This is what I have for my grow.
1 bag of Happy Frog, the brown bag…the one with mycohorrizae, a bag of composted manure, a bag of castings and a bag of perlite. I figured when I do the soil for the potting up I will do the following. So my question is…
SHOULD or SHOULDN’T I?:
Make my own soil? Use the Happy Frog but mix in composted manure, sphagnum and perlite to my liking…and get some recommendations on ammendments…i was considering Kelp, fish and/or bat shit…and topdressing with additional castings and diatomacious earth (maybe no earth since its inside and bugs are less of a threat. ive been using that with my outdoor plants bc someone told me it helps prevent pests)…
Just buy a complete kind of soil, like the other Happy Frog or FF Ocean Forest blend or Coast of Maine and not really add anything
Its not about money. Do I need 30$ bags of soil bc they are amazing or can i make my own and make it better? I thought that making my own soil might be a good idea bc i know exactly what went in it and what the pH range is of the components, that way if there is a deficiency, or if my soil acts in an adverse way, at least i know what ive put in and how it may be affecting my grow. I really like to add things one at a time to anything. Like feeding baby humans, its the same thing with baby plants.
I believe it is IcanTHC on tube that makes his own soil. Might be a blueprint starter based on what you have already mentioned. Check it out. I use FF too and mix HF, OF and Coco Loco in layers in my pots with 20% added perlite and to date have yet to have any problems.
I started with fox farm ocean forest. From there I started experimenting. Like you describe in #1. I now have a cupboard and closet full of soil amendments. If you think it should be in soil, I probably have it.
Happy frog is a good place to start, maybe add some worm poo and beyond that figure out how you want to feed the plants. Dry mix added to the soil or dry soluble or liquid nutes.
ps fox farm, coast of main, build-a-soil, etc has the professionals, agronomists, scientists that have done the work.
I grabbed this from the soil guy @garrigan65’s soil recipe:
Full Recipe
8 1.5 cubic ft bags of Roots Organics soil or a high-quality organic
potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil)
25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings
5 lbs steamed bone meal
5 lbs bloom bat guano
5 lbs blood meal
3 lbs rock phosphate
¾ cup Epson salts
½ cup sweet lime (dolomite)
½ cup azomite (trace elements)
2 tablespoons powdered humic acid
1/2 Recipe
4 1.5 cubic ft bags of Roots Organics
12.5 to 25 lbs of organic worm castings
2.5lbs steamed bone meal
2.5lbs bloom bat guano
2.5lbs blood meal
1.5lbs rock phosphate
3/8 cup or 6 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/4 cup or 4 tablespoon sweet lime (dolomite)
1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1 tablespoon powdered humic acid
1/4 Recipe
2 1.5 cubic ft bags of Roots Organics
6.25 to 12.5 lbs of organic worm castings
1.25lbs or 20 ounces steamed bone meal
1.25lbs or 20 ounces bloom bat guano
1.25lbs or 20 ounces blood meal
3/4 lbs rock phosphate
3/16 cup or 3 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons sweet lime (dolomite)
1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons azomite (trace elements)
1.5 teaspoons powdered humic acid
1/8 Recipe
1 1.5 cubic ft bag of Roots Organics
3.125 to 6.25 lbs of organic worm castings
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces steamed bone meal
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces bloom bat guano
.625 lbs or 5/8 lbs or 10 ounces blood meal
3/8 lbs or 6 ounces rock phosphate
3/32 cup or 1.5 tablespoons Epsom Salts
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon sweet lime (dolomite)
1/16 cup or 1 tablespoon azomite (trace elements)
3/4 teaspoon powdered humic acid
This better
Soil Recipe to be mixed with 1 to 1/1/2 cu ft of base soil
.3125 lb or 5 oz Fishbone Meal 3-16-0
.3125 lb or 5 oz Steamed Bone Meal 2-14-0
.625 lb or 10 oz Bat Guano 0-7-0
.3125 lb or 5 oz Blood Meal 13-0-0
.3125 lb or 5 oz Feather Meal 12-0-0
.375 lb or 6 oz Colloidal Rock Phosphate 0-3-0
1 tbsp Potassium Sulfate 0-0-53 (potash, Langeinbrite)
1 tbsp Souluble Kelp Powder 0-0-17
1 tbsp Mycorrhizal Fungi (300 spores per gram)
3/4 tsp Powdered Humic Acid (90 % pure)
1 1/2 tbsp Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate)
1tbsp Sweet Lime (Dolomite)
1 tbsp Asomite (Trace Elements)
6.25 lbs Worm Castings
ps eventually I said screw soil. Coco & Jack’s itis!
If this is your first grow, I would just get a premade bag. Making soil can come with its own trial and tribulation that could possibly hinder your first grow. It is wise to get a handle on the grow, understanding when and why your plant needs various things at various times and stages, as well as simple watering and nutrient solution making techniques before jumping into advanced methods.
And each plant acts differently, so the same problems you get in commercial soil you will have in homemade soil. If anyone could make a perfect cannabis soil it would be on the market and the company would be rich beyond the dreams of avarice.
Here’s what I do that’s cheap, and effective. I use happy frog mixed with perlite, worm castings, and fox farm fruit and flower 4-9-3 per the instructions on the package. Then top dress with the fruit and flower, and worm castings after about 6 weeks. Then once a month after that if necessary, and that’s it other than ph’ing your water. I also use a little bio thrive bloom 2-4-4 during flowering since it’s organic. Just because I have it, I add a little cal mag occasionally when I water.
@Lunabudz929 great advise given. I’d just add that whatever you end up doing be prepared for runoff readings ahead of time to ensure you done overdose your seedlings right out the gate. Mixing everything you mentioned could give you one hot pot!! Do you have ph and ppm pens?
Hey I am lazy and have a bad back. I bought a local organic soil, added perlite and use a product called Earthdust. Mix in the base, keep the soil moist, top dress twice. I reuse the soil each grow and it only gets better!
Hey man i make my own soil i use kelp meal and alfalfa meal fish bone meal and sea bird guano and volcanic rock dust fertilizer worm castings and organic compost and frass thats what i put in my soil plus i add white rhino beneficial bacteria.And i start off with coco coir normally And i would put worms in my pots
Good morning fellow farmers. I hope you all are having the best week you possibly can.
I’m all about making your own soil blend. We like to start with a very basic organic blend from a local company. Best in The West Organic Products. We by it in bulk. About One pickup truck load. It’s a lot cheaper then buying a bunch of bags or a giant tote.
Next we add some soil conditioner, worm castings, bio-live, humic acid, coco-fiber, and alittle perlite.
I use 100 gallon grow bags. The simplest way for me is to fill up a small kitty pool full of dirt. Add everything I’m looking for. Mix it up in the pool and then fill a grow bag. I will do this over and over so I get the exacts same consistency.
When making your soil think of what the plant will need during it’s entire life cycle. If the plant requires alittle extra at the end for flowering, such as bat guano, you may want to wait tell the start of flowering to add it.
If using fish/crab/shrimp during flower this can leave a nasty smell/teast on the buds.
I don’t like to use manure as a compost as it can be very hot and unpredictable.
Layers, huh? Hmmmm…so what, HF bottom (beneficial organics to roots?), coco mid (for more aeration?), OF top (all the shit and higher N on top to nourish thru gravity?)? How’d i do? Lol
My specific layering at each transplant is Ocean Forest and Coco Loco 1:1 with 20% perlite on the bottom. Happy frog with 20% perlite on top. I make the transplant hole with the pot the plant is in, sprinkle some rooting powder in the hole and pull the plant from the pot it is in and pop it in the hole in the bigger pot. Here are some pics from each transplant from my previous grow using this method.
In most cases the hot stuff goes on the bottom. Thinking is, plants are older, stronger, bigger and say bring it on. If the hot stuff is on top next to small undeveloped roots…
I’m not a believer on the layering concept.
Example…
Growing outdoors in a 10 gallon smart pot. Plant gets transplanted to the 10 gallon pot the start of June. Regardless if you layer or not those roots will hit the bottom of that bag come the first of July. If grown correctly. This means you still have all of July, August and September, maybe alittle of October.
Plus. You put the super nutrients and the bottom and then water your plant for months thinking that nutrients will still be 100% available is alittle off. It will leach out the bottom of that bag faster then one thinks.
