Hello everyone and thank you for any assistance! So here’s it is. This is my first living soil grow, and I may have jumped the gun by not researching first. I mixed 65% peat moss with 35% top soil. I then filled six 10 gallon fabric pots with this mixture about 70% full. Then I added roughly 4 inches of rice hulls, 2 cups of lava rock, 2 cups biochar. This gave me about 25% drainage. To this I added 2 inches cow manure and 2 cups of chicken manure. After mixing this all in, I transplanted my girls into these pots after three weeks in solo cups with some Mykos. I then watered with fish poop and beneficial bacteria inoculant, super thrive, silica, and epsom salt. Two weeks later and they look fine. My question is, did I add enough soil to my mix to be considered “living soil”, which is what I’m shooting for and can I keep them in this mixture for my entire grow? I plan to veg for a month longer and flip. Thank guys!
Howdy Keifer
Welcome to forum 
@KeiferSmokeman welcome to the family my friend happy growing that’s alot of different things to go in soil got to be careful with all that manure the chicken manure is very hot
How much did you add and was it cooked off or added straight?
Sorry, was asking OP. I dont use chicken manure unless its had a year to cook off
Goodmorning @KeiferSmokeman and like mentioned welcome to this great place, I know @PharmerBob is running living soil. I tried to get started on livingsoil in the spring but had to.many variables caused a major bug problem. @Hoppiefrog is another Growmies that can assist. I know the Growmies are assisted. Good luck is it such a great thing.
Thanks for the warm welcome guys, much appreciated! The chicken manure was bought from my local farmer supply, complety dry and cooked down. I added 1 cup per 10 gallon pot. As for the cow manure, mabey 4 cups per pot. The chicken poop is 3:3:3, the cow manure is .5:.5:.5. I went half dose per instructions on the bag and will be giving water and silica only for the next month, month and a half. Does that sound good, or should I transplant into a weaker mix? The girls look pretty good to me, but this is only my first grow. Will post pics. Thank you all so much.
Hey! 1 cup to each pot. Completely dried from my local farmers supply. They’ve been in there for about 2 weeks and are looking Ok.
Good deal it takes little time for plants to feed from organic soil
The little green stuff is white clover. Aiming for living mulch. Seem a little stunted after a month of veg, surely due to ph issues I had early on. PH is stable now.
Thanks growmie! Will hit them up asap!
I like your style… check out my grow journal. Im organic myself. Im using a clover mix from build a soil in my 25gal pots that im prepping for winter projects. I cooked my soil back in may and june and loaded 3 25 gal pots with supersoil and the top half is recycled coast of maine stonington blend. I planted cover and i culled and tilled it in a few weeks ago. I have worms breaking everything down. Ill probably plant one more round of cover and till it in, and then start my winter project. In total the soil prob will cook for 5 months. Im shooting for a water / teas grow.
That’s also what I’m shooting for, “just add water”! Seems like the simplest, most natural way. I’m putting worms in my 10 gal pots. I was thinking 100 worms each, then promote mating with avocado tech. I’ve heard 1000 worms can go in there, but that seems kinda high.
I wouldnt do 1000 in a 10 gal, maybe 250. They will multiply trust me…
Organic living soil is the only way to go. Tend the soil and the plants will fall into line. Remember, with living soil sometimes less is best.
Everything you added to the soil sounds good. I don’t use manure myself but it sounds like you can it at the correct stage of decomposition.
It sounds like you have a good starting point. Once the cover crop comes in alittle cut it down and choke it out with some straw. This will creat a nice green mulch that the worms can feed on. Transporting all the good stuff below ground. (Add some worms)
In about three weeks I would also give the soil a light dose of molasses. Something with some sugars to fed the microorganisms in the soil.
Hey man, thanks for the welcome and for the advice! Will choke out that cover crop in a couple weeks I think!