Aging/Cooking soil mixes

I made 2 cubic feet of soil.
Starter Mix 3-3-3 2 cups
Bone Meal 3-15-0 1 cup
Blood Meal 12-0-1 .5 cup
Bat Guano 7-3-1 1 cup
Gran. Humic Acids 1 cup
Azomite .5 LB
*Mykos .25 cup

Mykos and Azos with be dusted into the transplant hole.

I couldn’t get the Bio-char, they only had it in a cubic foot size for $50.
My soil mix is currently sitting in a tote. The coco was all saturated from being buffered, so I didn’t water the tote yet. Should I water the tote with Recharge? It has bennies in it and also food for them (Molasses). I’m thinking that would kick start it.

How do I check soil pH? Test runoff? I use this pH Tester and it doesn’t do soil unless I buy the spear tip for it, and that’s a bit pricey!

This soil is for my Northern Lights XXL Auto Feminised that I’m about to start in 1-2 weeks. This will be my first real grow.

I’ve had over-watering problems in the past.

@Skydiver @beardless

I just did a soil slurry test. RO water going in 6.2. Slurry is 7.3

Soil mix is only a day old. Should I just let it sit and test again in a week?

Haven’t been on much so sorry for the delayed response
FYI RO water won’t PH accurately as it is “empty” of solids…all stuff filtered out so maybe a PPM of 10 or so.
When you made the soil mix was it the recipe you showed a couple posts above?
You want your soil PH to be around 6.5-6.8. Can be higher or lower by a bit but under 6 or over 7 isn’t optimal.
Take several samples from different areas and mix together and check…I would also check each area separate as well.
Did you moisten the soil mix as a whole with 1/2 - 1 1/2 gallons of water? Then mix it up and check by grabbing a handful and squeeze in ball and see if it stays together or falls apart Quick… this checks if it’s too “thick” or “thin” it should let you know as somewhere in the middle seem to work well for me. If it’s too thick needs more aeration material.
Mix the soil up some more making sure things are evenly mixed through and through.
Check it daily or so and see if it’s changing at all.
Just some thoughts

1 Like

I just did another slurry test after letting it sit this long 8 days later

This test came back at exactly 5.98 pH

Should I leave it or adjust it? @Skydiver @garrigan62

1 Like

I suggest giving it another 4 days or so and check again to see where it’s trending or if it stabilizes. I’m still figuring things out in this area.
@Budbrother also may be able to better suggest things to consider doing if needed from your mix from the earlier post above.

1 Like

I’d let it cook for a month before I tested the mix.

1 Like

How do I feed the beneficial fungus and bacteria while it’s cooking? @Budbrother

2 Likes

Coconut water, kelp, barley powder, wheat bran, crimped oats, molasses, beet juice or honey - they can all be used to feed the fungi and the micro heard. I’ve used the first 6 mentioned.

1 Like

@Skydiver this is the current soil recipe I have put together for the next grow. Most of it has been mixed and sitting since June. I recently added another block of coco which will bring the total to 16 quarts and also 3 quarts of perlite for a total of 4. I have used this recipe (less the additional coco & perlite) several times. I am currently harvesting some NL grown in it (Northern Lights Flower - 2nd Installment - SCROG. I plan on changing the base nutrients I use from Fox Farm Trio to Advanced Nutrients Organic line including Iquana, Sensizym, Mother Earth Super Tea and Big Bud & Candy. I already use a Fulvic / Humic acid solution which I will continue to use rather than AN’s Ancient Earth.
Did 3 soil slurries ph 6.5 - 6.6.
Your thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated if you have a few minutes to look it over.Thanks

2 Likes

Ok. I literally just bought some organic unsulphured molasses. I also have Recharge that has molasses built into the mix. I did water a gallon of recharge on the soil once so far.

1 Like

I’m not seeing anything in there supplying K (potash-ium)
Maybe I missed it?

1 Like

Thanks for looking at it. I intended on adding Langbeinte as a faster acting soluble source and also Greensand as a longer term source. If you are familiar or use either, certainly appreciate info to dial in amounts to use. thank you again.

1 Like

Sounds like a plan…
I do use both…
For some reason I can’t select/upload pics…I add Langbeinite and greensand based on the down to earth product boxes.

1 Like

They are in my shopping cart - much appreciated. Have a good one

1 Like

I’ve found that my local hydroponics garden store has better prices on almost everything vs. Amazon. Esp when it comes to nutrients.

For example this Down To Earth Organic Bio-Live Fertilizer Mix 5-4-2 (which is AMAZING!) is $21.95 on Amazon, but my local hydro store sells the same size for $16.59

Also, the last time I ordered this from Amazon, I ordered in July 2020 and it had a production date of August 2019. Because this has beneficial organism it is one of the few DTE amendments that has a expiration date. It’s good for 2 years after production date. In other words, Amazon shipped me something that was already 1/2 expired. The Bone Meal, Humic Acids and Starter mix (All Down to Earth brand) that I got from local shop, all had a production date that was only a few months old.

Amazon isn’t good for everything.

3 Likes

@beardless Also, I ran a test where I literally took straight DTE Starter Mix 3-3-3 and COATED my transplant root’s/soil after I took it out of the cup. Like breaded it like some kind of fried chicken. I was trying to see if it would burn the plant. It DID NOT. Plant thrived.

Starter Mix and Bio-Live are very similar in that they both can be applied directly to roots without burning.

2 Likes
1 Like

I hear you. I try to avoid Amazon as much as possible. Because I am in an illegal state, I don’t have a lot a grow shops available so pretty much limited to garden centers.

2 Likes

@Skydiver @beardless
I thought you were telling Beardless he need more K, but then I looked at my mix and noticed the same problem. I ended up getting some Langbeinite 0-0-22.

This is my final recipe that I am running the grow with:

Name / Amount
Medium: FFOF 20%, Coco Coir 40%, Perlite 40%

Amendments:
Name / Amount
Starter Mix 3-3-3 – 2 cups
Bone Meal 3-15-0 – 1 cup
Blood Meal 12-0-1 – .5 cup
Bat Guano 7-3-1 – 1 cup
Crab Meal 4-3-0 – 1.25 cup
Langbeinite 0-0-22 – 1 cup
Gran. Humic Acids – 1 cup
Azomite – .5 LB
Azos – Add to transplant hole
Mykos – .25 cup
Epsom Salt – .25 cup

Made 14 Gallons, or just shy of 2 cubic feet (1.87 Cubic Feet)
Soil mix has been cooking for 2.5 weeks.

I’ve started a grow journal. It is HERE.