, bark.   That gets you moisture retention, drainage, and structure.  Add chemical salts, possibly a liming agent, and grow.
.
For organics, you want to do a bit more.  But to keep it simple, and get everything you need, it is done simply like this:
.
peat or coco
perlite or rice hulls
pine bark (optional - but great for structure)
rotten wood or biochar
worm castings or good quality home built compost
alfalfa meal (for growth hormones)
kelp meal (hormones and trace elements)
oyster shell flour or ground eggshells (for calcium)
a good organic dry fert
a good liquid nutrient (optional)
.
Anyone who sells organic mixes, is doing so by one of two strategies...  Either they are using what they have locally, and charging you a premium for it, or else they are mixing ingredients that they've expensively assembled, and charging you a premium for it.  Point being...  There is something to be said for using what you have.
.
You come from a region that is known for having some of the best growers in the world.  So tell me - what do you have available locally?  Why are the Dutch such good growers?
 
 
Add Perilite or Pumice to loosen and aereate the mix. Up to a third of the mix. I've been using Pumice and lava rock.

Add Calcium and Magnesium to Ph the mix. Having a good Calmag source is very beneficial and best to mix into the soil rather than trying to top dress. Peat is very Acidic believe it or not. I usually mix the Peat with Dolomite Lime or Gypsum or Oyster shells or all three depending on what I've got on hand. I do this before mixing other ingredients in. Then remix it again.

Add good quality rock dust. Glacial Rock Dust and Basalt are both amazing in a soil mix and ensure a wide spectrum of nutrients will be available for a long time.

I mix all my own soil and my personal mixes get pretty complex. That being said Ive heard of mixes as simple as a third worm castings a third peat and a third perilite working quite well.
 
solid7 said:
Earthworm castings and compost are equal.  They serve the same function.  And you should limit the amount of compost to 5% or less, for optimal results.  Mind you, some climates or areas are more tolerant of more compost.  But I like to give advice for the worst case scenario.  Worst case is hot, humid, lots of rain.  So less of that.  More won't work better, anyway.  It's all about retaining nutrients, not pretending that compost is fertilizer. (it's not)
.
Guano and fish meal are amendments, and that's subject to what's available to you.  Being in the Netherlands, I'd suspect that you have adequate access to fish products, but I couldn't say about guanos.  Both are good, but it's just one way to do it. (more to follow)
.
Peat moss...  well, what do you have better access to? Peat or coco?  I have both, and prefer coco, because peat breaks down much quicker in my warm all year climate, with uber microbial decimation.  However, coco needs more calcium, and some attention paid before using.  You either need to rinse the shit out of it, or mega dose calcium to displace the excess sodium  However...  I think it's worth it.
.
Also, are you going to try to do an organic grow, or are you going to dump a bunch of salt based ferts into your containers?  Because if it's the latter, as opposed to the former, there's no point overthinking or overspending it.  For simple inorganic grows, You just need the most basics.  Peat/Coco, perlite, bark.   That gets you moisture retention, drainage, and structure.  Add chemical salts, possibly a liming agent, and grow.
.
For organics, you want to do a bit more.  But to keep it simple, and get everything you need, it is done simply like this:
.
peat or coco
perlite or rice hulls
pine bark (optional - but great for structure)
rotten wood or biochar
worm castings or good quality home built compost
alfalfa meal (for growth hormones)
kelp meal (hormones and trace elements)
oyster shell flour or ground eggshells (for calcium)
a good organic dry fert
a good liquid nutrient (optional)
.
Anyone who sells organic mixes, is doing so by one of two strategies...  Either they are using what they have locally, and charging you a premium for it, or else they are mixing ingredients that they've expensively assembled, and charging you a premium for it.  Point being...  There is something to be said for using what you have.
.
You come from a region that is known for having some of the best growers in the world.  So tell me - what do you have available locally?  Why are the Dutch such good growers?
 
Click to expand...
 
Way to end a thread with one post, lol! Thanks for the answer. I'd love to do an organic grow, but I just can't seem to locate a local source for a lot of those things. What we have locally I really don't know. Based on our location we should have plenty of kelp meal, fish meal and peat. I know we have a good supply of things like feather meal and blood meal. Generally, people associate hydroponics with Dutch growing expertise. And have a feeling those hydro growers don't do a lot of soil building... I'll just have to keep looking for a good supplier!
 
What proportions of all that stuff do you recommend?
 
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